Tuesday, 17 December 2024 00:49
25 Years of Rudolph the Red-Hosed Reindeer: A Warm and Sparkling Celebration of Individuality!
Written by Kimberly Katz
I fondly recall watching the 1964 children’s television special Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer each year with great wonder! Its message of hope—that you can be yourself and different from the herd—left a lasting impression. The idea that, through perseverance, you can be loved and appreciated for your unique talents is…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Tagged under
- RUDOLPH THE REDHOSED REINDEER
- Hell in a Handbag Productions
- Hoover Leppen Theatre
- Center on Halsted
- David Cerda
- Caitlin Jackson
- Sydney Genco
- Michael Hampton
- Terry McCarthy
- Lori Lee
- Mark Bartishell
- Kelly Bolton
- Peter Ruger
- Matt Sergot
- Eustace Allen
- Cameron Cai
- Micah Mixon
- TJ O’Brien
- Shawn Quinlan
- Michael Radford
- Whitney Willard Wilkinson
- Anthony Whitaker
- Chad Gearing
Friday, 13 December 2024 13:49
Teatro ZinZanni's Love, Chaos, and Dinner: A Spectacular Romantic Journey of Joy and Laughter
Written by Kimberly Katz
Upon entering the beautifully decorated lobby of Teatro Zinzanni theater on the 14th floor of the Cambria Hotel, you are instantly transported to an exquisite, romantic art deco speakeasy. The theater itself is housed under a stunning 100-year-old Belgian Spiegeltent, featuring booth and chair seating in the round. A delightful…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Wednesday, 11 December 2024 17:15
This Charles Dickens Gets to the Heart of 'Christmas Carol' In Spectacular Performance
Written by Bill Esler
Just as there are many Santa’s around town, this time of year we have a wide selection of Christmas and Holiday-themed shows on stage. While I’ve grown quite jaded about the diminishment of “real” theater during the holidays—steadfastly avoiding the Goodman show each year—there was something that overcame my reluctance…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Tagged under
Tuesday, 10 December 2024 12:01
Join Sweet DeLa and Spicy Jinkx in their irreverent shenanigans
Sarz Maxwell
[Reviewer’s Note: I’ve been reading a book whose main character is inveigled by Word of the Day; hence, I’ve striven to include as many unconventional and indecipherable words as possible. You’re welcome.] This is the seventh year of the JINKX AND DELA HOLIDAY SHOW, composed each year by BenDeLaCreme and…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Saturday, 07 December 2024 11:51
Finally, A Fresh and Fitting Take on Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women
Written by Mitchell Oldham
Like a lot of people, Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women has been mostly a cultural curiosity for much of my life. I know it’s perennially referenced when talking about women and their struggle to achieve personal agency and autonomy. Since it was published in 1868, shortly after the Civil War,…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Thursday, 05 December 2024 11:26
Broadway in Chicago’s Production of & Juliet is a Jaw-Dropping Blast from Start to Finish
Written by Lauren Katz
Lights come down at the top of the show. We are clearly in a rehearsal hall as the ensemble lets us know that it’s opening night of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet – and they cannot be more excited to perform the material. Video and Projection Designer Andrezej Goulding helps…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Monday, 02 December 2024 13:30
Thornton Wilder’s The Long Christmas Dinner Radiant Throughout at Bramble Arts Loft
Written by Mitchell Oldham
Immediately following the gastronomical excesses of Thanksgiving are the monetary investments and personal sacrifices we make for Christmas. At the heart of both is family and the importance we place in coming together to sustain and strengthen seminal bonds. In 1931, a 34-year-old college professor at the University of Chicago…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Monday, 02 December 2024 12:02
Review: It's a Wonderful Life: Live in Chicago! at American Blues Theater
Written by John Accrocco
“No man is a failure who has friends,” is to film what “God bless us everyone” is to literature. Frank Capra’s 1946 film ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ is as close to an American retelling of ‘A Christmas Carol’ as anyone has ever gotten. Though the film has been a Christmas…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Monday, 25 November 2024 13:03
Goodman Theatre’s “A Christmas Carol” Warms Hearts as It Rings in a Joyful Holiday Season
Written by CJ Burroughs
I arrived at the Goodman Theatre for the opening of its 47th annual production of A Christmas Carol, directed by Jessica Thebus, like many of us—not really feeling the upcoming holidays. I’m usually a real Pollyanna, trying to put on the happy face. I’m usually Bob Cratchit, the good soldier.…
Published in
Theatre in Review
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Monday, 25 November 2024 12:56
Don’t Miss this Rollicking Rendition of “Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus”
Written by Betsy Schmitt
If you’re looking for a way to entertain the children (or grandchildren) this holiday season that doesn’t involve long lines, icy cold temps or going to the mall, look no further than the Greenhouse Theatre Center’s production of Mo Williams’ smash hit musical, “Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus.”…
Published in
Theatre in Review
What the hell is pantomime anyway? Will I be reviewing a game of Charades? Google to the rescue! But I searched in vain for a definition: pan·to·mime [ˈpan(t)əˌmīm] a play or entertainment in which performers express themselves mutely by gestures. PrideArts mounting a silent production? Um …. I find that…
Published in
Theatre in Review
When 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 commissioned work Blue premiered at The Glimmerglass Festival in 2019,…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Even 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 for a mass audience. ‘Falsettos’ playwright William Finn began working…
Published in
Theatre in Review
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25 Years of Rudolph the Red-Hosed Reindeer: A Warm and Sparkling Celebration of Individuality!
Written by Kimberly KatzI fondly recall watching the 1964 children’s television special Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer each year with great wonder! Its message of hope—that you can be yourself and different from the herd—left a lasting impression. The idea that, through perseverance, you… -
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