Review: Six at Chicago Shakes Boasts a Show-Stopping Cast
Hamilton has spoiled us. Lin-Manuel Miranda’s masterpiece of music and lyrics has taken pop-centric historic adaptations to new heights, and any that may come after it have large shoes to […]
Review: Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein at Lookingglass Tells a Dazzling Creature Origin Story
Last year was the 200th anniversary of the publication of Mary Shelley’s landmark horror novel, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, which explains why we have been able to see four different […]
Review: Vaclav Havel’s The Memo at Organic Theater Portrays Government as Farce With Fedoras
The overture begins: It’s the March of the File Folders, which might be titled the Office Supply Hustle. The cast of 11, smartly dressed in varieties of business garb, march […]
Review: Remy Bumppo’s Bloomsday Celebrates the Past and Future, Complete with Pints of Regret
It’s early June in Dublin—almost Bloomsday. The time is today and 35 years ago. But whatever year it is, Bloomsday, celebrated on June 16, is a reason to lift a […]
Review: Saul Bellow Would Approve of Court Theatre’s Exhilarating Production of The Adventures of Augie March
If you believe in heaven or hell, then perhaps I can persuade you that Saul Bellow is viewing the current events at Court Theatre with approval. David Auburn’s adaptation of […]
Physical Theater Festival Chicago Opens Up to Circus Programming in 2019
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 […]
Review: Killing Game at Red Orchid Is Thrilling, Creative … and Bizarre
Eugene Ionesco’s Killing Game is a thrilling and creative piece of staging and performance at A Red Orchid Theatre. Directed by Dado and featuring 13 formidable actors playing 108 parts, Killing Game takes […]
Review: Spanning Tragedy, Comedy and Several Years, The Winter’s Tale Proves to be Enduring Shakespeare
You read Romeo & Juliet in high school. You saw Much Ado About Nothing one summer at the park. Even if you’ve never seen (or read) them, cultural references to Hamlet, Macbeth and Othello […]
Review: The Mushroom Cure, a One-Man Show Exploring a Psychotropic Cure for OCD
Adam Strauss sits on an empty stage next to a table loaded with glasses of water. He speaks plaintively to us about his ongoing internal monologue about which MP3 player […]
Review: At Raven Theatre, Will Hank’s Bar Survive The Undeniable Sound of Right Now?
First of all, there’s the bar. Jeffrey D. Kmiec’s design of Hank’s Bar is a classic and so realistic you will want to park on a stool and order a […]
Review: There Are No Children in The Children at Steppenwolf Theatre—It’s a Cautionary Tale
There are no children in Lucy Kirkwood’s play, The Children. The play’s storyline is built on “the disaster,” which we don’t learn the nature of immediately. The disaster was an explosion […]
Preview: Keep it Nerdy in May with Stage 773’s Chicago Nerd Comedy Festival
It’s been a pretty epic April and May for anyone who belongs to the “nerd” tribe. We had a great (if overstuffed at times) C2E2, Star Wars Celebration at McCormick […]