Mike Fischer of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel shares his top 25 Chicago theater productions for the year ahead:

"Before you buy overpriced airline tickets to see overpriced shows on Broadway, I've got a modest alternative proposal that involves less fuss, fewer dollars and an equally good or better cultural experience. Don't believe me? Consider the following: One of the hottest tickets in New York this fall will be for the revival of Edward Albee's "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" It's a remount featuring the same all-Chicago cast that debuted at Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre in 2010 - which, incidentally, exported "August: Osage County" and an original Chicago cast to New York in 2007, netting a Pulitzer Prize and five Tony awards in 2008." READ MORE.