Jacob Davis Written and Directed by Mr. Margaret Svetlove (a.k.a. Sean Kelly) Music by The Delicious Moons Produced by The New Colony Playing at The Den Theatre, Chicago. Brechtian Dubstep Porn for the Modern Theatre “A trailer park fairy decides to become a pornstar because he wants to fall in love. Stanley, his hag, and a chorus … Read more
Songs by Peter Allen Book by Martin Sherman and Nick Enright Directed by David Zak Produced by Pride Films & Plays Playing at Stage 773, Chicago Pride’s Tribute Combines Intimacy With Glamor The Boy from Oz, a jukebox musical and memory play about songwriter Peter Allen, debuted in his native Australia in 1998 and ran … Read more
Written and Directed by Michel Laprise Produced by Cirque du Soleil Playing at the United Center, Chicago Steampunk and Fish Make a Wondrous Circus Four years after its last engagement in Chicago, Cirque du Soleil is back with a new show, a new director, and renewed creative energy. Kurios—Cabinet of Curiosities, which debuted in Montreal … Read more
By Arlene Hutton Directed by Jason Gerace Produced by Haven Theatre Playing at Theater Wit, Chicago The Hard Work of Choosing to Maintain a Friendship In older dramas, young lovers had to overcome obstacles created by their parents and circumstance to earn their happily ever after. In Arlene Hutton’s 1998 Last Train to Nibroc, they … Read more
By Lynn Nottage Directed by Aaron Mitchell Reese Produced by Pulse Theatre Company, Chicago Playing at Signal Theatre Life’s Grotesque Absurdities on Wry Display Chicagoans recently had a chance to see how Lynn Nottage’s body of work has evolved over the years when Eclipse Theatre dedicated their last season to the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright. If … Read more
Book by Roger O. Hirson Music and Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz Directed by Diane Paulus Produced by Broadway in Chicago At The Palace Theatre, Chicago An Enticing Circus Spectacle As a show about the seductiveness of glamor and theatricality, Pippin can’t skimp on design and technical aspects. Thankfully, the producers of the touring version, now … Read more
By William Shakespeare Directed by Lavina Jadhwani Produced by Oak Park Festival Theatre A Young Shakespearean Attempt at Comedy If you are a theatre company dedicated to performing the works of Shakespeare, you have the blessing of about a dozen high-quality plays with large fanbases to select from. And if your theatre company was founded … Read more
By Aaron Posner Directed by Jonathan L. Green Produced by Carlisle Hart, LLC Originally Produced by Sideshow Theatre At Victory Gardens Theater, Chicago A Chekhov for Our Theatre Stupid Fucking Bird was the second new adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull I saw in a week, demonstrating the hold that the Russian author and his … Read more
By Terrence McNally Directed by Steven Fedoruk Produced by Eclipse Theatre Company, Chicago Journey to Self-Fulfillment is Unsatisfying I said in my review of Eclipse Theatre’s last production, Lips Together, Teeth Apart, that Terrance McNally’s 1991 play is like a time capsule which makes its AIDS-related turmoil as immediate as if we had traveled back … Read more
Adapted and Performed by Ronald Keaton Based on the teleplay “Winston Churchill” by James Humes Directed by Kurt Johns Produced by SoloChicago and the Greenhouse Theater The Making of a Hero in WWII Nostalgia It was a few weeks shy of a year ago that Ronald Keaton opened his one-man show Churchill at the Greenhouse … Read more