The show moves slowly as it is filled with references to major works of English literature that fuels Rita’s newly found intellectual freedom as she move up from a working class environment to the intellectual world of the intelligentsia.
Read MoreWithout giving away more of the plot, let me say that Good Boys and True is an indictment of privilege and wealth to give young men a warped sense of life that easily allows a teen to use a working class girl as an object of pleasure. The play covers the gray areas of how and why the societal structure both fosters and enables elitist behavior that doesn’t require owning or taking personal responsibility for one’s actions.
Read MoreWhat about the show? Well, it was good. Damn good, really. First we had to wait a minute, until the stage had sufficient fog. But then they took to the stage, James Allan with a thick, white, glowing mic cable, like something out of Bladerunner.
Read MoreIn this insanely hostile world, Marisol (Marta Evans) is a middle class educated soul struggling to make it in a culture plagued by war and scarcity. She is a good soul just trying to find peace and saftey. When her guardian angel (Leslie Ann Sheppard) informs her that she will leave as Marisol’s protector to join the heavenly battle against a senile and dying God, Marisol’s security is threatened.
Read MoreAs we go back in time, we see Evan as he engages with his close friends in a variety in seven dramatically varied entanglements or encounters with his adapted gay family. From close friendships to sexual encounters, Evan grows as a person through the advise and shared experiences with this close-knit group.
Read MoreRobert Plant is an interesting choice for the Ravinia Festival. On the one hand, he and his bandmates Jimmy Page, John Bonham and John Paul Jones defined behemoth self-indulgent rock in the ‘70s as Led Zeppelin. However, he’s now surrounded himself with massive names in country, folk and bluegrass and creates music that is, if not calm, complacent.
Read MoreAs part of Lanford Wilson’s Talley Trilogy, Fifth of July is the 1977 gathering of the Talley clan in their Lebanon, Missouri home. The clan is once more in turmoil. The play centers on Ken Talley (Stephen Dunn), a gay paraplegic Vietnam survivor who has inherited the decaying summer home.
Read MoreThe satire gets quite thick as Marcus takes on the persona of an Asian cultural believer who becomes more ‘Asian’ that Hwang. This is were the plot gets too self-serving as it wonders into the story of Hwang’s banker father (played with gusto by Joesph Anthony Foronda). David Rhee is fine as Hwang as he traverses through Hwang’s ups and downs as he struggles to make the concept of Yellow Face relevant.
Read MoreBroadway Bound is billed as Eugene’s (Max Polski) story but I believe that it is more Ben’s (Mike Nussbaum) and Kate’s (Carmen Roman) story as it is a powerful family drama with loads of trademark Simon one-liners. Utilizing a magnificent two level house set (design by Collette Pollard), director David New has cast a superb group including the fabulous and ageless Mike Nussbaum as the Socialist grandfather Ben. Nussbaum steals his scenes with his exquisite comic timing.
Read MoreWe see the story weaving deftly in time as we see how she went from conservative Jewish religious patron in Poland to a vibrant woman through her contact with the agnostic Jewish traveling toy theatre promoter Ben Ari Adler. Jacqueline and Richard Penrod’s set aptly depicts Lilith’s home and it contains a moveable toy theatre set (by Tracy Otwell) where Adler gets Lilka (Nora Fiffer) to help him write a new version of the story of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. Through this encounter, sparks fly between Ben Ari and Lilka as the Nazi’s invade Poland.
Read More