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 […]
Review: Remy Bumppo’s Poetic Frankenstein Asks How a Lonely Creature Becomes a Monster
Frankenstein opens with an exquisitely staged birthing scene. The Creature is shrouded in a sheer fabric sac, a metaphoric womb. He struggles to free himself and emerges naked, covered in scars […]
Chicago and Paris Band Together for Cabaret: An Interview with Claudia Hommel
Chicago Paris Cabaret Connexion is a week-long festival running October 28 through November 4 that brings together cabaret performers from the U.S. and France to explore the artistry and history behind […]
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 […]
Review: Tootsie World Premiere at Cadillac Theatre–A New Twist or an Old Drag?
A new comedy musical named Tootsie opened in a world premiere on Sunday for a limited engagement through October 14 before it heads off to Broadway in early spring. The Cadillac […]