Review: Stage Left’s Man of the People Needs a Dose of Vigor and Chemistry
I was looking forward to Man of the People by Stage Left Theatre. Patent medicine and unbelievable ads in the back of my comic books were a particular fascination of […]
Review: Gift Theatre’s The Locusts Is a Haunting and Surreal Thriller Reflecting a Dark Reality
It is ironic how the stripping of women’s rights, banned books, and other atrocities live larger than life in Florida. The Sunshine State was the shiny tarpon leaping out of […]
Review: AstonRep Mounts an Appropriately Bleak Production of Sam Shepard’s Buried Child
There’s nothing more satisfying than a sharply directed and well-acted production of a Sam Shepard play. Shepard’s America is middle America at its seamy, seedy worst with family secrets, lies […]
Review: An Honest and Funny Take on Life, Death, and Change in Man and Moon
I was not expecting to laugh as much as I did while experiencing Man and Moon , produced by Dragonfly Theatre Company in conjunction with 16th Street Theater NFP. The […]
Review: Swing State at Goodman Theatre Focuses on Environmental Disaster and the Lives of Our Wisconsin Neighbors
Swing State is playwright Rebecca Gilman’s latest effort in asking us to understand the lives of 20 percent of the US population—those who do not live in major metropolitan areas. […]
Interview: Man and Moon—Trans Identity, Transitions and Outer Space Explored
Playwright Siena Marilyn Ledger and director Hayley Procacci have produced a new play, Man and Moon, which premieres at Madison Street Theater in Oak Park on October 21 and will run through November 13. The […]
Review: Steppenwolf for Young Adults Plumbs Chicago Race Riot in the Play 1919
On July 27, 1919, 17-year-old Eugene Williams went swimming near Chicago’s 29th Street beach. The raft he and his other Black friends had constructed drifted into a whites-only swimming area, where […]
Review: The Notebook, a Sentimental Tale, Arrives Refurbished With Song and Dance at Chicago Shakespeare
The Notebook is a love story, told over three stages of the lifetime of its lovers, Allie and Noah. The beloved book by Nicholas Sparks was turned into a 2004 […]
On the Road: Like Autumn Leaves, Some Shows Are Falling From Broadway
There’s a hint of coolness in the New York air, suggesting an imminent change of seasons. Some Broadway shows are sturdily hanging on, sure to weather the bitter winter. Others, […]
Review: Noel Coward’s Wit Retains Its Flavor in Updated Private Lives at Raven Theatre
Two newly wed couples arrive for their honeymoons at a swank resort hotel in France. Unbeknownst to both couples, the recently divorced mates (one of each) are among the honeymooning […]
Review: Unapologetic and in Your Face, Congo Square Theatre’s What to Send Up When It Goes Down Starts the Healing
I wish that I could say that What to Send Up When It Goes Down was a flashback to earlier days of Black theater companies like eta Creative Arts Foundation […]
Review: Wicked Returns and Thrills Its Exuberant Chicago Fans
I’m pretty sure I was the only person in the Nederlander Theatre who had never seen Wicked before. Most audience members were wearing green buttons that said “I’ve seen Wicked […]