By Hansol Jung Directed by Elly Green Produced by Sideshow Theatre Company Playing at Victory Gardens, Chicago A Love That Was Not Meant To Be The key to a love story is that the audience has to want the relationship to work. Even if a couple ends in tragedy, there has to be a sense … Read more
By Samuel D. Hunter Directed by Jonathan Berry Produced by Griffin Theatre At Signal Ensemble, Chicago Well acted ensemble slice-of-life drama about a dying community Playwright Samuel D. Hunter (The Whale) loves to place his plays in Idaho. His latest, Pocatello, laments the decline of that small town where reminders of past glories are now … Read more
Adapted by Joe Mantello Based on David Sedaris’ essay Directed by Jeremy Wechsler Produced by Theater Wit “It’s not about the child or Santa or Christmas or anything, but the parents’ idea of a world they can not make work for them.” A Comedy For Holiday Dissenters Have you heard it yet? Flipping through your … Read more
By Paula Vogel Directed by Josh Sobel Produced by Strawdog Theatre Company, Chicago A Christmas Show for those in Need of Catharsis Paula Vogel’s writing is deeply personal, and her 2003 play, The Long Christmas Ride Home is one of her major works which was inspired by the death of her brother, Carl, from AIDS … Read more
Ain’t Misbehavin’ is a ‘join jumpin’ sparkling ode to the tunes associated with Fats Waller, composer, musician and nightclub personality. You’ll hear swing, the rhythms of ragtime, and the passions of jazz, blues, be-bop, waltz and jitterbug with some playful sexy double entendres that hint nasty with tongue-in-cheek humor. The result is an overwhelmingly joyous evening celebrating Black America’s contribution to our culture.
An Original Adaptation of the Play by Henrik Ibsen Written and Directed by Greg Allen Produced by Mary-Arrchie Theatre Company At Angel Island, Chicago Ibsen’s Loving Parodists Salute Him Listen to my interview with Greg Allen. Greg Allen knows his Ibsen. The Neo-Futurists founder previously staged The Last Two Minutes of the Complete Works of … Read more
By George S. Kaufman & Moss Hart Directed by Devon De Mayo At Northlight Theatre, Skokie Who can’t laugh at a classic, timeless screwball comedy with heart? You Can’t Take It With You won the Pulitzer Prize (rare for a comedy) in 1936 and the film won Best Picture (Oscar) in 1937. Northlight Theatre did … Read more
By Aeschylus Translated by Nicholas Rudall Directed by Charles Newell Produced by Court Theatre, Chicago Lingering in All the Wrong Places The new production of Agamemnon at Court Theatre certainly lives up to the University of Chicago-based company’s dedication to intellectualism. The second in a planned trilogy of new translations by Nicholas Rudall drawn from … Read more
By John Logan Directed by Gary Griffin Produced by Victory Gardens Theater, Chicago Where Humanness and Monstrousness Intersect It is a very good sign for a young playwright if their first work is as good as John Logan’s Never the Sinner. Not that the earliest version of Logan’s recounting of Leopold and Loeb’s twisted relationship … Read more
By Thomas Bradshaw Directed by Ethan McSweeny Produced by The Flea theater and the American Theater Co (ATC) At ATC in Chicago Puzzling pointless drama is a head-scratcher In a co-production with New York’s The Flea Theater, ATC has mounted a perplexing drama that evolves as a head-scratching 90 minutes of live theatre. Thomas Bradshaw … Read more