Wednesday, 23 October 2024 10:11
Review: Remy Bumppo's 'Dear Elizabeth' at Theater Wit
Written by John Accrocco
What a treat to have two of Evanston-native Sarah Ruhl’s plays running concurrently at Theatre Wit. Alongside the Shattered Globe Theatre’s Midwest premier of Ruhl’s Becky Nurse of Salem is Remy Bumppo’s production of Dear Elizabeth. Directed by Christina Casano, this epistolary play has all the elements that make Ruhl’s…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Wednesday, 23 October 2024 07:20
Deliciously wicked: Evil Perfect at Bramble Theatre Company tells a familiar story in a perfectly wicked way
Written by Kendall Royzen
After completing my hundredth fan fiction about the same two characters defying all obstacles and falling in love, I took a moment to reflect as to why I come back to these stories. There is a comfort in a formulaic story line, the protagonists eliciting nostalgia, escapism, but when you…
Published in
Theatre Reviews
Monday, 21 October 2024 17:14
Bram Stoker's 'Dracula' at Brightside Theatre is the ultimate Halloween treat with just the right amount of bite!
Written by Kimberly Katz
Brightside Theatre’s rendition of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, adapted by Stephen Dietz, captivates from the opening scene to its climactic finale. Ever since the 1992 Francis Ford Coppola film with Gary Oldman, Bram Stoker’s Dracula has fascinated me. It was a delight to see Brightside Theatre’s cast and crew brilliantly capture…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Sunday, 20 October 2024 11:07
Dante’s ‘Commedia Divina,’ Retooled by Conspirators, Delivers Epic Laughs at Otherworld Theatre
Sarz Maxwell
The early closing of the Conspirators’ 2023 production of “Commedia Divina,” proved useful, giving this …erm … highly original company an opportunity to retool “Commedia Divina” into a production worthy of Election Year 2024. I can’t claim I wasn’t warned. I mean, the very title is “Commedia Divina: It’s Worse…
Published in
Theatre in Review
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Friday, 18 October 2024 13:12
Review: Joffrey Ballet's US Premiere of Cathy Marston's 'Atonement' at Civic Opera House
Written by John Accrocco
What source materials make a great ballet? Can everything be interpreted through dance? It’s a fair question when considering Joffrey Ballet’s new adaptation of Ian McEwan’s complex novel. This sumptuous co-production with Ballett Zurich is proof that the sky’s the limit when it comes to what’s possible on stage. Those…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Tuesday, 15 October 2024 18:39
Handbag's 'The Golden Girls Meet The Skooby Don’t Gang: The Mystery of The Haunted Bush' a hilarious adventure not to be missed!
Written by Kimberly Katz
I look forward to every Hell and a Handbag production - because I know they’re always a great time. The company’s spot-on takes on adored characters, from those in the Golden Girls to Rudolph the Red-Hosed Reindeer, always blend high camp humor with a warm, heartfelt touch. In Handbag’s latest…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Tagged under
- Hell in a Handbag Productions
- Golden Girls
- The Golden Girls Meet The Skooby Don’t Gang: The Mystery of The Haunted Bush
- David Cerda
- Ed Jones
- Frankie Leo Bennett
- Grant Drager
- Ryan Oates
- Scott Sawa
- Tyler Anthony Smith
- Elizabeth Lesinski
- Caitlin Jackson
- Ben Meneses
- Josh Kemper
- Michael S Miller
- Danne W Taylor
- Chopin Theatre
Tuesday, 15 October 2024 12:40
Embracing Vulnerability: Goodman’s Heartfelt 'Primary Trust' Highlights the Power of Not Being Okay
Written by Wesley David
Eboni Booth’s 2024 Pulitzer Prize-winning drama Primary Trust is a deeply introspective and bittersweet exploration of abandonment, routine, and the disorienting reality of sudden change. Directed with sensitivity by Malkia Stampley in her Goodman debut, the production skillfully tells the story of Kenneth, a quiet, unassuming man in his late…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Saturday, 12 October 2024 14:26
Rediscovering Revolution: Chicago Lore(s) brings Puerto Rican Activism to the stage
Written by Wesley David
Lore, a noun. knowledge and information related to a particular subject, especially when it is not written down, the stories and traditions of a particular group of people The world premiere of Chicago Lore(s), written by Sammy Publes and produced by Urban Theater Company (UTC), is a compelling and emotional…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Monday, 14 October 2024 19:33
Love Me, Love Me: The Love Object brings back the drama of bubblegum pop at Raven Theatre
Written by Kendall Royzen
The Y2K era was a wild time to be a girl. Bubblegum pop juxtaposed against futuristic silver-scaled sets, female artists viciously pitted against one another in the media, women and young girls being viewed as simultaneously pure and virginal and corrupt and sexual deviants. All of these themes are perfectly…
Published in
Theatre in Review
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Sunday, 13 October 2024 10:02
Try To See It Their Way: Milo Imagines The World at Chicago Children's Theatre
Written by Kendall Royzen
Have you ever jumped on a crowded L train and wondered just why there were so many people on it? Where did they all come from? Where were they all going? Who were they going to meet? What were they going to do when they got to their destination? When…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Saturday, 12 October 2024 14:26
Review: Shattered Globe's 'Becky Nurse of Salem' @ Theater Wit
Written by John Accrocco
History is often said to be written by the victors, and few events illustrate this more clearly than the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. Arthur Miller gave the historic event a new life in his 1953 allegorical play ‘The Crucible’. However, playwright Sarah Ruhl was piqued when she heard a…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Friday, 11 October 2024 19:53
A Spooky Good Time: House of the Exquisite Corpse IV: SUPERSTITIONS at Steppenwolf
Written by Kendall Royzen
Do you like scary movies? I do. I blame the origin of this love of scary movies to being tricked into watching The Blair Witch project alone in a glass house in The Hills in Southern California in middle school; I loved the adrenaline rush, the ‘would I have survived…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Monday, 30 September 2024 14:00
Review: Blue Eyed Soul Sung by Brown Eyed People at Black Ensemble Theatre
Written by CJ Burroughs
Every time I’ve had the pleasure and the privilege of attending a show at Black Ensemble Theatre, once the experience has sunken in and I’ve had time to think about what I witnessed, I realize something. I realize that Jackie Taylor—actress, singer, writer, historian, founder of the Theater, and writer…
Published in
Theatre in Review
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