The Best Medicine
What this children’s production — mixing fairy tale, slapstick comedy and musical — projects in creativity is undercut by its lack of focus.
REVIEWS BY
Fiddler On The Roof
Topol’s Chicago opening resulted in a resounding standing ovation from the packed house. It isn’t only Topol’s voice – which is as strong and mesmerizing as ever — or his acting ability — which is finely honed – it is all the little touches that make up a great role – the innuendos inherent in a raised eyebrow, a shrugged shoulder, a sly grin.
5th of July
5th of July moves along breezily with biting humor in the early moments yet it builds dramatic tension as each person come to grips with facing the present and putting the past to rest. Wilson populates his plays with full rounded characters with whom we care about.
A Minster’s Wife
Michael Halberstam has conceived and directed a marvelous new operetta based on Shaw’s 1894, Candida. In a collaboration with Austin Pendleton (adapter), Jan Tranen (lyrics) and Josh Schmidt (music), A Minster’s Wife, now in a world premiere at Writers’ Theatre in Glencoe is stunning work of art
Third
Third tells the story of Laurie Jameson (Robin Lewis-Bedz), a middle aged college professor whose well-ordered life as a wife, mother and daughter is thrown into disarray when she accuses a student of plagiarism
Hollywood 360 6-06-09
Tom Williams discusses the following stage plays with Carl Amari: The Arabian Nights at Lookingglass Theatre, The Crowd You’re In With at the Goodman Theatre, Pump Boys and Dinettes at Drury Lane Oakbrook Theatre [audio: https://chicagocritic.com/newsite/audio/0606TOM.mp3]
A Little Night Music
A Little Night Music contains a lush, romantic waltz-time score by Sondheim. Director Rudy Hogenmiller has cast superb voices to sing Sondheim’s romantic lyrics. A Little Night Music is a work of theatrical art that appeals to operetta lovers and pure romantics.
Camelot: In Concert
The concert sings quite expertly, with Hearn actually singing Arthur’s numbers with deep emotions. The concert format allows the large orchestra to overwhelm us with the lush score while we still get a glimpse of the story and the interaction of the characters.
Pump Boys and Dinettes
This highly entertaining musical treat is light on story, small vignettes designed to introduce the next song, but long on Southern, small town music. Featuring a nice blend of country, folk, old-time rock ‘n roll, blue grass, Cajun, cowboy and western, blues with gospel thrown in,
Bright Spirit Cirque Shanghai
When the audience isn’t cheering the endeavors, it’s holding its breath: what lithe performers, what contortionists. Everything that seems impossible suddenly is made to look impossibly easy.