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 ...
The Fourth Walsh
Theatre with a side of life
Category The Fourth Walsh
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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” ...
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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 ...
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Review “Henry V” (Chicago Shakespeare Theater): This King Rules!
Chicago Shakespeare Theater presents HENRY V. William Shakespeare tells the story of a young king’s rise to respect. Harry Judge plays the newly crowned twenty-five year old Henry. In Act 1, Judge assumes the role with dispassionate intellectualism. He turns his back on his drinking buddies. He sentences his closest advisors to death. His rule begins ...
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Review “The Doll’s House: Ibsen is Dead” (Interrobang Theatre): A Tight 80s Makeover
Interrobang Theatre Project presents the World Premiere of THE DOLL’S HOUSE PROJECT: IBSEN IS DEAD. Playwright Henrik Ibsen premiered “A Doll’s House” in 1879. The play was about the original desperate housewife. Ibsen illustrated a 19th century woman discontent in a man’s world. His tackling the mores of the day was highly controversial. Although his plot ...