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!
The music is quintessential Handel: Baroque, ornamental, beautiful. He often riffs on a single textual line for minutes on end, like an Enlightenment-era MC5, which is aurally impressive, but does occasionally leave those on stage looking for ways to act around the repetition. Sellers often gives them actions representing certain lines, which are repeated with them.
Read MoreThe power of this story is marvelously presented in the subtle, subdued nuances by Philip R. Smith in his understated performance as Ethan Frome. Nice work here. Louise Lamson’s Mattie exudes youth and innocence while Lisa Tejero’s Zeena is a controlling person with a strange sense of obligation. The story’s ending will stun and surprise you. This is an impressive and reserved work of art that depicts the tragedy of unfulfilled love and desir
Read MoreIt all begins with the fluidly lyrical writing by Jose Rivera. He moves from topics and personalities with a terrific grasp for language and colorful imagery that can be funny, wrenching, bitter and/or brutally honest as he lets his characters speak their minds. Rivera aptly depicts each individual so vividly that he demonstrates his keen eye for individuals. The assortment of characters, who mostly died prematurely, are a melting pot of urban Latinos, white and black, male and female characters that are a microcosm of today’s society.
Read MoreAs Harmond researches the old house, it turns out to have a significant past. It was the home of Aunt Ester, the hereditary folk priestess whose tale goes back to 1619, when the first shipload of African slaves was brought to Virginia. Harmond also fins out that his family paid the taxes on the location for years. He comes to realize, with the help of the outspoken Sterling Johnson (Antoine Pierre Whitfield) – the self-appointed union member and construction expert, that doing the ‘right thing’ may necessitate re-evaluating his grandiose plans for the Hill District.
Read MoreThe Three Faces of Doctor Crippen features the whimsical, macabre style that has become the Strange Tree Theatre trade mark. You’ll laugh and groin and you’ll wonder what will happen next in this expertly produced and well-acted comic tale of love, murder and mutilation. The ensemble delivers the tale with aplomb. Strange Tree Theatre is an intoxicating different troupe with a zany theatrical outlook on storytelling.
Read MoreBut the Servant of Two Masters is anchored by the work of Omen Sade as the servant Truffaldino. Sade is a master comic deft at physical comedy, wordplay, improv and body movement. This guy is a pure comic able to endlessly evoke laughter through his natural talent and his dedication to the art of comedy. Omen Sade is a young master comic extremely skilled and totally committed to his art. His is emerging as a major player in the Chicago theatre scene
Read MoreKaufman and Hart authored the play as a vehicle for their friend, Alexander Woollcott, on whom they modeled the lead role, Sheridan Whiteside – revived excellent well in this production by Jon Steinhagen. Woollcott was famously insufferable, and the writers decided to explore the results should he become an unwilling house guest after slipping on the stairs. Needless to say, hijinx ensue: he terrorizes his hosts
Read MoreThere are few playwrights more enjoyable than Neil Simon, and few comedies as delicious as Plaza Suite. Time has not dulled the biting wit of the dialogue, the humor of the situation, and the perceptive peek into the foibles of romance, love, and marriage. Here in room 719 of the Plaza Hotel in New York, we watch the tale of three couples as a marriage dissolves, a seduction occurs, and a bride is persuaded to begin wedded bliss.
Read MoreThe story is in many ways a typical Knight of the Swan tale from the Middle Ages: a mysterious stranger (Lohengrin, in this production excellently portrayed by the South African tenor Johan Botha) appears, on a boat pulled by a swan, to save a troubled damsel (Elsa, the soprano Emily Magee); he then leaves, once a promise is broken, often that of not requesting the name and lineage of the hero
Read More