Latest from Chicago Critic

You know a show is in trouble when the high points of a show are the two short scenes that find the real Dalmatians running across the stage and performing dog tricks!

In my first experience with the Joffrey Ballet I was blow away by the magnificence of it all; the enchanted venue inside the Auditorium Theatre, the enormity and depth created in the flat set, the exquisitely detailed costumes and the speechless beauty in the Joffrey dancers.

This cocktail party is a vehicle for the opinionated , manipulative Beverly to both express her warped views of society, marriage and contemporary living-but as fertile grounds to nag, insult and harass her husband. Beverly is bored with her life, especially with her frigid husband.

The Gimmick follows Alexis who is a young smart black girl growing up in Harlem. The adults around her are caught in the negative traps of life leaving her to mature all alone except for her dependable friendship with Jimmy (Brandon Thompson,) her books and a librarian who encourages Alexis to use her words to achieve greatness.

This refreshing and thoroughly enticing drama is part magical realism, part fable and part fantasy. It plays out like a blend of science fiction and contemporary minimalistic realism. The real and surreal blend into a chilling tale.

We meet the Pazinski family–a second generation Polish-American family living above the family neighborhood tavern in Buffalo New York, circa 1959 (terrific set design by Ian Zywica). The Pazinski family have four teenage children–each questioning their family values in their own mischievous ways

Redmoon silences the crowd with its Tim Burton Style of storytelling in The Cabinet. The Cabinet is a dark hypnotic story where Doctor Caligari controls his sleeping patient Cesar and tests the limits of murder and horror out in the real world. It has the feel of a dream, like we are watching each scene through the sleeping mind of Cesar.

The Old Settle is told in rich, poetic language with loads of sincerity as the poignant bonds of sisterhood are tested. Can the sisters forgive and garner the strength to endure? See this wonderful play to experience the dignity and power of love. What a “find” – The Old Settler is beautiful.

Jon Steinhagen is a multi-talented playwright, actor and musician whose new play–The Analytical Engine now playing at Circle Theatre-is a throw-back comedy of manners set in 1850 with a modern sensibility.