Tom Williams You may remember the 1991 film of Other People’s Money staring Danny DeVito? Shattered Globe Theater, under the smart direction by Dennis Zacek, have a lively and often funny production of Jerry Sterner’s Other People’s Money. Featuring Ben Werling as Larry “The Liquidator” Garginkle, Other People’s Money is a sly and cynical look at the vultures of Wall Street at work doing hostile takeovers of dying companies.
While some parts of this over written show can be a challenge to keep up with, the over all production provides enough intrigue and sensual stimulation to be a theatrical treat. The costumes are unique, the acting pushes the extremes, and the atmosphere engaging. The surreal world of sexual fetishes and the raw expression of power is vividly exposed for all their trappings. The Balcony, like most Trap Door Theatre productions is an acquired taste like a very dry martini.
Warped by Barbara Lhota, now playing at Theater Wit, is a smart, realistic, and quite suspenseful mystery. Lhota is a polished writer whose understanding of police procedures, particularly of the Chicago Police Department, gives her creditability. We see the events of the night in question from the point of view of each other four participants as two investigators attempt to unravel the truth.
His hits included “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry,” “Move It On Over, ” Jambalaya,” and “Hey, Good Lookin.” He was a self-taught singer/composer who started his career on radio at age 14 in 1937.
The creative folks at Porchlight Theatre found a brother team of talents to mount the musical farce penned and first performed by Bob & Jim Walton, Double Trouble. Adrian and Alexander Aguilar play Jimmy and Bobby. The Aguilar’s have the talent, the singing, the dancing, and the comedic ability to engage the audience as they play more than ten characters in an old-fashion musical farce.
Five world premiere plays and three new adaptations seen first by Chicago audiences received Jeff nominations by the Jeff Awards Committee and are among the 166 nominations in 36 categories announced for Chicago Equity theatrical productions opened between August 1, 2012 and July 31, 2013.
we learn about the Chicago Police Chief Francis O ‘Neill with a fine assortment of Irish tunes from those he chronicled. Presented as a fresh, more tuneful 1 hour 15 minute show, each Sunday at 4 pm, folks can enjoy the amazing story of a “music mad” man whose obsession led him to preserve Irish music for all-time. This show needs to become a staple of Chicago theatre.
In keeping with their tradition of producing “in-your-face, gritty Chicago-style theatre,” Profiles Theatre has mounted the Midwest premiere of Rhett Rossi’s In God’s Hat. This is a 90 minute, heart-stopping drama filled with dark humor, reflections on family values, as well as unique perspectives on God and the Bible. We experience the extremes of humanity played out by a group of low-life fringe folks in a flea-back grungy motel somehow in rural New York State.
Conversations on a Homecoming. Set in a dingy pub outside of Galway, Ireland (realistic set design by Mike Mroch), Conversations on a Homecoming is a wordy, often witty, group of conversations among four 30-somethings Irishmen upon the return from New York of Michael (Adam Soule). He left Galway in search of his dream to be an actor in film and stage in America.
Written about a Chicago family trapped in a two-bedroom apartment on the South Side of Chicago, A Raisin in the Sun is one of the finest plays of the 20th Century (it is Number 9 on my list). Based loosely on Hansberry’s own family experience integrating a white Chicago neighborhood, A Raisin in the Sun follows the events of the Younger family as they struggle to get their part of the American dream. This family believes that a better life is just around the corner.