Set in the teacher’s lounge, the four teachers deal with a broken copier, a bureaucracy with minimal assets for the teachers and a survival, often cynical, morale of the veteran teachers. This dark comedy focusing on the adjustment of a new teacher conflicted by her determination to helping her students learn with the conflicting system and the advise from her fellow teachers.
The work, in its Midwest Premiere, is a dysfunctional family saga that deals with a bullied over weight teenage girl, a cold hearted mother, a father obsessed with global warming and a drifter nephew turned teen mentor.
Edgar and Alice have played their love/hate game for their entire almost 25 year marriage. We never really understand if they truly love on another to if all the animosity between them comes from hate or simply a sophisticated game to keep life interesting for both of these bored folks? As the games escalate, Edgar passes out several time as he apparently is having strokes or is he? Edgar is sickly and dying, or is he? Alice schemes to destroy and/or leave Edgar since she has been suffering his nastiness for too long, or is she?
Yet, the over all experience and the impressive atmosphere and the stunning visuals (the changing portraits of Dorian) fueled this unique theatrical experience. Kevin O’Donnell’s techno music worked well with Rapley’s manic choreography.Dorian proves that often the effects of the whole story telling is superior to the parts. Dorian is lush, modern, sexy, and fun
Mud Blue Sky has the elements of a wonderful show: honest acting; spot-on comic dialogue and loads of heart and compassion. And, of course, more laughs than any other show now playing in Chicago. This show is easily one of the best shows of 2014 – it’s therapy for a cold rainy spring with all those laughs
This non-funny comedy, especially sprinkled with several poorly sing cowboy songs, is an unfocused story of a mother and her two daughters who are non empathetic, losers whose every action seem to become more disastrous than the last. Mom is totally oblivious to her circumstances; she is broke, facing bankruptcy with a blaze indifference. She resorts to incoherent anecdotal stories from the wisdom of the pioneer spirit that she spouts as her personal mantra. Together with the wacky songs, these frontier homilies , while trying to be sardonic , only serve to drive audiences further away from caring about the three loser women.
Our Class is told as a memory play by ten classmates, half Catholic and half Jewish. We see them from childhood in school through the devastation through the rest of their lives. Told in a 2 hour, 45 minute drama. Our Class emerges as a “must see” theatrical event that will shake you to your bones. It is a story that begs to be told and the artists at Remy Bumppo, under the creatively bravo leadership from Nick Sandys, invest all their energy into a heartfelt depiction of the various personalities that made the dynamics of mass killing possible. Our Class shows how ordinary common folks can so easily move into the darkness of evil when their society is shaken by military occupation that allows escapist blame to be played out through antisemitism.
Les Miserables is an epic story of oppression that finds one good man, one zealot and a group of idealistic students each trying to make a difference in a harsh and cruel world. We see how eventually, goodness and humanity contained in resilient folks wins for a bright future. This is a richly emotional show filled with big anthems, rousing marches and tender love songs and sad laments that will leave you in tears. The power of the live stage and haunting music rings so true. See Les Miserables once again and rekindle your spirits.
Jamie, who admits that he has a terrible memory, denies being abused. He strongly has no memories dating back to when he was four years old (the time frame of possible abuse). When Jamie mentions that meeting with Frank to his parents and Paige, he gets unexpected responses from them that leads him to start questioning and probing into his past.
Kevin Webb and Jordan Phelps gave tour de force performances as the two lovers struggling to achieve love and companionship. Seldom do you witness two actors who put terrific acting into their expert singing. Each ‘stayed-in-character’ as the other sang. Their duets soared into the heavens as we witness the ups & downs of a contemporary gay relationship. We instantly warm to the infectious charm from Kevin Webb and Jordan Phelps and we enjoy laugh and cry with their honest tumultuous relationship.