Review: Absurd or Gross? Silliness Rules in Do You Feel Anger? at A Red Orchid Theatre
In the last few months, I’ve seen a lot of plays about racism, sexual identity, immigration, crime, anger and angst. So it was a nice change of pace to see […]
Review: At 16th Street Theater, Alabaster Lights a Road to Recovery for Two Women Scarred by Life
Alabaster is a city in northern Alabama (a suburb of Birmingham actually). It’s also a soft stone, a form of gypsum, that’s translucent, easily carved and often used for decorative […]
Review: Lyric Opera Revisits a Timeless, Thrilling Classic in Madama Butterfly
The Lyric Opera of Chicago first presented Puccini’s Madama Butterfly in 1955 (it made its world premiere in 1904); the version on stage there now (through March 8) is a revival […]
Review: At Steppenwolf Theatre, Tracy Letts’ Bug Exploits Our Skin-Crawling Anxieties
Bug starts out like a Sam Shepard play. Two lost souls in a seedy Oklahoma motel room. Fools for love. Agnes (Carrie Coon) is a waitress who’s dreading her ex-husband’s […]
Review: Jane Austen’s Classic Emma Gets a Delightful Musical Adaptation at Chicago Shakes
Later this month, a new film adaptation of Jane Austen’s Emma will open in cinemas, starring Anya Taylor-Joy (Thoroughbreds, “Peaky Blinders”) as the titular matchmaker with questionable, if endearing, motives. […]
Review: Riverdance Celebrates 25th Anniversary at the Cadillac Palace Theatre
Broadway in Chicago is showcasing the 25th anniversary show of Riverdance at the Cadillac Palace Theatre. Riverdance opened its anniversary production with an emotional montage of the show’s worldwide tours and […]
Review: Broken Nose Theatre’s Labyrinth Choreographs a Latin American Debt Crisis
If I told you I saw a play about the Latin American debt crisis and it was fabulously entertaining, would you think I was crazy? Well I did and you […]
Review: How to Defend Yourself at Victory Gardens Falls Short in Addressing an Important Topic
How to Defend Yourself by Liliana Padilla takes an important topic—how women can defend themselves in a rape culture—and treats it with some sincerity about woman using their bodies to […]
Review: Water Will (in Melody) by Ligia Lewis–Dance and Theater (That Confronts)
It begins with storytelling, a dark fairytale to set the tone—one from the Brothers Grimm about a defiant little girl who doesn’t know her place– so God kills her. This […]
Review: The Leopard Play at Steep Theatre Tells a Brutally Loving Family Story
Honest. Crude. Raw. Those are some of the words that came to me as I walked away from Steep Theatre after experiencing The Leopard Play or sad songs for lost […]
Review: Jump and Jive for Joy at Porchlight’s Sophisticated Ladies
Can there be a show stopper when the show never stops? Porchlight Music Theatre’s production of Duke Ellington’s Sophisticated Ladies sings, dances and plays its way through the king of all’s […]
Preview: True Blue Revue to Launch Indivisible Chicago’s 2020 Campaign February 3 at the Athenaeum
Indivisible Chicago will stage True Blue Revue, the group’s 2020 campaign kickoff and free live show, Monday, February 3, at the Athenaeum Theatre’s mainstage, 2936 N. Southport Ave. Doors open […]