Meet Harvey, the Pooka. Elwood Will Buy Everyone a Drink in Court Theatre’s Harvey
Who’s to say what “crazy” means? And is it really crazy to have a special friend that most people can’t see? Maybe it just takes a good imagination to see […]
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.
The Radiant at Genesis Theatricals Tells the Dramatic Story of Scientist Marie Curie
Marie Sklodowska Curie should be a hero for today’s women. Long before today’s concerns about young women not being educated in STEM subjects or being hired for tech jobs, Madame […]
What’s the Meaning of Family? Irish Theatre’s The My Way Residential Tells One Story
Families are created in many ways and it’s only recently that we recognize the value and beauty of the variety of families in our midst. The My Way Residential, a […]
Bluegrass, Banjo Picking and Clog Dancing Light Up the Symphony Center
The Symphony Center is a different place when the program veers away from classical. Few suits and ties, no designer dresses or jewelry. Plenty of jeans and khakis, checks and […]
Timeline’s Paradise Blue Examines a Detroit Jazz Club Amidst Urban Renewal
[soliloquy id=”13453″] Paradise Blue by Dominique Morisseau muses on the troubled relationships of jazz musicians in an old jazz club, but she overlays their story with the political turmoil […]
Hookman at Steep Theatre Succeeds in Being Terrifying and Hilarious
Playwright Lauren Yee calls her play Hookman an “existential slasher comedy.” And Steep Theatre’s new production takes her up on that with creative staging, solid performances, especially by the three […]
City Lit’s Forty-Two Stories: Behind the Scenes at a High-Rise Condo Where Stuff Happens
Do you live in a highrise condo on Lake Shore Drive? Or spend time with someone who does? Then all your suspicions about what goes on behind the scenes will […]
Feeling Nostalgic? See Red Orchid’s 3C: R-Rated “Three’s Company” in ’70s Color
A Red Orchid Theatre’s new production, 3C, reminds me of two things I’d rather forget. The silly sitcom, “Three’s Company,” that aired on ABC for eight years, ending in 1984. […]
Raven’s Not About Nightingales Introduces Tennessee Williams’ Depression-Era Prison Tragedy
Not About Nightingales, an early Tennessee Williams script, is a Depression-era tragedy with many elements that foretell Williams’ genius as a playwright. Its setting—a large prison where the prisoners revolt […]
Third Coast Rewind: Chicago Lawyer Heads North to Defend Pipeline Protestors
Melinda Power works in a storefront law office on Division Street, between the two gateways that demarcate the Puerto Rican community. Many of her everyday clients are members of the […]
No One Flies at Shattered Globe in For Peter Pan on Her 70th Birthday
For Peter Pan on Her 70th Birthday is a gift by playwright Sarah Ruhl to her actor mother, Kathleen, who plays herself in this three-part family story. The 85-minute play […]
Steppenwolf’s Linda Vista: An Adult Comedy About a Guy Who Isn’t
Linda Vista, in its world premiere at Steppenwolf Theatre, is a smart and thoroughly entertaining production—a very adult comedy—funny, sexy and poignant. Dexter Bullard, who directed The Flick and has […]