For people who old enough to have been married, or are in their late twenties and considering it, the show has obvious emotional resonance. In its current staging under the direction of John Glover, it also is surprisingly theatrical for that’s basically just two conversations.
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The New Colony, under the direction of Evan Linder, puts their attention to where it truly matters: into a very strong cast. And though the story is sometimes confusing and, to me, ambiguous as to its meaning, it too raises some curious questions as to what it means to be human and how sometimes the gap between who we are and who we want to be cannot be bridged.
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Few Shakespeare plays are better suited to outdoor performance than the seasonally appropriate fantasy romance A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Now at the Mayslake Peabody Estate, First Folio’s production, directed by Haley Rice, is an amusing romp through the woods, with a talented group of actors who are mostly new to the company.
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Why do a show about a possibly brain-damaged actor interpreting every role in Hamlet with the aid of puppets, projections, facial spasms, and acronyms? The answer, “Busey” says, is to prove that he can. And for a hilarious seventy-five minutes, we can watch a slow-rolling disaster interlaced with occasional flashes of genius as Carl pars down Shakespeare’s longest play into a rapid-fire series of commentaries, deluded sidetracks, and high tragedy.
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Last February, as I sat reviewing a one-man play in a Florida theater, an immediate thought hit me: “This is a perfect show for Skokie!”
I was right! Brad Zimmerman’s My Son the Waiter: A Jewish Tragedy just opened at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts for a 4- week run, and it is a perfect match — just as funny and delightful the second time around as it was originally.
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While Hamilton is dominating the coverage of the upcoming Broadway in Chicago tours, another hotly-anticipated event later in the year is British playwright Simon Stephens’ stage adaptation of Mark Haddon’s novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime. Followers of Steep Theatre Company are already familiar with Stephens, since three of his works have enjoyed American or Midwestern debuts there. His works have gained a following in some circles, but also gained contempt in others, because they are often episodic and feature seedy characters in mysterious situations. Wastwater is another one of those, and in Steep’s production, is directed by Robin Witt to deliver the atmosphere Stephens fans expect.
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Before Hamilton arrives at The PrivateBank Theatre this fall, the last new musical to cause a sensation on Broadway, The Book of Mormon, is playing through the summer. Fans of Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s long-running adult cartoon South Park will be familiar with the two’s delight in filling their show with musical and dance numbers, as well as ripping authoritarian religions, and know that Mormonism has a weird, special place in the comic duos’ hearts.
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The dignified gentleman, Miguel de Cervantes, played with honest and geniuse charm by Natheniel Stampley, gradually yet unflinchingly wins the souls of his cellmates as he effectively weaves the story of Don Quixote. From Stampley’s powerful opening number “I, Don Quixote” we know we’re on an amazing journey. When Stampley nails the memorable anthem “The Quest (The Impossible Dream),” the show penetrates directly into our hearts.
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In a production in Jefferson Park’s storefront Gift Theatre, Frank Galati’s adaptation of John Steinbeck’s renowned novel is zoomed in on more closely than ever, with the tiny playing space leaving room for little more than an intense examination of the characters played by a nineteen-member cast.
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In its short history so far, the Windy City Playhouse has become known for making its comfortable, upscale venue with its well-stocked bar an integral part of every show performed there. And though the fledgling company has staged a wide variety of work, the most common theme of its plays are the relationship problems of well-to-do East Coasters. It’s not a bad combination of atmosphere and play selection, but the company could doubtlessly do better than Melissa James Gibson’s This, a 2009 play with detestable characters and overly indulgent dialogue.
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