This isn’t a “best theater of 2018” list. We didn’t see everything. Most of our writers are freelancers, all with other gigs, and it’s hard for us to cover the hundreds of […]
2018 in Review: What We Liked on Stage
Review: Remy Bumppo’s Poetic Frankenstein Asks How a Lonely Creature Becomes a Monster
Frankenstein opens with an exquisitely staged birthing scene. The Creature is shrouded in a sheer fabric sac, a metaphoric womb. He struggles to free himself and emerges naked, covered in scars and suture […]
Shattered Globe’s Crime and Punishment: An Intellectualized Thriller That Needs More Tension
Dostoyeksky’s Crime and Punishment is a thriller, a slow-paced intellectualized thriller. If you haven’t read the novel since college days, Chris Hannan’s 2013 adaptation—on stage at Shattered Globe Theatre—will sneak up […]
Memes Become Scenes in Theater Wit’s Delicious Women Laughing Alone with Salad
Playwright Sheila Callaghan (writer/producer of Showtime’s Shameless) morphs memes into scenes in the delicious Chicago premiere of Women Laughing Alone with Salad. Guy (Japhet Balaban) is EveryGuy, a dope-smoking dilettante surrounded by […]
Swashbuckling Is in Style in Boho Theatre’s New Adaptation of Cyrano
Cyrano, the new adaptation of Edmund Rostand’s poetic Cyrano de Bergerac, by Michael Hollinger and Aaron Posner, is lean and hilarious. The man with the famously large nose is played by Michael […]
Review: About Face’s Time Is on Our Side Shines a Light on Queer History
Queering history is the theme of Time Is on Our Side by R. Eric Thomas, now at About Face Theatre. It’s the story of podcast creators Annie and Curtis; their main interest […]
Theater Wit’s Flamingo & Decatur Takes a Gamble and Doesn’t Quite Break Even
Flamingo & Decatur, the world-premiere play by Todd Taylor now on through February 18 at Theater Wit in the Belmont Theater District, is a bit of a cross-country sort of affair. Not […]
Preview: Theater Wit Hosts Gala at Your Place, Black Tie and Pants Optional
It’s gala season. Galas are pleasant enough, with entertainment, drinks and food. You get to dress up, look your best and have a night out on the town. All that is fun, […]
A Tree Falls in About Face’s The Secretaries, & Everyone Hears It
There are few things in life that I am comfortable in saying make complete sense: the science behind the salty-sweetness of a chocolate-covered pretzel, the inevitable success of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton, and […]
In The Heat of the Night by Shattered Globe: Both Timely and Timeless
In Matt Pelfrey’s adaptation of the famous John Ball novel, In the Heat of the Night, starring Manny Buckley and Joseph Wiens as the antagonists, and directed by Louis Contey, appearances and depths collide, […]
Kokandy’s “Heathers: The Musical” Is Your New Best Friend and Worst Enemy
Look: No one wants to be the person who says that Heathers: The Musical works. You shouldn’t be able to take a cult classic movie, throw in a few snappy songs and […]
