American Blues Theater presents the Chicago premiere of GROUNDED. A fighter pilot goes from Air Force to ‘chair force‘ in nine months. Playwright George Brandt pens the woes of war from a mother’s perspective. Gwendolyn Whiteside plays a daredevil pilot turned loving wife and mother. Whiteside leaves the war to have a baby. When she ...
The Fourth Walsh
Theatre with a side of life
Category The Fourth Walsh
-
-
Review “Monstrous Regiment” (Lifeline Theatre): Comical Fantasy
Lifeline Theatre presents a World Premiere adaptation of Terry Prachett’s MONSTROUS REGIMENT. A vampire, a troll and an Igor walk into a war... The set-up of Lifeline’s newest production is a comical fantasy. It sets the tone for an adventure riddled with humor. Borogravia is at war. When her soldier brother goes missing, the feisty Sara Price ...
-
Vision Quest: A Cocktail of Hallucinations in the Amazon Rainforest (Ray BradGary): Take the Drink…and the Trip!
Reviewed by Tom Lawler There is a moment, early on in Vision Quest: A Cocktail of Hallucinations in the Amazon Rainforest that would be very hard for most productions to top. No spoilers here, but let’s just say it involves two men and a bucket. These two men are soon revealed to be the stars ...
-
Review “Carrie The Musical” (Bailiwick Chicago): Horror Flick Carries a Tune
Bailiwick Chicago presents the Chicago premiere of CARRIE: THE MUSICAL. I have to be honest. “Carrie: The Musical”?? I thought it was going to be a spoof on the Sissy Spacek film. It’s not. It’s the staged horror flick. And it’s set to music. Right? The horror genre doesn’t quite translate into a musical. *SPOILER ...
-
Review “Caged Dames” (Hell in a Handbag Productions): Handbag Kicks it Up!
Hell in a Handbag presents CAGED DAMES, A Shocking Musical. Handbag kicks it up and spreads it out with this remount of their 2006 production. For the last few years, Handbag has performed at Mary’s Attic. Those tight quarters only allowed for minimal scenery and choreography. Their current move to Theater Wit allows them to dress ...
-
Review “Haymaker” (Neo-Futurists): Kicks Ass!
The Neo-Futurists present HAYMAKER. Summer is the time for blockbuster action flicks. This is it! HAYMAKER is a play about a movie written by a 13 year old who is now 27. Creator Trevor Dawkins attempts to stage his “Tears of Shanghai,” a hero-driven-Nazi-ass-kicking movie. Dawkins wants to play rogue protagonist Russell Dakota. The ensemble, Indra ...
-
Review “Buyer & Cellar” (Broadway in Chicago): Brilliant!
Broadway in Chicago presents BUYER & CELLAR. Michael Urie kicks off his one man show confessing that he doesn’t do impressions. I disagree. Not only did he do Barbra Streisand, he also did her assistant Sharon, his boyfriend Barry and James Brolin. His Babs, despite sounding slightly like Christopher Watkin, swept into the room like the ...
-
Review “The White Snake” (Goodman Theatre): Disappointing… both times
Goodman Theatre presents an all-new stage adaption of THE WHITE SNAKE. I didn’t care for this either time I saw it. I saw it first on Tuesday night. My reaction was so strong and negative that I wondered if my martini at dinner had impaired my judgement. After all, this was Mary Zimmerman’s work. Her “Metamorphoses” ...
-
Review “Charles Ives Take Me Home” (Strawdog Theatre): Original Father-Daughter Dance
Strawdog Theatre presents CHARLES IVES TAKE ME HOME. In this tight and original piece, Playwright Jessica Dickey orchestrates a father-daughter dance. It’s not to a wedding song. It’s to a life concerto. Dickey explores generational, gender and life passion differences between a father and daughter. Dave Belden (dad) is a violinist. Stephanie Chavara (daughter) is a basketball ...