Thursday, 15 February 2024 12:56
'A Home What Howls' Nails the Way Things Work for People in the Margins
Written by Bill Esler
Matthew Paul Olmos is a playwright on the rise, and under the direction of Laura Alcalá Baker we have a chance to see a beautiful production of an exceptional work in its world premiere at Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre. As the vernacular title suggests, “A Home What Howls (or the house…
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Theatre in Review
After half an hour into Loy Webb's "Judy's Life's Work," I found myself silently reciting the dialogue, though not necessarily every line, as the familiar narrative unfolded predictably before me. The tale revolves around a classic trope: a familial feud over inheritance. While it pays tribute to the themes of…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Tuesday, 13 February 2024 17:32
In One-Woman “Love Songs Are Weird” Comedic Singer Rachel Silvert Goes for the Laughs
Written by Bill Esler
Rachel Silvert plumbs the lyrics of a dozen of Broadway’s classic romantic songs, in “Love Songs Are Weird—and other reasons I’m single,” a one-woman cabaret show at Davenport’s Piano Bar on Milwaukee Ave. in Chicago. Silvert often begins the numbers by singing pieces straight up, then breaks between stanzas or…
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Theatre in Review
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Friday, 09 February 2024 16:02
Timeline Theatre NOTES FROM THE FIELD is a Deeply Moving and Unforgettable Experience
Written by Lauren Katz
Why do we learn about history? This question has been asked for ages and is often met with the response: So that history does not repeat itself. When it comes to plays about history, that question is often met with some version of the same answer. We witness historical events…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Monday, 05 February 2024 15:39
'Stardust: From Bach to Bowie' Breaks to Bonds of Traditional Ballet Casting
Written by Kimberly Katz
I really enjoyed this unique program of ballet created and choreographed by Dwight Rhoden (formerly of Alvin Ailey) and Desmond Richardson and performed by Complexions Contemporary Ballet company that features an interesting combination of the music of Johann Sebastian and Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach along with the prolific rock icon, David Bowie.…
Published in
Theatre in Review
I remember when my dad, then a much younger man than I am now, had just lost his first parent. Anything—a TV show or a song or a greeting card or something he’d read—that hinted at aging or mortality could be an emotional trigger and start him crying. Most of…
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Theatre in Review
Wednesday, 07 February 2024 12:45
'Golden Girls: The Laughs Continue' Pays Glorious Tribute to Four of the Greatest Comediennes of Any Generation
Written by Kimberly Katz
I absolutely adored Golden Girls: The Laughs Continue directed by Eric Swanson, now playing at Broadway Playhouse. Having grown up in Miami, Florida with my working single mom when the show actually began airing, the Golden Girls have always been a nostalgic favorite for me. The only stage creations I've seen of Golden Girls have all…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Monday, 05 February 2024 12:26
FIDDLER ON THE ROOF – tableaux that reach through time and space
Written by Susan Lieberman
It’s hard to believe that Fiddler on the Roof turns 60 this year. It’s even harder to believe that the show, which opened on Broadway in 1964, can still take an audience by surprise. In continuous production around the globe, and with brides continuously walking down the aisle to “Sunrise,…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Sunday, 04 February 2024 08:33
Review: 'Sunsets: Two Acts on a Beach' at Open Space Arts
Sarz Maxwell
SUNSETS: TWO ACTS ON A BEACH is a long-lost diamond by unsung genius Cal Yeomans. Yeomans, despite his myriad talents (playwright, poet, actor, artist, educator, lecturer, photographer, real estate investor, land developer, and philanthropist) was an unfortunate example of the prophet in his own land: only posthumously are his masterful…
Published in
Theatre in Review
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Friday, 02 February 2024 15:07
Dana Delaney shines in true-life tale of computer love in Goodman's 'Highway Patrol'
Written by Kimberly Katz
I thoroughly enjoyed this modern and timely play on both the issues of Hollywood stars whose lives are constantly scrutinized by complete strangers and how easily it is for any person now to be fed false information online in ways that can affect their lives either positively or negatively regardless of the…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Friday, 02 February 2024 19:34
A Cut Above; 'In The Heights' flies high at Marriot Theatre
Written by Kendall Royzen
On any given day, when I walk out my front door, I’d see a quiet suburban street. Most families stay within their, rarely venturing out unless the temperature is a cool-but-warm 70 degrees, content with their healthy skepticism of their neighbors, keeping to surface level ‘how-do-you dos’ or ‘how-is-the-family?’ There’s…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Thursday, 01 February 2024 12:38
A Champion’s Struggle: Sexuality and Power Collide in Terence Blanchard’s Opera
Written by Wesley David
Terence Blanchard's "Champion" delivers a powerful blow to the stage, not through physical force but with its emotional resonance. Based on the life of boxer, Emile Griffith, the opera is told through the memories of an older Griffith, (played by Reginald Smith, Jr.) Suffering from dementia and a lifetime of…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Thursday, 25 January 2024 14:04
Jackalope Theatre Announces its 16th Season
Written by Buzz Center Stage
Jackalope Theatre Company is proud to announce its 16th season to be performed at its new home in Edgewater, Berger Park, 6205 N. Broadway Ave. The 2024 season includes the previously announced one-man thriller in rhyme, The Smuggler, February 16 – March 16, by Ronán Noone, directed by Gus Menary and starring Andrew Burden…
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Upcoming Theatre
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