Music and Lyrics by Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, and Eddie Holland Book by Linda Bloodworth Thomason Directed by Simon Phillips Produced by Broadway in Chicago New Musical Will Struggle Awhile Yet First Wives Club, an original musical based on the 1990s movie and book of the same name about three scorned women seeking revenge, opened … Read more
A Rock Opera in two acts in English Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber Lyrics by Tim Rice Directed by Fred Anzevino Music Direction by Jeremy Ramey Choreographer by Brenda Didier At No Exit Cafe, Chicago Who said you couldn’t produce a rock opera in an intimate cafe? I have never been an avid fan of … Read more
By Steven Simoncic Based on the Book by Eric Klinenberg: “Heat Wave: A Social Autopsy of Disaster in Chicago” Directed by Rinska Carrasco-Prestinary Produced by Cold Basement Dramatics At Steppenwolf Theatre’s Garage Rep Series Heat Wave is an indictment of the follies of the Daley mayoral administration Steven Simoncic’s adaptation of Eric Klinenberg’s Heat Wave … Read more
By Nathan Allen and Chris Mathews Directed by Nathan Allen Produced by The House Theatre of Chicago Epic History Unfolds Through Dialectical Dragons Though I’ve encountered great hospitality in theatre, I have never seen a production as warm and intimate as The House Theatre’s marathon performance of The Hammer Trinity. It was clear from my … Read more
By Topher Payne Directed by Derek Van Barham Produced by Pride Films and Plays At the Steppenwolf Garage Rep Series “To get it better, we must make it better.” Bait and switch doesn’t work in theatre anymore than in advertising or marketing Playwright Topher Payne, an Atlanta based actor/playwright, sucks us into a political comedy … Read more
By Taylor Mac With Music by Ellen Maddon Directed by Bonnie Metzgar with Eric Hoff Produced by Red Tape Theatre At Steppenwolf Garage Rep Series Wildly poor taste rules in manic performance piece disguised as a play. Taylor Mac, himself a fringe actor/playwright, has organized a wild manic performance art piece featuring a dozen weird … Read more
By Joel Z. Cornfield & Richard James Zieman Directed by Michael Stults Produced by Bread & Roses productions At the Athenaeum Theatre, Chicago Poor acting and a poor script make for a long 1 hour, 45 minute show I’m not sure what Picture Imperfect is really about. The press notes mention an autistic son, Cole … Read more
By David Greig Directed by Roxana Silbert Produced by The National Theatre of Scotland, the Royal Shakespeare Company, and Chicago Shakespeare Theater No Happily Ever After for Scotland Shakespeare’s Macbeth pretty clearly divides violence into the demonic and anti-demonic. Popular for four hundred years and counting, the play has vastly overtaken the real life king … Read more
By Frances Goodrich & Albert Hackett Adapted by Wendy Kesselman Directed by Kimberly Senior At Writers Theatre, Glencoe Intimate production honestly presents the fears, the terror, and the blind hope of young Anne Frank The Diary of Anne Frank, one of the largest selling books of all-time with several movies and many stage adaptations, still … Read more
By John Henry Roberts Directed by Marti Lyons Produced by Strawdog Theatre Company Crime Drama Creates Noir Atmosphere Strawdog Theatre Company is celebrating its 100th production with a dark, but fun new heist drama. Written by company member John Henry Roberts, The Sweeter Option is the kind of story that is presented onstage because that … Read more