Thursday, 02 February 2023 11:30
Review: Andy Warhol Was in Tehran. This recount is Both Funny and Moving
Written by Bill Esler
‘Andy Warhol in Tehran’ is a delight, an incisive comedy packaged with a serious exploration of art, history, and political values. Rob Lindley as Warhol captures the artist exactly as he was seen in his public persona, somewhat vapid, seemingly desultory, with a passion for attaching to others’ fame, while…
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Theatre in Review
Wednesday, 25 January 2023 13:13
Pools of emotions spoken and unspoken in Goodman’s “the ripple, the wave that carried me home”
Written by Wesley David
Like Christina Anderson, the Tony award nominated playwright of “the ripple, the wave that carried me home” I too was naively unaware of the history of segregation of public pools. Growing up in Brooklyn, NY, at the same time as the play’s timeline, public pools were more likely segregated by…
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Theatre in Review
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Thursday, 26 January 2023 13:15
‘The Birthday Party’—A Comedy of Menace from a Master of the Genre
Written by Bill Esler
CityLit Theater’s ‘The Birthday Party’ opens with a load of laughs, seducing the audience with its low-key humor, then shaking us up as sinister overtones are gradually revealed. We are introduced to the middle-aged operators of a British seaside boarding house: Meg (Elaine Carlson is delightfully comedic) and her dead-pan…
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Theatre in Review
Monday, 23 January 2023 13:12
It's delightful, it's funny, it's Oil Lamp's 'Almost, Maine'!
Written by Kimberly Katz
Have you ever fallen in love – or out of love? Have you ever lost the love of your life only to find the new love is waiting for you right around the corner at just the perfect moment? Have you ever found love when you weren’t even looking for…
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Theatre in Review
Friday, 20 January 2023 14:28
Review: 'Cabaret' at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts
Written by John Accrocco
Fewer theatrical experiences are more thrilling than a Kander and Ebb musical done well. Porchlight’s revival of ‘Cabaret’ delivers the exact kind of razzle-dazzle audiences expect when they think of the Kit Kat Club. Directed by Artistic Director Michael Weber and choreographed by Brenda Didier, this production scrubs off some…
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Theatre in Review
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Tuesday, 17 January 2023 15:19
The Edge’s Tick, tick...BOOM! Understood the Assignment
Written by Anne Rakowiecki
If you love Rent, you’ll really like tick, tick…BOOM! If you don’t like Rent, you’ll probably still really like tick, tick…BOOM!, because what’s not to like about a great story and a talented cast? If you’ve ever struggled, strived, or attempted to create anything — or even just faced existential…
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Theatre in Review
As a child of the 80s, I fondly remember sitting up on weeknights and watching tv sitcoms with my folks. Many of them—Murphy Brown, Designing Women, etc.—proved a bit too mature for my (still) juvenile sensibility. But one “old people” show I always loved (and still do) was The Golden…
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Monday, 26 December 2022 18:44
Review: ‘Irving Berlin’s White Christmas’ at North Shore Center for the Performing Arts
Written by Kimberly Katz
Irving Berlin’s White Christmas at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie is an absolutely fantastic seasonal Christmas show that pulls out all the stops! I am a huge fan of the original film White Christmas and this talented cast, which was well-directed by Sasha Gerritson, brings so much of the magic of Irving…
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Theatre in Review
Friday, 16 December 2022 14:57
Review: Bald Sisters is Funny, Powerful and Stunningly Good
Written by Bill Esler
"Bald Sisters," in its world premiere at Steppenwolf Theatre, tells of a Cambodian refugee who escaped the unspeakable terror of the Kmer Rouge with her daughter, and made a new life and birthed a second daughter in the U.S. But the play only touches that in passing, instead focusing on…
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Theatre in Review
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Tuesday, 13 December 2022 09:35
Review: This Powerful Messiah Was Delivered with a Twist
Written by Bill Esler
‘Too Hot to Handel’ captures all the majesty of Handel’s baroque music masterpiece, but adds soul, infusing it with the power of equally classic jazz, gospel and blues interpretations. This annual tradition - it ran December 3-4 this year - was launched in 1992, and was first performed at Chicago’s…
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Theatre in Review
Sunday, 11 December 2022 14:34
Review: 'Dear Evan Hansen' at Nederlander Theatre
Written by CJ Burroughs
In the world before, when the availability of musical theater was just a given, just another one of life’s perks I took for granted, there was a show that hadn’t yet been available, at least not to me. I’d been perked up, waiting to see it since it became the…
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Theatre in Review
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Thursday, 08 December 2022 12:02
THE JINKX & DELA HOLIDAY SHOW at Auditorium Theatre: “EVERYBODY’S TRAUMATIZED BY CHRISTMAS!”
Sarz Maxwell
Jinkx Monsoon and BenDeLaCreme’s Christmas show truly rocks! And, lucky us, their show just made a quick stop in Chicago at the Auditorium Theatre. There are dozens of holiday drag shows, but this one is Jinkx and DeLa! The above title quote (sung, appropriately enough, to the tune of “Grandma…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Tuesday, 06 December 2022 21:38
A Christmas Classic; Ruth Page Center for The Arts' Nutcracker shines light on young Chicago talent
Written by Kendall Royzen
The month of December means one thing for ballet companies across the country: The Nutcracker. To audiences, this holiday classic brings the classic story of Clara and her Nutcracker Prince coming to life and journeying to the land of sweets. For young dancers, however, The Nutcracker is a culmination and…
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Theatre in Review
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