Wednesday, 05 April 2017 17:45
Immersed in the Grim Working World of Those Beyond Caring
Written by Bill Esler
Pass through the swinging vinyl flap doors and you find yourself not inside Lookingglass Theatre, but immersed instead in the ongoing performance of Alexander Zeldin’s social activism play, Beyond Caring. The audience gathers under the noxious glare of fluorescent tubes, facing towering grimy walls in a windowless, industrial building workroom.…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Tuesday, 04 April 2017 12:01
"Silent Sky" A Fitting Tribute to the Long Forgotten Mother of Modern Astronomy
Written by Kimberly Katz
Some of us are born with a passion, a passion for music or art or math. In the case of First Folio’s Silent Sky, one woman gives up almost everything in her personal life because she senses furiously, in her heart, that HER passion is going to lead to a…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Saturday, 01 April 2017 13:27
In To America an Enlightening Look at Immigration
Written by Ken Payne
Griffin Theatre’s In To America is a stark reminder of the contributions made by the many immigrants that have come from all around the world and have made the United States what it is today. In writer Bill Massolia’s multicultural story, American history is retold by several immigrant narratives where…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Tagged under
- In ToAmerica
- Griffin Theatre Company
- Den Theatre
- Bill Massolia
- Dorothy Milne
- Juanita Andersen
- Katie Campbell
- Jennifer Cheung
- Aneisa Hicks
- Christopher W Jones
- Francisco Lopez
- Adam Marcantoni
- Sean McGill
- Rasika Ranganathan
- Omer Abbas Salem
- Scott Shimizu
- Jason VonRohn
- Elizabeth Hope Williams
- Ken Payne
- Immigration
- Buzz Center Stage
Thursday, 30 March 2017 13:43
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band Live Is Guaranteed to Raise a Smile
Written by Bill Esler
The promise of hearing Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band performed live in its entirety drove me to RAIN, the Beatles' tribute band playing at the Oriental Theater. But the show is much more than that. Perfectly controlled, with exactingly beat and chord progressions, RAIN lovingly renders selections from the…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Wednesday, 29 March 2017 19:49
The House Theatre's Great and Terrible Wizard of Oz Reinvents Baum's Classic
Written by Vika Lvova
The House Theatre is currently performing one of its past productions, The Great and Terrible Wizard of Oz, Phillip Klapperich’s 2005 spin on L. Frank Baum’s classic Wizard of Oz. First produced by House Theatre of Chicago in their third season, Klappernich’s The Great and Terrible Wizard of Oz is…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Sunday, 26 March 2017 10:19
Family Loyalties are Tested in By the Water
Written by Michaelle Bradford
Devastation permeates the set and plot of the Northlight Theatre’s Midwest premiere of By the Water – a powerful and moving production, written by Sharyn Rothstein and directed by Cody Estle, about a Staten Island, New York, family dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. Marty and Mary Murphy (Francis…
Published in
Theatre in Review
It's not often you'll hear cool and the play 'Picnic' in the same sentence, but director Will Davis' new version at American Theater Company is just that. This is William Inge's 1953 Pulitzer Prize winner as you've never seen it before. For many, 'Picnic' triggers high school boredom flashbacks. When…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Wednesday, 22 March 2017 15:18
A Comic Delight, Destiny of Desire Also Has Plenty of Smart and Sexy
Written by Kimberly Katz
Destiny of Desire begins with the actors breaking the fourth wall, walking among the audience, encouraging them to relax and have fun. As they complete their tasks setting up the empty Goodman soundstage on which the telenovela we are about to watch is being shot, the entire cast announces with…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Tagged under
After a 146-year run, Ringling Bros. Circus, is finally bringing down its curtain for what has been tabbed as “The Greatest Show on Earth”. That’s right. With final shows in May of 2017, one of the world’s most popular events will come to a close after nearly a century and…
Published in
Theatre in Review
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The Chicago premiere of a Tom Stoppard play is one of the most hotly anticipated events of this season. We’re never short for great Stoppard productions in this town, but The Hard Problem was Stoppard’s first new play in nine years when it debuted in 2015, and since Court Theatre’s…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Wednesday, 15 March 2017 01:31
Do You Like To Laugh Until It Hurts? Spamilton Delivers
Written by Bill Esler
The hip-hop Broadway in Chicago sensation Hamilton, which, has spawned a secondary market in pricey theater tickets, has also delivered a pair of spin-offs. Shamilton, an improv riff at the Apollo, and now, notably, Spamilton, a send up of the original musical about the founding fathers of the U.S. Is…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Wednesday, 15 March 2017 19:16
10 Out of 12 Offers an Eye-opening, Behind the Scenes Look into Theater Production
Written by Ken Payne
Ever wonder what happens behind the scenes leading up to opening night at the theater? Do you have any idea how much detail goes into a stage production? Can you imagine the funny moments that could take place while building a set or rehearsing lines? Do directors really get as…
Published in
Theatre in Review
"The Wiz" is a perfect collision of disco and show tunes. Appearing on Broadway in 1975, "The Wiz" went on to win the Tony for Best Musical. Though it was not the first all-black production on Broadway, the cross-over appeal of its music made it a sensation. A few years…
Published in
Theatre in Review
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