Friday, 23 July 2021 11:51
The Tempest Taps Magical Realism of Marvel and DC Comics
Written by Bill Esler
Live, in-person theater performances have returned! And on Saturday, July 17, the Oak Park Festival Theater players took to the stage at their Austin Gardens home, mounting an inventive and engaging production of William Shakespeare’s The Tempest - the Equity company’s first post-pandemic production, and among the first live professional…
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Theatre in Review
Thursday, 18 March 2021 15:02
Are You Happy: Duchess! Duchess! Duchess! at Steppenwolf NOW evokes Sci-Fi Themes
Written by Kendall Royzen
The royal family is all over media channels these days. From endless documentaries and exposes of the late Princess Diana, to Netflix’s The Crown, to the recent scandalous Meghan Markle interview. Like them or not, the royal family continues to inspire intrigue and satire. Playwright Vivian J.O. Barnes became inspired…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Some of us may remember the old turntable on a cart your teacher would use to present an aged recording of a Shakespeare play so they could get some grading done. Theatre in the Dark’s unique approach to live, digital theatre is the complete opposite of that. It’s exactly what…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Tuesday, 16 February 2021 22:48
Hell in A Handbag's Tyler Anthony Smith Breaks New Creative Ground with "Out Darn Spot!"
Written by Kimberly Katz
I was really impressed by the new Shakespearean send-up Out, Darn Spot! starring Tyler Anthony Smith as Lady Marcia Macbeth. Smith is a very talented actor and writer to have pulled off what is essentially a one-man show that never fails to elicit all kinds of emotions, from the deepest, darkest…
Published in
Theatre in Review
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Tuesday, 08 December 2020 17:26
‘The Rip Nelson Holiday Quarantine Special’ succeeds in making the "weirdness" of Christmas 2020 a whole lot “funnier"!
Written by Kimberly Katz
Published in
Theatre in Review
Monday, 07 December 2020 13:59
'Hershel and the Hannukah Goblins' Reaches Out to Virtual Audience
Kerstin Broockmann
This is the third year that Strawdog Theatre Company is presenting its adaptation of Eric Kimmel’s children’s book Hershel and the Hannukah Goblins, but this is 2020 and a pandemic has forced the performance to go online. The outlines are still there: a traveling troupe of vaudevillian players fallen on…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Every December the Chicago theater community goes into full holiday mode, producing a wide array of favorites for reliably sold out houses. COVID obviously has altered many traditions, and theatrical performances have been forced to digitize operations or simply skip this year. Manuel cinema hadn’t planned on doing a holiday…
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Theatre in Review
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Thursday, 19 November 2020 21:54
Let it Burn; Steppenwolf NOW's debut show What is Left, Burns shines in the darkness
Written by Kendall Royzen
It’s no secret that Chicago is in for some dark months ahead. But in every darkness there are flickers of light to be found. Throughout history, the Arts are those flickers of light, providing entertainment, levity, and much needed escapism from everyday struggles and strife. In today’s virus-that-shall-not-be-named world, movies,…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Monday, 09 March 2020 12:53
Review: Judy & Liza - Once in a Lifetime: The London Palladium Concert — A Tribute' at Greenhouse Theater Center
Written by John Accrocco
With Renee Zellweger just having won the Academy Award for her portrayal of Judy Garland, focus on Garland’s legacy has been renewed. Local actresses Nancy Hays and Alexa Castelvecchi, along with music director Robert Ollis, reconstruct an iconic moment in pop culture history. A young Liza Minnelli performed just one…
Published in
Theatre in Review
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Monday, 09 March 2020 03:06
Promethan Delivers the Goods in Excellent Mrs. Warren's Profession
Written by Bill Esler
How is it possible that a 19th Century play by George Bernard Shaw could be so on trend for today? Promethean Theatre Ensemble’s production of Mrs. Warren’s Profession is just that, examining the limitations women faced in careers - steeply limited in those days - and hurdles they faced in…
Published in
Theatre in Review
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Dan Clancy’s Middletown is a very true-to-life rollercoaster ride involving two couples that befriend each other in the prime of their lives and remain friends through their senior years. They have dinner every Friday night for thirty-three years and share everything with each other – the good and the bad.…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Tuesday, 03 March 2020 18:21
PLANO: the imaginary “safe place” that’ll leave you feeling slightly disturbed
Written by Vika Lvova
Where’s Plano? I’m not sure, but it’s a place some characters of the namesake play like to visit often. Perhaps Plano doesn’t even exist. Presented as part of Steppenwolf’s LookOut Series and directed by Audrey Francis, this Will Arbery’s dark comedy is progressively more disturbing. All of its characters seem…
Published in
Theatre in Review
America was a different place in 1965. Jim Crow was alive and well in southern cities, American schools were still on the way to being integrated, African-Americans were getting their heads busted in trying to cross the Edmund Pettis Bridge in Alabama, there were race riots in major northern cities,…
Published in
Theatre in Review
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Review: Joffrey Ballet's 'Midsummer Night’s Dream' at Lyric Opera House
Written by John AccroccoFrolicking season is upon us once again and Joffrey Ballet welcomes summer with the return of Alexander Ekman’s “Midsummer Night’s Dream”. This production was last seen in Chicago in 2018. Told through a mix of ballet and modern dance, this… -
Review: Joe Turner's Come and Gone at Goodman Theatre
Written by John AccroccoDirector Chuck Smith returns to Goodman with another major August Wilson revival–“Joe Turner’s Come and Gone”. This is the second play in Wilson’s 10-play “American Century Cycle”. Goodman produced the first play in the series, “Gem of the Ocean” in…
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Written by Bill EslerAs the audience takes its seats we are greeted by an atmosphere of foreboding, a trestle bridge girder to the left, and in the evening air, foggy wisps drift about the stage. Already something is up, but we don’t know… -
THE 35th ANNUAL RHINOCEROS THEATER FESTIVAL RETURNS MAY 25 – JUNE 30 AT SIX CHICAGO VENUES
Written by Buzz Center StageCurious Theatre Branch is pleased to announce the 35th annual Rhinoceros Theater Festival, May 25 - June 30 at six venues across Chicago. The month-long festival of shows will kick off with a special Full Moon Vaudeville concert event on Saturday, May 25 at…
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