Review “Little Shop of Horrors” (Music Theater Works): No Tricks, All Treat!

Monday, October 28, 2024 Permalink 0

Music Theater Works presents LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS. Down on Skid Row…. Folks are broke. Life’s a joke. And the local floral shop is doomed to close. Everything changes when an awkward clerk discovers an unusual plant. When he places it in the window, the growing flora instantly attracts the attention of the neighborhood, the media ...

Review “Pericles” (Royal Shakespeare Company): A Rare Opportunity to Experience Both RSC and Pericles

Chicago Shakespeare Theater, in conjunction with the Royal Shakespeare Company, presents PERICLES. After a thirty year absence, RSC returns to Chicago with its production of a lesser known Shakespearean play. Pericles is a young ruler exploring other lands. In Act One, a shipwreck brings him to the shores of Pentapolis where he falls in love and ...

Review “Dear Elizabeth” (Remy Bumppo): A Love Letter to a Writer’s Creative Process

Wednesday, October 23, 2024 Permalink 0

Remy Bumppo Theatre presents DEAR ELIZABETH. Playwright Sarah Ruhl has constructed a love letter to a writer’s creative process. Ruhl cleverly utilizes actual correspondence between Poets Elizabeth Bishop and Robert Lowell to chronicle their relationship over three decades. Bishop and Lowell meet because of mutual admiration. Over time, this appreciation grows from respected colleagues to trusted ...

Review “Noises Off” (Steppenwolf Theatre): Zany Escape from Our Ludicrous Reality

Tuesday, October 8, 2024 Permalink 0

Steppenwolf Theatre presents NOISES OFF. Playwright Michael Frayn penned a madcap farce about theatre. A group of London actors work to put on a show. It gets intense on and offstage as their personal lives interfere with their job. It’s not just about forgetting lines. The players are threatening to walk out, to get drunk and ...

Review “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” (Broadway in Chicago): Amortentia!

Friday, September 27, 2024 Permalink 0

Broadway in Chicago presents the National Tour of HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD. Harry Potter is back! He’s all grown-up and again facing a soul-sucking life force. No, it’s not the dementors. It’s his sullen teenage son Albus. J.K. Rowling’s beloved characters return for another chapter in the life of The Chosen One. Rowlings, Jack Thorne ...

Review “Inherit the Wind” (Goodman Theatre): Pleasant Return to Simpler Times and Civil Debates

Thursday, September 26, 2024 Permalink 0

Goodman Theatre presents INHERIT THE WIND. In 1925, a schoolteacher taught his students that humans evolved from apes. This notion contrasted with their parents’ and their town’s belief that God created the world in seven days. John T. Scopes’ lesson landed him on trial. In 1955, Playwrights Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee debuted their play ...

Review “The Tempest” (Idle Muse Theatre Company): Spirit-filled Innovation!

Idle Muse Theatre Company presents a World Premiere adaptation of THE TEMPEST. This Shakespearean tale is truly a tempest. A squall brings down the King’s ship. The survivors become separated on an enchanted island. Each person faces turmoil from their own desires and each other. Every conflict is exacerbated by mischievous spirits. And the source for ...

Review “Henry V” (Chicago Shakespeare Theater): A War to Remember… and Experience!

Chicago Shakespeare Theater presents HENRY V.     Playwright William Shakespeare penned the tale of the young King of England invading France. He wrote of the motivations, negotiations, and ramifications of war. His depiction is a history lesson of the Battle Agincourt during the Hundred Years’ War. Shakespeare utilized a multitude of characters, nobles and commoners, ...

Review “The Normal Heart” (Redtwist Theatre): Powerful Principal Performances

Monday, September 2, 2024 Permalink 0

Redtwist Theatre presents THE NORMAL HEART. The COVID-19 pandemic was life-changing. The global health crisis was the impetus to understanding. A virus plaguing the world started as a news story and became very personal, very quickly. Everyone was impacted by the novelty of coronavirus. What were the symptoms? How is it transmitted? Who is more vulnerable ...