If you’ve ever wondered what may have filled in the omitted bits and fragments in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, First Folio’s “The Gravedigger” takes the mystery away while presenting its own mystery. Ingeniously creating a story within a story, “The Gravedigger” takes us to a heartbroken and devastated Dr. Victor Frankenstein…
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Theatre in Review
Saturday, 27 September 2014 19:00
Neurotically Funny - Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown
Written by Kimberly Katz
I absolutely adored Theatre at the Center’s production of Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown based on the Pedro Almodvar film of the same name from beginning to end. Set in the 1980's in a part of uptouching and hilarious upper crust Madrid, "Verge" tells the hilarious and…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Monday, 29 September 2014 19:00
Evil Dead the Musical - Blood and Laughs Galore
Written by Ken Payne
Granted, fans of the Evil Dead films starring our favorite B-list star, Bruce Campbell, will certainly enjoy this stage version more than most, having already consumed a taste for the unconventional humor that made the trilogy such a big cult following success. Still, though maybe not for everyone, Evil Dead…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Friday, 19 September 2014 19:00
Stories In Motion - Dramatic Theatre of Ballet
Written by Kimberly Katz
"Stories in Motion” is a beautifully selected trio of individual story ballets performed at the Auditorium Theatre on Congress.The first "Prodigal Son" with choreography by George Balanchine tells the well-known biblical tale of the rebellious and curious son who leaves his home only to be beaten down by life and love in…
Published in
Theatre in Review
The romantic and richly textured tale of East versus West, THE KING AND I,comes toThe Marriott Theatre, 10 Marriott Drive, Lincolnshire, IL., previewing October 22, opening October 29, and running through January 4, 2015. Nick Bowling (Juno and The Normal Heart at Timeline Theatre) makes his Marriott Theatre directorial debut with a fresh take…
Published in
Theatre in Review
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Sunday, 14 September 2014 19:00
Lookingglass' Death Tax Raises Good Questions
Written by Kimberly Katz
Death Tax by playwright Lucas Hnath is about a wealthy 70-something woman who believes that her daughter is paying off her nurse to kill her before the New Year's death tax kicks in thereby reducing her inheritance significantly. When the play opens, Maxine, played ferociously if not sympathetically by Tony…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Saturday, 06 September 2014 19:00
Mystery, Intrigue and Excitement – The Game’s Afoot
Written by Ken Payne
I just love a good whodunit. Who killed who, how and why – the suspects, the accusers, the whole shebang. The Game’s Afoot, currently running at Drury Lane Theatre in Oakbrook, is just that – murder, suspense and also plenty of laughs. The Game’s Afoot by Ken Ludwig, author of…
Published in
Theatre in Review
"On the Town" with music by Leonard Bernstein; book and lyrics by Tony-winning writing partners Betty Comden and Adolph Green is about to be staged on Broadway but the Marriott Lincolnshire has beat Broadway to the punch with this thoroughly entertaining and beautifully staged rendition which has never before been staged in Chicago. Three young sailors arrive in…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Everyone is looking to be loved and to give love though it’s not always that easy as we find out in Stupid Fucking Bird. In this twisted and very comical take on Anton Chehkov’s The Seagull that is filled with bird references relating to life, Stupid Fucking Bird is the…
Published in
Theatre in Review
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Monday, 11 August 2014 19:00
The TBS Sullivan and Son Comedy Tour - Don't Bother
Written by Kimberly Katz
We look forward to the TBS Just for Laughs Festival every year to get a week long dose of great comedy from dynamite Chicago locals and some of the best headliners in the business. So when it was cancelled this year, we figured it might be nice to catch the one…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Four strangers are quarantined together as the Black Plague sweeps through London. They must struggle through personal and social prejudices as they try to survive being cooped up together for weeks. Fear of contamination and imminent death from the agonizing plague, hope of escape, and sexual strain haunts their daily…
Published in
Theatre in Review
The Scottish city of Glasgow wallows in economic depression, as this laborer’s family struggles through the hardships of basic survival. “All we’ve done wrong is to be born into poverty,” the father says in comforting the overworked wife wrapped in his arms. A crash look into the real housewives of…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Monday, 14 July 2014 19:00
You don't say - The Beverly Hillbillies - The Musical at Theatre at the Center
Victoria Lvova
Another TV classic has found itself in a musical, this time being The Beverly Hillbillies. Credited as one of the most popular shows of all time, The Beverly Hillbillies aired from 1962 through 1971 and told the story of a backwoods family that found wealth in oil and then migrated…
Published in
Theatre in Review
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