Germany Day 1: I’m Two Pretzels In

Sunday, September 13, 2015 Permalink 0

Greetings from Munich, Germany! Friday night, my sister Jenny and I hopped on a plane for a little adventure.  The direct flight from Chicago to Munich left forty-five minutes late and arrived twenty minutes early.  With the 9 hour flight and a 7 hour time difference, we arrived foggy to a beautiful, sunny day in Germany.  ...

Review “Supreme Love” (Tapman Productions): Supreme Loved!

Monday, September 7, 2015 Permalink 0

Starinah Dixon, from left, Ian Berg, Jumaane Taylor, Alexandrya Fryson, Donnetta Jackson and Tristan Bruns Tapman Productions presents M.A.D.D. Rhythms‘ SUPREME LOVE. What I supremely love about SUPREME LOVE is the diversity of the dancers. Ian Berg towers on the fringe.  Alexandrya Fryson radiates a youthful glow.  A polished Donnetta Jackson moves with confidence.  This group ...

Review “Daughters of Ire” (The Other Theatre Company): Vivid and Brutal Irish Herstory

Saturday, September 5, 2015 Permalink 0

The Other Theater Company presents the world premiere of  DAUGHTERS OF IRE. This is not your da’s yarn about the wee people that built the great country of Ireland.  It’s not the celtic stories romanticized by Yeats and other Irish writers over history either.  Instead, writer and performer Savanna Rae researched four women of ancient Ireland; ...

Review “The Rainmaker” (American Blues Theatre): The Real McCoy!

Friday, September 4, 2015 Permalink 0

American Blues Theater presents THE RAINMAKER. It’s been awhile since I smiled through an entire play.  I did last night.  I couldn’t help myself.  Playwright N. Richard Nash penned an uplifting story of love and family.  And under Edward Blatchford’s masterful direction, the superb ensemble engage us with their authentic humanity.  We see each person’s longing ...

Review “Patchwork Drifter” (Babes with Blades): True Grit!

Babes with BladesTheatre Company presents the World Premiere of PATCHWORK DRIFTER. Playwright Jennifer L. Mickelson takes a look at how the west was won from a woman’s perspective.  Mickelson uses her five-female-character-driven play to illustrate the challenges of the wild Wyoming frontier.  A shopkeeper (played by Delia Ford) is raising her daughters (played by Eliza Rose ...

Palmer House Shares Its Treasures

Thursday, August 27, 2015 Permalink 0

The Palmer House presents HISTORY IS HOTT. Full disclosure... I love Chicago history.  And I've always loved the Palmer House!  I've had the pleasure to visit it as both a hotel guest and event guest. And I even had a membership to the fitness center two decades back.  The grandeur is breathtaking.  The attention to detail ...

EXTENDED Thru Oct 3rd “After Miss Julie” (Strawdog Theatre): Battle of the Sexes and the Classes

Wednesday, August 26, 2015 Permalink 0

Strawdog Theatre presents AFTER MISS JULIE. The 1945 election results are in. England’s Labour Party has had a landslide victory over Winston Churchill’s Conservative Party.  Workers unite in revelry.  And out on her father’s country estate, Miss Julie (played by Maggie Scrantom) wants to join the merriment.  As the country is positioning for change, Scrantom attempts ...