You know if a musical wins the Pulitzer, it’s going to be a sad one. Creative team Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey took home the 2010 Pulitzer for ‘Next to Normal’, an award rarely given to musical theatre. David Cromer returns to Writers Theatre to direct this highly anticipated revival.…
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Theatre in Review
Sunday, 19 May 2019 02:47
Shakespeare With Spectacle: Expect the Unexpected in Goodman’s Delightful Winter’s Tale
Written by Bill Esler
Goodman Theatre’s staging of The Winter’s Tale, loaded with spectacle, would have seemed ridiculous and even unanchored 20 years ago. But with the surging popularity of those magical realms in the movies of the Marvel Universe – Black Panther, Captain Marvel, Avengers: Endgame - where characters die, then return, and…
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Theatre in Review
When having non-stop conversations in his head and agonizing over the most mundane decisions becomes daily reality of living with OCD, finding a cure turns into obsession. Of course it does. The Mushroom Cure is a comedian Adam Strauss’ true tale of his ongoing battle with OCD. Though he sees…
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Theatre in Review
Sunday, 12 May 2019 23:38
It’s Mad, Beat, Hip, & Gone, and Here’s Why It’s Worth Watching
Written by Bill Esler
Promethean Theatre Ensemble has brought to stage a very good production of Mad, Beat, Hip & Gone, a play that is a riff on the Beat Generation literary movement – specifically drawing from Jack Kerouac’s 1957 novel, On the Road. The script by Steve Dietz (Private Eyes) adopts aspects of…
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Theatre in Review
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I have to admit up front - I am a full-on West Side Story fan girl. I have seen the movie, released in 1961, probably 100 times. I know the plot, the words to every song, the dance moves, and have viscerally felt the teenage angst that is the underlying…
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Theatre in Review
Saturday, 04 May 2019 13:09
Review: 'American Girl Live' at Broadway Playhouse
Written by CJ Burroughs
I know I’m not the target audience of the current production at the Broadway Playhouse (or of the American Girl store nearby), but I suppose my wallet is. What I do know is that my six-year-old daughter was excited for the show, and I was excited to watch her watch…
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Theatre in Review
"If you're not going to grow then don’t live," says Hazel in Lucy Kirkwood's play 'The Children' now running at Steppenwolf. Directed by Jonathan Berry, 'The Children' makes its area debut after extended runs on Broadway and West End. A well-cast trio of Chicago favorites will surely entice audiences. In…
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Theatre in Review
Sunday, 05 May 2019 16:39
Funny, Weighty and Good: A True Story of the Civil Rights Freedom Riders
Written by Bill Esler
Too Heavy for Your Pocket at TimeLine Theatre is both an important play, and a good one. Powerful, but not too heavy to bear, with a rock-star cast directed by Ron OJ Parsons, it tells the story of the Freedom Riders – groups of blacks and whites who traveled through…
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Theatre in Review
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Wednesday, 01 May 2019 21:23
Kick off your summer with Handbag's 'Golden Girls Vol. 3'
Written by Kimberly Katz
I saw this adorable show on the night of the recent APRIL snowstorm in Chicago and, as per usual, the Fab Four - Dorothy, Rose Blanche and Sophia - instantly warmed up my night with explosive laughter! “Golden Girls Vol. 3” features two great episodes, the first being "Caged Miami…
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Theatre in Review
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Saturday, 27 April 2019 13:15
We said that we wouldn’t call it “A Whale of a Tale” - COT's Moby Dick
Written by William and Margaret Swain
Chicago Opera Theater presented the new opera, Moby Dick, by Jake Heggie and Gene Scheer, in a brave, intelligent, and strikingly beautiful performance last Thursday at the Harris Theater in Chicago. Usually, the old adage that “the whole is greater than the sum of the parts” seems well suited to…
Published in
Theatre in Review
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- MobyDick
- COT
- Chicago Opera Theater
- Harris Theater for Music and Dance
- Richard Cox
- Jake Heggie
- Gene Scheer
- Captain Ahab
- Aleksey Bogdanov
- Andrew Bidlack
- Vince Wallace
- Nick Ward
- David Martin Jaques
- Lidiya Yankovskaya
- Kristine McIntyre
- William Swain
- Margaret Swain
- Chicago
- Opera
- theatre
- Buzz Center Stage
- Moby Dick
Sunday, 28 April 2019 19:43
Language Rooms Looks At Unsettling Nature of Our Contemporary Inquisitions
Written by Bill Esler
Language Rooms is a convincing portrait of the hidden world of government interrogators. These individuals use cajolery and flattery, or fear and intimidation, to persuade individuals to spill their secrets – all on behalf of securing the safety of the state. This two-act piece (one intermission) flies by, as the…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Friday, 26 April 2019 23:01
Two Days in Court: This Dramatic Pairing Enriches Both Plays
Written by Bill Esler
City Lit Theater artistic director Terry McCabe brings us an inspired pairing with Two Days in Court, a double-bill of one act plays with a legal theme - and pieces not often seen. The Devil & Daniel Webster is a 1938 play about the famed 19th century orator who reclaims…
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Theatre in Review
Saturday, 20 April 2019 14:02
Marriott's 'Footloose' will kickstart your Spring with love and joy!
Written by Kimberly Katz
I had a blast enjoying this production of ‘Footloose the Musical’ based on the 1984 movie starring Kevin Bacon and so did the opening night audience who roared their approval and stopped the show after the rousing rendition by Ariel played with real sass and excitement by Lucy Godinez of…
Published in
Theatre in Review
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Citadel's 'A Jukebox for the Algonquin" - The Reality of Life in a Senior Center sets the Stage for Tunes, Friendship and Rebellion!
Written by Kimberly KatzCitadel’s latest production, A Jukebox for the Algonquin, truly captured my heart. It’s a refreshing reminder that as we age, life doesn’t lose its spark—it merely shifts to a new rhythm, one filled with laughter, camaraderie, and unexpected joys. This… -
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