Shattered Globe Theatre presents the Midwest Premiere of THE WHALESHIP ESSEX. Founding member of Shattered Globe Joe Forbrich melded his theatrical and nautical experiences to pen this whale tale. In 2008, Forbrich was an apprentice shipbuilder by day and an actor by night. During this East Coast stint, he became versed in the shipwreck of the ...
The Fourth Walsh
Theatre with a side of life
Category The Fourth Walsh
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Review “Ecstasy” (Cole Theatre): Inaugural COLE!
Cole Theatre presents its inaugural production, ECSTASY. It’s 1979. Do you know where your life is? Jean doesn’t. Playwright Mike Leigh drops us into her flat. Her dismal efficiency is decorated in Mid-Century spinsterhood by Scenic Designer Grant Sabin. The room is cluttered with empty beer bottles, mismatched furniture and gin-soaked novels. A singular drip of ...
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“My Name is Asher Lev” (Timeline Theatre): Thought-Provoking Tribute
Timeline Theatre presents the Chicago Premiere of MY NAME IS ASHER LEV. Art?! At what cost to the artist?! Award-winning novelist Chaim Potok explored a painter’s obsessive turmoil. A conservative Jewish boy must express his artistry despite its opposition to his religion, community, and parents. Playwright Aaron Posner boils down the essences of Potok’s novel into ...
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Review “The Arsonists” (Strawdog Theatre): Ignites and Sizzles
Strawdog Theatre presents Max Frisch’s THE ARSONISTS. Why would anyone knowingly invite trouble into their life? Playwright Max Frisch answers that question in absurdity. Frisch sets his tale in a city plagued by arsonists. His protagonist, Biedermann (played with deft by Robert Kauzlaric) gets goaded into defending his morality by the charismatic Scott Danielson (Schmitz). Kauzlaric represents ...
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Review “WITCH SLAP!” (Babes with Blades): A Calderon of Personalities
Babes with Blades presents the World Premiere of WITCH SLAP! Playwright Jeff Goode explores the male corruption by the Puritanical driven witch hunts. The 2013-2014 winner of “Joining Sword & Pen,” WITCH SLAP! is the herstory told from the witches’ perspectives. Goode’s characters represent a wide range of sorceresses: the crone, the gypsy, the vamp, the ...
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Review “Stupid Fucking Bird” (Sideshow Theatre): Sort of Liked
Sideshow Theatre presents the Midwest premiere of STUPID FUCKING BIRD. In the program the phrase ‘sort of’ appears before the adaptation credit. Playwright Aaron Posner uses the basic framework from Anton Chekhov’s “The Seagull.” Although Posner sets it in contemporary times, his characters have the same Chekhov conflicts. Dev loves Mash who loves Con who ...
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Review “Hank Williams Lost Highway” (American Blues Theatre): Don’t Miss this Jambalaya Special
I saw HANK WILLIAMS on Saturday. American Blues is remounting their smash Honky Tonk Blues hit from last summer. Most of the original cast is back for a second hearty helping of Louisana’s legendary native son. If you missed it last summer, don’t miss it this time around. If you saw it last year, ...
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Review “Hellish Half-Light” (Mary Arrchie): Beckett X 6
Mary Arrchie Theatre presents HELLISH HALF-LIGHT: Shorter Plays of Samuel Beckett. Playwright Samuel Beckett based his art on the study of human nature. Beckett created odd characters and put them in weird scenarios. And he tells his stories in abrupt minimalism. The audience is thrown into a life already in progress and forced to acclimate within ...
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Review “Warriors” (Cirque Shanghai): Cringe-able and Gawk-able!
Navy Pier, in conjunction with International Special Attractions, LTD., presents CIRQUE SHANGHAI: WARRIORS. WARRIORS starts and ends with a parade of two dozen, brightly dressed performers marching through the aisles. The fresh-faced, smiling troupe is every bit the performing showbiz crew. They wave. They smile. They encourage... the excitement. It’s love at first sight as the ...