Broadway in Chicago presents a new Broadway-bound musical, FIRST WIVES CLUB the Musical. I love “First Wives Club” the movie. I’ve watched it more than a dozen times. I like FIRST WIVES CLUB The MUSICAL. I saw it last night. It was cute! It was predictable. Many of my favorite jokes from the movie made it ...
Review “20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA” (Strawdog Theatre): Big Fish in a Small Pond
Strawdog Theatre Company’s Hugen Hall presents the World Premiere Adaptation of 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA. Playwrights Cliff Sheffer and Ann Sonneville take on a classic. Jules Verne’s story was an exploration of unchartered territories. Verne described aquatic adventures via underwater vessels. His book published in 1870 prophesied the invention of the submarine. Verne’s imagination was ...
Review “The Hammer Trinity” (House Theatre): HAMMER Nails It!
The House Theatre of Chicago presents THE HAMMER TRINITY Plays; Part 1 “The Iron Stag King,” Part 2 “The Crownless King,” and Part 3 “The Excelsior King.” It’s finished. The third installment, “The Excelsior King” completes The House Theatre’s epic adventure. And even though I had already seen the first two, My review “The Iron Stag ...
Review “The Princess and the Pea” (Marriott Theatre): A mix of the old and the new
Reviewed by Samantha Kessel Lincolnshire’s Marriott Theater’s adaptation of the classic tale The Princess and the Pea was a compilation of parts of the original Hans Christian Anderson tale with surprising modern day elements relatable for adults and kids alike. Having never visited this theater before, it was quaint and intimate, with seats surrounding the whole ...
Review “finding grafenberg” (trip): “The Office” meets “Girls”
trip presents the Midwest Premiere of finding grafenberg. The evening starts out like a gallery opening. The show is at Hairpin Arts Center, a hip Logan Square loft. Two walls of windows illuminate the triangle shaped room from the streetscape. On one side of the room, a couple screens feature pictures from the former New York ...
Review “The Passenger” (Lyric Opera): Unforgiving and Poignantly Memorable
Lyric Opera presents its premiere of THE PASSENGER. This unforgettable story is based on the Polish radio play by concentration camp survivor Zofia Posmysz. On a luxury ocean liner, a woman is haunted by her past. It’s the 1960s. Liese (performed by Daveda Karanas) and her German diplomat husband (performed by Brandon Jovanovich) are enjoying a ...
Review “Dunsinane” (Chicago Shakespeare Theater): Macbeth the Sequel
Chicago Shakespeare Theater World’s Stage, in conjunction with the National Theatre of Scotland and The Royal Shakespeare Company, presents DUNSINANE. Macbeth is dead. The English Army storm Macbeth’s castle of Dunsinane to find his wife is not. Lady Macbeth or as the locals call her, Gruach (played with steely determination by Siobhan Redmond) has assumed ...
Report Card Day for February!
It’s the end of the month. To keep on my 2015 goals, I’m going to evaluate them monthly. I don’t want to get to Fall and have to cram for the final quarter. FINANCE: B In this relentless winter, it’s easy to stay home. And I’ve been trying to do just that at least one night a ...
Review “Yankee Tavern” (American Blues Theatre): Delectable Whopper of a Story
American Blues Theatre presents the Chicago Premiere of YANKEE TAVERN. Grant Sabin (scenic design) has opened up a bar at Greenhouse Theatre. It’s not a swanky lounge. It’s an old-man-dive-bar. From the dirty tiled floor to the overflowing clutter spilling out of cubby holes, this tavern has character. The worn and familiar façade suggests decades of ...
The Other Place (Profiles Theatre): A Compelling Puzzle
Reviewed by Tom Lawler Profiles Theatre presents the Midwest premiere of THE OTHER PLACE. The premise of The Other Place is quite simple. A brilliant neurologist begins to see her life unravel in front of her own eyes, though what she sees possibly can’t be trusted. Because we see the world through her eyes though, we ...