Steppenwolf Theatre presents the Chicago Premiere of THE NIGHT ALIVE. Tommy (played in bittersweet perfection by Francis Guinan) is having a mid-life crisis. He is estranged from his wife and teenage children. He is living in a dilapidated room in his aging uncle’s house. He survives by running petty scams with his friend Doc (played by the ...
The Fourth Walsh
Theatre with a side of life
Category The Fourth Walsh
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Review “Capriccio” (Lyric Opera): Music is the winner!
Lyric Opera of Chicago presents CAPRICCIO. This is my second experience with Composer Richard Strauss’ debate of words verses music. Although Strauss aided Clemens Krauss in creating the libretto, there is no doubt what Strauss believes to be more important. Under the spirited baton of Sir Andrew Davis, the music dominates the stage from the overture ...
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It wasn’t a disaster as much as a nonevent!
Dear Redmoon Theatre, When you invite the city to a party, you need to be prepared when they show up. Last night, Redmoon Theatre launched the first annual Great Chicago Fire Festival. The pre-spectacle press materials described it as a theatrical fire showcase taking place on the Chicago River from the State Street Bridge to the Columbus ...
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Review “The Vandal” (Steep Theatre): Riveting Enigma
Steep Theatre presents the Midwest Premiere of THE VANDAL. In his playwright debut, Hamish Linklater nails it! THE VANDAL is engrossing and poignant. Linklater’s story is multiple stories told by three characters. From the start, we are engaged in these people’s lives. A precocious Jack Miggins (boy) aggressively needles a sullen Kendra Thulin (woman) at a ...
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Review “Don Giovanni” (Lyric Opera): Deliciously Wicked!
A funny thing happened on the way to the opera... Well, not so much funny as annoying. Tuesday evening, we arrived at the Lyric at 7:10pm. We found a line coming out of the building and wrapping around the corner of Madison and Wacker. I’ve never experienced any line in my nineteen years of attending the ...
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Review “Smokefall” (Goodman Theatre): Total original!
Goodman Theatre presents a remount of the successful 2013 premiere of SMOKEFALL. This show is different. The set, designed by Kevin Depinet, hints of that immediately. A massive, slanted wooden ceiling covers an ordinary-looking two level mid-century decorated home. A cut-out window in the roof looks to a sunlit sky. Artificial grass carpets a floating staircase ...
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Review “Evil Dead – The Musical” (Broadway in Chicago): ‘What the f#ck was that?’
Broadway in Chicago, in conjunction with Starvox Entertainment and Jeffrey Latimer Entertainment, present EVIL DEAD - THE MUSICAL. “What the f#ck was that?” sums up my experience last night with this Canadian cult classic. It’s also the title of a song in this horror spoof set to music. Since the original production opened in Toronto eleven ...
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Review “Season on the Line” (The House Theatre): Art imitating Art
The House Theatre of Chicago presents the World Premiere of SEASON ON THE LINE. Playwright Shawn Pfautsch tells the tale of one man’s obsession with a whale. No, it’s not Captain Ahab but it is “Moby Dick.” The man possessed is the artistic director of Bad Settlement Theatre Company. Pfautsch dissects the inner-workings of a ...
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EXTENDED Review “Jane Eyre” (Lifeline Theatre): Worth Swooning Over
Lifeline Theatre presents JANE EYRE. In 1847, Charlotte Bronte introduced the world to a modern-day heroine named Jane Eyre. A woman, who despite an abusive childhood, would thrive to become an independent and free-spirited woman. Since Jane was unorthodox for her time period, Christina Calvit gives her life an unconventional adaptation. Calvit pens the masterpiece. And ...