About a month ago, CNN began running a series of clips showing self-proclaimed Islamic State militants destroying Middle Eastern artifacts. While their motives remain unclear, it does point to an unsettling idea that significant pieces of history are lost or destroyed in times of civil unrest. Michele Lowe’s 2009 play…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Friday, 15 May 2015 00:00
“Chicago Rhythm Fest”: The Rhythm IS Going To Get You!
Written by Michelle Reidy
“Chicago Rhythm Fest” at the Auditorium Theatere was the culminating performance of the STOMPING GROUND event that included five programs across Chicago neighborhoods, bringing together five amazing percussive dance groups from around the world including The Trinity Irish Dance Company, Ensemble Español Spanish Dance Theater, Muntu Dance Theatre of Chicago, Mexican…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Sunday, 10 May 2015 00:00
“Bad Jews” by Joshua Harmon is Full of Great Jews
Written by Kimberly Katz
If you are Jewish, you will especially appreciate and love this play which is full of biting humor and keen observations about how modern day Jews define themselves philosophically and how that vision of themselves plays out in their family relationships. “Bad Jews” is set in a beautiful New York…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Thursday, 14 May 2015 00:00
Oh, What A Night! "Jersey Boys" at Cadillac Palace
Written by Sara Hassan
“Jersey Boys”, currently playing at Cadillac Palace, is the story of the Four Seasons and their journey from Newark, New Jersey to becoming a multi-million record selling group. I went to the opening night expecting an entertaining performance, but really, unsure of what lied ahead. I imagined the audience to be…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Tuesday, 12 May 2015 00:00
Don't Let Theatre at the Center's "Big Fish" Be the One that Got Away!
Written by Ken Payne
Fantastic stories filled with mermaids, giants, tornadoes and witches are told and Edward Bloom always comes out as the hero. These are the enchanted tales Edward has been telling his son, Will, since he was a child. Each story is more larger than life than the other and each act…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Wednesday, 13 May 2015 00:00
The Con is On in Neo-Futurist's "Trust Us/Screw You"
Written by Ken Payne
If you come with a dollar you may just leave with two. However, if you are not careful, you could also lose the shirt off your back. In the Neo-Futurist’s latest endeavor “Trust Us/Screw You” we cautiously enter the world of the confidence man, as we meet the mark, the…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Sunday, 10 May 2015 00:00
That Ballet was the Bee's Knees!: Eifman's 1920's "Up & Down" roars through Chicago
Written by Kendall Royzen
I know about as much Russian as a non-native speaker needs. I know how to say hello and goodbye (Preevyet and Da sveedaneeya). I know how to say thank you (Spaseeba), I even know how to say my little monkey (moya malen'kaya obez'yana) though that doesn’t come in handy too…
Published in
Theatre in Review
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In Irish Theatre of Chicago’s newest production “The White Road”, performed at The Den Theatre in Wicker Park, we get exactly what we are hoping for – an intense adventure that pits man against nature at its most vicious form. Based on the true heroics of Irish-born polar explorer Ernest…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Tagged under
Thursday, 07 May 2015 00:00
Review - "Doubt: A Parable" at Writer's Theatre
Written by John Accrocco
When a play is produced as often as “Doubt,” each theatre company must ask of itself, why now? What can our company give to this work that another has missed? Over the past decade or so, it’s becoming nearly impossible to open a newspaper and not read a headline about…
Published in
Theatre in Review
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Wednesday, 06 May 2015 00:00
Review: The Project(s) at American Theater Company
Written by John Accrocco
It may be surprising to few that the story of Chicago Public Housing is not a happy one. When we think of the “projects” many of us can only think of the harsh setting in the film “Candyman” or an NWA music video. Not an actual place where families thrive…
Published in
Theatre in Review
"Anna in the Afterlife" is a play based on author Richard Engling’s friendship and collaboration with Fern Chertkow, a dear longtime friend, writer, and colleague who took her own life in 1988. There was so much in this play that I enjoyed in terms of its emotional themes and the…
Published in
Theatre in Review
A legend in her own right, Frederica von Stade graces the stage with poise and perfection in Chicago Opera Theater's "A Coffin in Egypt". A veteran mezzo-soprano, her performances, recordings and television specials have garnered her six Grammy nominations, a cascade of European awards and recognition, and even an award from President…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Sunday, 26 April 2015 00:00
Join Alice’s adventure in "Wonderland, Alice’s Rock and Roll Adventure!"
Written by Eden Diez
Chicago Children’s Theatre World Premiere invites you to “Wonderland, Alice’s Rock and Roll Adventure”, and to delve into your curious imaginations. Chicago director Rachel Rockwell and music director Michael Mahler reinvented Lewis Carroll’s books Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass into a wild adventure of self-actualization. Small, troubled, 7½…
Published in
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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