Midsommer Flight presents AS YOU LIKE IT. Again this summer, Midsommer Flight is doing Shakespeare in the park. The Bard’s romantic comedy of mistaken identities will be showcased on grassy stages around town. Last night, I saw it in Lincoln Park, nestled between Cafe Brauer and the zoo. We laid out the blankets, pulled out the ...
Review “Evil and Good” (Chicago Dance Crash): Mesmerizing!
Chicago Dance Crash (CDC) and Artistic Director Jessica Deahr present the World Premiere of EVIL & GOOD. In sixty short and seamless minutes, the CDC ensemble (Kaitlin Webster, David Ingram, KC Bevis, Brian Humpherys, Zak McMahon, Kelsey Reiter, and Porscha Spells) build a powerful case for the innate presence of good and evil in the ...
EXTENDED Thru Aug 27 “Wastwater” (Steep Theatre): Thought-provoking, Gut-punching, Cringe-worthy
Steep Theatre presents the U.S. premiere of WASTWATER. Playwright Simon Stephens and Steep team up again to deliver their signature British angst. This time, Stephens provides three separate scenarios in his play, WASTWATER. Each scenario has a character facing a life-changing decision. Stephens’ set-up feels like three one-act plays. Listening closely, the audience determines the casual ...
Review “We Will Tap You!” (Chicago Tap Theatre): Queen’s Pride Celebration
On June 25, 2016, Chicago Tap Theatre (CTT) honored the music of legendary rock band Queen with the one night only performance of We Will Tap You! A Tap Dance Celebration to the Music of Queen. The Chicago Gay Men’s Chorus, Lakeside Pride Freedom Marching Band and Chicago Spirit Brigade joined CTT in a musical ...
An Open Love Letter to the Gays
Today is Chicago's 2016 Pride Parade. I'll be working on the parade route at my serving gig at Wood. In the wake of the Orlando tragedy, I'm not as chipper on this gay high holiday as in the past. I know that we aren't just checking I.D.s at the door. We are also checking bags... ...
Review “Divine Sisters” (Hell in a Handbag): Nuns-in-Drag! Holy Crap!
Hell in a Handbag Productions presents the Chicago premiere of DIVINE SISTERS. It’s summer. It’s time for camp. And nobody does camp like Hell in a Handbag! I’ve been a long-time fan of Artistic Director David Cerda and his Handbag crew. I even gave them a shout out in a recent review of a show in dire ...
Review “Human Terrain” (Broken Nose Theatre): Riveting Storytelling
Broken Nose Theatre presents the Chicago premiere production of HUMAN TERRAIN. When I watch the news about the U.S.’s involvement in the Middle East, I understand it from that perspective, a 15-30 second sliver of a military report. It’s limited. It’s one dimensional. Playwright Jennifer Blackmer goes beyond that to tell an Iraq story from multiple ...
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 ...
The Art of Falling (Hubbard Street Dance Chicago + The Second City): A Transcendent Marriage of Dance and Comedy
6/8/16 3:55:38 PM -- Hubbard Street Dance Chicago's "The Art of Falling" with The Second City©†Todd Rosenberg Photography 2016 Reviewed by Tom Lawler Set the scene: Two of Chicago’s most illustrious cultural institutions (38-year-old Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and Second City, now approaching 60 years) collaborate for the first time for a dance program. In a ...
Review “Xanadu” (American Theater Company): Disco Summer Camp In Session
Reviewed by Tom Lawler Set the scene: As the final production of American Theater Company’s Legacy Season in tribute to their late Artistic Director PJ Paparelli, ATC produces Xanadu, a riotous, mega-campy musical comedy based on the misshapen 1980 roller disco musical starring Olivia Newton-John and Gene Kelly. Because this Xanadu was penned by Tony-winning playwright ...