Jacob Davis (based on an idea of David G. Zak) Book, Music, and Lyrics by Leo Schwartz Directed by David Zak Music Direction by Robert Ollis Produced by Pride Films & Plays At Mary’s Attic, Chicago Mormons and Merman unite for a fun filled musical treat. David G. Zak’s idea led composer Leo Schwartz (2013 Jeff Award … Read more
Written and Directed by David Denman Co-directed by Amber Mandley Produced by Clock Productions Very Amateur Group Struggles With Own Work If most performers discovered they or their scene partner had make the unfortunate mistake of holding a placard upside down, they would probably turn it the right way. When an actress made that mistake … Read more
By Rebecca Gilman Directed by Andrew Pond Produced by Eclectic Theatre Tigers Unfortunately Still Spinning Eclectic Theatre Company seems to have chosen to make this year’s theme plays about social issues from fifteen years ago that are still just as current. When I last saw them, they were doing Take Me Out, Richard Greenberg’s play … Read more
Could you find a way to present Twelfth Night in a way that is basically true to the story, but comprehensible to kindergarteners? Neither could Lifeline. Robert Kauzlaric’s world premiere adaptation turns its characters into talking animals to make them more fun to children, and labors hard to convince them that love isn’t icky and help keep its eight characters played by four actors straight. But the company’s website recommends the show for ages 5 and up, a demographic also targeted by the poster artwork, and there is just no way to make that work. With older children, perhaps in the 8-11 range, the show might have more success, but that’s not who I saw there, and the plot is simply too complex and outside small children’s areas of interest.
By Ken Prestininzi Directed by Kate Hendrickson Produced by Trap Door Theatre Cookies Uneven, Need to be Thicker One thing the avant-garde should never be is intellectually lazy. Nestled in a tiny theatre at the end of an alley, Trap Door Theatre has enjoyed a long exchange with Eastern European artists and plays. However, their … Read more
28th Annual Young Playwrights Festival Produced by Pegasus Theatre Chicago New Talent On Display I must admit I walked into the Young Playwrights Festival with a little trepidation. The festival, which workshops and produces scripts from local high school students, seemed like the sort of project people would say they support and maybe donate to, … Read more
Franz Lehár’s 1905 masterpiece The Merry Widow epitomized why operettas were the preferred form of dramatic entertainment in early twentieth century Europe. It’s a silly, light-hearted story about love that exists only to provide a context for opera singers to dance, joke, and of course, fill up an auditorium with delightful sound. Now at the Cahn Auditorium, Light Opera Works has provided a twenty-nine piece orchestra, excellent production values, and a new English-language adaptation to complement their talented singers and Lehár’s beloved music
How does theatre tastefully memorialize its losses? That question haunted author Jay Torrence when he was writing Burning Bluebeard, which is about the December 30, 1903 fire at the Iroquois Theatre on Randolph Street in Chicago in which over 600 people died. It’s an amazing story, but The Ruffians and The Neo-Futurists are clown troupes. However, since the fire occurred during a performance of a pantomime, a humorous fairy tale for children, it’s a better fit than it first appears. Burning Bluebeard is now in its third annual run, and it’s a sad, frightening, and yet often delightful piece.
Upon entering the theatre, you’ll be amazed by the set designed by Scott Pask, a longtime collaborator of director Joe Mantello. Before you is the façade and parking lot of the Hummingbird, a faded New Orleans hotel. It looks like a nasty place; there’s a rotting Honda and beer bottles strewn around the lot, a gutter pipe is cracked, the vending machine’s lights are out. But on the upper level there is a hanging potted plant, a strand of mini lights, and wind chimes. People actually live here.
Pericles, Prince of Tyre, is based on a section of the medieval poet John Gower’s Confessio Amantis, which in turn was based on a now lost Greek poem about Apollonius of Tyre. The story is entirely fictional; it has nothing to do with the Athenian statesman Pericles. That’s an important point, because the original was likely created long after ancient democracy gave way to despotism. The tumultuous post-Alexander period, with all its royal incest, assassination plots, and debauched courts would naturally be fascinating to the Jacobeans, whose literature often had similar themes.