Saturday, 23 April 2022 10:39
Marriott Theatre's 'The Sound of Music' Delights
Written by CJ Burroughs
For most of us—those reviewing theater or those thinking about attending or just about anyone, I guess—Rodgers and Hammerstein’s The Sound of Music is omnipresent. Just a part of our existence. The original soundtrack in everyone’s grandmother’s vinyl collection, with all of those songs. The 1960s film version that once…
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Theatre in Review
It’s not often that Goodman Theatre imports plays from other theatre companies. It’s also an exciting moment when a frequent Goodman actress gets to showcase her newest play on the mainstage. “Relentless” by Tyla Abercrumbie was originally developed and produced by TimeLine Theatre in Chicago as part of their Playwrights…
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Theatre in Review
Monday, 11 April 2022 14:08
Review: 'In Every Generation' at Victory Gardens Theater
Written by John Accrocco
There are plenty of holiday plays, but how many plays are specifically about Passover? For that matter, how many people really know what Passover signifies? Victory Gardens premieres Ali Viterbi’s new play “In Every Generation”, which tells the story of one Jewish American family’s journey from 1940s Europe through the…
Published in
Theatre in Review
A rare opportunity to see Brian Friel’s ‘Molly Sweeney’ is being presented at the historic Chopin Theatre building at its intimate Studio through May 8. The celebrated Irish playwright won a 1996 Tony Award for this very contemporary tale of a 40-year-old woman blind from infancy who has her vision…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Sunday, 27 March 2022 13:00
Review: 'Laced' at About Face Theatre at The Den
Written by John Accrocco
Perhaps it was the pandemic, or maybe it’s the cultural divide between the left and the right, but it seems like small town gay bars are vanishing. Playwright Samantha Mueller sets out to commemorate these safe spaces in their new play “Laced” making its world premiere at About Face Theatre.…
Published in
Theatre in Review
With the world being what it is, war and rumors of war, racial unrest, and division, it was comforting to see a play where two unlikely people form a friendship. A friendship based solely on basketball, more specifically, LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. “King James” opened with the Marvin…
Published in
Theatre in Review
The preoccupation with the opioid crisis in our pop culture these days says a lot about the world in which we live. Rivendell Theatre contributes to the national conversation with a new play, “Spay” by local playwright Madison Fiedler. “Spay” is set in Appalachia, the heart of the opioid crisis,…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Tuesday, 15 March 2022 11:32
As Good as It Gets: Wife of a Salesman an Instant Classic
Written by Bill Esler
Playwright Eleanor Burgess has delivered one of the best scripts I've read or seen, in ‘Wife of a Salesman.’ While it may be viewed somewhat as a “prequel” to Arthur Miller’s 1949 classic ‘Death of a Salesman,’ it never directly references that play, and is an intriguing and challenging work…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Monday, 21 March 2022 15:14
Happily Ever After: Once Upon a Mattress at Theo Ubique
Written by CJ Burroughs
Of all the theaters whose return I’ve been most excited to experience, Theo Ubique was near the top of the list. And, with their current production of Mary Rodgers’ Once Upon a Mattress, directed by Landree Fleming, the Evanston company did not disappoint. While Once Upon a Mattress is a…
Published in
Theatre in Review
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It’s hard to imagine a life without late night talk shows. Since the dawn of TV, late night talk shows have been a means for Americans to get to know celebrities better. During the pandemic these nightly comedy hours provided a necessary platform for connection and laughter. We watched the…
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Theatre in Review
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Sunday, 20 March 2022 08:42
Gaga for Zaza; La Cage aux Folles stuns in Skokie
Written by Kendall Royzen
I remember the first time I saw The Birdcage starting Robin Williams and Nathan Lane. My mother was judged for "exposing" me to such a "mature story." But today it is still one of my favorite films, as is the original play it's based off of "La Cage aux Folles."…
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Theatre in Review
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Shakespeare the dramatist is a genius at the craft of theater, and brings a timeless artistry that is unexcelled. So it was with some trepidation that I took my seat at the Edge Off-Broadway Theatre for Idle Muse’s 'Upon This Shore: Pericles and the Daughters of Tyre.' I can report…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Wednesday, 23 February 2022 22:08
Invictus Delivers Exceptional Production of Lynn Nottage's Ruined
Written by Bill Esler
Invictus Theatre delivers the finest acting in Chicago. The current run of Lynn Nottage's 2009 Pulitzer Prize winning play 'Ruined' is no exception. Originally commissioned by Goodman Theater, where Nottage workshopped it in 2007, 'Ruined' is set in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It tells the story of sexual exploitation…
Published in
Theatre in Review
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Spaceman: Into the Quiet Terror of the Void
Written by Ken PayneSpaceman, presented by [producingbody], touches down at The Edge Off-Broadway with a quiet, unnerving force, pulling audiences into the fragile headspace of an astronaut drifting far from home and even farther from certainty. Under Eric Slater’s beautifully calibrated direction, playwright… -
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Raven Theatre announces the 2026-27 season
Written by Buzz Center StageRaven Theatre, under the director of Executive Artistic Director Jonathan Berry, announces its 44th season, to include Michael R. Jackson's Pulitzer Prize-winning musical A Strange Loop, directed by Mikael Burke in a co-production with About Face Theatre; Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie, directed by Raven Executive Artistic Director Jonathan…
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