Sunday, 02 October 2016 15:44
It's Back and Hilarious As Ever - "Tony and Tina's Wedding"
Written by Ken Payne
It's been nearly eight years since that loud, boisterous Italian nuptial celebration has left Chicago, but now "Tony N' Tina's Wedding" is back. Reworked from its 1993 through 2009 run at Piper's Alley, the wedding actually takes place at a church. The Resurrection Church, located near Belmont and Sheffield, is…
Published in
Theatre in Review
The tumultuous personal life of the six-time married Henry VIII has been an inspiration for dramatists for centuries, and provided immortal fame to several of his ill-fated wives. However, as the wife who had the political astuteness to survive him and the luck to marry him after he had already…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Sunday, 02 October 2016 15:36
Visiting Edna a masterful production at Steppenwolf, though a tad long
Written by Bill Esler
David Rabe’s Visiting Edna is everything you expect from Steppenwolf Theatre: a work of depth and significance, actors rendering studied characters, and production values of the highest order. Rabe’s writing also displays another Steppenwolf hallmark: plays that mine the power and drama in the ordinary language of daily life. Edna…
Published in
Theatre in Review
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Wednesday, 28 September 2016 15:54
It’s Partridge Vs. Brady in "The Bardy Bunch"
Written by Ken Payne
Who's doesn’t remember The Brady Bunch? Mike Brady who has three sons, marries Carol, who has three daughters, they bring in a live in housekeeper, Alice, and they quickly become one of America’s most beloved families of the 1970’s. We basically watch the kids grow up, getting into all kinds…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Sunday, 25 September 2016 12:40
Barbarians at the Georgetown Gate - The City of Conversation at Northlight Theatre
Written by Michaelle Bradford
In the current political climate, where the political left and right are more divided than ever in their world view, Northlight Theatre’s The City of Conversation provides a glimpse at an elite class of Washington, DC, power players and how they charted the course of this country from behind the…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Friday, 23 September 2016 18:21
Thrones: The Musical Parody - A Hilarious Ride That Never Slows Down
Written by Ken Payne
After a successful summer preview run, "Thrones: The Musical Parody" has returned to Apollo Theater for Fall performances. Though the production might not have the staying power as did "Million Dollar Quartet", a show originally scheduled for a two-week run that was renewed for several years, "Thrones" is a solid…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Tuesday, 20 September 2016 18:15
"Life Sucks" or Does it? Aaron Posner's Funny Play is Performed to Perfection at Lookingglass Theatre
Written by Kimberly Katz
As soon as you enter the beautiful set that designer Brian Sidney Bembridge, has created for “Life Sucks", you are tip-toeing through what feels like a real forest of delicately lit white birch trees in the light of early evening in Autumn. The action then proceeds mostly on the front…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Wednesday, 21 September 2016 11:27
The New Colony Announces 2017 Season - Four World Premieres by Chicago Playwrights!
Written by Buzz News Chicago
The New Colony is pleased to announce its full 2017 Season, featuring four world premiere productions by four Chicago playwrights. The season kicks off this winter with ensemble member Sean Kelly’s fantasy adventure PSYCHONAUT LIBRARIANS, directed by Krissy Vanderwarker. In the spring, TNC presents Connor McNamara’s political thriller SCAPEGOAT; OR…
Published in
Theatre in Review
From its frenetic opening to its poetic end, The Hypocrites' You on the Moors Now is a rip-roaring, hilarious adventure. The play, written by Jaclyn Backhaus, features four of classic literature’s all-time favorite heroines: Jo March, from Louisa May Alcott’s “Little Women”, Elizabeth (Lizzy) Bennett from Jane Austen’s “Pride and…
Published in
Theatre in Review
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Well-to-do friends clashing over hidden resentments and jealousies while dining is a common scenario in the contemporary American theatre. Donald Margulies won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2000 for Dinner with Friends, which focused on romantic entanglements, and Ayad Akhtar won in 2013 for Disgraced, which also addressed issues…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Before the colonial history of New York City was hip hop-ified by outrageously talented Broadway composer/writer/actor Lin-Manuel Miranda, a small portion of the city had its own hip hop story to tell. In the Heights, which premiered on Broadway in 2008 and subsequently won the Tony for Best Musical (among…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Wednesday, 14 September 2016 13:38
Helldrivers of Daytona, Just Funny and Sexy Enough to Stay in the Race
Written by Kimberly Katz
Helldrivers of Daytona, currently running at the Royal George Theatre, is a fun idea. It is a musical that seems to mostly spoof Elvis’ Viva Las Vegas, a story of a talented race car driver who needs to scrape up enough cash to get his car into the big race.…
Published in
Theatre in Review
In a Sam Shepard play, rarely are things what they seem. His 1980 play "True West" is no exception. Under the direction of James Yost, Shattered Globe Theatre tackles this modern classic. "True West" is often considered part of a family saga by Shepard that includes his 1979 Pulitzer Prize…
Published in
Theatre in Review
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