Timeline Theatre presents the Chicago premiere of JUNO. This is only the second musical produced in Timeline’s history. Knowing the critics shut down the 1959 Broadway premiere after 16 performances, JUNO is a gutsy choice for Timeline. The company is new to musicals. The musical is new to Chicago. The story, based on the play Juno and the Paycock by Sean O’Casey, ...
The Fourth Walsh
Theatre with a side of life
Category The Fourth Walsh
-
-
Review “How to Succeed” (Porchlight Music Theatre): Infectious Fun
Porchlight Music Theatre presents HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING. Initially, I wondered if this 1961 Award-winning musical was outdated. A guy goes from the mailroom to the executive wing in a wink and a jingle. Even for a musical, the shtick was over-the-top buffoonery. My skepticism started waning during the musical number Coffee Break. By Paris ...
-
Review “Lay Me Down Softly” (Seanachai Theatre): Best Jabs in Act 1
Seanachai Theatre presents the U.S. premiere of LAY ME DOWN SOFTLY. Playwright Billy Roche gives us ringside seats to his deconstruction of a makeshift family. Set in 1960s Ireland, Roche’s touring circus features a rifle arcade, a fortune teller and bumper cars. The main attraction is a boxing ring where locals can nightly challenge the champ. Roche ...
-
Review “A View From The Bridge” (Teatro Vista): Nostalgic and Timeless
Teatro Vista presents A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE. Playwright Arthur Miller sets his obsessive love triangle on the 1950’s waterfront. Near the Brooklyn Bridge, the Red Hook neighborhood is home to longshoremen. Eddie Carbone (played with distinction by Ramon Camin) works hard on the docks. He likes to come home to a cold beer and the two ...
-
Review “Ruined” (Eclipse Theatre): Important Story to be Told, Heard, Understood
Eclipse Theatre Company features one playwright in one season. The Pulitzer Prize winning drama RUINED opens Eclipse’s 2014 season as the first of three Lynn Nottage plays. Playwright Lynn Nottage’s RUINED won the 2009 Pulitzer Prize Award for Drama. The story looks at the Congo Civil War from a brothel perspective. Mama Nardi (played fiercely by TayLar) negotiates her survival ...
-
2014 Non-Equity Jeff Awards NOMINATIONS
2014 NON-EQUITY JEFF AWARD NOMINEES PRODUCTION - PLAY "Great Expectations" - Strawdog Theatre Company "Incident on Run #1217" - The Factory Theater "The Knowledge" - Steep Theatre Company "The Mother" - Oracle Productions "The Playboy of the Western World" - Raven Theatre "Veronica's Room" - BoHo Theatre PRODUCTION - MUSICAL "Dessa Rose" - Bailiwick Chicago "Kiss of the Spider Woman" - BoHo Theatre "Monty Python's Spamalot" - NightBlue ...
-
EXTEND Thru June 29 Review “Mud Blue Sky” (A Red Orchid): Trifecta!
A Red Orchid Theatre presents the Chicago Premiere of MUD BLUE SKY. I love smart comedies, strong female characters and powerful storytelling. Red Orchid’s newest production is my trifecta. The play’s premise sounds like a set up for a joke: three flight attendants meet up in a hotel room. The first one goes out for pot. The second ...
-
EXTENDED Thru June 7 “If There is I Haven’t Found It Yet” (Steep Theatre): Dark Humor and Truth
Steep Theatre presents the Midwest Premiere of IF THERE IS I HAVEN’T FOUND IT YET. Playwright Nick Payne dissects family disfunction from a global warming perspective. As a weight-challenged teenager battles her self-worth, her parents drift listlessly apart from each other and her. Her father, in particular, obsesses over saving the earth from environmental ruin. His tunnel ...
-
Review “L’Imbecile” (Babes with Blades): Twisted Gender-Bender Burlesque
The Babes with Blades Theatre Company presents the World Premiere of L’IMBECILE. The Babes was established to advance female-focused, action-oriented plays on stage. Almost every Babes’ production I’ve seen has humor infused in the combat. This time around, the Babes surrender their blades to tackle Commedia dell’arte. They still showcase a few skirmishes but the physicality ...
-
Review “Dorian” (The House Theatre): 2/3 Marveling Spectacle
The House Theatre of Chicago presents DORIAN. This is 2/3 of a review. The House has produced its current production in promenade. There are limited seats available at the base of the thrust-style stage. The rest of the audience stands, leans and moves throughout the show. The ambitious idea lends itself to a nightclub venue. That’s ...