Displaying items by tag: Jacob Harvey
Review: Machinal at Greenhouse Theater Center
Machinal refers to an automated or mechanical system. Sophie Treadwell's 1929 play "Machinal" takes its styling from this theme. Directed by Jacob Harvey, Greenhouse Theater Center brings this work back to Chicago for the first time in many years.
Maybe not as well known as Lillian Hellman, but Sophie Treadwell was once a popular playwright on Broadway during the height of expressionism in theater. She wrote some forty plays and often directed them, nearly unheard of in those times.
"Machinal" is a retelling of the murder trial of Ruth Snyder who was eventually executed by electric chair. The play is an expressionist interpretation. The dialogue is written in a way that feels like the innerworkings of a machine. There's a sparse greyness to the costumes by Christina Leinicke that would also suggest the joylessness the protagonist lives.
Heather Chrisler plays the young woman. Chrisler interprets the staccato dialogue with a human quality. Her performance brings up the intensity by breaking through the repetitive and unpoetic lines. She brings life to them and elicits an emotional response. This woman is pleading for her life as her societal system of steamrolls her.
Doubtful that Treadwell saw the real life Ruth Snyder as a villain. "Machinal" shows the the pressure of getting married, of having financial security and living in a ever-moving world. The young woman in Treadwell's play can't keep up. She's pushed into an advantageous, but unsatisfying marriage. She finds happiness in the arms of a lover. She does what she has to do to feel free and pays the ultimate price.
Eleanor Kahn's set mirrors the starkness of the play. Presented in a near black box with the exception of some strobe lighting, there's an eeriness from the beginning. There's an atmospheric quality in Kahn's setting, and it's working.
Life may seem a little more liberated for today's women but Jacob Harvey's point in mounting this work, is that maybe it's not? And maybe it's not even limited to just women. Treadwell's play is about the mechanics of being a adult human in this world, and how that conveyor-belt life makes us all animals destined for slaughter.
Through September 24 at The Greenhouse Theater Center. 2257 N Lincoln Ave.
Review: Circumference of a Squirrel at The Greenhouse Theater Center
“Circumference of a Squirrel” by John Walch finishes out The Greenhouse Theater’s inaugural Solo Celebration. This one-character play festival featured only single narrative storytelling. It’s not often you see a one-person fiction play, and while some may cringe at the concept, these short works explored highly relevant themes.
Will Allen stars as Chester. He begins the play telling the audience about a squirrel he saw trying to carry a bagel. Chester is in the present, and by the speech pattern adopted by Allen, we can presume something is a little off. Walch’s script seamlessly flows between Chester’s childhood memories, his relationship with his father and the divorce he’s just been through. He grapples with the knowledge that his father was an ardent anti-semite. It colors the dark, and funny memories of his father paying him in Lifesavers to kill squirrels.
Allen toggles between several characters and memories in the hour-long run time. Each character has a unique, but sincere voice and there’s an almost manic quality with which Allen can articulate them all. His performance only deepens from beginning to end, leading to a bittersweet conclusion.
Directed by Jacob Harvey, “Circumference of a Squirrel” is a well-stylized, and at times abstract look at the ways in which we love. It asks of its audience, whether unfounded racism is forgivable even in the ones we are supposed to love.
Through February 12 at The Greenhouse Theater Center. 2257 N Lincoln Ave.
Cast and creative team announced for SENTINELS, a play with music celebrating the contributions of women over the past 80 years
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EUREKA DAY WILL PLAY BROADWAY IN CHICAGO’S BROADWAY PLAYHOUSE AT WATER TOWER PLACE JANUARY 13 – FEBRUARY 22, 2026
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42 Balloons Soaring High at Chicago Shakespeare Theater
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Hell in a Handbag's QUEEN FOR A DAY - July 9 – August 3, 2025 at the Bramble Arts Loft - World Premiere!
10 June 2025 in Upcoming TheatreHell in a Handbag Productions is pleased to conclude its 2024/25 Season with the world premiere of QUEEN FOR A DAY written by…
Review: Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre at Ruth Page Center for the Arts
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Elizabeth McGovern's AVA: The Secret Conversations to play in Chicago
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A Remarkable Story Based on Real Events: 'Six Men Dressed Like Stalin'
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THE DEN THEATRE ANNOUNCES JULY COMEDY SHOWS
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OPERA FESTIVAL OF CHICAGO ANNOUNCES THE CAST AND CREATIVE TEAM FOR PAGLIACCI, JUNE 27 AND 29 AT THE NORTH SHORE CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS
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It's Funny What Can Happen on a "Neighborhood Watch," Now Running at Jackalope Theatre
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Evanston Salt Costs Rising: Stormy souls on salted streets at First Floor Theater
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Corn Productions has a new original play premiering in June - Support Group For The End Of The World
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History. Passion. Power. A Love That Changed an Empire - Scandalous Boy at
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Writers Theatre concludes its 2024/25 Season with the World Premiere of Dhaba on Devon Avenue
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TimeLine Theatre Company announces milestone 2025-26 season, culminating with inaugural production at its new home in Uptown
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RAVEN THEATRE ANNOUNCES 43rd SEASON - Dave Malloy's A Capella Musical OCTET and Terry Guest's OAK Get Chicago Premieres; TOP GIRLS Explores Feminism Through History
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Marriott Theatre Continues 50th Anniversary Season with Vibrant New Jukebox Musical, Always Something There…
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Review: HONEYPOT: BLACK SOUTHERN WOMEN WHO LOVE WOMEN at Fleetwood-Jourdain Theatre in Evanston
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The Title Says it All in Conspirators Remarkable ‘Chicago Cop Macbeth’
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HAMILTON returns to Chicago in 2026
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Hiplet Ballerinas: A Daring Dance Revolution at Auditorium Theatre
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Blank Theatre’s SWEET CHARITY Charms with Talented Cast and Standout Choreography
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Written by Buzz Center StageOtherworld Theatre Company, the premier sci-fi and fantasy live theater production company in North America, today announced its smash hit original musical, "TWIHARD! A Twilight Musical Parody" will begin a special six-week limited engagement at the Apollo Theater (2550 N… -
Hell in a Handbag's QUEEN FOR A DAY - July 9 – August 3, 2025 at the Bramble Arts Loft - World Premiere!
Written by Buzz Center StageHell in a Handbag Productions is pleased to conclude its 2024/25 Season with the world premiere of QUEEN FOR A DAY written by ensemble member Tyler Anthony Smith* and directed by Stephanie Shaw. This gay fantasia on national themes... wait, wrong play. This one-act comedy/drama/cry for help…
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Written by Buzz Center StageBroadway In Chicago is pleased to announce Chicago’s acclaimed TimeLine Theatre Company is returning to the Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place (following previous hit productions OSLO and THE LEHMAN TRILOGY) with this sharply funny Tony Award®-winning hit satire of progressivism, parenting, and…
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Cast and creative team announced for SENTINELS, a play with music celebrating the contributions of women over the past 80 years
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