Mary-Arrchie Theatre Ends Its Run with Abbie Fest XVIII

Mary-Arrchie’s theater space at Angel Island is gone, but the theater closes out its history with a final event in the spirit of “Abbie Hoffman Died for Our Sins.” The 28th annual Abbie Fest will be this Friday through Sunday at the Den Theatre in Wicker Park. 3cr-AbbieFest-Web-1-768x1187 The theater’s last dramatic production at Angel Island was a “snarling, hilarious production” of American Buffalo, which we reviewed. Almost 60 theater and performance companies are participating in Abbie Fest XVIII, including outfits such as A Red Orchid, Agit Prop, Danger Democracy, Raven Theatre, Revolution Theatre, Otherworld, The Inconvenience and Strawdog. Commenting on an earlier Abbie Fest, actor-comedian Nick Offerman said, "This splendid debauch was a non-stop, 72-hour procession of everything from high-quality theater pieces, music and monologues to absolute absurdism and nonsense." General admission weekend passes for $25 are available here. See the latest Abbie Fest schedule here. Abbie Fest XVIII runs from 7pm Friday to 11:55pm Sunday at the Den Theatre, 1333 N. Milwaukee Ave. The festival is also a final fundraising push for the company.
Nancy S Bishop

Nancy S. Bishop is publisher and Stages editor of Third Coast Review. She’s a member of the American Theatre Critics Association and a 2014 Fellow of the National Critics Institute at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center. You can read her personal writing on pop culture at nancybishopsjournal.com, and follow her on Twitter @nsbishop. She also writes about film, books, art, architecture and design.