Saturday, 09 February 2019 18:55
Dominique Morisseau’s Pipeline Delivers Rockin’ Performances at Victory Gardens
Written by Bill Esler
Six spectacular actors bring deeply moving performances under director Cheryl Lynn Bruce in Dominique Morisseau’s Pipeline. The capacity crowd who braved six-degree weather to show up at the Biograph Theatre on Lincoln Ave. were richly rewarded by this exceptional production. But you kind of have to go when a Morisseau…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Wednesday, 06 February 2019 01:59
Four Women: Nina Simone Leaves Us All with the Backlash Blues
Written by CJ Burroughs
My gateway to Nina Simone fandom came when I was a kid, watching some crummy 90's action movie that was somehow soundtracked by Ms. Simone’s music. Her take on George Harrison’s “Here Comes the Sun” was both recognizable to young me as a Beatles tune, but it was also strange,…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Tuesday, 05 February 2019 17:30
Review: 'Elektra' at Lyric Opera of Chicago
Written by John Accrocco
Elektra must have been a Scorpio. Strauss’ intense one-act opera ‘Elektra’ is a classic tale of revenge set to some of the most thrilling music ever composed. Originally directed by Sir David McVicar at the Lyric in 2012, Remy Bummpo artistic director Nick Sandys helms the revival this season. Clocking…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Sunday, 03 February 2019 23:56
How to Catch Creation? See this play and make a step in that direction
Written by Bill Esler
The dynamic clashes of three couples living parallel lives fuels Christina Anderson’s delightful new play, How to Catch Creation. With dialog that is fresh, arresting, and completely natural, Anderson captures and holds our attention throughout the 90-minute show. We quickly become invested in the characters, want to know how things…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Wednesday, 30 January 2019 17:06
Evil Dead II: Live on Stage Like You've Never Seen It!
Written by Bill Esler
Droll, knowing, and surprisingly good, Evil Dead: The Musical, transforms the campy self-aware horror-comedy movie franchise into something wickedly fun. Even those who haven’t seen the Evil Dead movie series in awhile – or ever – will enjoy this show. It's laced with irony, just like the original, and doubling as a…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Monday, 28 January 2019 20:43
No Small Task - 'The Magic Parlour' starring Dennis Watkins hits major milestone
Written by Ken Payne
January 25th is now Palmer House, A Hilton Hotel and Magic Parlour Day in Chicago as so declared by Mayor Rahm Emanuel in a statement last week. The day is named so for good reason. An idea that took shape in 2011 has now become one of Chicago’s great attractions…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Sunday, 27 January 2019 10:07
Baby, you can't go wrong - 'Million Dollar Quartet' at Marriott Theatre
Written by Kimberly Katz
Just imagine if you could be a fly on the wall during that infamous night when four legendary stars of rock and roll - Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis got together for one epic night at Sun Studios. That historic meeting had the young stars…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Sunday, 27 January 2019 23:55
Scientist Rosalind Franklin Finally Gets Credit for DNA Research Role in Photograph 51
Written by Bill Esler
Walking in as curtain time neared for Photograph 51, the towering set took my breath away: a backdrop nearly three-stories tall, built of a latticework of delicately framed, vertical windowpanes with spiral staircases swirling down at each end, to meet a floor of foot-square hexagonal tiles. Heavy quarter-sawn oak laboratory…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Monday, 21 January 2019 17:56
Review: 'The Realistic Joneses' at Theater Wit
Written by John Accrocco
Sometimes we see couples in restaurants and think how on earth did they ever end up together? Sadly, the couple in question might be feeling the same way. Is it the idea of settling or just assumed gender roles that lead so many married couples to this place? Will Eno’s…
Published in
Theatre in Review
More...
Saturday, 19 January 2019 19:44
Noises Off Is a Hilariously Funny Take on a Play That Goes Wrong
Written by Bill Esler
Backstage comedies and dramas are a beloved genre – David Mamet’s Main Street, Ronald Harwood’s The Dresser, Noel Coward’s Present Laughter, Mel Brooks The Producers– known for sending up actors, directors, and show business. Michael Frayn’s Noises Off – the phrase is basically British for “Quiet on the Set” -…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Wednesday, 16 January 2019 07:39
Brendan Coyle nothing short of perfection in Goodman's 'St. Nicholas'
Written by Ken Payne
Brendan Coyle is no Mr. Bates when it comes to his latest stage endeavor. Instead, the Olivier Award-winning actor, best known for his role on Downton Abbey as the likeable, mild-mannered, ever so loyal valet to Lord Crawley – Mr. Bates, takes on a persona far removed from what most…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Monday, 14 January 2019 23:43
Fuente Ovejuna: a #MeToo Event in 15th Century Spain. Even More Remarkable? It Really Happened
Written by Bill Esler
An alluring play with a less familiar name - Fuente Ovejuna – is delivering a startlingly great moment of theater. Written in 1619 by Lope de Vega – the prolific writer who is considered the foremost playwright of Spain’s golden age - it is based on a true story that…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Tagged under
Thursday, 10 January 2019 19:48
Making the Old New Again: 'The Lightning Thief' at the Oriental Theatre
Written by CJ Burroughs
Despite being both a writer and a fanboy of books aimed at readers much younger than I’ve been for what seems like millennia, I never got around to Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson & the Olympians series. Maybe I thought it was a knockoff of the, at the time, immensely popular…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Register
Login
Latest Articles
-
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… -
Inside a Real ‘Fire House’ You Are Immersed in Phantasmic Lives of Firefighters
Written by Bill EslerSet in Chicago’s oldest fire station (now Firehouse Art Studio) the immersive play "Fire House” is only loosely tethered to a realistic portrayal of what fire fighters do. What it conveys is an impressionistic vision of the experience that fire… -
Spamalot Is Every Monty Python Fan’s Dream Come to Life
Written by Angelo CamposSpamalot rides into the Windy City courtesy of Broadway In Chicago, inviting theatergoers to join King Arthur’s quest now through May 31 at the CIBC Theatre. Fans of Monty Python and the Holy Grail - the 1975 cult classic -… -
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…
Does your theatre company want to connect with Buzz Center Stage or would you like to reach out and say "hello"? Message us through facebook or shoot us an email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
*This disclaimer informs readers that the views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and not necessarily to Buzz Center Stage. Buzz Center Stage is a non-profit, volunteer-based platform that enables, and encourages, staff members to post their own honest thoughts on a particular production.