Friday, 07 June 2019 22:27
In Service To America: If Only We Could Have Had Ms. Blakk for President
Written by Bill Esler
When Chicago drag performer Joan Jett Blakk ran for President in 1992 – the year Bill Clinton was nominated – it was certainly the most outré act of political insurrection Americans had seen – for those who noticed, anyway. It’s unlikely the Tribune and Sun-Times gave her candidacy much coverage.…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Tagged under
Wednesday, 05 June 2019 18:09
Chicago's Physical Theater Festival Brings Exciting World Performance Artists to Your Doorstep
Written by Bill Esler
The Physical Theater Festival, running through June 9 at Stage 773, is an exciting opportunity to really enjoy theater from around the world. It overcomes the biggest barrier to shows from abroad – language – by reducing or eliminating the spoken script, subordinating it to broad movement, pantomime, facial expressions…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Tagged under
The Den Theatre returns to original programming for the first time in nearly five years. Director Lia Mortensen directs their revival of the Joel Drake Johnson play ‘Four Places’. In the intimate space at the Den, ‘Four Places’ gets its first Chicago production since its premiere in 2008 at Victory…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Friday, 31 May 2019 08:37
Didn't Get The Memo? Then Don't Miss This Orwellian Farce by Václav Havel.
Written by Bill Esler
Organic Theater has done such a wonderful job in The Memo, it is hard to imagine a more perfect presentation of this play by Czech writer and statesmen, Václav Havel. The Memo is at turns funny and unsettling. While the original The Memorandum is rooted in the totalitarian Eastern Europe,…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Cirque du Soleil is back in Chicago with its latest touring production, Volta. Volta’s inspiration comes from the culture of street sports and just about any acrobatics that could have originated in an urban jungle. Written and directed by Bastien Alexandre, the theme of Volta is finding freedom from the…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Monday, 20 May 2019 15:47
Long drive and it's outta here! 'Miracle' is a homerun!
Written by Ken Payne
With the Cubs finally winning the World Series in 2016 after a 108-year drought, it was probably inevitable a theatrical production would be created at some point to recreate the special magic Chicagoans felt over that incredible year. And so ‘Miracle’, the new musical by William Marovitz and Julian Frazin,…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Really? Another ‘Frankenstein’? The 2018/19 season was the year of ‘Frankenstein’. To celebrate the 200th anniversary of Mary Shelley’s classic gothic thriller, four theatre companies produced wildly different adaptations of the novel. If you find yourself wondering whether these companies knew of each other’s productions, they surely did. The beauty…
Published in
Theatre in Review
You know if a musical wins the Pulitzer, it’s going to be a sad one. Creative team Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey took home the 2010 Pulitzer for ‘Next to Normal’, an award rarely given to musical theatre. David Cromer returns to Writers Theatre to direct this highly anticipated revival.…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Sunday, 19 May 2019 02:47
Shakespeare With Spectacle: Expect the Unexpected in Goodman’s Delightful Winter’s Tale
Written by Bill Esler
Goodman Theatre’s staging of The Winter’s Tale, loaded with spectacle, would have seemed ridiculous and even unanchored 20 years ago. But with the surging popularity of those magical realms in the movies of the Marvel Universe – Black Panther, Captain Marvel, Avengers: Endgame - where characters die, then return, and…
Published in
Theatre in Review
More...
When having non-stop conversations in his head and agonizing over the most mundane decisions becomes daily reality of living with OCD, finding a cure turns into obsession. Of course it does. The Mushroom Cure is a comedian Adam Strauss’ true tale of his ongoing battle with OCD. Though he sees…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Sunday, 12 May 2019 23:38
It’s Mad, Beat, Hip, & Gone, and Here’s Why It’s Worth Watching
Written by Bill Esler
Promethean Theatre Ensemble has brought to stage a very good production of Mad, Beat, Hip & Gone, a play that is a riff on the Beat Generation literary movement – specifically drawing from Jack Kerouac’s 1957 novel, On the Road. The script by Steve Dietz (Private Eyes) adopts aspects of…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Tagged under
I have to admit up front - I am a full-on West Side Story fan girl. I have seen the movie, released in 1961, probably 100 times. I know the plot, the words to every song, the dance moves, and have viscerally felt the teenage angst that is the underlying…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Saturday, 04 May 2019 13:09
Review: 'American Girl Live' at Broadway Playhouse
Written by CJ Burroughs
I know I’m not the target audience of the current production at the Broadway Playhouse (or of the American Girl store nearby), but I suppose my wallet is. What I do know is that my six-year-old daughter was excited for the show, and I was excited to watch her watch…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Register
Login
Latest Articles
-
Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival returns January 15-26, 2025
Written by Buzz Center StageThe Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival is pulling strings to raise funds this fall, offering three exclusive sneak peeks of the amazing puppet artistry of one of next January’s most hotly anticipated festival performers, presented in highly intimate, exclusive living… -
Steep Theatre Back Early 2025 with A Slow Air
Written by Buzz Center StageSteep Theatre will kick off the new year with the Chicago Premiere of David Harrower's A Slow Air, directed by Steep Ensemble Member Robin Witt. Witt was at the helm for Steep's recent critically-acclaimed production of Samuel D. Hunter's A Case for…
-
Oil Lamp Theater Announces the Cast for its 2025 Season Opener: THE COMPLETE WORKS OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE (ABRIDGED), Jan. 24 - Feb. 16, 2025
Written by Buzz Center StageOil Lamp Theater is proud to announce the cast and creative team for its first production of the 2025 season, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged), written by Adam Long, Daniel Singer and Jess Winfield with new revisions by Daniel Singer and Jess Winfield, January 24 -…
-
Half-Price Holidays return to Hot Tix as Chicago theatres get festive for the 2024 holiday season
Written by Buzz Center StageChicago theatres will present a wide variety of festive plays, musicals, dance, and comedy offerings this holiday season. In support, the League of Chicago Theatres has again created a comprehensive Holiday Theatre Guide, available at https://chicagoplays.com/chicago-theatre-guide/. A list of shows with additional details about…
Does your theatre company want to connect with Buzz Center Stage or would you like to reach out and say "hello"? Message us through facebook or shoot us an email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
*This disclaimer informs readers that the views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and not necessarily to Buzz Center Stage. Buzz Center Stage is a non-profit, volunteer-based platform that enables, and encourages, staff members to post their own honest thoughts on a particular production.