Saturday, 06 April 2019 01:06
Small World is Loaded With Laughs, Despite a Few Rough Edges
Written by Bill Esler
If you remember the terrible Disneyland song, “Small World,”with its annoying refrain “ It’s a small world after all,” don’t let that stop you from seeing Small World at The Den Theater. Based on what many would call Disneyland’s most inspid attraction, this play embraces the audience as ticketholders embarking…
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Theatre in Review
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As America watches a college admissions scandal unfold in the headlines, Theatre Wit opens a revival of Joshua Harmon's early 2018 play, "Admissions". First produced at the Lincoln Center last winter, Harmon's play was definitely on to something broiling in suburban American life. This remount was announced long before the…
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Theatre in Review
Sunday, 31 March 2019 11:12
Find That Emotion You’ve Been Missing in the Delightful Melancholy Play
Written by Bill Esler
After one sees Sarah Ruhl’s comedy, Melancholy Play: A Contemporary Farce, one will doubtless ask: Why has melancholy gone out of vogue, just when we need it so? Melancholy is an emotional condition, like the vapors and neurasthenia, that has simply fallen out of fashion. When one is both inconsolably sad…
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Theatre in Review
Thursday, 28 March 2019 12:53
Review: 'Afterglow' at Pride Arts Center, The Buena
Written by John Accrocco
Is monogamy dead? S. Asher Gelman's "Afterglow" makes an interesting case for and against it. David Zak directs the Chicago premiere at Pride Films and Plays. "Afterglow" ran off-Broadway for over a year in 2017 to rave reviews. Josh (Rich Holton) and Alex (Jacob Barnes) are a married gay couple…
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Theatre in Review
Friday, 29 March 2019 02:19
Darkly Thrilling and Laced With Mystery, A Number Keeps You on the Edge
Written by Bill Esler
A Number is an elegant, fully enthralling thought piece by one of Britain’s greatest playwrights, Caryl Churchill. Just over an hour long, it is relentlessly intriguing, keeping you on the edge of your seat as you follow the unfolding story - first in bits and pieces, then building to a…
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Theatre in Review
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Monday, 25 March 2019 15:32
Catch the Wave! Handbag's 'Poseidon!' wins in every way
Written by Ken Payne
Nothing beats celebrating New Year’s Eve like being a on ship that capsizes just after the countdown. The 1972 film that features Gene Hackman, Shelly Winters, Red Buttons, and Ernest Borgnine is just that. When a cruise ship capsizes, surviving passengers are forced to travel upwards from floor to floor…
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Theatre in Review
Monday, 25 March 2019 13:02
Review: 'For Colored Girls/Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf' at Court Theatre
Written by John Accrocco
Some theatre is so unique that it defies genre, or even creates its own. 'For Colored Girls/Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf' by Notzake Shange is considered a choreopoem, a first and only of its kind to appear on Broadway. This pivotal work debuted on Broadway in…
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Theatre in Review
"Nostalgia is a disease." bemoans Lynn Nottage's downtrodden characters in 'Sweat' now playing at Goodman Theatre. This 2017 Pulitzer prize winner examines the ordinary lives of factory workers in a Pennsylvania town in the years leading up to the 2008 recession. 'Sweat' is the second Pulitzer for playwright Lynn Nottage,…
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Theatre in Review
Monday, 25 March 2019 02:05
BoHo Theatre’s Bright Star Sparkles Like a Meteor Shower
Written by Bill Esler
Bright Star, the Steve Martin-Edie Brickell show that earned musical acclaim in its New York Broadway run, is destined for a love affair with Chicago for Boho Theatre's producion. The show opened Saturday like a meteorite, sparks flying as the company marched on stage in powerful harmony for its opening, "If…
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Theatre in Review
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Saturday, 23 March 2019 17:10
Hopelessly Romantic and Magically Musical: The Bridges of Madison County
Written by Bill Esler
A wondrous evening of sonorous music awaits you at The Bridges of Madison County. The story was also a 1995 film (Clint Eastwood directed and starred opposite Meryl Streep, who won an Oscar) then was translated into this Broadway musical in 2012 - all based on Robert Waller’s blockbuster 1992…
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Theatre in Review
In a little floral shop on a New York City skid row, something strange is happening. A never-before-seen plant is attracting customers, all the while certain people in acquaintance with its owner are mysteriously disappearing. The horror of it all is as potent as the comedy. Mercury Theater Chicago’s production…
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Theatre in Review
Saturday, 16 March 2019 14:56
Review: 'A Bronx Tale' at James M. Nederlander Theater
Written by Earl Cochran
Murder in the streets, neighborhoods divided along racial lines, racial and ethnic slurs, glorified mob activities, wise guys, street fights and more. THIS is A Bronx Tale (the musical) on its first national tour after a successful 700 show run on Broadway. Originally a one person play written and performed…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Thursday, 14 March 2019 14:17
The Choir of Man Brings Us Bro-capella In a Sensationally Entertaining Show
Written by Bill Esler
Pentatonix has made acapella singing cool. Now The Choir of Man makes it to bro-ish. This fast-paced 90-minute performance is sensationally entertaining, as nine men, a mix of Ivy League, grungers and hipsters, cruise through tightly arranged pop-songs with a traditional London pub as the setting. “Some pubs have darts,…
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Theatre in Review
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