How well does a three hour Russian science fiction film translate to stage? Surprisingly well. Griffin Theatre gives the North American premiere of David Grieg’s 2019 adaptation of the classic Tarkovsky film. The intimate staging at Raven Theatre gives audiences the same sense of deprivation one might have on a…
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Theatre in Review
Saturday, 19 February 2022 17:29
'Sons of Hollywood' at Windy City Playhouse Balances Tinsel and Truth
Kerstin Broockmann
Sons of Hollywood by Barry Ball and Carl Menninger, now receiving its world premiere at Windy City Playhouse, is both a love letter to the Golden Age of Hollywood and an homage to its victims, who survived beyond the ends of their careers, but not without scars. It is also,…
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Theatre in Review
Monday, 14 February 2022 10:06
Great Production Can't Overcome Weak Material in ‘Groundhog Day: The Musical’
Written by Bill Esler
The 1993 Bill Murray movie comedy, Groundhog Day,is one of those cult classics with millions of fans. Like ‘The Big Lebowski,' people love it, or don’t quite see the appeal. I fall in the latter class on both films: appreciating the concept, but not with a lot of fervor. So…
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Theatre in Review
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Wednesday, 16 February 2022 17:50
Run, don’t walk and get a ticket to Porchlight's “Blues In The Night”
Written by Wesley David
Porchlight’s 'Blues in The Night' Makes for a red hot Chicago evening. A musical revue in the strictest sense, it was conceived by Sheldon Epps in 1980 as a late-night companion piece to a jazz play. It took on a life of its own, and a brief Broadway run followed in…
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Theatre in Review
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Friday, 11 February 2022 11:08
'West Side Story' at The Marriott Theatre: A Place for All of Us
Written by CJ Burroughs
I’m not sure how long this honeymoon feeling of returning to life as a theatergoer will last. That butterflies-in-the-belly, waiting-for-the-lights-to-go-out feeling just before the show starts. Right now, I tell myself that it’ll last forever. That I’ll never take for granted what I was—and all of you lovers of a…
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Theatre in Review
Sunday, 13 February 2022 23:08
Trap Door Turns Absurdist Fantasy into Sexy 3-Ring Circus
Written by Bill Esler
Should a tiger take up residence in your bathroom, Trap Door Theater’s new production presents an entertaining selection of likely scenarios to follow. In a fresh translation of an absurdist play by Polish playwright Sɫawomir Mrożek—Poland’s Ionesco—director Nicole Wiesner turns 'The Martyrdom of Peter Ohey' into a highly entertaining, high…
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Theatre in Review
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Wednesday, 02 February 2022 11:55
Review: "Gem of the Ocean" at Goodman Theatre
Written by John Accrocco
Goodman Theatre’s aptly titled season, Homecoming, kicks off with a revival of August Wilson’s “Gem of the Ocean.” Written just a few years before his death, “Gem of the Ocean” is the first chapter of Wilson’s 10-play 20th Century “Cycle”. This play was originally produced at Goodman Theatre in 2003.…
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Theatre in Review
Wednesday, 02 February 2022 00:01
Timeline Tackles Memories in 'Relentless' by Tyla Abercrombie
Written by Wesley David
“Relentless” is a play about memories and what we do with those memories. Running at Timeline Theatre through February 26, this is a show in which all the characters carry a memory, either literally or figuratively. The year is 1919. America is struggling with two pandemics, one the recent outbreak…
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Theatre in Review
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Monday, 17 January 2022 13:35
'The Virginian: A Horseman of the Plains' Brings the Myth of the American West Back for All
Kerstin Broockmann
Owen Wister’s 1902 novel The Virginian: A Horseman of the Plains has been adapted for the stage at least once (by Wister himself along with a co-adaptor) and has had five screen adaptations, not including the television series based on it. This leads to the question of why it is…
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Theatre in Review
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Friday, 17 December 2021 11:23
'8-Track: The Sounds of the ‘70s' Is Exactly What It Promises…A Fun Look Back
Kerstin Broockmann
More jukebox than musical, Theo Ubique’s production of 8-Track: The Sounds of the ‘70s, conceived by Rick Seeber with musical arrangements by Michael Gribben, is a tribute to 70’s AM radio, performed by an ensemble of powerhouse vocalists, showcasing a range of tunes from Motown to the Bee Gees. There…
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Theatre in Review
Thursday, 09 December 2021 18:54
Crawford Cast as Blessed Virgin in Musical Extravaganza. 'Oh Mary!'
Written by Bill Esler
‘Christmas Dearest’ is wicked good fun, a hilarious if unholy marriage between Charles Dickens ‘A Christmas Carol’ and Mommie Dearest, the scathing tell-all book by moviestar Joan Crawford’s abused daughter, Christina. The show's creator, Hell in a Handbag Productions, is sui generis, a company whose staged shows tap the rarified…
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Theatre in Review
Monday, 06 December 2021 13:19
'Twelfth Night' an Incomplete Evening at Midsommer Flight
Kerstin Broockmann
This year’s incarnation of Shakespeare’s gender-switch comedy Twelfth Night, Midsommer Flight’s holiday tradition returns to the Lincoln Park Conservatory as “an immersive journey.” Under director Kristina McCloskey (with associate director Stephanie Mattos), “Audience members will follow performers promenade-style from scene to scene, often having to choose which characters or plot…
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Theatre in Review
Monday, 06 December 2021 14:51
The Wondrous Return of the Joffrey Ballet’s Nutcracker
Written by CJ Burroughs
As I ascended Madison Street early Saturday afternoon, my daughter’s hand in mine, Samuel Insull’s Civic Opera House rose up before us, throne-like, a sight that once greeted me daily in our old world with its bustling downtown and delights we took for granted. But our excitement — not just…
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Theatre in Review
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