How does a theater critic review a magic show? On the surface, this question might feel simple. Did the magician succeed in bringing the audience along for the ride? Did I […]
A ghost story requires that one suspends belief. Having grown up Catholic, I know all about suspending belief just from memorizing the Baltimore Catechism when purgatory was a real threat. […]
Puppeteer Sam Lewis. Puppets by Emilie Wingate and Tom Lee. Photo Credit: Yvette Marie Dostatni
Caftans!!!… Statement Jewelry!!!… Plot-driven Thrillers on Stage!!!… Yes, it’s the ’70s again at Raven Theatre as they present the first show of their 41st season—a revival of Lucille Fletcher’s woman-in-peril […]
Review by Anthony Neri.es Tambo & Bones has come to Chicago, presented by Refracted Theatre Co. at the Den Theatre. It’s dense and thought-provoking like a treatise with a burning thesis, […]
I am still in awe from watching the Joffrey Ballet’s Frankenstein at the Lyric Opera House. Choreographer Liam Scarlett stayed closer to Mary Shelley’s book Frankenstein or Modern Prometheus than […]
Eurydice: “I read a book today.” Orpheus: “Did you?” Eurydice: “Yes. It was very interesting… There were—stories—about people’s lives—how some come out well— others come out badly.” Orpheus: “Do you […]
Playwright Juan Ramirez’s The American Dream seems to be taken from the stories that are kept out of the headlines. It is the story of a “coyote,” Efren (Jorge Aguilar), […]
Explaining a joke is like dissecting a frog, E.B. White famously said: “the subject dies in the process and the innards are discouraging to any but the pure scientific mind.” […]
Soldier Songs is a solo operatic performance that blends the genres of classical and heavy metal. I thought that I had never heard anything like it, however, the parallels between […]
Sanctuary City, Steppenwolf’s new production by playwright Martyna Majok, is an earnest play with a bit of heart. It tries to demonstrate what the lives of young immigrants are like […]
Gracie: “I just can’t get as excited as you do about it, Gram. At the end of the day, it’s just a big ol’ poofy white dress.” Grace: (A beat) […]