Theatre reviews

MUST SEE

These are Chicago Critics Must See shows. If you are only going to see one show let us recommend one of these great pieces of true Art!

MUST SEEREVIEWSTheatre Reviews
Tom Williams

Lookingglass Alice-2014

Since the production has played many times over the past decade, many Chicagoans have already seen it. They will be glad to know it is still fresh. If like me, you had not seen Lookingglass Alice before, it is not to be missed. It is an amazing piece of spectacle, but still carries some delightful character moments. Families with older children will remember it for years, and may make a tradition of it depending on how many more times it gets revived. People I knew who had seen it many times before are still amazed by it. It’s truly fun for everyone.

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Tom Williams

The Testament of Mary

The main attraction of the show is to see an intense performance of a script that contains vivid descriptions of scenes and feelings. The program contains a cheat sheet for the gospels, in which you may learn esoteric curiosities such as “the four gospels recount Jesus’s birth, ministry, and death.” If you are a believer and dislike iconoclasm, this show is not right for you

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Tom Williams

The Humans

In this 90 minute one act, the six person cast each have their say with Keith Kupferer and Hanna Dworkin anchoring the work. The celebration of Thanksgiving leads to a boiling point as the underlying tension explodes into truths that threaten the Blake’s core. Take the journey with these folks and you’ll quickly become immersed into memories of your family’s past holidays

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Tom Williams

How the Grinch Stole Christmas: The Musical

I really enjoyed this show. It warms my heart to see kids having fun in the theater. I would love to see the Broadway in Chicago people put on more shows geared toward kids because that’s where the passion for theatre starts. This show has sing-a-longs, fake snow being blasted into the crowd (if you’d like to avoid the snow zone, avoid the center of the main floor, but why wouldn’t you love it?), and moments where he asks the children for the answer. It is truly an adorable production that you should definitely bring your children to if they love the book. They will have a blast! I’m not even a parent and I had a great time. Maybe it’s because I’m just a big kid.

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Tom Williams

Always…Patsy Cline

The show featured a five piece country band led by Aaron Benham. The show features the Cline songbook including 27 of her songs! This show is an early country music delight that found many of the audience humming or singing along with Hall. That was both a tribute to Patsy Cline’s popularity after 50 years and an irritant since this isn’t karaoke night. Danni Smiths honest, down-home style narration and her comic chops added a human touch to the Cline song fest. So go to see Always…Patsy Cline to hear the memorable songs and you’ll discover a heartfelt story that will lift your spirits. Patsy was country before country was cool and she led they way for all the great female country singers to come.

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Tom Williams

The Nutcracker at the House Theatre of chicago

For those looking for a honest to goodness pick-me-up, a piece of entertainment that has a heart and spectacle, I invite you to see The House Theatre of Chicago’s The Nutcracker. The play begins full of holiday cheer as family and friends gather for an annual Christmas party. This year’s party is particularly special, because the eldest son of the family, Fritz (Shaun Baer), is returning home from service in the Marines.

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MUST SEEREVIEWSTheatre Reviews
Tom Williams

A Christmas Memory -The New Musical

Theatre at the Center kicks off the holiday season with the regional premier of a musical based on Truman Capote’s 1956 short story “A Christmas Memory.” The show does indeed take the form of a memory, and mixes childhood nostalgia with just the right amount of melancholy. The small cast easily shifts through a wide range of music to expand Capote’s story while remaining faithful to his tone.

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Tom Williams

Porgy and Bess at the Lyric Opera of Chicago

It was one of those very special nights that can only in happen live, onstage. Over three thousand five hundred people gather to witness an ambitious and thoroughly beautiful production of Gershwin’s masterpiece, the American Folk Opera Porgy And Bess. For me, it was one of the most enjoyable nights I’ve ever spent in the theatre, just like the production of this wonder piece I saw in 2008. The Lyric Opera of Chicago’s second production of Porgy And Bess ranks among the finest opera I’ve seen to date!It is sheer perfection!

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MUST SEEREVIEWSREVIEWS BYTheatre ReviewsTom Williams
Tom Williams

The Mousetrap

Mysterious, yet often funny, director Jonathan Berry infuses the classic who-done-it with playfulness

The Mousetrap, running in London since 1952 with more than 25,000 performances, is the world’s longest running stage play! It has also been considered the model for doing murder mysteries on stage. Who can argue with such success? Kudos to Northlight Theatre for mounting a spirited production of the Agatha Christie classic.

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