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 ...
The Fourth Walsh
Theatre with a side of life
Category The Fourth Walsh
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Review “Martyr” (Steep Theatre): Relatable and Terrifying
Steep Theatre Company presents the U.S. Premiere of MARTYR. Parents fear many things altering their child’s life. Pregnancy, drugs, and gangs are tangible threats. But sometimes it’s the unanticipated and abstract influences that can do the most harm. Playwright Marius von Mayenburg explores the impact of religion on an impressionable teen. Brando Crawford (Benjamin) has been ditching ...
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Review “Between you, me and the lampshade” (Teatro Vista): A work in progress
Teatro Vista presents the World Premiere of BETWEEN YOU, ME AND THE LAMPSHADE. The title of this world premiere is misleading. “Between you, me and the lampshade” suggests light-hearted, madcap, hi-jinx. It’s not. From the start, the rifle-toting Sandra Marquez (Jesse) sets the tone for drama. The fierce Marquez threatens trembling Ayssette Munoz (Amparo). Munoz pleads for ...
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Review “The Herd” (Steppenwolf Theatre): Loud, Colorful, Tumultuous… a family to LOVE!
Steppenwolf presents the U.S. premiere of THE HERD. In the home Scenic Designer Walt Spangler built, a family loves and fights with equal intensity. Spangler sets the tone for this family. His walls are white-washed with decorative glass trim. The staircase is almost whimsical as it curves up and around three landings. The kitchen has a ...
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Review “Louis and Keely Live at the Sahara” (Royal George Theatre): The essence of a Vegas love story
Reviewed by Jennifer Benoit-Bryan The Chicago premier of "Louis & Keely ‘Live’ at the Sahara" provides viewers with an excellent evening of entertainment, interspersing foot-tapping musical numbers through a poignant look back at the highs and lows of love. This play focuses on the real life husband-and-wife couple, Louis & Keely, who had one of the ...
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Review “Two Trains Running” (Goodman Theatre): Smooth Ride with unexpected dignity and realism
Goodman Theatre presents TWO TRAINS RUNNING. Martin Luther King Jr. established a dream. Bobby Kennedy spearheaded the Civil Rights Act. The 1960s civil rights movement promised change on a national level. King and Kennedy both were assassinated in 1968. The dynamic King and presidential candidate Kennedy killed in the same year was a loss to the ...
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Review Genius (Profiles Theatre): Wonderfully awkward
Reviewed by Tom Lawler Profiles Theatre presents the world premiere of GENIUS. As playwright Kate Walbert has done such interesting work in playing with the timeline of an extremely awkward dinner party between two NYC couples, let’s jump right to a scene that represents the very best of Genius. We see an older couple recount the story ...
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Review “Travesties” (Remy Bumppo): Brilliant Cerebral Comedy
Remy Bumppo presents TRAVESTIES. In 1976, Playwright Tom Stoppard received the Tony for Best New Play for TRAVESTIES. Stoppard’s comical tome is his loving tribute to Oscar Wilde. Stoppard imagines Zurich in 1917 where legends-in-the-making; James Joyce, Vladmir Lenin and Tristan Tzara are in pursuit of their passions. Joyce is researching for his book “Ulysses.” Lenin ...
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Review “Our Bad Magnet” (Mary Arrchie Theatre): Partially Haunted by Giggles
Mary Arrchie Theatre presents OUR BAD MAGNET. Playwright Douglas Maxwell pens almost two separate plays. One is anchored in the oddity of a young boy nicknamed Giggles (played with passion and nimbleness by Lane Flores). He has been neglected by a father who loved his ventriloquist dummy more than his son. The premise has plenty of ...
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EXTENDED Thru May 3rd “End Days” (Windy City Playhouse): Get Caught Up in this Rapture
Windy City Playhouse presents its inaugural production of END DAYS. The play opens with Stephen Cefalu Jr. (Nelson) strumming guitar in an Elvis jumpsuit. He is singing his heart out to an unseen girl while being plummeted with paper wads. Next, we meet a disheveled Keith Kupferer (Arthur) waking up from sleeping on the couch. He can’t ...