REVIEWS Archives - Page 84 of 264

Desperate Dolls

Desperate Dolls is a poorly considered script and production now playing in Strawdog’s side theatre. While watching one of what was supposed to be many gripping scenes of violence and confusion, I was distanced enough to think to myself “this is an unpleasant experience.” A note from the artistic director says this script is meant to honor B-movies and Italian slashers by creating a stage equivalent. Therefore, I will assume the stilted dialogue and cardboard acting was deliberate and say no more about it.

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Tom Williams

Hot Georgia Sunday

It is difficult to tell a memory story from monologues from the six characters but with playwright Catherine Trieschman’s down-home dialogue, she succeeds. We meet a group of white trash small town folks who are both sexually charged and stupid as a bag of rocks. Th laughs emerge from the wacky monologues as each participant recalls the events from a scorching hot summer Sunday in rural Georgia

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Tom Williams

A Christmas Carol (Goodman)-2014

Unlike most reviewers, I’m new to Chicago and had never seen the Goodman’s A Christmas Carol before. Therefore, I can’t say how this production is different from the previous thirty-six years. But I can say it’s well-crafted in every regard, and sincerely tells Charles Dickens’s story as though it were only just written and not a yearly tradition.

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Tom Williams

It’s A Wonderful Life: 2014 Live at the Greenhouse Theatre

Based on the Frank Capra film and based on the short story“The Greatest Gift” by Philip Van Doren Stern Directed

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Tom Williams

Lookingglass Alice-2014

Since the production has played many times over the past decade, many Chicagoans have already seen it. They will be glad to know it is still fresh. If like me, you had not seen Lookingglass Alice before, it is not to be missed. It is an amazing piece of spectacle, but still carries some delightful character moments. Families with older children will remember it for years, and may make a tradition of it depending on how many more times it gets revived. People I knew who had seen it many times before are still amazed by it. It’s truly fun for everyone.

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Tom Williams

The Testament of Mary

The main attraction of the show is to see an intense performance of a script that contains vivid descriptions of scenes and feelings. The program contains a cheat sheet for the gospels, in which you may learn esoteric curiosities such as “the four gospels recount Jesus’s birth, ministry, and death.” If you are a believer and dislike iconoclasm, this show is not right for you

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Tom Williams

The Humans

In this 90 minute one act, the six person cast each have their say with Keith Kupferer and Hanna Dworkin anchoring the work. The celebration of Thanksgiving leads to a boiling point as the underlying tension explodes into truths that threaten the Blake’s core. Take the journey with these folks and you’ll quickly become immersed into memories of your family’s past holidays

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Tom Williams

The Winter’s Tale

However, all of this is lost in the final two acts, light-hearted and full of slap stick. It’s challenging for actors and audience alike to transition from the first portion of this play to the conclusion. The final two acts attempt to find a way to unconvincingly wrap up the tragedy of the first three acts in a tidy bow. However, the cast has the utmost fun attempting to do so. From the beginning of act four, the cast reminds its audience aggressively that “Now is the time to laugh!” Such coddling proved difficult for me. Still, several performances shine through, but the cast could not rise above the uneven source material that is Shakespeare’s Winter Tale.

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Tom Williams

How the Grinch Stole Christmas: The Musical

I really enjoyed this show. It warms my heart to see kids having fun in the theater. I would love to see the Broadway in Chicago people put on more shows geared toward kids because that’s where the passion for theatre starts. This show has sing-a-longs, fake snow being blasted into the crowd (if you’d like to avoid the snow zone, avoid the center of the main floor, but why wouldn’t you love it?), and moments where he asks the children for the answer. It is truly an adorable production that you should definitely bring your children to if they love the book. They will have a blast! I’m not even a parent and I had a great time. Maybe it’s because I’m just a big kid.

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Tom Williams

Always…Patsy Cline

The show featured a five piece country band led by Aaron Benham. The show features the Cline songbook including 27 of her songs! This show is an early country music delight that found many of the audience humming or singing along with Hall. That was both a tribute to Patsy Cline’s popularity after 50 years and an irritant since this isn’t karaoke night. Danni Smiths honest, down-home style narration and her comic chops added a human touch to the Cline song fest. So go to see Always…Patsy Cline to hear the memorable songs and you’ll discover a heartfelt story that will lift your spirits. Patsy was country before country was cool and she led they way for all the great female country singers to come.