Review: Puddin’: The Autobiography of a Baby, A Memoir in Prose Poems, by Patrick T. Reardon
Puddin’ is a slim volume, small enough to tuck in a back pocket or a small purse. That size may suggest a good way to read this “memoir in prose poems” […]
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.
Review: In Joan and the Fire at Trap Door Theatre, the Storytellers Battle Over History but Joan Still Burns
Joan and the Fire, Trap Door Theatre’s latest production, by Romanian playwright Matei Vișniec, takes us back to the Middle Ages to argue about history. The story is told by an […]
Review: Griffin Theatre’s Heisenberg: The Uncertainty Principle Presents a Charming May-December Romance With a Headscratching Title
Georgie and Alex aren’t exactly a matched pair. She’s American, a bit loud and aggressive; she swears a lot and doesn’t seem to be able to tell the truth about […]
Review: At the Factory Theater, The Kelly Girls Become IRA Warriors During the Troubles in Northern Ireland
Fianna and Regan Kelly are The Kelly Girls, teenagers living in Belfast, Northern Ireland, in the 1960s. But don’t confuse them with the “Derry Girls,” who are happily obsessed with teenaged […]
Review: Tolstoy in a Cigar Factory—The Sensual Story of Anna in the Tropics by Remy Bumppo Theatre
Desire is a theme of Anna in the Tropics, the so-very-sensual play that won the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for playwright Nilo Cruz. The new production by Remy Bumppo Theatre, […]
Review: Villette at Lookingglass Theatre Tells a Young Woman’s 19th Century Story With 21st Century Flair
Villette is an 19th century tale played on an strikingly modern stage set. The playing area is bounded by two walls of sliding screens and a few pieces of period furniture […]
Review: Right to Be Forgotten at Raven Theatre Tells a Compelling Human Story But Neglects the Backstory
“. . . in the real world, when a minor commits a crime, his record is sealed. When a businessman fails, he can claim bankruptcy and start over. But on the […]
Review: Full Time Creates a Life in Constant Motion as Single Mom Fights to Keep Her Life Together
Full Time is set in Paris, that glamorous city of our dreams—but everything that happens to our heroine, Julie (Laure Calamy) happens every day to single moms everywhere trying to keep […]
Review: At Goodman Theatre, the ripple, the wave that carried me home Dramatizes Racial Injustice Through Swimming Pool Segregation
“Water is a complicated element. It heals, destroys, rescues, erases. It drowns. It saves. It holds memory. It washes away pain….” That statement by Janice, the narrator in the ripple, […]
Review: Trap Door Stages Princess Ivona, a Political Satire and a Theatrical Carnival
Princess Ivona inspires Trap Door Theatre to show us what it does best: Take a clever script and turn it into a carnival with exaggerated style and physical performance, while […]
Review: Based on a Murder Trial that Gripped France, Saint Omer Elicits Empathy
In Saint Omer, filmmaker Alice Diop applies her documentary skills to her first narrative film, based on an actual event that gripped France in 2016. Laurence Coly (Guslagie Malanda), a young Senegalese […]
Preview: Get Ready for 12 Straight Days of Puppetry From Chicago and the World at the 5th Annual International Puppet Festival
The 5th Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival, the largest of its kind in North America, begins next Wednesday, January 18, and runs through Sunday, January 29, at venues large and […]