Chicago Ideas Week in Review: Radical Creators and Tackling Taboos
If you haven’t been to Chicago Ideas Week yet, you’re missing out. I’ve been lucky enough to attend for the last four years, and I’ve been inspired by some of […]
Stage Shorts: Three New York Plays Celebrating Solo Performers
The three plays I saw last weekend in New York provided insights into how theater works, and emphasized language and physicality. Two are one-person performances and the third strongly highlights […]
Review: Weird and Wonderful, Witch at Writers is an Intellectual Halloween Treat
I really like Jen Silverman. Steppenwolf just premiered her strange buddy comedy The Roommate after a successful run at the Humana Festival. It was touching and surprising, with outstanding performances from Ora […]
Rock Music Means Freedom in Artistic Home’s Stirring Rock and Roll by Tom Stoppard
Tom Stoppard stirs up his personal brew of European political ideology, love, death and pop culture in his 2006 play, Rock and Roll, now on stage in a stirring production […]
Review: Lyric Opera Launches a Strong 64th Season with Moving, Minimalist La Bohème
There are certain experiences, certain accomplishments that, understandably, pop up on most people’s Bucket Lists, those to-do lists of what we’d all like to check off before we leave this […]
Tension Builds in Luxury Hotel Room(s) in Zurich at Steep Theatre
Zürich by Amelia Roper at Steep Theatre is a tantalizing 105 minutes of tension, laced with some smart dialogue. Directed by Brad DeFabo Akin, the play’s five scenes are so cleverly constructed […]
Review: Nell Gwynn at Chicago Shakes Delivers Laughs and a Lush Production
About 20 minutes into Nell Gwynn, the American premiere of Jessica Swale’s comedy now on at Chicago Shakespeare Theater, it’s possible to wonder just exactly what we’re all doing here. […]
Macbeth as You Will Never See It Again: An Earthy Mendoza by Los Colochos Teatro at Goodman Theatre
Mendoza, a thrillingly raw and earthy adaptation of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, is being presented this week at Goodman Theatre in collaboration with the Chicago Latino Theater Alliance. This very graphic and […]
Review: Steppenwolf’s Devastating Downstate Dares Us to Look Evil in the Eyes
What makes one a victim? And what moral superiority does a victim have over their aggressor? When is one’s humanity lost, and what qualifications, if any, are there to getting […]
Paula Vogel’s Enthralling Indecent Haunts Us With Messages From the Past
Theater history, immigration, censorship and persecution are some of the ingredients in Paula Vogel’s compelling play, Indecent, which just opened at Victory Gardens Theater. Gary Griffin directs a multitalented cast […]
Review: Dear Brutus Is a Solid Return for a J.M. Barrie Classic
When most people hear J.M. Barrie, they think Peter Pan: flying children, one-handed pirates, and ticking crocodiles. I should know, I’ve performed in a retelling of Peter Pan. Well, Peter has had […]
David Cale at Goodman Theatre: Lyrical Storytelling and Songs That Feel Like Poetry
Writer/composer/performer David Cale spent a great deal of his childhood looking for places to escape to, which was not always easy since he rarely left the his family’s modest property […]