Fun Home: Watching Alison Grow Up Lesbian and Talented
Fun Home, the prize-winning show (five 2015 Tonys including best musical), opened at the Oriental Theatre last week for a very short run. The play, based on Alison Bechdel’s best-selling […]
The Magic Play at Goodman Weaves Together Magic and Love
The Magic Play has a lot more going for it than its utilitarian name. For one thing,it has a slim cast of three talented and established actors, one of whom […]
Pinter’s Betrayal at Raven Theatre: A Seven-Year Affair and Its Impact
Betrayal is a brisk 75-minute journey over the seven years of a love affair and its aftermath. The betrayals are multiple. Two marriages and a lifelong friendship. The lovers betray […]
Take the Red Theater November Writing Challenge: Write a Short Play Every Day!
Red Theater is issuing a writing challenge to Chicago’s current and future playwrights. Write a new short play every day in November—all 30 days–and post it according to challenge rules. […]
Stage Left’s The Bottle Tree Symbolizes the Haunting Impact of a School Shooting
A bottle tree is a Southern tradition with African roots. As an urban northerner, I never heard of such a thing, although I’m familiar with voodoo culture in Louisiana and […]
Young Frankenstein at Lake Forest Theatre: Outstanding Performers Polish Production’s Rough Edges
Young Frankenstein is a classic, and a favorite of mine. It’s a silly, slapstick adventure with a real heart, and I’ve always held it close to mine. Mel Brooks and […]
No, Not That Henry IV. Remy Bumppo Explores the Puzzle of Pirandello’s Henry IV
Remy Bumppo’s production of Pirandello’s Henry IV takes us on a wild ride in the mind of a man who may or may not be insane, may or may not […]
Faith in a Sleight of Hand: Love and Polar Bears in Windy City Playhouse’s Apartment 3A
Do you believe in God? How about in magic, or nature? Do you believe in love? Windy City Playhouse’s Apartment 3A, led by Eleni Pappageorge as Annie, José Antonio Garcia […]
Life, Death and Memory in A Life Extra Ordinary at The Gift
Melissa Ross’ new play, A Life Extra Ordinary, now receiving its world premiere at The Gift Theatre, presents audiences with a collection of moments from one woman’s life, shared by […]
In Red Velvet, A Black Actor Plays Othello, Shocks 19th Century London
England was more advanced than the U.S. in abolishing slavery. The UK passed the Slavery Abolition Act in 1833 but England had abolished it decades earlier. But that doesn’t mean […]
Steppenwolf’s Visiting Edna: Despite the Charm of Television, the Story Doesn’t Quite Gel
On the surface, Visiting Edna, the new David Rabe play at Steppenwolf Theatre, is a story of aging Edna, beset by diabetes, arthritis, congestive heart failure and cancer. Plus she’s […]
Victory Gardens’ Hand to God A Profane Puppet Parable
Hand to God, after multiple awards, two off-Broadway productions, and a production on Broadway to rave reviews, has become one of the nation’s most produced plays this theater season. Robert Askin’s […]