Days later, I am still humming and smiling. From the moment the orchestra began the familiar overture, to the cast of Hello, Dolly! stepping onto the stage of the Oriental […]
It’s not likely (though perhaps possible) that director Nick Bowling and music director Doug Peck knew when they selected Terrence McNally’s Master Class for Bowling’s 30th production at Timeline Theatre Company […]
For me, the worst nightmares have always been the ones closest to reality. Aliens, ghosts, and monsters don’t scare me as much as thinking about someone waiting in the bushes outside […]
Adventure Stage Chicago is fighting for good again, in this 15th season of its existence, by working to eradicate hunger specifically, and to disrupt generational poverty. Everyone loves a theater with […]
The Lonesome West by Martin McDonagh is a story of two Irish brothers, locked in a codependent relationship of affection and hatred (mostly the latter). Throughout the course of the 100-minute […]
The American Revolution by Theater Unspeakable has come to Chicago’s Greenhouse Theater Center with a new take on history, one whose spirit and cast of characters tell big stories about epic […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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. […]