Steppenwolf Theatre presents the World Premiere of VISITING EDNA. Sally Murphy starts the show. Clad in black, she explains that she’ll be playing a television. The oddity of the pronouncement is confirmed by her clarification that she’s not quite sure how to do this or why it’s being done. Tim Hopper strolls on stage. He is ...
The Fourth Walsh
Theatre with a side of life
Category Steppenwolf Theatre
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Review “Between Riverside and Crazy” (Steppenwolf Theatre): Dynamics Intrigue!
Steppenwolf Theatre presents the Chicago premiere of BETWEEN RIVERSIDE AND CRAZY. Playwright Stephen Adly Guirgis won the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for this dark dramedy. Guirgis pens the tale of an ex-cop father (played by the commanding Eamonn Walker) and his ex-con son (played by the understated James Vincent Meredith) co-existing in one of the last great ...
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Review “Constellations” (Steppenwolf Theatre): So Many Possibilities
Steppenwolf Theatre presents the Chicago premiere production of CONSTELLATIONS. Playwright Nick Payne has written a play about the many relational possibilities between a physicist and a beekeeper. Jessie Fisher (Marianne) and Jon Michael Hill (Roland) meet at a party…multiple times. Payne explores key and inconsequential moments of two people over years. He examines each moment by ...
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My Top Ten Unforgettable 2015 Plays
It is my great fortune to live in a town that is bursting with so much theatrical talent. About seven years ago, I stumbled into reviewing the Chicago theatre scene. Every show enhances my understanding of theatre and life. I enjoy most every production for some aspect. The stinkers have been a single digit percentage ...
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Review “Domesticated” (Steppenwolf Theatre): Norris Untamed!
We have a civilized agreement, and a reasonable one, that says we can’t behave the way some of our animal cousins do. I think this idea - that everything men instinctively want, on a primitive level, is basically bad and everything women want, basically good - is how we’ve constructed morality, based on gender. We see women as a ...
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Review “East of Eden” (Steppenwolf Theatre): Family Drama Page Turner
Steppenwolf Theatre presents the World Premiere adaptation of EAST OF EDEN. Steppenwolf uses all the right stuff to turn John Steinbeck’s sprawling novel into an engaging play. Adapter Frank Galati whittles down the complicated family drama and pulls out the essential nuggets. His lean script keeps the action moving but never sacrifices essential story elements. In ...
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Review “Grand Concourse” (Steppenwolf Theatre): Witty Life Dissection
Steppenwolf Theatre presents the Chicago premiere of GRAND CONCOURSE. Upon arrival, Scenic Designer Joey Wade places us smack dab in the middle of a soup kitchen. His intricate set is impressive from the industrial sinks with working faucets to the Virgin Mary statue perched on the windowsill. And behind this realistic microcosm, Wade has formidable cathedral-styled ...
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Review “The Herd” (Steppenwolf Theatre): Loud, Colorful, Tumultuous… a family to LOVE!
Steppenwolf presents the U.S. premiere of THE HERD. In the home Scenic Designer Walt Spangler built, a family loves and fights with equal intensity. Spangler sets the tone for this family. His walls are white-washed with decorative glass trim. The staircase is almost whimsical as it curves up and around three landings. The kitchen has a ...
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Review “Marie Antoinette” (Steppenwolf Theatre): Definitely Chic
Steppenwolf Theatre presents the Chicago premiere of MARIE ANTOINETTE. This show starts like a techno fashion show. Two oversized video screens bookend a mirrored runway stage. Above the stage are oversized flowers. Everything about the visual is glam. Lights flash. Music blares. And the ladies arrive to strut the catwalk in 18th Century couture meets ...