Tuesday, 21 March 2023 21:35
Laced with Gallows Humor, ‘The Shroud Maker’ Looks at Life in Gaza as It's Really Led
Written by Bill Esler
“The Shroud Maker” is a look into the world of Hajja Souad, an 84-year-old Palestinian seamstress, plying her artisanal trade amid the rise and fall of violence in Gaza City adjacent to Israel. Her specialty: shrouds used in Islamic funerals to wrap the deceased. Unfortunately for the world, Souad’s business…
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Theatre in Review
Friday, 17 March 2023 19:56
Keep on Turnin', Keep on Burnin'; TINA- The Tina Turner Musical Rolling through Chicago at Nederlander Theater
Written by Kendall Royzen
In 2023, “iconic” is a word often used hyperbolically. It is flippantly used to describe and categorize an incredible movie, a famous influencer clap back, a beautiful piece of fashion, or even used to describe a viral TikTok video. When we overuse or misuse a word enough it loses its…
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Theatre in Review
Sunday, 12 March 2023 20:22
Can You Tell Me How to Get To; Avenue Q at Northlight Theater
Written by Kendall Royzen
On a rather ordinary winter day, I settled in to binge-watch Big Little Lies on HBO. In the show, the community of upper-class suburbia signs a petition to ban a musical from performing in the local theater. The play was against the community values, they argued, handling issues of racism,…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Tuesday, 14 March 2023 11:13
Seriously Entertaining: Rajiv Joseph's 'Describe the Night' in Chicago Premiere at Steppenwolf
Written by Bill Esler
“Describe the Night” at Steppenwolf is serious theater that is seriously entertaining. Intellectually challenging yet side-splittingly funny, it has sat with me for days after as I’ve puzzled over what it is telling us. Written by celebrated playwright Rajiv Joseph, whose sly wit enthralled audiences in Steppenwolf’s “Guards at the…
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Theatre in Review
Thursday, 09 March 2023 13:20
It's the Hard Knock Life for "Annie" at Cadillac Palace
Written by CJ Burroughs
The first movie I remember seeing in a movie theater was John Huston’s 80s film version of Annie — the one with Albert Finney as Daddy Warbucks and Carole Burnett as Miss Hanigan. Burnett’s drunken spinster entertained little me nearly as much as the film’s climax high atop the steel…
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Theatre in Review
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It’s hard to imagine a musical about the inception of the Declaration of Independence being interesting. It’s even harder to imagine that it can still be interesting in the shadow of arguably the most beloved American history musical, ‘Hamilton’, but the new production of ‘1776’ is more than just interesting,…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Thursday, 02 March 2023 22:07
Good Not Great; You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown at Marriot Theater
Written by Kendall Royzen
There is a lot of bad content out there, particularly regarding family programming. Any parent forced to endure an hour of Cocomelon will tell you, not every show is a banger or cult classic in the making. When modern programming fails, it is nice to know we can reach into…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Saturday, 25 February 2023 15:05
Review: Remy Bumppo's 'Anna in the Tropics' at Theater Wit
Written by John Accrocco
What does a cigar factory in 1920s Florida have to do with Tolstoy’s epic novel ‘Anna Karenina’? More than you might think it turns out. In Nilo Cruz’s 2003 Pulitzer Prize winning play ‘Anna in the Tropics’, cigar rollers working in a factory are inspired when a new lector reads…
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Theatre in Review
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Friday, 24 February 2023 16:50
Signed, Sealed, Really Delivers Musical Essence of Stevie Wonder
Written by Bill Esler
“Signed, Sealed, Delivered: A Stevie Wonder Experience with John-Mark McGaha” was a warm refuge from the frigid Chicago weather for its opening night February 23. The Mercury Theater at Southport in Wrigleyville is the perfect venue for a show like this, intimate but big enough for the inevitable crowds of…
Published in
Theatre in Review
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Tuesday, 21 February 2023 17:44
The Mountaintop – He’s a man, He’s just a man.
Written by Wesley David
“Thank you very kindly, my friends. As I listened to Ralph Abernathy and his eloquent and generous introduction and then thought about myself, I wondered who he was talking about.” Opening to the “I’ve Been to The Mountaintop” sermon by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Katori Hall’s deceptively simple play…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Wednesday, 22 February 2023 01:52
At Court Theatre, a Perfect Production of Caryl Churchill’s Intriguing ‘Fen’
Written by Bill Esler
Caryl Churchill’s ‘Fen’ is a tragic love story laid out against a complicated backdrop. Set in the 1980s, we meet Val (Cruz Gonzalez-Cadel), a mother of two, who wants to leave her husband because she has fallen for another man, Frank (Alex Goodrich). She planned for them to take her…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Friday, 17 February 2023 13:05
Review: 'Anna Karenina' at Lyric Opera House
Written by John Accrocco
Happy ballets are alike; every unhappy ballet is unhappy in its own way. Joffrey Ballet brings their haunting production of ‘Anna Karenina’ to the Lyric Opera House for a brief revival. It’s easy to see why this new ballet was such a hit when it held its world premiere in…
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Theatre in Review
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Monday, 13 February 2023 16:27
Paramount's 'Into the Woods' is a Spectacular Musical for "Happily Ever After"
Written by Kimberly Katz
Just on the heels of a very successful run of The Sound of Music, the three-hour production of Stephen Sondheim's Tony Award winning Into the Woods at the lushly appointed art deco Paramount Theatre is here to delight another round of theatregoers. Simply stunning and jam-packed with talent and energy, Paramount gives…
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Theatre in Review
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Midsommer Flight to present free production of Shakespeare’s ROMEO AND JULIET, June 28 – August 4 in six Chicago parks
Written by Buzz Center StageMidsommer Flight, a company that has brought free performances of Shakespeare's plays to Chicago Park District parks since 2012, will present a fully staged ROMEO AND JULIET - one of the Bard's most popular tragedies - as its 2024 free Shakespeare… -
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Token Theatre to produce new play directed by Emmy winner Alan Muroaka
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Review: Murder in the Cathedral at City Lit Theater
Written by Sarz MaxwellI arrived at City Lit Theater’s MURDER IN THE CATHEDRAL expecting a heavy, serious, doubtless thought-provoking but rather intimidating major work of literature. By the end of the performance, I wanted to rush out, buy the book and read it…
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