Stages, Storefront, Theater

Review: What the Weird Sisters Saw by Idle Muse Reenvisions Macbeth Through the Eyes of Its Most Elusive Characters

Review by Devony Hof. Reminiscent of the Three Fates of Greek mythology and famous for their incantation, “Double, double, toil and trouble,” the weird sisters of Macbeth are an iconic trio. But […]

Guest Author /
Stages, Theater

Review: Bill W. and Dr. Bob Is an Inspirational Play for Its AA Community

I was sitting in the  lobby of the theater, waiting for the house to open. The lobby was crowded with people, chatting. A man came up to me and said, “Young […]

Nancy S Bishop /
Comedy, Stages, Theater

Review: Lenny Bruce Lives Again in I’m Not a Comedian… I’m Lenny Bruce at the Biograph Theater

Cancel culture started with Lenny Bruce. His mother, standup comic and entertainer Sally Marr, encouraged him to emcee his first show in 1947 where he found his calling. Bruce practically […]

Karin McKie /
Stages, Theater

Review: In Rivendell’s Wipeout, Three Friends Navigate the Waves, and the Aging Process, With Humor and Tenacity

Review by Devony Hof.  “This is what I love about being old!” proclaims one of the characters in Aurora Real de Asua’s new play, Wipeout, directed by Rivendell artistic director Tara […]

Guest Author /
Stages, Theater

Review: The Ensemble Wins Big in Music Theater Works’ The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

Review by Row Light. In its 44th season, Music Theater Works and director/choreographer Christopher Pazdernik set their sights on a beloved musical, one that Pazdernik himself saw during its original […]

Guest Author /
Stages, Theater

Review: At Goodman Theatre, The Penelopiad Reveals What Happened at Home While Odysseus Was on That Odyssey

You may have read Homer’s The Odyssey in high school or college. It’s the story of Odysseus, a great hero, his adventures and of course, his journey, or odyssey. But did you […]

Nancy S Bishop /
Stages, Theater

Review: Theatre Above the Law Examines the Power of Belief With End Days

We live inn interesting times. Contrary to popular belief, that is not derived from a Chinese saying but from an American politician. In any case, it is a good basis […]

Kathy D. Hey /
Broadway, Stages, Theater

Review: Broadway in Chicago Brings Well-Crafted, Hilarious Fun in Mrs. Doubtfire

Once in a while, a theater production comes along that does better on tour than it does on Broadway. Mrs. Doubtfire, by the songwriting team of Wayne and Karey Kirkpatrick […]

Anne Siegel /
Stages, Storefront, Theater

Review: Pride Arts Stages Shakespeare’s R & J, the Classic Romance, With a New Kind of Magic

Four young women actors, dressed in today’s version of a parochial school uniform (of this, more  later) mime a school day, beginning with their confessions. “Bless me, Father, for I have […]

Nancy S Bishop /
Stages, Theater

Review: At American Blues, The Reclamation of Madison Hemings Tells the Story of Two of Jefferson’s Enslaved Laborers, One of Them His Son

Two middle-aged Black men, both formerly enslaved, visit Monticello the year after the Civil War ends. They’re not there as tourists to explore the majesty of Thomas Jefferson’s estate or […]

Nancy S Bishop /
Stages, Theater

Review: Goodman Theatre’s Matchbox Magic Flute Is a Tiny Enchantment

Great works of art come in all shapes and sizes. Sometimes, they are vast and sweeping, like the Sistine Chapel or Anna Karenina; and sometimes they are tiny, like a […]

Doug Mose /
Stages, Theater

Review: Invictus Theatre Delivers a Living History Lesson in Topdog/Underdog

The way we are taught American history is a scratch-the-surface deal that requires us to keep digging. Playwright Suzan Lori-Parks is a master excavator of history and reveals it in […]

Kathy D. Hey /