Sunday, 11 November 2018 19:47
Review: Manuel Cinema's 'Frankenstein' at Court Theatre
Written by John Accrocco
It’s a rare treat to get to experience anything as unique as Manual Cinema’s production of ‘Frankenstein’ at Court Theatre. With several productions of ‘Frankenstein’ going on this year, one might wonder how they’re each distinguishing themselves. Manual Cinema’s original adaptation is just that, a manual cinema. Told with intricate…
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Theatre in Review
Tuesday, 13 November 2018 00:00
Testing the Limits of Dramatic Invention in An Oak Tree
Written by Bill Esler
It’s an intriguing proposition for a play: two actors meet for the first time on stage. One, the First Actor, has rehearsed the play, while the Second Actor has never even read it. In An Oak Tree, this dynamic repeats for each day’s performance – 22 in all by the…
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Theatre in Review
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Saturday, 10 November 2018 21:39
Blue Man Group's Never Ending Invention Brings Us Light-Horns,Spinulum and Twinkies
Written by Bill Esler
Blue Man Group premiered the newest version of its show Thursday night at Briar Street Theater, where it has been ensconced since 1997 – making it the longest running act in Chicago. Wearing shiny blue face paint, skull masks covering hair and ears, and blue rubber gloves, the Blue Men…
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Theatre in Review
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Friday, 09 November 2018 04:07
The Better Half: A rich, buttery, and zesty new production at Steppenwolf
Written by Kendall Royzen
As the house lights dimmed and the actors took to the stage, an odd play began to unfold at Steppenwolf’s 1700 Theater. Lights appeared to direct the actors where to go, the actors didn’t act as though they were acting, and perched on my corner aisle seat actresses raced by…
Published in
Theatre in Review
The setting is a drought-stricken Midwest cattle town. Sheriff File (played by Denzel Tsopnang) and the town folk set the mood as they lament that “the earth is burning, crops is bad, and land is dry” in opening number “Another Hot Day” of BoHo Theatre’s presentation of 110 in The…
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Theatre in Review
Wednesday, 07 November 2018 10:25
The Last Session: a Very Musical and Very Personal Take on the AIDS Epidemic
Written by Bill Esler
Refuge Theatre Project likes to pick up what it calls under-appreciated musicals and put them on in non-traditional settings. They hit that mark with The Last Session, an off-off-Broadway musical from 1997 that ran for about 20 weeks off-Broadway. Set in a 1990s Los Angeles recording studio, this production takes…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Monday, 05 November 2018 18:19
A Storybook Siegfried Or James Earl Jones Takes Charlie Brown and Corporal Klinger on an Excellent Adventure to Where the Wild Things Are to slay a Dragon and Find the St. Pauli Girl
Written by William and Margaret Swain
Siegfried, the third installment of Richard Wagner’s monumental cycle, The Ring of the Niebelungen, opened in a comic-book fairy tale, if not quite mythical version this past Saturday evening to an enthusiastic full house at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. In the preceding two seasons, the prologue, Das Rheingold and…
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Theatre in Review
Monday, 05 November 2018 23:52
Review: ‘Siegfried’ at Lyric Opera of Chicago
Written by John Accrocco
Five hours is a long time to do anything. A five-hour German opera loosely based on incest can sound even longer when given the choice on a Saturday night. That said, Lyric Opera’s new production of Wagner’s ‘Siegfried’ feels anything but long. ‘Siegfried’ is the third installment in Wagner’s four-opera…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Thursday, 01 November 2018 04:21
Russian radio never sounded so good - 'Radio Culture' at TUTA
Written by Ron Reis
This was an interesting production that oddly enough had very little to do with radio. ‘Radio Culture’ is a one act play with a somewhat unique concept where just one actor holds a speaking role. TUTA’s home theatre space (4670 N Manor in Chicago) is a small little place that…
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Theatre in Review
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What makes a life extraordinary? Is it the chance meetings with celebrities, surviving world war or is it all the love that surrounds us? ‘Lady in Denmark’ by Dael Orlandersmith makes its world premiere at Goodman Theatre under the direction of Victory Gardens’ Artistic Director, Chay Yew. Orlandersmith is known…
Published in
Theatre in Review
I had high expectations for Cosmologies as I read the promotional material in preparation for attending the show’s opening at The Gift Theatre. The opening scene also gave me hope (briefly) as it was humorous and set the viewer up for the anticipated “existential absurdist comedy.” Instead the audience was…
Published in
Theatre in Review
Hello, Dolly! starring Betty BuckleyOriental Theatre thru November 17, 2018 Tony Award winning superstar Betty Buckley is featured in the title role of this revival of the 1964 Broadway musical Hello, Dolly! based on Thornton Wilder's 1955 play The Matchmaker. For theatre enthusiast, it’s a familiar story…and it’s so nice…
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Theatre in Review
Monday, 22 October 2018 02:54
Halloween was never so funny - 'The Golden Girls: Bea Afraid!'
Written by Ken Payne
Just in time for Halloween comes Hell in a Handbag’s The Golden Girls: Bea Afraid! The play’s name itself probably tips most off that audiences will be in for one helluva ride. Handbag found much success in the past couple of years creating their own hysterical episodes of The Golden…
Published in
Theatre in Review
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