Sunday, 24 November 2024 09:39
A Lovely Night; Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella revives magic at Marriott Theatre
Written by Kendall Royzen
In 1997, Disney came out with the most magnificent adaptation of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella that has ever been made. With talent like Brandy, Whitney Houston, Bernadette Peters, Jason Alexander, and Paolo Montalban, the rendition of the classic fairytale lives rent free in the minds of most millennials and their…
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Theatre in Review
What the hell is pantomime anyway? Will I be reviewing a game of Charades? Google to the rescue! But I searched in vain for a definition: pan·to·mime [ˈpan(t)əˌmīm] a play or entertainment in which performers express themselves mutely by gestures. PrideArts mounting a silent production? Um …. I find that…
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Theatre in Review
When Francesca Zambello, director of The Glimmerglass Festival, commissioned an opera about race in America, the country was reeling from a spate of police shootings of young African-American men in Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, and South Carolina. By the time the commissioned work Blue premiered at The Glimmerglass Festival in 2019,…
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Theatre in Review
Even 40 years later, the AIDS crisis continues to shape American life. Long before Hollywood brought AIDS stories to the cultural mainstream, the theatre was a safe place for actors and writers to explore their fears and sense of injustice for a mass audience. ‘Falsettos’ playwright William Finn began working…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Monday, 18 November 2024 13:24
Delightful Send-up of 1930s Musicals, 'Dames at Sea' Nearly Sunk by Bad Sound
Written by Bill Esler
Overall Citadel Theatre’s ‘Dames at Sea’ has a smashingly great cast of singers and dancers, perfect for a musical comedy satirizing the over-the-top 1930s movies and Broadway revues that were light on plot and heavy on costumes, dance routine, and ostrich-feathered pageantry. That’s exactly what ‘Dames at Sea’ pokes fun…
Published in
Theatre in Review
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Saturday, 16 November 2024 12:05
Disney's The Little Mermaid at Drury Lane: An Inspiring and Delightful Production Celebrating Girls' Unique Voices
Written by Kimberly Katz
I thoroughly enjoyed Drury Lane's enchanting stage production of Disney’s The Little Mermaid from start to finish. While few are overly familiar with Hans Christian Andersen’s original, darker tale of ill-fated romance, the Disney animated film and this stage adaptation, with a book by Doug Wright and music by Alan…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Thursday, 14 November 2024 09:46
Moving, Engaging 'Every Brilliant Thing' Shines at Writers Theatre
Written by Bill Esler
“Every Brilliant Thing,” places unusual demands on its lead character, Narrator. Jessie Fisher delivers a carefully calibrated performance from a comedic script that is deceivingly simple, but deeply emotional and upon reading it afterward, I saw that it is beautifully structured, as well. Fisher is the center of our attention…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Friday, 08 November 2024 23:14
Irving Berlin's Magnificent White Christmas at Marriott Theatre: A Joyous and Heartfelt Celebration for Everyone
Written by Kimberly Katz
I've always had a deep fondness for the two timeless films Holiday Inn and White Christmas. These movies feature outstanding soundtracks composed by the legendary Jewish American immigrant Irving Berlin. With a repertoire of 1,500 remarkable songs, including the iconic 'God Bless America', Berlin also sparked a Christmas revolution with…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Monday, 11 November 2024 20:01
A Humorous Homage to History: The Marriage of Figaro Dazzles at The Lyric Opera
Written by Kendall Royzen
Sometimes history has a way of repeating itself and it’s not always for the better. Try as we might to learn from history, some of us are simply doomed to repeat it. But not everything that is repeated is necessarily bad. Historical music, art, and opera transcend history, where repetition…
Published in
Theatre in Review
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Saturday, 09 November 2024 11:13
Do You Want To See Some Magic: Frozen The Broadway Musical at Paramount
Written by Kendall Royzen
Throughout our busy lives we often seek out the new. It is easy to see the allure. Beginnings offer a bit of magic, a clean slate, a chance to start anew. The opportunity brings with it a sense of hope and optimism that maybe this time we’ll be lucky, maybe…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Thursday, 07 November 2024 13:04
Blood and Brilliance: Invictus Theatre’s ‘Macbeth’ Stands Tall in Chicago Theatre
Written by Wesley David
Invictus Theatre Company’s latest production of The Tragedy of Macbeth, adapted and directed by Sarafina Vecchio, delivers a potent, intense experience that brings Shakespeare’s tale of ambition vividly to life. This production leans into the raw and brutal aspects of the play, creating an atmosphere thick with dread and foreboding.…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Tuesday, 05 November 2024 17:21
A Spell-Binding Reinvention: "Leroy and Lucy" at Steppenwolf
Written by Wesley David
Ngozi Anyanwu’s Leroy and Lucy, in its electrifying world premiere at Steppenwolf Theatre, takes the legendary tale of Robert Johnson’s fateful night at crossroads and infuses it with the powerful mysticism of Yoruba spirituality. Forget the familiar Christian devil—instead, Anyanwu conjures Eshu, a complex Orisha (god) from Yoruba mythology who…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Wednesday, 30 October 2024 15:18
The Babes with Blades are a DREAM! A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
Sarz Maxwell
I’ve delighted in Babes with Blades since they began in 1997, and they are never more delightful than when slashing and sauntering their gender-flouting way through Shakespeare. Apt, that: MAGA really should condemn all the Bard’s works as rooted in cross-dressing! The Babes would thumb their noses at that, though!…
Published in
Theatre in Review
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Citadel Theatre announces a mix of classics and 21st Century works for its 2026–27 mainstage season
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CHICAGO TAP THEATRE PRESENTS SATURN RETURNS, JUNE 11 - 14 AT THE EDGE THEATER
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