Reviewed by Tom Lawler Set the scene: Dream Theatre Company always keeps thinks edgy and interesting in its Lincoln Square storefront space. What’s it all about: Troubled girl, Velvet (Anna Menekseoglu) keeps having nightmares about someone from her past and alligators. Will kindly ex-con Ben (Eric Barton) rescue her from these demons or from her scary brother, ...
Review “Pippin” (Broadway in Chicago): Heart-warming and Sexy with Mystifying Moves
Broadway in Chicago presents the Tony Award-winning musical PIPPIN for a limited two week engagement. This unconventional show looks like a circus, sounds like a musical and acts like burlesque. Among the lovely and peppy harmonies are feats of amazement and risqué flirtations. At the core, Pippin, a young prince (played by Sam Lips), is searching for ...
Review “Loving Repeating” (Kokandy Productions): Meaningfully Sung but not Meaningful Songs
Kokandy Productions presents LOVING REPEATING. I have mixed feelings about this play like I have mixed feelings about Gertrude Stein. I respect Gertrude for her contribution to history. She had a strong and influential voice in an era when women didn’t. She was passionate about modern art and influenced the artists in creating the new genre. ...
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 ...
Review “Kinky Boots” (Broadway in Chicago): Playful and Meaningful
Broadway in Chicago presents the Tony Award-winning musical KINKY BOOTS. Although this show has a bounty of sassy, bright-colored, long-zipping, pointy-toed, thigh-high, spiky-heeled boots, this play is really about two men searching for self-identity and reinvention. Harvey Fierstein polishes the quirky film by Geoff Deane and Tim Firth into a shiny musical. Fierstein keeps the boy-meets-drag-queen story ...
Review “Bent” (The Other Theatre): This Show Pissed Me Off!
The Other Theatre Company presents BENT. It’s 1930s Germany. Nik Kourtis (Max) wakes up hungover. He can’t remember what happened the night before. An animated Will Von Vogt (Rudy) arrives with coffee. As Kourtis tries to interrogate him, Von Vogt rattles on about his plants and his ankles from dancing on concrete floors. Kourtis eventually pries ...
Review “Moby Dick” (Lookingglass Theatre): A Bookish Progression
Lookingglass Theatre, in association with The Actors Gymnasium, presents MOBY DICK. I’ve had the privilege to see several unique and memorable “Moby Dick” productions in Chicago over the last few years. The now dark The Building Stage told the classic with an Ishmael chorus. The Chicago Mammals used an all-female cast to cleverly go after the ...
Review “VANYA AND SONIA AND MASHA AND SPIKE” (Goodman Theatre): Chekhov a la mode
Goodman Theatre presents the Chicago premiere of VANYA AND SONIA AND MASHA AND SPIKE. It’s easy for me to see why this Tony Award-winning play was a Broadway smash hit. The story has high entertainment value for the target audience, the increasingly large pool of aging baby boomers. It is about three siblings grappling with growing ...
Oregon Day 12: Seattle!
Sunday was my last day of my Oregon vacation and I spent it in Seattle, Washington. Two days in the car from Grant’s Pass, Oregon to Renton, Washington gave Jenny and I plenty of time to come up with a Father’s Day plan that would make our dad and the rest of the crew happy. Because of ...
Oregon Day 11 & 12: Walsh Reunion Ends, Travels Begin
Friday was the official end of the Walsh Reunion. We packed it in, cleaned it up, hauled it out. Many thanks to the host committee, Aunt Sue, Uncle Rog, Michelle and Eric plus the minions, Uncle Tom, Aunt Linda, Uncle Jerry, Aunt Ann and the remaining Chicago/Indiana Walshes, that swept up the remains of the ...