Review: You’ve Heard of Dinner Theater, Now Make Way for Brunch Theater—With Clowns
The article and photos are by Bruce Kong. Brunch continues to play a dominant role in the daily meal system, as a combined breakfast and lunch, it’s a blend of […]
Review: In Steppenwolf’s No Man’s Land, Four Characters Act Out Pinter’s Menacing Puzzle
Steppenwolf Theatre’s production of Harold Pinter’s No Man’s Land is meticulously staged and performed by an excellent cast. Director Les Waters’ four actors do a masterful job with Pinter’s puzzling 1974 script. […]
Review: Northlight Brings the Soul and Brilliance of Musical Icons in Marie and Rosetta
Imagine in your mind Jimi Hendrix’s Purple Haze with the opening chords howling out of his Fender Stratocaster. Feel that rolling left hand or bass line in the music of […]
Review: Haven’s The Art of Bowing Challenges Us to Think About the Survival of Theater
“Theater is dead. Long live theater.” That may be the theme of Nathan Alan Davis’ imaginative and puzzling new play, The Art of Bowing, which you can now see in its […]
Review: Midsommer Flight Sorts Out Cymbeline‘s Screwball Plot for a Charming Theater Experience in the Park
Cymbeline is one of Shakespeare’s late and rarely performed plays. but with a trimmed-down script and engaging movement and music, Midsommer Flight overcomes the Bard’s many plot complications and creates a […]
Review: A Distinct Society at Writers Theatre Shows the Collateral Damage of Bigotry
The Muslim Ban. Those words still make me angry about the 45th president creating borders to keep the “undesirables” from entering the United States. Most sentient people are still unpacking […]
Review: Another Marriage at Steppenwolf Theatre Portrays a Marriage That Could Be Yours or Mine
You may recognize aspects of your own marriage or that of a friend or relative in Another Marriage, Steppenwolf Theatre’s world premiere play. The script by actor Kate Arrington succeeds on many […]
Review: See, Feel, Hear and Touch The Who’s Tommy at Goodman Theatre
Poet Maya Angelou suffered violence and didn’t speak for years. Tommy Walker witnessed murder and similarly shut down his senses to deal with that trauma. His fictional narrative was created […]
Preview: See Theater in the Parks This Summer With Midsommer Flight, Chicago Shakes and Porchlight Music
We can look forward to theater in public parks all over Chicago this summer—and all free. Midsommer Flight will stage Shakespeare’s Cymbeline from July 7 to August 13. Chicago Shakespeare […]
Review: Passing Strange at Theo Ubique Is a Gorgeous Musical About Identity and Much More
Who decides what is Black enough? That is a Gordian knot that has no solution. Is Blackness in the eye of the beholder or is it an accumulation of cultural […]
Preview: Wisconsin’s American Players Theatre Begins Season of Classic and Contemporary Plays
Summer’s outdoor pleasures abound throughout the Midwest and, for many, the season opening at American Players Theatre (APT) in Spring Green, Wis., is an invitation to frisk in forest merriment. […]
Review: Memoirs of Jazz in the Alley Is a Powerful Tribute to the South Side, Then and Now
Memoirs of Jazz in the Alley is a tribute to a decade-plus of people jamming in a garage near 50th and Champlain, created by artistic director and choreographer Kia S. […]