Latest from Chicago Critic

Despite some repeating dialogue, playwright Jake Perry has penned a fresh look at the closure sought from a five year old breakup. Add the mystery of how and by whom their friend died and Closure has the elements of a fine mystery.

Besides the swank sophisticated Latin-rhythmic dances, marvelously choreographed by Stacey Flaster, Scoundrels features exquisitely timed comic turns form Larry Wyatt, Michael Mahler, Larry Adams and especially Paula Scrofano, as the wacky and lonely American millionaire Muriel. Dara Cameron beautifully plays Christine Colgate who isn’t who she appears to be.

Throughout, the emphasis is on stories and their power. We are all composed of stories, Dahna tells Adam. Stories tell who we are, define our behavior, and explain our lives. They also can confuse us – and this does happen in the play. The sheer number of tales, the time shifts and the rapidity of exposition is dazzling – providing a challenging intellectual maze. It would take more than one viewing to capture and unravel all the sidelights and nuances.

At 3:20 PM on Tuesday, May 21, 1946 at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, Louis Slotin was doing a most dangerous demonstration using a plutonium bomb core when his hand slipped and large amounts of radiation instantly escaped infecting him fatally. The play vividly depicts Slotin’s last nine days of life as he struggles to understand why this happened and what is legacy will be.

Nothing feels more like the holidays than the looming threat of Armageddon. The end of the world may or may not arrive on New Years Day, but that doesn’t mean it’s not too late to repent all your sins while dancing to Calypso music…just in case. This is the premise of William Donnelly’s new comedy Apocalypso, playing at the BoHo Theatre in Rogers Park.

Without giving too much away, I would have liked a little more background on the history of Belarus. It is assumed that the audience is familiar with the political upheaval and governmental instability of the country. If nothing else, it made me want to learn more about Belarus.

A Chorus Line is the greatest backstage musical ever – and one of the finest dance shows ever! The 1975 show won 9 Tony’s and a Pulitzer as it run for 6, 137 performance – a record at the time. It was Michael Bennett, Marvin Hamlisch and Edward Kleban’s masterwork. A Chorus Line is a simple yet telling work about a group of dancers, “gypsies” who are auditioning for a spot in the chorus of a new Broadway show.

Big River is the retelling of Huck Finn’s adventure that finds him and his friend Jim moving through the river each escaping troubles in their lives. Andrew Mueller (the youngest of the expert Mueller clan that has enriched the musical stages in Chicago for years), has all the tools necessary to be a most likable Huckleberry Finn – charm, boyish innocence, with enough guile to manipulate through Twain’s adventures. Mueller adds strong guitar picking with a golden tenor voice that nails his songs with verve.