Saturday, 03 December 2016 10:30
Underscore Theatre's Fun New Musical - Tonya and Nancy: The Rock Opera
Written by John Accrocco
Underscore Theatre and Harborside Films hearkens back to a simpler time, when the biggest national tragedy was a young Olympic figure skater getting clubbed in the knees. The year was 1994 and the world couldn't get enough of Tonya Harding versus Nancy Kerrigan. Some twenty-two years later, this scandal is…
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Theatre in Review
Sunday, 04 December 2016 20:16
Real Theater: See Why Winterset Won Best Play in 1935
Written by Bill Esler
Serious theatergoers may well want to see Maxwell Anderson’s Winterset, which in 1935 won the first New York Drama Critic’s Circle Award for Best Play. Specializing in mining historic gems, Griffin Theatre Company’s production at The Den Theatre gives it the full Monty. Though Winterset is a period piece, unlike…
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Theatre in Review
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Tuesday, 29 November 2016 13:13
The Rip Nelson Holiday Spectacular Will Get You through the Holidays with Laughs and Compassion
Written by Kimberly Katz
Do you remember the holiday spectacular TV specials in the early 1980's? I do. They were a wacko mix of old timey singing groups mixed with the “hottest” stars of the day and all were decked out stage-wise in cheerful, colorful and yet, in retrospect, disturbing fake Christmas sets. Just…
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Theatre in Review
Sunday, 27 November 2016 16:11
The Fundamentals Takes Aim at What Ails America’s Service Workers and Their Bosses
Written by Bill Esler
Erika Sheffer’s The Fundamentals is a powerful tale of the struggles of a service industry worker. It is also a parable for our times. Director Yasen Peyankov has taken what we see all the time, and really shows it to us. The Fundamentals (at Steppenwolf Theatre) tells the story of…
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Theatre in Review
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Tuesday, 22 November 2016 08:03
Lyric Opera's "Don Quichotte": An Eccentric and Endearing Opera
Written by Michelle Reidy
Opening in the town square of a small town in Spain, Don Quichotte by Jules Massenet tells the story of a somewhat delusional knight errant, his squire Sancho and their quest to retrieve the stolen necklace of Dulcinée in an effort to win her love and affection. Adventures with the…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Tuesday, 22 November 2016 23:19
A Truth Soon To Be Universally Known: Miss Bennet Is Very Funny
Written by Bill Esler
Northlight Theatre’s Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley is deftly crafted, a thoroughly engaging comedic riff on Pride & Predjudice, Jane Austen’s early 19th century classic. It is also a refreshing antidote to a truth universally known: that Chicago stages yield slim pickin’s for legitimate drama this time of year. Nothing…
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Theatre in Review
With all the earmarks of a romantic comedy, First Floor Theater’s “Deer and the Lovers,” now playing at The Den Theatre, offers up of a barrel of laughs along with serious reflections threaded throughout. Written by Emily Zemba and directed by Jesse Roth, the 100-minute play dives deep into the…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Saturday, 12 November 2016 23:38
Review: About Face's "I Am My Own Wife" at Theater Wit
Written by John Accrocco
In 2002, About Face Theater company debuted Doug Wright's play "I Am My Own Wife." It opened on Broadway in 2004, and won both the Pulitzer Prize as well as the Tony award for Best New Play. About Face Theater and director Andrew Volkoff revisit the play twelve years later…
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Theatre in Review
Wednesday, 09 November 2016 23:56
Review: Porchlight's "End of the Rainbow"
Written by John Accrocco
To say Judy Garland led a tumultuous life is an understatement. In a way, she was the mid-century equivalent of Amy Winehouse. A once brilliant, and at times triumphant star who faded out much too soon. Maybe some will only remember Judy as Dorothy Gale, but in her short career…
Published in
Theatre in Review
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Monday, 07 November 2016 23:44
The Fairy Queen Suffers From Trying Too Hard To Be Cool
Written by Michelle Reidy
The Fairy Queen is a baroque opera written by Henry Purcell in 1692 as an adaptation of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night's Dream. On November 5th, in the newly restored Studebaker Theater, the Chicago Opera Theater produced their reimagined version of the opera in collaboration with Culture Clash. The show is…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Wednesday, 09 November 2016 22:54
Singin' in the Rain is all wet – and that’s a good thing
Written by Bill Esler
Marriott Theatre has staged an audacious, vibrant production with its adaptation of the 1952 Gene Kelley musical, ‘Singin’ in the Rain.’ This show reaches for the stars, and its company is so exuberant, its orchestration and choreography so refined, that shortcomings of the script (by legendary duo Adolph Green and…
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Theatre in Review
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Fun Home is not merely a well-crafted, excellent musical in every sense of the word but an important one. Fittingly winning the Tony award for Best Musical the same year same-sex marriage was legalized in the United States, Fun Home is the first Broadway musical to feature a lesbian protagonist.…
Published in
Theatre in Review
"Out damned spot out..." This line tragically uttered by Lady Macbeth is probably one of the more memorable lines in Shakespeare's Macbeth and it also was one of the more memorable moments in Theatre Y's production now playing at the Chopin Theatre. The role of Lady Macbeth, played by Katie…
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Theatre in Review
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