Jacob Davis By Stephen Belber Directed by Cody Estle Produced by Haven Theatre, Chicago Race and Real Estate Collide Again, But This Time, It’s Father-Son Spite As do many American family dramas, Don’t Go Gentle focuses not so much on a father who rages against the dying of the light as against his own children, so as … Read more
Written and Directed by Regina Taylor Produced by Goodman Theatre, Chicago The Goodman Meets Future Shock Many times my friends and I have enjoyed mocking our theatre elders’ consternation over all these gosh-darned social media and newfangled devices. If you ever want to see a rambling stream of panicked umbrage, try reading some articles on … Read more
Music and Lyrics by Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová Book by Enda Walsh Directed by John Tiffany Produced by Broadway in Chicago Beloved Musical Once Back for Too Short a Time Since Once is about a fleeting moment of love amid a series of departures, it is appropriate that the 2012 musical which swept the … Read more
By George Bernard Shaw Directed by Dan Foss and Kerstin Broockmann Produced by Rogue Theater, Chicago “If you don’t like my preaching, you must lump it. I really cannot help it.”—Shaw A Most Shavian Dialectic Brings Nietzsche to the Stage If you enjoy George Bernard Shaw’s philosophical musings in audio form, Don Juan in Hell … Read more
Written and Directed by Anthony Moseley Co-written by Adam Seidel Produced by Collaboraction, Chicago Theatre Shares Stories of Activism Since the debut of Crime Scene in 2013, Collaboraction, a theatre company dedicated to social activism, has made the “docu-drama” the centerpiece of their youth and neighborhood outreach programs. Now, they have produced a sequel, which … Read more
By Jaki McCarrick Directed by Julie Proudfoot Produced by Artemisia, Chicago On the Way to Australia, it’s the Journey that Counts It’s an interesting coincidence that at the time the Republic of Ireland became the first country to legalize same-sex marriage through popular referendum, Artemisia would be doing the American premiere of a play about … Read more
By Roland Schimmelpfennig Translated by David Tushingham Directed by Elly Green Produced by Trap Door Theatre, Chicago Trap Door’s Strong Production Helps Compensate for Script German writer Roland Schimmelpfennig’s 2004 play The Woman Before is a dark fantasy about the worst possible results of jealousy and clinging to the past. It’s a universal theme, and … Read more
By Moliere Translated by Ranjit Bolt Directed by Alexander Gelman Produced by Organic Theater Company, Chicago Tartuffe Struggles to Find Its Style Tartuffe, Moliere’s classic tale of hypocrisy and duplicity, is perennially popular, but hard to get right. The rhyming couplets, absurd behavior, and infamous deus ex machina ending all suggest a high-energy unreality, but … Read more
By Jeffrey Hatcher Directed by Charles Riffenburg Associate Directed by Cassy Schillo Produced by BoHo Theatre, Chicago Bizarre Mystery Play Keeps Its Secrets Since starting his career in the late 1980s, Jeffrey Hatcher has become famous as an adaptor, writing the screenplays of Tuesdays with Morrie and Stage Beauty, from his own play, Compleat Female … Read more
Book and Lyrics by Jessica Thebus Music by Andre Pluess and Amanda Dehnert Directed by Jessica Thebus Based on the Play These Shining Lives by Melanie Marnich Produced by Northlight Theatre, Skokie New Musical is Radium-Yum-Yum-Yum-Yum Have you ever had a job that made you want to drink paint? The women at the Radium Dial … Read more