Review: The Ally at Theater Wit Relies Too Much on Volume, Rather Than Drama
The Ally, a play now on stage at Theater Wit, is a diatribe more than a drama. The script by Itamar Moses (book for The Band’s Visit) puts a university […]
Review: In Hedda Gabler, Remy Bumppo Theatre Portrays Hedda as a Fascinating, Immoral Woman Desperate for Freedom
Hedda and Nora. A 19th century Norwegian playwright created two female protagonists that resonate with us strongly today. Nora, in Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House (1879) reminds us of the […]
Review: Otherworld Theatre’s Prospera: A Sci-Fi Retelling Imagines a New World But Gets Too Complicated
Prospera: A Sci-Fi Retelling is a fanciful but complicated story in its new production by Otherworld Theatre. The play is an adaptation of Shakespeare’s late play, The Tempest, but you […]
Staging Survival: How Chicago Theaters Are Responding to the Pressures of COVID and Authoritarianism
This is the second in our series of articles on The Art of Survival, in which we explore how small Chicago arts organizations are surviving post-COVID and weathering the anti-humanist […]
Review: Strawdog Theatre’s The F*ck House Explores the Hazards and Absurdity of Being 13-Year-Old Girls
The F*ck House, now being staged by Strawdog Theatre, is a comic coming-of-age story about two 13-year old girls. The world premiere by playwright Susan H. Pak brings us a […]
Review: Tin Drum Theatre Makes Magic on a Small Stage With Incognito
Two chairs, a piano and a big bird. That simple scenic design—combined with a creatively structured script and superb performances by four actors playing 20 roles—creates magic on a small […]
Preview: Physical Theater Festival to Feature Local Talent Plus Global Companies June 2-8 at Theater Wit
Next week Physical Theater Festival Chicago presents its annual weeklong exploration of physical theater from around the world. This year there’s a local twist. The festival, which runs June 2-8 […]
Review: Northlight and Theater Wit Join Hands for a Powerful Prayer for the French Republic
“For not only one enemy has risen up against us to destroy us, but in every generation they rise up to destroy us….” That stark bit of liturgy—the V’hi She’amdah—is […]
Review< At Theater Wit, Who’s Holiday Will Melt Your Frozen Heart With Laughter
It wouldn’t be a holiday season without the Whos of Whoville, but who would have thought that the Whos could be so judgy and mean when it comes to affairs […]
Review: Linda Reiter Bewitches as Becky Nurse of Salem at Shattered Globe Theatre
Sarah Ruhl’s play, Becky Nurse of Salem, is a history lesson and a feminist reminder for 2024. The play being staged by Shattered Globe Theatre stars Chicago actor Linda Reiter […]
Review: The Destinations Are the Path in the 2024 Go To New Play Fest at Theater Wit
Flash theater is the theme of the 2024 Go To New Play Fest. Flash theater contains a plot, climax, and denouement similar to flash fiction but the impact is more […]
Review: Frame of Reference Elevates an Already-Popular Story with Gods & Monsters Adaptation in World Premiere Production
Some properties exist on a Wheel of Fortune spinner of adaptations. The Producers was a movie, then a musical, then a movie. Mean Girls lived the same life. Beetlejuice has […]