Articles

Should Theatres Bring ‘Dealers Choice’ Back Into Production?
Dealers Choice was the debut play by Patrick Marber, who is probably best known for his 1997 play Closer, which was later adapted into a film starring Julia Roberts and Jude Law in 2004. First performed in 1995, Dealers Choice tells the story of Carl, his father Stephen (a restaurant owner), Stephen’s employees Sweeny, Mugsy and Frankie, and Ash (Carl’s blackjack guide).

Paramount Theatre led all theatres with 14 nominations, all for musicals in the Large Theatre category. “West Side Story” received seven, “Oklahoma!” four, “Hairspray” two, and “A Christmas Story, the Musical” one. Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Goodman Theatre, and Porchlight Music Theatre each had 12 nominations. Chicago Shakespeare’s nominated productions included five for “The Tempest”, four for “Ride the Cyclone”, two for “The Heir Apparent”, and one for “Othello”. Goodman’s nominations included five each for “2666” and “War Paint”, and one each for “The Matchmaker” and “The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window”. Porchlight, a mid-sized theatre, garnered six for “Dreamgirls”, four for “Sideshow”, and two for “Far from Heaven”.

After writing three-hundred and fifty-one reviews in two years (and seeing another 185 shows), I have decided to leave ChicagoCritic.com. I would like to thank Tom Williams for giving me this opportunity, the friends I’ve made among the other reviewers, Jeff committee members and Saints, and, most of all, the theatre practitioners for welcoming me so graciously and treating me so kindly