By Meg Miroshnik Directed by Nicole Wiesner Produced by Trap Door Theatre, Chicago Fairytale Heroines Take on the Russian Free Market Twenty-four years after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the children of the emigrants are coming of age. This prompts Russian-Americans to ask the questions every immigrant group faces eventually: how much of the … Read more
Adapted by Dwayne Hartford Based on the book by Kate DiCamillo Directed by Stuart Carden Produced by Chicago Children’s Theatre At the Ruth Page Center for the Arts, Chicago “If you have no intention of loving or being loved, then the whole journey is pointless.” Fabulous children’s play extremely adult friendly In a Chicago premiere … Read more
Adapted by Andrew White Directed by Hallie Gordon Produced by Steppenwolf Theatre Company An Unusually Personal 1984 In a note in the program, Steppenwolf educational director Hallie Gordon says that, upon rereading George Orwell’s famous dystopian novel 1984, she noticed how much the story focuses on the personal impact of the terror state. Orwell, whose … Read more
By Morgan McNaught Directed by Jesse Roth Produced by The New Colony Playing at The Den Theatre, Chicago There are many religions which posit the afterlife as a place where the dead learn from their mistakes in life, in order to achieve spiritual completeness. If the kinds of therapies employed there are anything like ones … Read more
The World Premiere By Philip Dawkins Directed by BJ Jones Produced by Northlight Theatre At the Steppenwolf Garage Theatre, Chicago Funny yet heartbreaking World Premiere about transgender folks is an important play for everyone to see Kudos to playwright Philip Dawkins and the folks at Northlight Theatre for bringing Charm to Steppenwolf Garage Theatre on … Read more
Created by David Kodeski and Naomi Ashley Directed by Edward Thomas-Herrera Playing at Stage 773, Chicago Some Favorite Memories of Childhood in a Tourist Trap “When people hear that I’m from Niagara Falls, New York, they usually express surprise that people actually live and can be from there,” says David Kodeski, the writer and narrator … Read more
Adapted and Directed by Mary Zimmerman From the Novel by Robert Louis Stevenson Produced by Lookingglass Theatre Company, Chicago A Co-Production with Berkeley Repertory Theatre No Need for Digging with This Treasure Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson’s 1881 adventure novel, has long been cheered by educators as one of the best means of convincing children, … Read more
A World Premiere Sherlock Holmes Adaptation Being a Reprint from the Reminiscences of John H. Watson, M.D. By Nicholas Meyer Adapted by Terry McCabe Directed by Warner Crocker At City Lit Theater, Chicago Wonderful Sherlock Homes-type play rings like an Arthur Conan Doyle short story Novelist and screenplay author Nicholas Meyer wrote The Seven-Per-Cent Solution … Read more
Based on Richard III by William Shakespeare Adapted and Directed by Max Truax Original Music by Jonathan Guillen Choral Arrangements and Direction by Nicholas Tonozzi Produced by Oracle Productions Playing at DCASE Storefront Theater, Chicago Richard as Intriguing as Ever, With a Twist Whenever you see Jonathan Guillen and Nicholas Tonozzi credited for the music … Read more
By Rod Gailes OBC and James Murray Jackson, Jr. Directed by Rod Gailes OBC Produced by Broadway in Chicago Playing at the Broadway Playhouse Richard Pryor is Having a Meltdown, So You Are Too Unspeakable is dark. Literally. Jorge Arroyo’s lighting design consists almost entirely of spotlights, used to fragment and obscure the Broadway Playhouse … Read more