The Nance Teaches Us Some History in the Midst of Burlesque Routines
The play opens with a bubbly Sylvie (Melissa Young) singing and dancing to “I Wish I Could Shimmy Like My Sister Kate” on the stage of an old New York […]
Nancy S. Bishop is publisher and Stages editor of Third Coast Review. She’s a member of the American Theatre Critics Association and a 2014 Fellow of the National Critics Institute at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center. You can read her personal writing on pop culture at nancybishopsjournal.com, and follow her on Twitter @nsbishop. She also writes about film, books, art, architecture and design.
Eclipse Theatre’s Megastasis Takes a Tense Dive Into Lives of Young Black Men
Two black men on a street corner, drinking beer. One is a college student, the other a dad talking about how he loves to buy books for his daughter. Two […]
See Hamlet in the Park With All the Famous Lines–Only 100 Minutes
The Prince of Denmark is going to the park this summer. You’ll be able to see a 100-minute version of Hamlet at four city parks in July and August. Venues […]
Steppenwolf’s Startling Production of Hir Is About Gender Identity and Much More
On the surface and in all its promotional materials, Steppenwolf Theatre’s startling new production of Taylor Mac’s Hir (pronounced “here”) is about transgender people, and the state of being nonbinary. […]
Lela & Co. at Steep Theatre: Searing Story of a Woman in a War Zone
Lela & Co. sounds like a chic boutique, a business story. And it is. It’s a horrifying story of a woman alone in a conflict zone. The business theme is […]
Broken Nose Theatre’s At the Table Asks Who Gets a Seat at That Table
Six friends sit around a table, in a weekend home outside Chicago. The table is covered with the detritus of dinner. Wine glasses are filled and emptied. Several conversations are […]
ATC Youth Ensemble to Remount Stirring Public Housing Doc, The Project(s)
The American Theater Company is remounting its stirring documentary play, The Project(s), this month, performed in an abbreviated 50-minute version by the ATC Youth Ensemble. The production, which tells the story […]
Learn How to Be a Rock Critic at Steppenwolf, But Skip the Romilar
Two 3CR writers—Nancy and [Karin]—went to see Erik Jensen’s one-man performance of the life and times of rock critic Lester Bangs. Nancy wrote the review and Karin added comments. This […]
O’Neill’s Only Comedy, Ah, Wilderness!, Recreates 4th of July Family Story at Goodman Theatre
Ah, Wilderness!, Eugene O’Neill’s only comedy, is a charming, light-hearted play with an element foreign to most O’Neill scripts: a happy ending. The hero, teenaged Richard Miller (truthfully played by […]
Review: Chicago Monumental Provides View of Public Statues, Fountains, Tombs
[soliloquy id=”14888″] Larry Broutman, a Chicago-based photographer, has traveled over the world in his quest for travel and wildlife images. He has concentrated on remote tribal cultures and African […]
Hitler on the Roof Is Akvavit Theatre’s Manic Meditation on Propaganda
Hitler on the Roof, I was happy to learn, is not a parody of Fiddler with Hitler playing Tevye. No, it’s a tragicomedy subtitled “A Play for Two Clowns.” The […]
On the Road: Frank Lloyd Wright in Indiana: Samara, a Usonian House
We Chicagoans may think we own most of the work of genius architect Frank Lloyd Wright, who designed homes that populate the Chicago area, focusing on a concentration of houses […]