Picture of the author

Lauren Garcia

ARTICLES: 13
Beyond, Stages, Theater

Actors of Theatre at the Center’s Odd Couple Try to Redefine “Space Oddity”

Before there was a film rendition, a sitcom, an animated sitcom featuring a cat and a dog, a revival sitcom featuring the 1980s, and finally yet another sitcom featuring Chandler […]

Lauren Garcia /
Food

The Chicago Cookbook Review: Beign-YAY Edition

Picture of the author

Hello. My name is Lauren Elyse, and I cook for fun. And now I write a series about Chicagoans who write books about cooking for fun. Every season, I will […]

Lauren Garcia /
Stages, Theater

A Tree Falls in About Face’s The Secretaries, & Everyone Hears It

There are few things in life that I am comfortable in saying make complete sense: the science behind the salty-sweetness of a chocolate-covered pretzel, the inevitable success of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s […]

Lauren Garcia /
Food

This Ain’t No Disco. This Ain’t No Country Club Either. This Is a New Series on Chicago Cookbooks.

Hello. My name is Lauren Elyse, and I cook for fun. And now I write about Chicagoans who write books about cooking for fun. Confused? Follow me. Let me take […]

Lauren Garcia /
Stages, Theater

Hillary Still Wins New Hampshire in Victory Gardens’ Hillary and Clinton But Not Much Else

What if we lived in a world where presidential elections weren’t such shit shows? Hear me out. Imagine there were many worlds very different from our own – even civil, perhaps […]

Lauren Garcia /
Stages, Theater

Cole Theatre’s The Bachelors Would Be Better Off Remaining Single

We are at an ideal time to be making a social commentary on the male perspective. That’s right – the male perspective, the very perspective that has idealized femininity since […]

Lauren Garcia /
Stages, Theater

Sideshow’s Mai Dang Lao Struggles to Serve a Happy Meal

There’s a special form of resentment I and the rest of working class America feel about restaurant jobs. Yeah, you know exactly what I’m talking about: coming home from work […]

Lauren Garcia /
Stages, Theater

Kokandy’s “Heathers: The Musical” Is Your New Best Friend and Worst Enemy

Look: No one wants to be the person who says that Heathers: The Musical works. You shouldn’t be able to take a cult classic movie, throw in a few snappy […]

Lauren Garcia /
Stages, Theater

Broadway in Chicago’s If/Then Is a Type-A Musical Wonderland

There are many reasons why one would want to root for Broadway in Chicago’s If/Then. For one, it’s not a riff on, say, a ’90s Disney film or Andrew Lloyd […]

Lauren Garcia /
Stages, Theater

Tympanic’s “Blueberry Toast” Finds Itself Having To Scrape Off Its Burnt Edges

If you had a sinking suspicion that, hey, maybe Tympanic Theatre Company’s Blueberry Toast is not about fruity breads and Eggo waffles and a celebration of domestic bliss over an […]

Lauren Garcia /
Stages, Theater

Porchlight’s “Far From Heaven” Takes Their Musical Theater Fare Shaken, Not Stoic

How do you take a cloyingly overused plot line and make it feel less decayed, more relevant, and, above all, interesting? That’s what Porchlight Music Theatre’s Far From Heaven attempts […]

Lauren Garcia /
Stages, Theater, Theater Festival

The Greenhouse Theater Center’s Jacob Harvey on Embracing the Individual

One may allegedly be the loneliest number, but at the Greenhouse Theater Center, Artistic Director Jacob Harvey would like to argue that it also makes for one hell of a fine show. […]

Lauren Garcia /