Raven Theatre presents GOOD BOYS AND TRUE. A leaked sex tape is scandalous. Knowing the participants are minors is disturbing. Realizing the girl is a victim escalates it to unconscionable. Playwright Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa penned a thought-provoking tale. At the crux of the play is a demoralizing sex tape making the rounds at an elite boys’ prep school. Aguirre-Sacasa ...
The Fourth Walsh
Theatre with a side of life
Category The Fourth Walsh
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Review “Salome” (Right Brain Project): Lusty Erotica
The Right Brain Project presents Oscar Wilde’s SALOME. Director Nathan Robbel used a phrase in his press packet Q&A that perfectly states my experiences of Right Brain Project. Robbel describes their brand of theatre as ‘epic minimalism’. Exactly! I’ve seen several RBP productions over the years. I’m always impressed by their commitment to artistic expression. In their ...
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Review “Rock of Ages” Broadway in Chicago): High-octane Cast Rocks it Out
Reviewed by Tom Lawler The long-running Broadway musical Rock of Ages, now touching down in Chicago for just a week in a new touring production featuring a cast of mainly fresh faces, gets off to a scintillating start as we meet ROA’s narrator for the evening, Lonny. As embodied by the lewd, ultra-confident Andrew Sklar (he ...
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Review “American Myth” (American Blues Theater): Riveting Factual Puzzler
American Blues Theater presents he World Premiere of AMERICAN MYTH. Mick Weber (Doug) opens and closes this play with soliloquies about John Adams. Initially, the effervescent Weber describes Adams at the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Weber vividly recounts the sights, the sounds, the smells on July 4th, 1776. He places the audience in the actual ...
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Review “Ithaka” (Infusion Theatre): Redemption Play meets War Movie
Infusion Theatre presents the Midwest Premiere of ITHAKA. Playwright Andrea Stolowitz pens a tale of Marine Captain Elaine Edwards (played by Meredith Rae Lyons). Edwards returns home from a tour in Afghanistan. Her reentry to civilization isn’t going smooth. She can’t sleep. Her cat has run away. And her helpless husband offers no solace. The sudden appearance ...
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Review “Cock” (Profiles Theatre): Lasting Impact
By Sara Eisenbaum It wasn’t surprising to learn that there was controversy surrounding this play, especially when I realized that I was on the phone with my mother spelling the title c-o-c-k. After leafing through the director’s note there was a statement that confirmed I wasn’t alone as American audiences blushed their way through the title ...
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“Dessa Rose” (Bailiwick Chicago): Evocative Musical of Timeless Truth
Bailiwick Chicago presents the Chicago Premiere of DESSA ROSE. Dessa Rose is a runaway slave. Ruth is a desperate farmwife. Dessa Rose is black. Ruth is white. Their lives collide. Their characters clash. This isn’t a one-sided rescue. This is all encompassing liberation of lives. Both women must confront their childhood beliefs before they can find individual ...
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Review “The Gospel of Lovingkindness” (Victory Gardens): Gentle and Uplifting
Victory Gardens presents the World Premiere of THE GOSPEL OF LOVINGKINDNESS. For a play about violence, this one is surprisingly gentle and uplifting. Playwright Marcus Gardley pens a tale based on real people. His play compares the trials and triumphs of two young black men. Both men have strong and loving mothers raising them. One is a ...
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Review “The Wild” (Steppenwolf Garage Rep): Marveling
Steppenwolf Theatre presents the Fifth Annual Garage Rep. Three theatre companies have been selected by Steppenwolf to perform in rotating repertory for ten weeks: *Walkabout Theatre, “The Wild” *The New Colony, “reWILDing Genius” *Prologue Theatre, “Saturday Night/Sunday Morning” THE WILD is synchronized chaos. The press release describes this world premiere as ‘what happens to people when institutions crumble and deities ...
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Review “Les Parents Terribles” (The Artistic Home):
The Artistic Home presents LES PARENTS TERRIBLES. Playwright Jean Cocteau coils family dysfunction around love triangles. The result is some kinky threesomes. Michael has grown up with loving parents. His mother loves him… to obsessive levels. When Michael falls for Madeline, he’s ready for his happily ever after. What could go wrong? Well back at home, his ...