Review: King Roger Makes a Spellbinding Premiere at Harris Theater
I was put under a spell on Friday. King Roger by the Chicago Opera Theater (COT) was the spellbinding work that eased my anxiety from sitting in a traffic snarl […]
Review: Le Comte Ory Is a Beautifully Staged and Magnificently Sung Romp by Lyric Opera
Rossini’s Le Comte Ory is my second French-language opera within a week. Verdi’s Don Carlos is also at the Lyric. Le Comte Ory is considerably more lighthearted and is in […]
Review: Chicago Danztheatre Ensemble Gives Freud a Smackdown in This is Not a Pipe
The Surrealism movement started in the 1920s, perhaps in response to WWI but definitely in reaction to art and literature being restrained and stifled into categories. Artists of the time […]
On the Road: Stoppard’s Leopoldstadt on Broadway—a Brilliant and Intense Saga of a Viennese Jewish Family Over Six Decades
Leopoldstadt is a place, a Jewish section of old Vienna. It’s also an imagined history of how two intermarried Jewish families lived (or didn’t live) through six decades of the […]
On the Road: Legendary Actor Gabriel Byrne Walks With His Ghosts in Autobiographical Broadway Show
“I’m an immigrant and an exile,” Gabriel Byrne begins his autobiographical solo show at the century-old Music Box Theatre on Broadway. For two hours-plus, the legendary Irish actor tells stories […]
Review: Timeline Theatre Company Gives New Life to Trouble in Mind, a Classic in Our Racist History
I always look forward to Timeline Theatre productions because the company provides the background and history of the play in a lobby display and in the playbill. Ron OJ Parson […]
Review: What Farce Is This? The Artistic Home Lands a Slam Dunk with Malapert Love
I do not amuse easily and when something is touted as farcical, I expect it to be on point. The Artistic Home presents a sidesplitting farce with playwright Siah Berlatsky’s […]
Review: Verdi’s Don Carlos Goes the Distance at Lyric Opera
The Lyric Opera in Chicago is at the forefront of opera productions on the world stage. It’s right up there with La Scala in Milan or the Met in New […]
Review: Deeply Rooted Dance Theater Brings a Divine Mix of the Spiritual and Sensual in Movement and a Hot Tribute to Quincy Jones
Deeply Rooted Dance Theater gave a powerful performance that elated the audience and took me on an emotional trip down memory lane. The performers were Deeply Rooted members and company […]
Review: Puppetry and Movement in Above the Water Bring Strong Emotions to the Surface at the Den Theatre
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 […]
Review: A New Generation Tries to Capture the Bittersweet Pain and Transcendent Triumph of Rent in Porchlight’s Season Opener
Attending opening night of Porchlight Music Theatre’s season opener, Rent, was a peculiar proposition for me from the moment I RSVPed, but one I was willing to entertain for the […]
Review: The Quest for Home by Desperate Immigrants Is the Theme of Routes at Remy Bumppo
Home is where the heart is, the proverb says—and home is the heart of the story in Routes, a British play now being staged by Remy Bumppo Theatre Company. The […]