No, Not That Henry IV. Remy Bumppo Explores the Puzzle of Pirandello’s Henry IV
Remy Bumppo’s production of Pirandello’s Henry IV takes us on a wild ride in the mind of a man who may or may not be insane, may or may not […]
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.
In Red Velvet, A Black Actor Plays Othello, Shocks 19th Century London
England was more advanced than the U.S. in abolishing slavery. The UK passed the Slavery Abolition Act in 1833 but England had abolished it decades earlier. But that doesn’t mean […]
Steppenwolf’s Visiting Edna: Despite the Charm of Television, the Story Doesn’t Quite Gel
On the surface, Visiting Edna, the new David Rabe play at Steppenwolf Theatre, is a story of aging Edna, beset by diabetes, arthritis, congestive heart failure and cancer. Plus she’s […]
Timeline’s The Last Wife Modernizes History in Spicy Drama
Henry VIII’s sixth and last wife is probably the one you don’t remember. She was Katherine Parr, Henry’s third Catherine, and a feminist before her time. Timeline Theatre’s new production […]
Superb Acting and Staging Make Court’s Man in the Ring a Knockout
“I killed a man and the world forgives me. I loved a man and the world wants to kill me.” Emile Griffith’s summation of his life also sums up Michael […]
Hamilton Cast Introduced; New Block of Tickets for Next Six Months to Go on Sale 9/27
Broadway in Chicago held an introduction press conference last week for the cast of Hamilton, which will open in previews September 27 at the Private Bank Theatre, 18 W. Monroe St. […]
Lookingglass Theatre’s Production of Life Sucks Proves that It Really Doesn’t
Do you think life sucks? And that the world is totally fucked up? You’ll give that some thought and may get to voice your opinion during Lookingglass Theatre’s delightful production […]
Shattered Globe’s True West Almost Grabs the Sam Shepard Dynamite
Anyone who had rowdy brothers or raised a pair of sons will feel a chill of recognition at some point during Shattered Globe Theatre’s production of True West, Sam Shepard’s […]
It’s the Finale of Kill Your Darlings, A Live-Lit Mash-Up: On 9/14 We Explore Saloon/Lit Culture
Third Coast Review and Tree Falls Productions conclude Kill Your Darlings, their series of “live-lit/improv mashups” on Wednesday, September 14. That night will be devoted to Lit itself and we’ll explore Chicago’s saloon […]
E.D.G.E. Theatre Celebrates Election Year With Rousing Production of 1776
A new and intimate production of 1776 succeeds in reminding us that the founding fathers were real people with human problems who managed to make the close decisions that […]
This Is Modern Art: Synchronicity of the Week
Carl Jung might call it synchronicity because this is a meaningful coincidence, albeit also accidental. Wednesday night at a live lit event I told the story of the play This […]
Theater, Critics and Perfomers: A Kill Your Darlings/3CR Night of Live Lit and Improv
Last night was the fourth night of seven Kill Your Darlings events this season. We celebrated by recounting theater stories, lamenting the current critical environment and telling personal stories about […]