Saturday, 13 July 2019 17:00
Mary Zimmerman’s The Music Man Is a Delight Made for Chicago Audiences
Written by Bill Esler
The Music Man is beautifully produced at Goodman Theater. It generated so much pre-show buzz that the run was extended twice before the curtain came down on opening night. No wonder. With great choreography (Denis Jones), wonderfully detailed period costumes (Ana Kuzmanic), and an orchestra directed by Jermaine Hill, it…
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Theatre in Review
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Saturday, 13 July 2019 17:00
Mary Zimmerman’s The Music Man Is a Delight Made for Chicago Audiences
Written by Bill Esler
The Music Man is beautifully produced at Goodman Theater. It generated so much pre-show buzz that the run was extended twice before the curtain came down on opening night. No wonder. With great choreography (Denis Jones), wonderfully detailed period costumes (Ana Kuzmanic), and an orchestra directed by Jermaine Hill, it…
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Theatre in Review
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Saturday, 13 July 2019 13:44
Murder, Intrigue and a Shitload of Laughs in Handbag's 'The Drag Seed'
Written by Ken Payne
In 1956 a psychological horror-thriller film hit the big screens across America that undoubtedly shocked audiences nationwide. The film, The Bad Seed, was based on William March’s 1954 novel of the same name and also hit the stage that same year. In a time when UFOs and alien invasions caused…
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Theatre in Review
Sunday, 07 July 2019 22:21
Hitler’s Tasters Tells of 15 German Girls Ready to Lay Down Their Lives for Their Fuhrer
Written by Bill Esler
It’s no secret Hitler feared he would be killed, by political assassins, rivals or enemy troops. He spent much of the war seeking security underground at The Wolf’s Lair, his heavily fortified command center 400 miles east of Berlin, while directing action on the Eastern front. One of his fears…
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Theatre in Review
Saturday, 06 July 2019 13:42
Suppressed by the Nazis, ‘The Flower of Hawaii’ Blossoms at Folks Operetta
Written by Bill Esler
The Flower of Hawaii (originally Die Blume von Hawaii) is a 1931 operetta by Hungarian composer Paul Abraham. Working in Berlin, Abraham was popular for his light operatic works, the type that live in the niche between grand opera and our classic Broadway musicals. In recent years, operettas seem to have been…
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Theatre in Review
Saturday, 29 June 2019 00:44
Something Clean: Terrific Performances, Great Chemistry Make It Something Wonderful
Written by Bill Esler
Something Clean, directed by Lauren Shouse, gives us a compelling story, very well acted, and with that touch of magic that comes from a great chemistry in the performers. The script (by Selina Fillinger) is notable for the way it depicts real human beings who develop and change in the…
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Theatre in Review
Friday, 21 June 2019 12:18
Wicked Little Town: 'Hedwig and the Angry Inch' at Theo Ubique
Written by CJ Burroughs
I’ve probably said this before — the sheer volume of shows we here in Chicago have on offer makes me count my lucky stars whenever I enter a theater, be it for an opulent touring production or for a more intimate local performance. But it’s always the latter for which…
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Theatre in Review
Monday, 17 June 2019 12:04
Review: 'If I Forget' at Victory Gardens Theater
Written by John Accrocco
Does not supporting Israel make you an anti-semite? This is the central theme of playwright Steven Levenson’s work ‘If I Forget’ now running at Victory Gardens under the direction of Devon De Mayo. Levenson is best known for providing the book to Broadway’s smash hit ‘Dear Evan Hansen’. “If I…
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Theatre in Review
Friday, 14 June 2019 16:58
We Forecast Box Office Boffo for The Ballad of Lefty & Crabbe
Written by Bill Esler
The Ballad of Lefty & Crabbe is a new musical comedy that is so good I found myself lamenting half-way through Act 1 that its run at Underscore Theatre ends July 14 – or ever! It is hard to imagine anyone not being smitten by it; it is just the…
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Theatre in Review
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Friday, 07 June 2019 22:27
In Service To America: If Only We Could Have Had Ms. Blakk for President
Written by Bill Esler
When Chicago drag performer Joan Jett Blakk ran for President in 1992 – the year Bill Clinton was nominated – it was certainly the most outré act of political insurrection Americans had seen – for those who noticed, anyway. It’s unlikely the Tribune and Sun-Times gave her candidacy much coverage.…
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Theatre in Review
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Wednesday, 05 June 2019 18:09
Chicago's Physical Theater Festival Brings Exciting World Performance Artists to Your Doorstep
Written by Bill Esler
The Physical Theater Festival, running through June 9 at Stage 773, is an exciting opportunity to really enjoy theater from around the world. It overcomes the biggest barrier to shows from abroad – language – by reducing or eliminating the spoken script, subordinating it to broad movement, pantomime, facial expressions…
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Theatre in Review
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The Den Theatre returns to original programming for the first time in nearly five years. Director Lia Mortensen directs their revival of the Joel Drake Johnson play ‘Four Places’. In the intimate space at the Den, ‘Four Places’ gets its first Chicago production since its premiere in 2008 at Victory…
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Theatre in Review
Friday, 31 May 2019 08:37
Didn't Get The Memo? Then Don't Miss This Orwellian Farce by Václav Havel.
Written by Bill Esler
Organic Theater has done such a wonderful job in The Memo, it is hard to imagine a more perfect presentation of this play by Czech writer and statesmen, Václav Havel. The Memo is at turns funny and unsettling. While the original The Memorandum is rooted in the totalitarian Eastern Europe,…
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Theatre in Review
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