The Court Theatre’s revival of Athol Fugard’s classic Apartheid-era polemic Sizwe Banzi is Dead is the culmination of the collaborative Chicago Fugard Festival (other works were performed by the Remy Bumppo Theatre Company and TimeLine Theatre). The play is a stark look at the impact of South African Apartheid policies…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Friday, 04 June 2010 22:21
You’re So Lucky You’re My Best Friend: The Odd Couple shows that opposites do attract
Written by Kendall Royzen
They say opposites attract. So what do you get when a recently divorced sportswriter and eternal bachelor acquires an uptight, compulsive hypochondriac as a roommate? You get a polarized reaction that is pure comedic gold. Neil Simon’s The Odd Couple comes to life at the Raven Theater with a witty…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Tuesday, 01 June 2010 21:09
Kim Katz Platinum Plus - “Fuerza Bruta” is Sensual, Exciting, and Life Affirming!
Written by Kimberly Katz
“Fuerza Bruta: Look Up” was hands down the most exciting, sensual, life affirming theater piece I have seen in years! From the moment you enter the theater, Fuerza Bruta, which means “Look Up”, takes the "fourth wall" and literally breaks it over the audience's head - explosive! When I…
Published in
Theatre in Review
From the Neo-Futurists website: Do you have what it takes to lord over your employees or are you doomed to a life in the mailroom? Find out in the Neo-Futurists' new interactive live musical game show. CRISIS is modeled after classic game shows of the 70's, 80's and 90's, challenging…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Tuesday, 25 May 2010 08:23
It Was A Momentary Lapse of Judgment: The Gay American at the Side Project Theater
Written by Kendall Royzen
The dimly-lit, small storefront Side Project Theater in Rogers Park lends itself perfectly as the setting of a seedy, closed-door meeting in which a closeted senator and his barely legal boy-toy would rendezvous; combine that with a superb cast and a flawless screenplay and the result is a the perfect-storm…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Improv. The very word can evoke an immediate response of laughter, or horror. So what a perfect combination it would make to combine Improv with horror? “Slasher” The Improvised Horror Show playing Fridays at 11:30 at the Gorilla Tango Theater combines improve with the classic formula of a horror flick.…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Thursday, 06 May 2010 00:06
Puppets Make Everything in Life Better for Now: A Review of Avenue Q
Kendall Hartenstine
When I heard of a Broadway musical starring foul-mouthed puppets I thought this could just possibly be the best thing ever. Avenue Q did not disappoint. It exceeded all of my expectations and more by delivering hilarious dialogue, witty songs and full frontal puppet nudity (which is always shocking). In…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Wednesday, 28 April 2010 19:26
Billy Elliot – Good, but Not the Best Musical Ever
Written by Ken Payne
If you want dancing – amazing dancing, then yes, “Billy Elliot” certainly delivers, and does so with flair, imagination and precision. However, if it’s music you want to take home with you and hum around the house, you might be hard pressed to remember any of it. Despite the fact…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Friday, 16 April 2010 16:15
Into The Woods – Porchlight Music Theatre, April 9 – May 30, 2010
Miguel Harvey
Porchlight Music Theatre debuts a revival of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s modern classic Into The Woods this week at The Theatre Building on Belmont Ave. Though the show still has its kinks, a snappy pace (crucial for most Sondheim musicals), excellent set design, and some good performances make this…
Published in
Theatre in Review
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Thursday, 15 April 2010 11:04
A Profanely Good Time: A Review of Mick Napier’s “Swear Jar”
Written by Kendall Hartenstine
The dissident style of “Swear Jar” is a breath of fresh air in a comedic world filled with stale political and healthcare jokes. Imagine an uncensored Second City-style revue with the added bonus of a beer bar only a few feet away from your seat. That’s what you get with…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Tuesday, 06 April 2010 12:43
Beauty and the Beast at Cadillac Palace - Kim Katz Quick Pick
Written by Kimberly Katz
Am I the only person who cries during Beauty and the Beast? Not when Belle and the Beast get together - but when Belle trades her life to save her quirky, inventor father from the Beast’s cold dungeon. I just love this story for little girls. Of all the popular…
Published in
Theatre in Review
It is a chilly Irish seaside town, he loves her, and she loves him but he drives her away with his chilly intellectual life view and marries a more compliant version of her, and she marries a more life loving but less intelligent version of him. Forty years later he…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Thursday, 25 March 2010 19:26
Theatre on the Hill’s “The Elephant Man” is Simply Wonderful
Written by Ken Payne
Director Craig Engel’s latest production to come to Bolingbrook’s Theatre on the Hill (TOTH) is a story many are familiar with, and, since presented with such a timeless magic about it, is a performance that can certainly be enjoyed by everyone once again. “The Elephant Man” a story of a…
Published in
Theatre in Review
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'Blue' Holds Mirror to Race in America
Written by Betsy SchmittWhen Francesca Zambello, director of The Glimmerglass Festival, commissioned an opera about race in America, the country was reeling from a spate of police shootings of young African-American men in Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, and South Carolina. By the time the… -
Review: 'Falsettos' at Court Theatre
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Disney's The Little Mermaid at Drury Lane: An Inspiring and Delightful Production Celebrating Girls' Unique Voices
Written by Kimberly KatzI thoroughly enjoyed Drury Lane's enchanting stage production of Disney’s The Little Mermaid from start to finish. While few are overly familiar with Hans Christian Andersen’s original, darker tale of ill-fated romance, the Disney animated film and this stage adaptation,…
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