While scouring the Las Vegas entertainment industry for engaging, unusual acts to cover, I somewhat accidentally came across a group of performers that both amazed me with their bizarre talents and impressed me with their intrinsic genuine nature. I met the core members of Swing Shift SideShow (SSSS) through friend,…
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Theatre in Review
"A Beautiful Dream Comes to Life" It is truly the closest thing to dreaming while being awake. There are very few shows that have so much going on, so many enthralling acts one after another, that you find yourself wondering when you can see the show again before it's even…
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Theatre in Review
I love this theater company and based on the high volume of subscribers, so does the city of Chicago. When a group of college graduates can start a company and within 5 years achieve the kind of success that Steppenwolf demands to house, we can be assured that this ensemble…
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Theatre in Review
Ted Neely, 64, who has been performing this role for nearly forty years, is absolutely stunning in the role of Jesus, which requires an enormous amount of both technical skill and emotional maturity in order to pull it off to any satisfaction. I told Ted in our interview last year…
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Theatre in Review
Rent is the blockbuster musical hit of the nineties, a modern version of the opera La Boheme, depicting a community of young artists struggling to celebrate life while battling the first wave of the AIDS epidemic during the late eighties. I can never watch this production without thinking fondly of…
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Theatre in Review
When Taylor Negron took the microphone after violinist Lili Haydn completed her first song, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Having never seen the actor/writer/comedian perform before, I was curious about the concept of his latest show, which I heard was dramatic/humorous storytelling coupled with the accompaniment of a soft…
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Theatre in Review
Disneyland might be able to pull off the the same schtick night after night but come on; what does a heartless old fool like Ebenezer Scrooge have on Mickey Mouse and some kick ass Fireworks? Celebrating it's 30th year at the Goodman Theatre you would think enough is enough already.…
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Theatre in Review
My God, has it really been twenty years since the first time my friends and I dressed up in our best Goth and stumbled out at midnight to see what was surely the raciest, and most exciting, interactive movie of the time? Seeing director Steve Hildebrandt’s exciting and highly gifted,…
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Theatre in Review
Ta-Da! What better to open The House Theatre of Chicago’s fifth season with than a few sweet ass magic tricks? Nothin’ if you ask me. Once again this ensemble, many of whom graduated together from Southern Methodist University, have produced another exquisite piece of art that’s sure to surprise and…
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Theatre in Review
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Most of us know playwright Neil Simon’s The Odd Couple from either the big screen with Walter Matthau and Jack Lemon as the quirky pair of opposite roommates or more recently (30 years ago) from the TV adaptation that starred Tony Randall as the germaphobic neat freak Felix Ungar and…
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Theatre in Review
With the re-emergence of burlesque, The Flaming Dames have put their own stamp on the exotic, vaudevillian art made famous in the early 20th century. Led by choreographer Leslie Kerrigan, the burlesque troupe known as The Flaming Dames bring their unique B-Horror homage to life in their new production, “Bump…
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Theatre in Review
The Extravalanche comedy flight offers a preview of some of the best shows in the Windy. Hosted Nick Lullo (Blu Mic), performers include Steve Mulcahy, Tony Sam, Kumail (Chicago Comedy Series), Jared Logan (Chicago Comedy Series), Rachel Lewis, Headcheese Fatboss, Flambango, Team Submarinne, and the improvised rock opera Baby Wants…
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Theatre in Review
On July 14, 2007, Muntu Dance Theatre of Chicago celebrated their 35th Anniversary with a concert and Gala at the famous Harris Theater in Millennium Park. This Milestone featured the world premieres of Brazilian choreographer Rosangela Silvestre’s piece, which was titled “Guide” and “In Search Of Africa by Amaniyea Payne,…
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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
Written by John AccroccoEven 40 years later, the AIDS crisis continues to shape American life. Long before Hollywood brought AIDS stories to the cultural mainstream, the theatre was a safe place for actors and writers to explore their fears and sense of injustice… -
Delightful Send-up of 1930s Musicals, 'Dames at Sea' Nearly Sunk by Bad Sound
Written by Bill EslerOverall Citadel Theatre’s ‘Dames at Sea’ has a smashingly great cast of singers and dancers, perfect for a musical comedy satirizing the over-the-top 1930s movies and Broadway revues that were light on plot and heavy on costumes, dance routine, and… -
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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