The Night Alive is a brilliantly constructed drama that unfolds as finely directed and beautifully acted work that leaves audiences moved and satisfied that their lives and their aspirations are in a better place than Tommy, Doc and Aimee. We are glad we shared their experiences of these very human souls as only a master playwright can present them. The Night Alive is one of the finest players seen on a Chicago stage this year! Don’t miss it.
Read MoreThe main character is surprisingly underwritten for how much Cowhig wanted a strong female lead; I have a hard time describing Sunny other than saying she is a Ke$ha fan and bursts into action when the plot requires it. Lim does her best with what she has to work with. I vastly preferred Long in her other role, the mid-wife Wang Hua, in which she was vibrantly funny, and played well off of Iskandar. His and Jue’s physical comedy supplied my favorite moments of the show.
Read MoreAs part of their World’s Stage series, Chicago Shakespeare has smartly brought the magnificent South African troupe, Isango Ensemble to Chicago on their International tour of one of the most charming, energetic and innovative productions of Mozart’s beloved vaudevillian opera – The Magic Flute. Dressed in vivid African attire, the 30 person cast, with the exception of only a few roles, move swiftly from playing marimbas, drums and various percussion instruments to singing and dancing as well as producing marvelous male and female harmonies. I can’t remember seeing a more talented and versatile cast.
Read MoreFor some strange reason, Edward Albee felt he had to write a first act in 2004 to his 1959 one-act, The Zoo Story. Maybe he felt that more theatres would produce the work if it was a full play? So now, if you want the rights to do ‘Zoo,’ you must do it as At Home at the Zoo. The result is to make patrons sit through a slowly unfolding yet serviceable prequel.
Read MoreEntering Theo Ubique’s space in the No Exit Café feels like going back in time, an illusion aided by Bill Morey’s Act I costumes. Kellie Cundiff (soprano), Christopher Logan (baritone), Jordan Phelps (tenor), Michael Reyes (bass), and Jill Sesso (mezzo) appear as gritty early twentieth century tramps. The men’s angular facial hair and makeup put a skeletal accent on their cheekbones. I felt drawn into the dissolute Berlin cabaret of the 1920’s world before the music had even started.
Read MoreHis home, his family, and his trappings hold him as a prisoner in life. As he struggles to find a place for himself in a world whose prejudice and racism has shit him out, Bigger suffers from a low self-esteem that when he looks in the mirror, he sees not himself but what society wants him to be – their “native son.”
Read MoreWe meet Etta (Mary Ann Thebus), spry senior and devoted wife to her 91 year-old husband, Gerald (William J. Norris)-who suffers from extreme dementia. We see Gerald rant oblivious to who is around him. Sadly, we learn that he was a famed music professor. Tom, (Ernest Perry, Jr.), the the other resident who everyone believes is deaf.
Read MoreThese two parts of the healthcare plays are riveting theatre. They play together and separately. I’m not sure who the audience is for Let Me Down Easy or Mercy Strain since 20-30somethings and seniors alike don’t like to speak or thing about death and sickness. But the two performance (by Usman Ally and Michael Milligan) compel us to get to ATC.
Read MoreWith the exception of the extraordinary staging of one of the most memorable ever speeches, Lear’s ‘Blow wind and crack your cheeks..’ being shouted by him with his back to the audience, the production’s modern dress style was filled with engaging movement and visually skillful staging. The attention never wavered, even though it was like watching a foreign language play at times.This reviewer was seated at the extreme right of the thrust stage. Perhaps because of this, most of the language was unintelligible, with actors facing away. Added to this this was the indistinct delivery of the text, with actors allowed, or directed, to speak with great speed, as they would a Mamet text, often with poor enunciation and vocal projection.
Read MoreI can say that I had some issues with the highly theatrical take on the 19th Century Gothic novel. While the color-blind inter-racial casting works fine, the use of such accurate RP British accents was so dominate that the cast got so overwhelmed with their sounds that their characters came off as period-dressed costumes living in their RP speech at the expense of being believable real characters. Add much screaming and, at times, rapid-fire talking and many important plot details got lost in the over emotional over-the-top performances.
Read More