A rare opportunity to see Brian Friel’s ‘Molly Sweeney’ is being presented at the historic Chopin Theatre building at its intimate Studio through May 8. The celebrated Irish playwright won a 1996 Tony Award for this very contemporary tale of a 40-year-old woman blind from infancy who has her vision…
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Theatre in Review
Sunday, 27 March 2022 13:00
Review: 'Laced' at About Face Theatre at The Den
Written by John Accrocco
Perhaps it was the pandemic, or maybe it’s the cultural divide between the left and the right, but it seems like small town gay bars are vanishing. Playwright Samantha Mueller sets out to commemorate these safe spaces in their new play “Laced” making its world premiere at About Face Theatre.…
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Theatre in Review
With the world being what it is, war and rumors of war, racial unrest, and division, it was comforting to see a play where two unlikely people form a friendship. A friendship based solely on basketball, more specifically, LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. “King James” opened with the Marvin…
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Theatre in Review
The preoccupation with the opioid crisis in our pop culture these days says a lot about the world in which we live. Rivendell Theatre contributes to the national conversation with a new play, “Spay” by local playwright Madison Fiedler. “Spay” is set in Appalachia, the heart of the opioid crisis,…
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Theatre in Review
Tuesday, 15 March 2022 11:32
As Good as It Gets: Wife of a Salesman an Instant Classic
Written by Bill Esler
Playwright Eleanor Burgess has delivered one of the best scripts I've read or seen, in ‘Wife of a Salesman.’ While it may be viewed somewhat as a “prequel” to Arthur Miller’s 1949 classic ‘Death of a Salesman,’ it never directly references that play, and is an intriguing and challenging work…
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Theatre in Review
Monday, 21 March 2022 15:14
Happily Ever After: Once Upon a Mattress at Theo Ubique
Written by CJ Burroughs
Of all the theaters whose return I’ve been most excited to experience, Theo Ubique was near the top of the list. And, with their current production of Mary Rodgers’ Once Upon a Mattress, directed by Landree Fleming, the Evanston company did not disappoint. While Once Upon a Mattress is a…
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Theatre in Review
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It’s hard to imagine a life without late night talk shows. Since the dawn of TV, late night talk shows have been a means for Americans to get to know celebrities better. During the pandemic these nightly comedy hours provided a necessary platform for connection and laughter. We watched the…
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Theatre in Review
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Sunday, 20 March 2022 08:42
Gaga for Zaza; La Cage aux Folles stuns in Skokie
Written by Kendall Royzen
I remember the first time I saw The Birdcage starting Robin Williams and Nathan Lane. My mother was judged for "exposing" me to such a "mature story." But today it is still one of my favorite films, as is the original play it's based off of "La Cage aux Folles."…
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Theatre in Review
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Shakespeare the dramatist is a genius at the craft of theater, and brings a timeless artistry that is unexcelled. So it was with some trepidation that I took my seat at the Edge Off-Broadway Theatre for Idle Muse’s 'Upon This Shore: Pericles and the Daughters of Tyre.' I can report…
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Theatre in Review
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Wednesday, 23 February 2022 22:08
Invictus Delivers Exceptional Production of Lynn Nottage's Ruined
Written by Bill Esler
Invictus Theatre delivers the finest acting in Chicago. The current run of Lynn Nottage's 2009 Pulitzer Prize winning play 'Ruined' is no exception. Originally commissioned by Goodman Theater, where Nottage workshopped it in 2007, 'Ruined' is set in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It tells the story of sexual exploitation…
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Theatre in Review
How well does a three hour Russian science fiction film translate to stage? Surprisingly well. Griffin Theatre gives the North American premiere of David Grieg’s 2019 adaptation of the classic Tarkovsky film. The intimate staging at Raven Theatre gives audiences the same sense of deprivation one might have on a…
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Theatre in Review
Saturday, 19 February 2022 17:29
'Sons of Hollywood' at Windy City Playhouse Balances Tinsel and Truth
Kerstin Broockmann
Sons of Hollywood by Barry Ball and Carl Menninger, now receiving its world premiere at Windy City Playhouse, is both a love letter to the Golden Age of Hollywood and an homage to its victims, who survived beyond the ends of their careers, but not without scars. It is also,…
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Theatre in Review
Monday, 14 February 2022 10:06
Great Production Can't Overcome Weak Material in ‘Groundhog Day: The Musical’
Written by Bill Esler
The 1993 Bill Murray movie comedy, Groundhog Day,is one of those cult classics with millions of fans. Like ‘The Big Lebowski,' people love it, or don’t quite see the appeal. I fall in the latter class on both films: appreciating the concept, but not with a lot of fervor. So…
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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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