What brings people together? Similar interest, physical attraction, and availability? Or could it be just a side effect of the medication the doctor prescribed? Strawdog Theatre Company kicks their 32nd season off with the Chicago Premier of Lucy Prebble’s The Effect.

Tristan, a cheerful young man hungry to see the world, and Connie, a bright young woman unsure of her purpose in life, volunteer as subjects for a new antidepressant. The study is being monitored by Dr. Lorna James who battles with her own depression. From the moment they take their first dosage of this new medication, Connie and Tristan find themselves falling in love. An attraction that appears as a blessing to Tristan but troubling to Connie who is already in a relationship with an older man. As the experiment proceeds, and the dosage Tristan and Connie ingest increase, so does their attraction with one another. Connie offers that the antidepressant could very well be the reason they are willing to change their lives for one another. Believing what is pulling them together is simply a side effect. That’s until one of them finds out that the other is on a placebo.

Acclaimed writer Lucy Prebble, Co-Executive Producer and Co-writer of HBO new hit show Succession has created an impressive catalog. The Effect originally premiered at the National Theater and won the Critic’s Circle Award for Best New Play and has been dazzling audiences since then. The dialogue feels authentic to the point that it hurts. Free of any restraint, allowing the characters to reveal the best and worst part of themselves. 

Chicago based director Elly Green gives displays The Effect on a cube shape stage. Using the monitor in the center as into the character’s dosage amount, their EKG, and bio. It’s presented in a way that to make the audience feel like doctors sitting before the stage in lab coats, analyzing the experiment at hand. The production very well deserved an applause along with the actors for catapulting the audience into the play like a 2001: A Space Odyssey trip in a vortex of lights.

Each actor holds their own in this fine play, but the one I want to place the spotlight on is Justine C. Turner who plays Dr. Lorna James. She handles the transition from a calm, collected doctor doing her job to a broken woman in an astounding way. As if you’re watching Lady Macbeth struggle to rub that damn spot from her clothes for an entire half of a play. 

The Effect is modern love tale that deeply absorbs the reality of prescribed medications and its weight in our society. These new medicines, its shady providers or overuse by the consumer, brings new questions for this generation and others following to answer. We must find a balance between ourselves and this new medicine. Establish a way we use them to aid us through our everyday lives and not hinder or disrupt. The Effect takes on this subject with intellect, humor, and plenty of heart. 

Through November 23, 2019 at Strawdog Theatre.

How many times have you heard someone say they went to see a western/zombie play? Most people would dismiss the idea of a western/zombie story especially one being played out on a stage. The two genres don’t seem to mesh well together when you put them in the same sentence. The western is a genre of post-Civil War America. The genre comes with a bravado similar to Arthurian mythology. The zombie genre has mostly been a contemporary tale. Usually a terrifying result of some wacky science experiment. Since The Walking Dead or Zombieland, the genre has seen a resurgence. We enjoy playing with the idea of “what if". The zombie and/ or zombie invasion has become a way to study relationships when love ones die and resurrect into a dangerous, poisonous being. Bill Daniel’s Hell Followed With Her attacks this study and blends it with drama you can only find in a well-written Western.

Willow Parker is a hardened bounty hunter out for revenge. For the two years, she’s travel far and wide to locate a man named Glanton, who muredered her family after escaping prison. She finds him in Dodge, Texas, along with a few other shady characters in a dimpy lit saloon. The zombie invasion starts of as subtle, with the town’s doctor mulling over the unusual bite marks he discovered from the last thirteen patients. As tensions skyrocket, the disease spread all over Dodge, and the sick have their sights set on the saloon where they can hear gunshots being fired.

Later, Willow Parker reveals that the disease has been following her throughout her journey for revenge. Every town she passed by is swallowed by the disease, which brings the two genres together in an interesting way. Though the origin of the disease is never revealed nor is there any explanation in the connection between the disease and Willow Parker’s revenge, the parallel adds an excitement foreign to the Western genre. An excitement that the genre could use (except for stuff like that 2011 film Cowboys and Aliens. That movie should cover the alien invasion angle). Without explanation, the audience can understand that the disease is a manifestation of Parker’s revenge. Where some revenge stories glorify the idea for an eye for an eye, Hell Followed With Her examines the revenge story as a dark passage that comes with heavy consequences when traveled.

Sophia Rosado gives a reserve performance as Willow Parker that works well with the cold-hearted character, but Krista D’Agostino, as Dr. Haxton is magnificent. Laying it all out on the stage, you feel her confusion, her sorrow, and panic. Out of all of the tough and rough characters in the play, hers is the most relatable. The intellectual trying to make sense of something supernatural.

The first half rolls along and ends on a high note that leaves the audience anxiously waiting for the outcome. But when the second half comes along it's stuffed with two flashbacks. One detailing a time when Willow Parker and another infamous bounty hunter Cole White met in Mexico. The other Glanton describes the night he murdered Parker’s parents. The play drags for the last fifteen minutes. A dice game is used as an attempt to intensify the moment but end up being unnecessary along with a shaky fight scene and long pauses in between lines. By the time the ending finally arrives, it ends the same it began with a song written by Bill Daniel called Willow’s Song. Sophia’s silky smooth voice almost makes up for the second half, but one may still leave their seat wishing there was smoother road to the end.

Despite the second-half’s length, Hell Followed With Her brings a different kind of story to the stage that blends well with the Halloween season. I challenge anyone that questions the idea of a western/zombie play being any good to see this show. It will shock you, make you laugh, and possibly change your mind on what’s possible and what’s not.

Through November 9th, 2019 at The Den Theater.

The season of fall has arrived. The skies are filled with clouds, the leaves have turned orange and brown and have  trickled down onto the ground. As the city  grows darker so does our theatre. The Barrens Theater Company kicks down the door to start the Halloween season with an interactive production where you play the jury for the trial of Elizabeth Bathory, one off the most famous vampires of all time. Bloody Bathory offers an alternative history where you will experience her side of the story.

Millie Rose’s Bloody Bathory is the story of 16th century Countess Eliza Bathory and her trial for murder. Through detailed accounts from various characters the audience is informed of Elizabeth’s past and the crimes they swear she did or did not commit. From there, the audience is in control of who and where they want to tell them the story. Millie Rose shows herself to have a talent for writing dialogue that seemed authentic despite the story’s expression of ghosts, demons, and witches. 

The production is located at the Epworth United Methodist Church which is an ideal setting for the dark story to unfold. The brownstone building sits in the shadows of Kenmore Ave with dark, wide doors that creak loudly when opened. The high ceiling, pale lighting, uneven walls with cracks running in every direction add into the eerie vibration felt throughout the play. The production absorbs the church’s interior and exterior. Inviting the city to involve itself with the characters and audience as they search for a dead body.

Millie Rose stars in her own play as Elizabeth Bathory and gives a decent performance in the role. The dozen actors that surround her give honest performances and do a fine job staying in character as they direct and interact with the audience. Each character provides a few pages worth of information that can be difficult to decipher and retain. The production, directed by Chicago based Molly H. Donahue, is designed in a way where the audience is forced to experience the “main” scenes, but those scenes fail at providing a clear picture of what exactly is going on. The “optional” scenes outside of the “main” scenes leave themselves vulnerable for an audience member to walk into and have no idea what’s going on, or why it’s happening, leading them to wonder why they should care. 

Bloody Bathory provides a fun alternative for families and couples to dive into for the Halloween season. The freedom it provides for the audience can suit everyone. The young can enjoy the thrill of running behind some characters while the older can walk in stride and nitpick which character they rather follow. The characters may be forgettable along with the plot, but Bloody Bathory will leave you with an unforgettable experience.

Through November 16, 2019 at Epworth United Methodist Church.

What’s the big deal about Sherlock Holmes? What is it that makes Sir Arthur Conan Doyle work some of the most well-known mysteries of all time? Sherlock Holmes and his adventures were published over a century ago, yet Doyle's writing has continuously surfaced through time on film, television, and theater. Could it be that Sherlock Holmes is simply a magnetic character that draws you in with his attention to detail, bravery, intellect, and supreme confidence? Or is it Doyle’s swift pen and ability to craft a memorable mystery? Terry McCabe’s adaption of The Hound of Baskervilles at City Lit Theater showcases Doyle’s writing at its finest.

Sir James Mortimer requests the service of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson after his friend Sir Charles Baskerville dies suddenly from a heart attack. The expression on his face was one of horror. He goes to tell the infamous tale of the hound that haunts the men of Baskervilles and reveals that he discovered paw prints near the scene of the crime. Sherlock finds the tale of the hound ridiculous, but the details of the case interest him enough to investigate. Baskerville’s heir, Henry Baskerville, arrives from America to claim his inheritance with an anonymous note warning him to stay away for Baskerville’s Hall. Out of fear for Henry’s life, Holmes task Dr. Watson to accompany Henry and Mortimer to the Baskerville’s Hall, an isolated mansion surrounded by miles of wild moor. There Dr. Watson encounters shady characters, sounds of horror at night, and an escaped prisoner hiding among the moor. Holmes and Watson uncover it all and in the end discover that the truth was more terrifying than what they’d imagined.

James Sparling (Sherlock Holmes) appears on the stage as an almost spitting image of the great detective. He steps on and off the stage and snatches the audience’s attention with his movement and spot-on delivery. Adam Bitterman (Dr. Watson) reprises the role for the third time at City Lit theater. Bitterman’s talent and experience with the character may very well be the reason why he takes such a vigor command of the role. In this adaption, Bitterman is tasked to narrate and drive the play and does it without skipping a beat.

At a theater that was founded in 1979, City Lit continues to host gripping productions, but the small stage inevitably fails its material. The Hound of Baskerville is a story involving chase, a dark, foggy moor, an isolated mansion, and a vicious hound. These are elements that are left up to the imagination of the audience. Though this doesn’t ruin the production it gives moments of disappointment that makes you yearn to see a hound that’s asleep somewhere far away.

Bitterman’s performance allows the audience to understand why Doyle never wrote a mystery from Sherlock’s perspective. To watch Sherlock as Watson does and anticipate his arrival, wait anxiously for his conclusions, intertwines with the excitement of the mystery. Dr. Watson has never been as alluring as his counterpart, but he also never lost his ability to remain the most relatable character in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s world.

Through November 10, 2019 at City Lit Theater.

There are a few plays that focus on the love between two brothers. There are even fewer that will allow you to understand the brother’s fears, desires, and dreams throughout their heartfelt journey together. A story of two brothers who not only try to find peace between each other but peace within the gritty environment they inherited. The second installment of acclaimed playwright and screenwriter Tarell Alvin McCarney’s Brother/Sisters trilogy, The Brothers Size, returns to the Steppenwolf theatre for the first time since its celebrated Chicago 2010 premiere.

The Brothers Size is the story of Oshoosi Size and his return home from prison. He lives with his tough older brother, Ogun Size, who runs an auto shop by himself. Ogun pushes Oshoosi to find work and to start rebuilding his life, but Oshoosi has bigger dreams than his older sibling and fantasizes himself in the company of a woman or driving around without a care in the world with his best friend, Elegba. The brother’s opposing views on life cause them to clash. Challenging them to find a way to understand one another. Elegba jumps in and out of Ogun and Oshoosi's life as a devoted friend who served time alongside Oshoosi. Oshoosi embraces Elegba as not only a friend but sometimes a lover, but Ogun can’t help but see Elegba as a threat.

Director Monty Cole brings this play to life with a dark, mulch covered stage that evokes the feeling of being inside an industrial environment where men work under a full moon with beads of sweat dripping off their fingertips; dreaming of better days. The stage is a reflection of the hard labor Ogun pushes upon himself to maintain. A life Oshoosi shuns away from, seeking a paradise his brother can never understand. After Oshoosi and Elegba find himself in trouble with the law again, Ogun is left with a decision that could change not only his brother’s life but his own.

McCraney's In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue was the basis for the Oscar-winning film Moonlight directed by Barry Jenkins, for which McCraney and Jenkins won an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay. The middle piece of his acclaimed triptych is another brilliant piece from McCraney’s catalog. The Brothers Size is written with a raw and poetic language, enriched with West African Yoruba mythology. Not only are the characters borrowed from its tales, but the play uses the mythology as a device to drive the story. In the first scene, each character enters the stage to the beat of a drum. They’re chanting and stomping the stage barefooted, side by side, connecting to their ancestors who walked around as beautiful, free men. An undeniable parallel as each character throughout the play struggles to find freedom within themselves.

In his Steppenwolf debut, Patrick Agada (Oshoosi Size) brings an electrifying energy to the stage that has to be pointed out. Manny Buckley (Ogun Size) and Rashaad Hall (Elegeba) give passionate performances that are not overshadowed by Agada’s nor superior. They weave together into a sweet harmony similar to a jazz ensemble that’s been playing together for years. When they share the stage, their performances melt together into a stunning work of art, and when its time to stand out on their own they do so in a way that seems effortless.

McCarney quoted: "The prison industrial complex as we know it...destroys families—and changes lives forever." The Brothers Size gives insight into the reality of a loved one trapped in a system that was never designed for him/her to succeed. It unveils the depth of brotherly love and how the grief caused by this complex is not a burden solely rested on those who’ve been imprisoned but shared with the loved ones they left behind.

Through October 19, 2019 at Steppenwolf Theatre.

Chicago is a blue-collar town that loves its blue-collar music. Blues, jazz, soul, punk, heavy metal, and hip hop. Each of these genres has been taken to new heights by legendary Chicagoans but were ultimately borrowed from their originators. That all changed in the early ’80s, from the underground came a sound we now know as House music. A bricolage of high diva vocals, Italo disco, turntables, and a 909-beat machine. The musical golden child of Chicago is an unorthodox sound that’s injected euphoria into the ears of listeners around the world. A sound that’s been studied, experimented and replicated by the most popular DJs of our time and can still be heard on the Billboard Hot 100 today. 'Revolution Chicago' is the play that steps up to the task of telling the story of House music’s creation and rise. It wants you to leave the building pumping your fist high in the air but instead leaves you wondering if that story was even told.

'Revolution Chicago' is the story of Chicago’s very own Mickey “Mixin” Oliver and his rise as a celebrated DJ. Beginning with Mickey Oliver getting ready to play the biggest show of his life in Las Vegas then goes into a long flashback of Mickey’s humble beginnings, his troubles at home and how it inspired his approach to music. The story then gives us the tale of Chicago’s WBMX radio and how it struggled to compete with the other popular, well-funded radio stations. WBMX radio program director Lee Michaels has an epiphany that tells him to recruit the hottest DJ’s in town and broadcast their talents to revitalize the program. The star DJ being, of course, Mickey Oliver.

From there, it’s hard to explain where the play takes you. You get moments of the actors dancing to house music to attempts of sketch-like comedy to attempts of a heartfelt musical number. Eventually, the play goes back to the main story and tops it off with the success of House music and Mickey Oliver and then the end.

Mickey Oliver’s 'Revolution Chicago'; written, directed and music by Mickey Oliver, calls itself a lighthearted musical with a comedy twist. The play achieves its light-heartedness by not taking itself too seriously except for that one scene where Mickey learns of House Music pioneer Freddie Knuckles death. That scene is then followed by a sad musical number that leaves you wondering if Freddie Knuckles was ever mentioned earlier in the play.

Unfortunately, Revolution falls flat on almost every aspect it tries to achieve. As a comedy, the jokes the characters tell one another are cheesy and forced. The comedic characters come off as awkward and out of place. It wants to be a musical, but the numbers are not there to move the story along nor do they enhance the story in any way. Their musical pieces inserted in between scenes to showcase Mickey Oliver’s earlier work.

However, Revolution’s young cast does well in showcasing their talents on a very intimate stage. They carry the task to sing, dance, and move props on and off the stage. They do it all with ample energy, but their performances suffer because the material they have to work with is very, very dry. The play wants you to feel for Mickey Oliver’s character. They want you to laugh at, laugh with, and care for him (and only him). Instead, the play will have you scratching your head from beginning to end.

The beginnings of House music, those who started the movement, and its impact is a story that needs to be told. 'Revolution Chicago' wants to provide that story but loses its way in wanting to be multiple things at the same time and loses its audience by being unsuccessful in all of them.

Through September 29 at Stage 773.

It’s a rainy night in Edinburgh, a divorce lawyer name Helena is sitting alone in the corner of a pub. She has just been stood up by her lover who so happened to be married to another woman. Across the room is a petty criminal named Bob who’s reading Notes from Underground by Fyodor Dostoevsky to cheer him up, somber from a life he feels is unfulfilled. Helena takes a chance and approaches Bob with a bottle of wine in her hand. From there, the characters catapult the audience into a chaotic weekend and will give you a theatre experience that will have you filled with bliss and laughter.

David Greig’s 'Midsummer (A Play with Songs)' is a delightful retelling of a weekend Bob, and Helena never expected to be the weekend that would change their lives forever. They grab the audience by the arm and pull them into the lives of two middle-aged adults tormented by an unsatisfaction with the outcome of their lives. Two lost souls that clash together out of desperation to feel a connection. After a one night stand, they conclude that they can never be compatible, but, of course, life has a funny way of keeping them together.  

In this unconventional romantic comedy, Bob and Helena not only poke fun at themselves and the dozen characters they interact with, but they take moments to rant away the misgivings of life. They do so in such an elegant and humorous way that doesn’t force the audience to feel sorry for them but rather feel connected to them. Midsummer is a play that calls for the two main actors to play sixteen parts between them, play an instrument, act and sing wonderfully and do this all in a Scottish accent. A challenge well accepted by Chicago celebrated Chaon Cross and Patrick Mulvey. Both actors show a chemistry that comes across as natural as two college buddies taking a night out on the town. 

Chaon Cross is a joy to watch. A force that draws you in with her passionate performance. In a production where the actors simply move to the side, rather than leave the stage, while the other takes the spotlight. Chaon Cross calls for your attention even in the shadows of the background. 

In saying that, Patrick Mulvey, who this past spring played the title role in David Auburn’s The Adventures of Augie March, performance is not to be overlooked. He will have you laughing out loud from beginning to end and absorbs the character of Bob so well it’s hard to imagine anyone else filling in that role. 

By calling itself a play with songs and not just a musical, the play strips away the notion that you will be sitting through a dry tale that forces long musical numbers in your ears. Instead, Midsummer offers easy listening acoustics with quirky lyrics that enhances the story rather than push it along. Certain songs will follow you well after the show is over. One may bubble up in the back of your head after waking up to a nasty hangover; "The Hangover Song" or you may find yourself quietly singing the chorus of a song called "Japanese Rope Bondage" in the shower (I mean, the play has a song called "The Song of Bob’s Cock"). This alone should give you an indication that this production will take you to a place you may have never been before.   

If you have ever watched a Hollywood produced rom-com in the last twenty years, you will find 'Midsummer’s' world familiar. The plot hits all the points you’ve seen in almost every romantic comedies. And there’s nothing wrong with that. It wouldn’t be a romantic comedy if there weren’t a risk of the relationship to never be or a secret Bob and Helena hide from each other to keep you involved. Despite its familiarity, the characters will also lead you into refreshing avenues as they tell their story. One example is when Bob leads you into his mind as he battles with his consciousness with the fact that his youth is long gone. 

In a theatre where you could sit on the top row and toss a quarter onto the stage with a flick of the wrist, there’s seem to be no limit on what the actors can do on and off the stage. Bob and Helena invites you into the bedroom they shared, inside their minds, and they will hand you their heart. They dare you to not only listen but to part take. To join in as they sing and dance and interact as they stumble around the stage in a hangover haze. They’ll have you looking left and right and out your chair to get a better view of the moment even if you’re sitting in the front row. 'Midsummer (A Play with Songs)' is a smart and exciting gem that would be a shame to miss. 

'Midsummer (A Play with Songs)' runs through October 6, 2019, at Greenhouse Theatre Center on Lincoln Ave.