Black Watch
A stunning piece of stagecraft that melds big ideas with personal stories in this revisit of the National Theatre of Scotland’s landmark production.
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Author: Tom Williams
The Arsonists
The combination of having all the players and musicians performing (and looking like clowns) utilizing the physical gesture and practices of European Clowning techniques together with ample use of Quezada-Perez’s invention of “la mise en clown” style of theatre makes for a special theatrical experience.
Read MoreBloody Bloody Andrew Jackson
This show uses silly humor, parody, and loads of music to re-write history while also containing a subtext about how and why we select our leaders. The 100 minutes are fun, often exhilarating. While I’m not a fan of punk rock music, I found those numbers cute and appropriate to the material and style of the show.
Read MoreOne and Only (A Different Kind of Reality Show)
The energy and talent of these woman was quite apparent. Echoles uses the standard BE playbook that utilizes the music of favorite entertainers, here: Aretha Gladys, Tina, Patti with a special tribute to Whitney within the framework of a contest reality show to exhibit the fresh young talent. The result is a story based musical that has us engaged in the process of helping select one winner for the “One Name Only” reality TV show framework.
Read MoreRuby Wilder
An icy tale of revenge that’s served hot. An excellent Halloween-season diversion—a psychologically suspenseful journey into the mind of victim-turned-vengeance-incarnate.
Read MoreOperetta’s Greatest Hits
Kudos to the creatives at Light Opera Works for creating a revue of the finest songs from Viennese, Berlin, London, and American operettas. These wonderful songs can easily stand on their own devoid of plot. They range from waltzes, ballads, polkas, and marches contain lush music and fine lyrics; romance, frivolous encounters, often satirical, and sentimental tones prevail.
Read MoreThe Mistakes Madeline Made
Questions: In a play titled The Mistakes Madeline Made, why are none of the characters named Madeline? In a play which the PR describes as being about a girl who develops Ablutophobia (the fear of bathing), why is a man always sitting in her bathtub? (Is he preventing her from bathing?) And, finally, who are these people and what is this play about?
Read MoreMaking Noise Quietly
These three short plays demonstrate Robert Holman’s immense talent as a writer as he weaves a subtle glimpse into the damage that war can make in unexpected ways on common folks. Holman’s clarity and depth of character is rich in compassion and truth. The Steep ensemble, led by Josh Salt, as Eric, Patricia Donegan, as May, and Lorraine Freund, a Helene, contained strong character studies. This is a moving glimpse into the consequences of war.
Read MoreSunday in the Park with George
No one who has seen Stephen Sondheim’s Sunday in the Park with George will ever view the Art Institute’s famous Seurat painting in quite the same way. In fact, the painting itself becomes a character in the play — reflecting time and mood as lighting plays on it, shifting shadows. Pointillist painting and pointed play come to life simultaneously as each tree and figure in that famous park emerges on the huge theater backdrop.
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