Review: Dex & Abby–Two Dogs, Two Dads and Their Love Stories
Yes, this is a play about dogs—dogs portrayed by human actors. And they’re not wearing cutesy animal outfits. They are in fact talented actors who have learned the ways of […]
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: Timeline’s Kill Move Paradise Strands Four Souls in a Skate Park Purgatory
Four men, by turn, tumble onto the scene, thrust, thrown, exploded onto the slick black-and-white skateboard ramp of a set. All is black and white—costumes and set—until the fourth arrives. […]
Review: Haven Theatre Stages a Horror Movie Called Titus Andronicus
At first I was puzzled by the audience reaction to Haven Theatre’s opening night performance of Titus Andronicus, Shakespeare’s goriest play (and possibly his worst). Over and over, there was […]
Review: Raven Theatre’s A Doll’s House Ends With That Satisfying Slammed Door
It’s the most famous slammed door in theater history. And it’s the most satisfying slammed door for a feminist. It’s 1879 and that exit signifies Nora Helmer’s departure from husband, […]
Review: Lipstick Lobotomy at Trap Door Theatre Plays With Women’s Minds
Trap Door Theatre’s latest production is the enchantingly titled Lipstick Lobotomy by playwright Krista Knight, directed by Kate Hendrickson. It’s a half-true, half-imagined story of friendship between John F. Kennedy’s […]
Review: Windy City Playhouse’s The Boys in the Band Has Aged Well and Warmly
The Boys in the Band was revolutionary when it was first performed off Broadway in April 1968, in its portrayal of the lives and loves of gay men. The producers […]
Review: Absurd or Gross? Silliness Rules in Do You Feel Anger? at A Red Orchid Theatre
In the last few months, I’ve seen a lot of plays about racism, sexual identity, immigration, crime, anger and angst. So it was a nice change of pace to see […]
Review: At 16th Street Theater, Alabaster Lights a Road to Recovery for Two Women Scarred by Life
Alabaster is a city in northern Alabama (a suburb of Birmingham actually). It’s also a soft stone, a form of gypsum, that’s translucent, easily carved and often used for decorative […]
Review: At Steppenwolf Theatre, Tracy Letts’ Bug Exploits Our Skin-Crawling Anxieties
Bug starts out like a Sam Shepard play. Two lost souls in a seedy Oklahoma motel room. Fools for love. Agnes (Carrie Coon) is a waitress who’s dreading her ex-husband’s […]
Review: Broken Nose Theatre’s Labyrinth Choreographs a Latin American Debt Crisis
If I told you I saw a play about the Latin American debt crisis and it was fabulously entertaining, would you think I was crazy? Well I did and you […]
Review: How to Defend Yourself at Victory Gardens Falls Short in Addressing an Important Topic
How to Defend Yourself by Liliana Padilla takes an important topic—how women can defend themselves in a rape culture—and treats it with some sincerity about woman using their bodies to […]
Review: The Leopard Play at Steep Theatre Tells a Brutally Loving Family Story
Honest. Crude. Raw. Those are some of the words that came to me as I walked away from Steep Theatre after experiencing The Leopard Play or sad songs for lost […]