Chicago Theatre Reviews Archive

Alice

August 28, 2013August 26, 2013 by Anthony J. Mangini

And the audience, following two flag-laden guides, is led along for the adventure. Not that we’re complaining. Even on the leisurely strolls taken between scenes, there’s plenty to absorb here: sentimental rows of late-blooming summer flowers, families of ducks swimming along the shoreline, passersby on their bikes, and the impressive skyline off North Lakeview Avenue. Yet Alice—far from treating its environment as a series of distracting hurdles—incorporates every diverse Chicago happening into its folds, reaching every corner of Lincoln Park to create a theatrical tapestry as rich and textured as the city itself.

Robert Brasher’s “Rush Hour”

October 23, 2022August 25, 2013 by Samuel Ezra Fisch

Robert Brasher, an accomplished Chicago painter, who’s work has been described as “never straying far from representational works the urban structure and human form sometimes take a back seat to the atmospheric conditions of Chicago.” Robert Brasher is known for painting beautiful Chicago cityscapes from an insider perspective.

The Lockout – A Musical

October 22, 2022August 25, 2013 by Tom Williams

The musical plays out as a series of sketches with over-blown incomprehensible production numbers sung badly in that irritating Broadway pop-rock style to a collection of the worse choreography danced by a cast that can neither sing, act or dance. The labor dispute at the heart of the piece is trivialized to the point that both the players and the owners come off as idiots being traumatized by a directorial commissioner.

Next to Normal at Drury Lane Oakbrook Theatre

August 24, 2013August 23, 2013 by Margaret Eva

“Next to Normal” is not a feel good musical, but a truly believable drama that can ignite your emotions and enlighten your understanding of some of extreme life problems people have or could face in their futures. The author wrote a very heart-wrenching story that demands exceptional singers with remarkable acting ability. For a very memorable night of theater, let your mind and heart embrace “Next to Normal”, a brilliant and exceptionally rare theater experience indeed!

9 to 5 the Musical

October 22, 2022August 22, 2013 by Beverly Friend

The musical version is funny, but not consistently funny enough. The plot appears fragmented, uneven and sometimes clunky, painted with strokes so broad that they obscure the cleverness of the original. Unfortunately, the exaggerated, two-dimensional characters fail to come to life — or seem worth caring about. A shining exception is the villain, heartless Franklin Hart, Jr. played with great verve by James Moye as a callous, lecherous boss.

The Dumb Waiter

August 23, 2013August 22, 2013 by Anthony J. Mangini

For when it comes to fully realizing the ominous violence lingering always at the margins of this play, one could certainly do worse than with Proud Kate Theatre Project’s current production, now on view at The Alley Stage. Under the direction of Charlie Marie McGrath, actors David Winkler and Shane Michael Murphy deliver two intimately compelling performances, moving together with the rhythmic pull of a yo-yo between the easygoing and the emotionally fraught.

Annie Bosh is Missing

August 18, 2013 by Tom Williams

It isn’t clear what Annie is looking for. Act one sets up an interesting agenda but unfortunately the play fizzles in act two. Anne Bosh is Missing wonders adrift and ends up with a series of melodramatic resolutions. While it is fine not to tie up all lose ends in a play. a playwright must not leave major items unresolved or resolved in a preposterous or cliched manner.

Buena Vista

August 17, 2013 by Tom Williams

Without giving away too much, let me state that Edith Freni’s plotting and her rich characters expertly play by the cast are engaging and real. From Vaccaro’s bittersweet mother to Tom’s stoic father to Monica’s hot-cold emotional swings to Noah’s character contradictions, Buena Vista tackles the diluted family dynamic into a bizarre nightmare played out in a snow storm.

The Gospel of Franklin

October 22, 2022August 16, 2013 by Anthony J. Mangini

But were it that easy. As The Gospel of Franklin makes clear, the truth isn’t always so easy to say. Buried underneath years of repressed memories, falsehoods and dissembling appearances, the truth—even of those we love and know best—becomes fractured, woolly and hard to sort through. Aaron Carter’s play is hence not unlike a jigsaw puzzle whose pieces don’t quite fit together but which nonetheless form some exhilaratingly incongruous biographical snapshot.

PrOne -The Casting Couch Musical Comedy

August 15, 2013 by Tom Williams

I sure do applaud the efforts of a new ensemble, Underscore Theatre Company, as the have mounted a promising new musical -PrOne -The Casting Couch Musical Comedy. Unfortunately, their collective efforts were more ambitious than their theatrical skills. By far the best element of PrOne is the music. It contains a pastiche of styles ranging from classic Broadway to patter songs to gospel to Broadway pop-rock. There are ballads, comic tunes and strong anthems