This 90 minute one-act blends humor, realism and pathos into a moving portrait of love, loss and temptation as we see Melody move from a flake into a strong women. She deals with the hostile demanding Hope (herself dealing with the loss of her husband and now her son) and she conquers advances form Craig’s young assistant Brad (Christian Blackburn). This work is an honest attempt to depict two women as they deal with a tragic situation
Hall’s script is indeed an in depth theses on the nature of art and the power of individual expression. We come to realize that the meaning of an art piece lies in the eye of the observer and that ultimately there are no rules to art, that technique is easily over shaded by personal expression.
Act Two presents a debate as to the problems raising a child in a two female home – especially when Nate/Margot and Leigh (with a commitment from Jacob) decide to “co-parent” between the two couples with visits from Jacob. Darcy uses those obvious problems to sabotage the desired pregnancy of Leigh with Jacob. But she is unaware of changed circumstances that further complicate things. The plot lines here are plausible and probable.
Clifford Odets’ 1935 revolutionary work first produced by the Group Theatre using “agit-prop” theatre techniques. The play was theatre as propaganda at its emotional zenith. This work utilizes actor plants in the audience to arouse responses and to break the ‘fourth walk.’ While a tad dated, Waiting For Lefty is still a classic warning to big corporations not to continue to oppress the American working class.
The stage chemistry was winning and the duets soared as the Sondheim song fest thrilled us with style, sophistication, and truthful performances. This revue is a major triumph! If you want to see a classy flawless musical revue, get to Theater Wit to be amazed by the craftsmanship and artistry of Chicago’s talents. Porchlight Musical Theatre continues to mount fine shows.
Thit is not a straightforward retelling of the tales: rather, the play takes place through Carroll’s perspective, how he told the stories through his eyes, and includes interludes of his personal letters and notes. This lends an interesting twist to otherwise very familiar territory.
Adaptation and direction & fight choreography by Matt Hawkins Original Music by Kevin O’Donnell Lyrics by Shawn Pfautsch and Matt Hawkins Produced by The House Theatre of Chicago At Chopin Theatre, Chicago Adaptation: not quite a face-lift but more than a nose job PANACHE! Here’s a word that playwright Edmond Rostand introduced into the English … Read more
I wanted to know more about Tom and Marie but all I got was scene after scene that contained screaming, hollering, and shouting that made me wonder why playwright Farrell thought that the bickering among these folks had any relevance to 911. Why would such a play be part of any commemoration of that horrible incident?
Ever the stylist tenor who loves patter songs, word-intensive and emotionally explosive songs – Mandy Patinkin never sounded better. Nathan Gunn, the powerful baritone and classical opera star easily breezed through his varied assortment of tunes that included cowboy songs, Broadway tunes with a sampling of pop and folk tunes
The 26th Annual Bucktown Arts Fest came to a close last Sunday. For those of you who have never had a chance to take it in, the festival is an end of summer celebration of Chicago artistry. There’s always good food, drinks, and music…even things for the kids to do. I urge you to check … Read more