John B. Reinhardt Nothing feels more like the holidays than the looming threat of Armageddon. The end of the world may or may not arrive on New Years Day, but that doesn’t mean it’s not too late to repent all your sins while dancing to Calypso music…just in case. This is the premise of William Donnelly’s new comedy Apocalypso, playing at the BoHo Theatre in Rogers Park.
After one of his boxing lessons, Billy is left alone in the gymnasium, in which a ballet class shortly follows. It is here where we learn that Billy’s secret dream is to be a dancer. Nurtured by the tough but caring ballet instructor Mrs. Wilkinson, Billy realizes his true potential, when he is primed for an audition at the Royal Ballet. Upon discovering this, Billy’s father is enraged that his son would take to such an effeminate hobby, and pulls Billy from any further lessons.
Performed by the Babes with Blades, an all female “combat” theatre group, The Last Daughter of Oedipus is served well by this “no nonsense” cast of women. (They are two men in this show, but relatively inconsequential) “The Babes” handle swords, and kick-ass with the best of them. The acting isn’t bad either…a great ensemble for this script.
Have you ever wondered what it would be like if Hamlet replaced his tights with a jumpsuit and his flat cap with a crash helmet? Neither have I. Thankfully, The Neo-Futurists theatre troupe, led by Ryan Walters, has taken up that task, and is presenting us with the Daredevils Hamlet.
Blackbird is a disturbing piece about a girl reuniting with a man, with whom she had a sexual affair with when she was 12 years old.
In Love’s Bright Coils is a study on how we have expressed our love throughout the past 300 years, to how we express it today. It was inspired by the letters written by director Kat Paddock’s grandparents during World War II
For starters, the music in this production was nearly inaudible. In fact it was almost A Capella at points. I understand that within a smaller theatre space, which was very well designed by the way, there’s no room for an orchestra pit. A pre-recorded track over the PA would have been more suitable, instead of a four piece band consisting of a pianist, synthesizer, drummer, and guitarist playing back stage. Of what I did hear, the musicians made the most of i
To understand the premise of the Les Enfants Terribles: Prom Night show at the Red Tape Theatre, one must first understand the logic behind the bouffant, or buffoon, character. The bouffant is a French derived “clown” act that keys in on the grotesque and absurd facets of human nature, rather than the vibrant and cheerful ones we’re used to seeing at the circus
Performed in the intimate Richard Christiansen Theatre, located inside the Victory Gardens Biograph Theatre, Hard Headed Heart is a collection of three short stories, (The Puppet Show of Don Cristobal /St. James Infirmary/The Blackbird) re-interpreted and performed by Thomas. Each story has its own separate stage scenery, all masterfully designed and constructed by Thomas himself, and it own emotional identity