Clint May With only a few performances remaining in this short-run goodbye embrace from these stunning artists, get there now and celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in a fashion that will soon disappear (and how lucky is Chicago that the tour would overlap the holiday?). It may yet return one day in the future, but that’s no excuse to risk not seeing this wonder of the modern cultural landscape.
As an intriguing mash-up, Pinocchio is full of contrasts and parallels. It’s an entertaining production, but the balance between tragedy and comedy (normally a staple for the Neo-Futurists) here feels disappointingly sided in favor of funny.
The external and internal clashes of monumental shifts in late-ninetieth century South Africa set the backdrop for a dark reflection on the ties that bind and break. A masterful cast brings power and profundity to this world-premiere production at the Goodman Theatre.
A revisit to a painful past shows that revisionist rumors can’t erase painful pasts. The Tectonic Theater Project’s original exploration into the little Wyoming town that became the center of a maelstrom updates and reverses some of the entropy that has occurred with the hope of galvanizing a new generation.
Circle Theatre’s latest production proves that not every play deserves a resurrection. A 1975 farce is brought to laugh-free life. Leave this one back in the 70’s and progress on to the future.
An old dog learns some new tricks in Mary-Arrchie’s post-Steppenwolf production of the Chicago-set story of Superior Donuts. Its casting and direction help raise an otherwise sitcom-esque premise to a genuine tale of redemption and new beginnings.
A fast-paced look at the world of professional sports that tries to invest the audience in the players outside the stadium as much as we invest in those who play within it.
That lesson is not lost in The House Theatre of Chicago’s revival production of Death and Harry Houdini, the show that put them on the map ten years ago. It’s a true wonder of Chicago theatre—mingling vaudeville with magic, prose with poetry.
In this cynical world, the cyclical words of Mamet’s characters are frustrating in that they are unrepentantly bleak. As a piece about racism in America, that makes a sad sort of sense. Maybe we are just talking in circles without moving forward. As a piece about the law, it falls into another tired (and not nearly as true as Hollywood would paint it) stereotype of the scheming, soulless lawyer that is forgiven only for the performances. It’s not really about the law anyway. It’s a springboard to a race discussion that for some will seem tired and played out
Mr. Rickey Calls A Meeting is a fine historical fictional drama based on real characters put into a “what if” scenario. The show is humorous, thought provoking and truthful as it attempts to ask underlying questions as to the ramifications of a single ensuing historical event. The performances are strong and winning. The play highlights the multilevel consequences of Jackie Robinson and Branch Rickey’s bold move