The Buttcracker (playing at the Greenhouse Theater Center through December 31) is a Nutcracker Burlesque, a Yule pantomime with elements of comedy, magic and circus that blends all the qualities you’d want in evening holiday entertainment: compelling narrative, gorgeous flapper-era…
Above the Water is a devised physical show (with puppets in it) about grief. At various points in my life, puppets had helped me get over several fears–including a childhood fear of math homework (thanks Sesame Street), so I wondered…
Playwright Siena Marilyn Ledger and director Hayley Procacci have produced a new play, Man and Moon, which premieres at Madison Street Theater in Oak Park on October 21 and will run through November 13. The play is set in an oncology unit and is a…
Projections of light traced the movements of the dancers on the floor, shadows of them spinning and bouncing in their chairs were cast along the sidewalls of the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) theater. Artistic director and performer Alice Sheppard…
To sit in a beautiful, bustling lounge, surrounded by plush art deco fixings and dolled-up people, while sipping a cocktail (called Smoke and Mirrors) is a luxe experience indeed. But add in a few roving house magicians and a show…
The world premiere of REFLEX, a solo juggling show by renowned performer Jay Gilligan, (produced by Hideaway Circus) recently had its world premiere in Brooklyn’s Mitu580, an art and performance space built in an old glass recycling factory. But Hideaway’s…
After a long dark night in circus and indeed performing arts history, Santa is back on stage, and his elves and reindeer are there too, full of hype for the coming holidays. At the Chicago Theatre until December 5, you…
Have you ever wondered–can dogs be showpeople? Are canines natural performers who adore the limelight and thrive on the roar of the crowd? Can they take direction? Do they understand the nuances of the human heart and can they convey…
“High-flying, knot-tying, gravity-defying aerialists, loopy jugglers, musicians that pull at your heartstrings, and comedy that will leave you in stitches!” It happens every summer now for the past few years up and down the east coast, tracing the touring route…
Physical Fest has wooed Chicago for eight years now, introducing wonderful international physical theater and circus works, but this year Physical Fest has had to adapt to pandemic restrictions like everyone else in the performing arts world. Their solution was…
“Of all the Spiegeltents in all the neighborhoods of Chicago, Cleopatra walks into Chef Caesar’s joint…” starts the Teatro Zinzanni program, and I think that statement sets the stage (the circular stage) just as well as any. Because now you…
Plans for the 7th annual Physical Theater Festival were full steam ahead when the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic in March and Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed a statewide stay-at-home order following the announcement. Originally scheduled…
The Ghost in Gadsden’s Garden is a charming tale (part coming-of-age story, part Scooby Doo mystery) of the new kid looking to fit in after having just moved to town with problems of their own. And while the tale is…
Here in Chicago, we think we get winter. Our unique understanding of the nuances of lake-effect snow and our ability to gripe endlessly about dibs surely preps us for the longest season of hibernation. But one thing becomes apparent when…
It begins with storytelling, a dark fairytale to set the tone—one from the Brothers Grimm about a defiant little girl who doesn’t know her place– so God kills her. This tale is told in whispers and grunts first by Dani…
On opening night of ‘Twas the Night Before by Cirque du Soleil last Friday, Macy’s windows on State Street were decorated with polar creatures enjoying some real winter hygge. People clutching little red stocking-shaped mugs of glog had wandered over from…
I went to Edinburgh this August with the goal of reviewing a small part (namely circus, my professional specialty) of the famous Edinburgh Fringe Festival in a mad rush. Maneuvering through the crowds to get to venues, and my endless…
This show is a twofer, a 90-minute packed double-feature by directing power couple Brittany Price Anderson and Richie Schiraldi. The two shows (Wild Women and Oneironauts) are the result of the recent graduating body of Columbia College’s physical theater program, from…
If circus be the food of love, play on. It’s a sentiment many experience in the presence of circus arts when masterfully displayed–and what if it also happens to have a little of the Bard’s slapstick farcical action? Yes Ma’am Circus…
It will be the 6th year for Physical Theater Festival Chicago (May 31–June 8, 2019), and as in previous years, they are bringing acclaimed international shows to Chicago stages, but this year there is a twist–they are beginning to feature…
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