Theatre with a side of life
A Red Orchid Theatre presents the World Premiere of THE CAVE. Playwright Sadieh Rifai tells the tale of a Palestinian-American family facing internal and external conflicts at home. Rifai sets the story in the days leading up to the first Gulf War. The family has moved into an Ohio gated community after a tragic incident in ...
A Red Orchid Theatre presents the World Premiere of TURRET. Playwright and Director Levi Holloway debuts a new sci-fi mystery. In an isolated bunker, two survivors coexist on a regime of routine and whiskey. Holloway drops the audience in a day-in-the-life of Green (played by a commanding Michael Shannon) and Rabbit (played by a versatile Travis ...
A Red Orchid Theatre presents the world premiere adaptation of Heinrich's Ibsen's An Enemy of the People, TRAITOR. The intimacy of their space. Their choices in scripts. The look and feel of their performances. A Red Orchid has a long history of putting the theatre goer 'in the room.' And their current offering of TRAITOR not only ...
A Red Orchid presents the Chicago premiere of EVENING AT THE TALK HOUSE. In typical A Red Orchid fashion, their current offering is thought-provoking, wacky entertainment. Playwright Wallace Shawn has penned an apocalyptic tale. The twist is his future could be a mere ten years away. Wallace carves out a reality where theatre is no longer ...
A Red Orchid Theatre presents THE ROOM. Playwright Harold Pinter puts us in a small room. He dumps out pieces of a colorful and warped puzzle. The challenge is to fit them together within the absurd constraints of this room. Is the space a sanctuary or a prison for Rose (played with distinction by Kirsten Fitzgerald)? ...
A Red Orchid presents the World Premiere of SENDER. On the first anniversary of his death, Lynx (played by Steve Haggard) returns to his life. He shows up on his girlfriend’s doorstep (played by Mary Williamson). The charismatic Haggard is remorseful. A fierce Williamson is enraged. Although he is ready to make amends for his sudden ...
It is my great fortune to live in a town that is bursting with so much theatrical talent. About seven years ago, I stumbled into reviewing the Chicago theatre scene. Every show enhances my understanding of theatre and life. I enjoy most every production for some aspect. The stinkers have been a single digit percentage ...
A Red Orchid Theatre presents the World Premiere of PILGRIM’S PROGRESS. In two words, Playwright Brett Neveu’s tale is wacky and smart! This quirky family Thanksgiving is a charcoal black comedy. Dad is a stage actor. Mom is a psychologist. Son is an earth-poet. And daughter is a pregnant teen. Neveu’s characters are each unique. And ...
A Red Orchid Theatre presents the Chicago premiere of RED HANDED OTTER. The notion that people resemble their pets has always struck me as funny. Does a person select a pet with similar features? Or over time does the person start to mimic the pet in looks and gestures? I’m not certain what happens but I’ve ...
A Red Orchid Theatre presents the Chicago Premiere of ACCIDENTALLY, LIKE A MARTYR. In A Red Orchid’s intimate theatre space, Set Designer John Holt has impressively constructed a fully-functional bar. The long-curvy bar fills the stage and blurs the lines between reality and fiction. The twinkly Christmas lights, the stacks of longneck cases, the juke box; ...