Review: Kentucky by Gift Theatre, an Homage to the Meaning of Home and Happiness
Kentucky is a richly drawn study of a family of characters who disagree and battle and are not quite sure they love each other. Mostly it‘s a story of what […]
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 Bluesky at @nancyb.bsky.social. She also writes about film, books, art, architecture and design.
Review: At Strawdog Theatre, The Effect Asks What Is Real Love and What Is Chemically Induced
Put two attractive young people in a room for four weeks, stimulate them with pharmaceuticals that have unknown properties, and then act surprised at what happens. This is the slightly […]
If CTU Strikes, Chicago Children’s Theatre Will Offer Drama Day Camps
As Chicagoans brace for a potential strike by teachers and support staff, the Chicago Children’s Theatre announced it plans to offer limited day camps for affected students from grades K-5. While […]
Playtime Radio: A Play Asks, Shall We Say the Word N? Plus Lenny Bruce, Two New Books and Music, Music
We collaborate with Playtime with Bill Turck and Kerri Kendall and appear on their Sunday afternoon arts radio show occasionally. Playtime broadcasts on WCGO, 1590AM and 95.9FM, each Sunday from 1 to 3pm […]
Review: Science and Family Trauma in Mosquitoes at Steep Theatre Is Exciting and Perplexing
You might look at Mosquitoes as two plays, stitched together. Set mostly in Geneva, Switzerland, where nuclear scientists work on the Hadron Collider, you have the excitement of scientific challenge […]
Review: At Raven Theatre, Sundown, Yellow Moon Suffers From Pallid Script, Odd Staging
Sundown, Yellow Moon by Rachel Bonds is a family story about twin sisters from the big city who visit their newly divorced father in his barely furnished cabin in the […]
Playtime Radio: Lots of Art, Poetry, Music by The Locals, and the Pinball Expo
We collaborate with Playtime with Bill Turck and Kerri Kendall and appear on their Sunday afternoon arts radio show occasionally. Next week—October 13—Nancy Bishop, Stages editor, will join Bill and Kerri […]
Review: Banjo, Bass, Tabla and Flute Create a World Symphony of Sound at the Symphony Center
Fans of bluegrass, classical, jazz and South Asian music came together at the Chicago Symphony Center Sunday evening for a concert by four world-class musicians who performed an eclectic symphony […]
Review: The Delicate Tears of the Waning Moon Tells a Poetic and Horrific Story About the Fate of Women Journalists
The Delicate Tears of the Waning Moon has a poetic title, both in English and in Spanish (Las Delicadas Lagrimas de ls Luna Menguante). Playwright and actor Rebeca Aleman has […]
Playtime Radio: On the Road in Two Rivers, Wisconsin–“I’m a Cheesehead, Baby”
We collaborate with Playtime with Bill Turck and Kerri Kendall and appear on their Sunday afternoon arts radio show occasionally. Next week—October 6—Julian Ramirez, our Music editor, will join Playtime to […]
Review: Sideshow Theatre’s X—They’re Stranded on Pluto With Environmental Apocalypse Below
The last tree. It’s a theme that symbolizes the environmental apocalypse at the heart of Alistair McDowall’s play X by Sideshow Theatre, directed by Jonathan Green. Some time in the […]
Review: The Divine Sarah Persists in Playing Hamlet in Bernhardt/Hamlet at Goodman Theatre
Sarah Bernhardt was a towering figure in world theater. The French stage actress performed in classic plays of the time, made theatrical tours around the world, including across the U.S., […]