Thursday, 22 September 2011 17:01
Race, Place, and a Pulitzer: Bruce Norris’ Clybourne Park Comes Home to Chicago
Written by Zach Zimmerman
It’s 1959 and the house at 406 Clybourne Street boasts stained wooden columns, vaulted ceilings, three floors, and an attic full of memories. That’s precisely why Russ and Bev are leaving. Haunted by an upstairs incident and their neighbours' subsequent shunning, the middle-aged, middle-class couple have sold their home to escape…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Saturday, 17 September 2011 16:33
Momix’ "Botanica" "Breathtaking, Inspiring, Everything a Modern Dance Company Aspires to Achieve"
Written by Kimberly Katz
The performance of Momix latest work, "Botanica", under the stars at Ravinia Festival in Highland Park was absolutely breathtaking, beautiful and inspiring, everything a modern dance company aspires to achieve. "Botanica" is a tribute to the rhythms of nature and the unfolding of the seasons. The piece is underscored by…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Comedian Jim Gaffigan triumphantly returned to his native state Indiana, this time taking on a full house at The Venue, located inside the Horseshoe Casino. Touching on all subjects from the urgency and awkward process of getting a drink at a crowded bar to his famous bit on Hot Pockets,…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Tuesday, 12 July 2011 13:05
"Trogg! A Musical!" Campy! Fabulous! Funny and Delicious Laughs!
Written by Kimberly Katz
I remember watching old movies as a child in awe with great ladies like Joan Crawford, Rosalind Russell, Bette Davis and Barbara Stanwyck and thinking one day I will be a great business woman slinging out dry witticisms just like them. I also loved watching the "Beach Blanket Bingo" movies…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Tuesday, 12 July 2011 12:31
Eye on India Festival Brings Welcome Culture to Chicago
Written by Tracy Walsh
Eye on India is a 10 day festival comprised of cinema, music, dance, theatre, literature and food, which was created "to promote the theme of universality in today's increasingly polarizing context” (Sanjoy Roy 2011.) I attended Day One of the festival, and the pre-show shindig, at the Harris Theater in…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Monday, 11 July 2011 16:57
Translating Love, Sex, and Money in David Henry Hwang's Chinglish
Written by Zach Zimmerman
David Henry Hwang, a small Asian American who wears a wide smile and a baggy suit, is not physically intimidating; but his newest play, Chinglish, reveals him as a towering and accomplished playwright well-versed in the conventions of film and theater, with a sharp wit and compassionate heart. Best known…
Published in
Theatre in Review
The only proper response to a Will Eno play is suicide. The existentialist, Brooklyn-based playwright enjoys holding a mirror up to his audiences so they can watch themselves slowly die. He is also very funny. The 46-year old, whose Thomas Pain (based on nothing) was a finalist for the Pulitzer…
Published in
Theatre in Review
In celebration of Pride month, the About Face Theatre has launched the world premiere of The Homosexuals by local playwright Phillip Dawkins. Dawkins weaves a familiar tale of friendship, lost loves, and how that impact helps define our current selves. It's funny, heartbreaking, and oh so relatable… even for Breeders. The play…
Published in
Theatre in Review
As The thunderstorm rolls through to Lord Rancour’s mansion, all the guests disappear unexpectedly one by one. But did the butler do it? “Something’s Afoot,” a campy, delightful musical comedy, running at Citadel Theatre Company in Lake Forest, tells the story of 10 dinner guests, who disappear one by one.…
Published in
Theatre in Review
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You can tell this was put together by the best in the business. Executive Producer Don Foster knew what he was doing when he came back home from California to present reality as only Chicagoland can provide. Rantoul & Die was a major hit, and it was beyond expectations when…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Since it’s opening in 1994, the Porchlight Music Theatre has been entertaining thousands of excited theatregoers. They’ve staged forty-nine productions, including five world premieres. And in a now modern day, where most people rarely see or have maybe never seen a musical/play, I was thrilled to see this musical. Based…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Sunday, 15 May 2011 18:50
Performing Romance in Sarah Ruhl's Premiere of "Stage Kiss"
Written by Zach Zimmerman
A play-within-a-play requires double duty for a reviewer. “One Last Kiss,” the play-within-the-play in this theatrical Russian nesting doll, is a painful 1930s melodrama with cartoonish characters and outdated dialogue. (As one character quips, you know a play will be bad when three people wrote it.) “Stage Kiss," however, is a smart…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Thursday, 12 May 2011 18:14
"Spring Awakening"; High Expectations, Medium Results
Written by Kevin Pollack
Filled with anger, love, confusion, despair, and what makes you happy, Spring Awakening goes through all that. With music by Duncan Sheik and book and lyrics by Steven Sater, this rock musical is an adaptation of the controversial 1891 German play by Frank Wedekind. The play deals with teenagers in…
Published in
Theatre in Review
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