Latest from Chicago Critic

From the Circle: ReMembering the Earth through Folktales

October 10, 2011October 10, 2011 by Will Fink

From the Circle is not just a play made up of folktales from around the world; and yet it is simply a play made up of folktales, taken from around the world. It is at once heady and primeval, even primordial. The show takes acting, takes theatre, back to its roots – in storytelling. The acting is broad, archetypical, basic. And because of this, the emotions can all the more easily seep through and affect the audience; the audience no longer needs the actor to feel for them, they find the emotions coming up from within themselves. It is a transposition that reminds us of what real theatre is.

The Tales of Hoffmann

October 9, 2011 by Will Fink

And yet, although the overall effect of The Tales of Hoffmann is comic, Offenbach is a deft manipulator of emotions, and the very end of the piece is profoundly and deeply affecting. At the very end, Offenbach brings true, devastating weight to the opera, and leaves the audience with exactly the feeling he wishes.

The Spirit Play

October 23, 2022October 8, 2011 by Tom Williams

We see a group of believers who are desperate, despite their misgivings, to connect with a departed loved one. The methodology of the seance and the trickery of the moderators and their medium add fuel to the desperate believers.

A Touch of the Poet

October 2, 2026October 7, 2011 by Tom Williams

But Con Melody, a drunken ex-Irish gentry and disgraced Major in Wellington’s British Army, is so caught up in the past that he only drinks and keeps up his ‘gentlemanly manners’ despite being almost destitute. Con’s self-delusion is constantly being fought by his realistic daughter Sara.

Wishful Drinking

October 7, 2011 by Beverly Friend

Her very first tale – about awakening one morning to find the houseguest who was sleeping beside her had died during the night – transcends what must have been the horror of the experience. As she says, it is not only that he died during his own sleep, he also died during hers. Upon completing the story, Fisher begins the first of her many interchanges with the audience, turning up the house lights to see if they have any questions

The People’s Choice

October 23, 2022October 5, 2011 by Tom Williams

The situations are absurd and the acting is spirited even if some of the funny moments seem strained. But as a light off-night show (Mondays & Tuesdays), The People’s Choice fills the bill. Brandon Galatz shows promise as the hapless President.

Brand

October 23, 2022October 4, 2011 by Tom Williams

Not even the leading avant-garde director, Max Truax could , despite a dark, depressing set design (byMichael Mroch) and a totally dedicated cast, could make Henrik Ibsen’s 1866 verse tragedy, Brand, audience friendly. Written while Ibsen was on a self-imposed exile in Italy, Brand is a ‘think” piece about Ibsen’s Christian views concerning freedom of will and the use of sacrifice to illustrate one’s Christian faith.

Kabulitis

October 3, 2011October 3, 2011 by Will Fink

Kabulitis focuses on two periods in Afghan history: the return of the foreign-educated sons seeking reform, and the aftermath of invasion in 2002; this is done through a single family, a single person: Mildred (Caron Buinis), a Manhattan girl married to the Afghan Hamed (Gustavo Obregon) who is determined to reform his country. They travelled back to Kabul during the Second World War, but were eventually forced out because of the impending danger they faced.

The Great Fire

October 3, 2011 by Tom Williams

I was impressed at the scope and depth of Musial’s work in the 2011 version. Seldom will you see a more technical stage work that vividly evokes the tragedy of a city-wide fire. The only thing lacking was the smoke and smell of a major fire. Telling the story of a catastrophic event on stage takes daring and loads of stage craft – all of which are ingredients in this thrilling and emotional telling of the story of the Chicago fire from October 8, 1871.

The Shadow of a Gunmen

October 23, 2022October 1, 2011 by Tom Williams

Sean O’Casey is in good hands under the spirited direction of John Mossman and the terrific ensemble acting (each in rich authentic Irish brogues) from the dedicated cast. The quirkiness and the submerged fear storms to the surface in this often-times funny yet sad tale of life and oppression in Dublin during ‘The Troubles” of 1920-23.