I have seen this annual gem many times with an assortment of Scrooges including William J. Norris, Frank Galati, Tom Mula, Rick Snyder, William Brown, Jonathan Weir, John Judd and Larry Yando. Each have played the nasty, money-loving old man with both pathos and humor as the nasty, lonely man finds redemption. I must say that Larry Yando once again proves again that he is the ultimate Scrooge
Read MoreKudos to playwright Alfred Uhry. Just as in his Pulitzer Prize and Academy Award Winning play and movie, “Driving Miss Daisy,” he has once again mined the world of Southern Jewry for a heartwarming story transcending ethnic and regional limitations.
Read MoreFirst Floor Theatre embarked on its first full season with a selection of shows which reaffirm their mission of inspiring intellectual curiosity in their artists and audiences. The three shows which First floor theatre has lined up this season are smart moving funny and tragic. These shows look up to our past while asking vital questions about our future, both as individuals and as citizens of a contemporary city. Polaroid Stories definitely fits these terms well, and poses strong questions about some of the overlooked yet very real parts of contemporary society.
Read MoreIt has been a long time since I’ve seen La Traviata and I now realize why this Verdi opera is such an audience favorite. It is a hauntingly beautiful piece that contains three juicy roles; one we empathize with (Violetta) and two we loath (Alfredo and Giorgio). I’m happy to report that the new production, now playing at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, features three world-class singers each at the top of their art.
Read MoreCome and take the fairy tale musical comedy quest with The Strange Tree Group – you’ll smile, laugh and be musically captivated by the original story told with manic energy. This is a smart, well written show that is ready for prime time. One can home that the major musical comedy producers from The Theatre at the Center, Drury Lane Oakbrook, Marriott Theatre and Chicago Spokeshave Theater come to see The Dead Prince and Emily Schwatrz’. She is a major theatrical artist whose work needs to be mounted at the next level.
Read MoreI admire the hutzpah of Silk Road Rising for taking a chance with this most problematic play. Paulus may stretch credulity and be a tad too much for many to handle yet it is daring, provocative and enticing work. It will bore some, offend others, and yet I found it theatrically appealing in a strange way. It sure challenges us to think, analyze, and consider the nature and essence of our beliefs. Jews and Christians will find much to rile about. So make the effort to stay with Paulus’ style, it’ll payoff.
Read MorePlaywright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins is an African-American playwright who loves to be provocative and stun audiences with outlandish works. But here in Appropriate, now playing at Victory Gardens Theater, he has written about a most dysfunctional white family gathered to liquidate the estate of their recently departed patriarch. Jacobs-Jenkins demonstrates his talents by creating fully flashed-out characters with language that is both bitingly bitter and razor-sharp. Jacobs-Jenkins is an emerging major talent who bravely doesn’t hesitate to write about a white family that has a most racist past that none of the family will recognize.
Read MoreThe key element that makes this theatrical event so noteworthy is that Kane’s amazing classical acting training together with his expert articulation and enunciation and his ability to makes us ‘see’ each character whether it be Achilles, Agamemnon, Patroclus or King Priam. Kane’s fabulous performance gets aid from Todd Rosenthal’s large bomber-out cement bunker set and from Keith Parham’s riveting lighting and from Andre Pluess’ eerie sound. Charles Newell’s blocking that found Kane moving about, as his emotions spirited him about, kept the story fresh and engaging. The dramatization of the confrontation between Achilles and Hector by Kane became so real that, for an instant, Kane’s eyes seemed to be recalling the actual event.
Read MorePlaywright Dominique Morisseau’s first play in her The Detroit Projects trilogy, Detroit ’67 is a glimpse into the world of African-Americans struggling to exist in a violent and changing urban city. We meet Chelle (Tyla Abercrumbie) and her younger brother Lank (Karmal Angelo Bolden) who run a “blind pig” (a non-licensed bar with musical entertainment) in their basement. These private neighborhood establishments were often harassed and shook-down by the mostly white Detroit police.
Read MoreBy Rainer Werner Fassbinder Translated by Denis Calandra Directed by Beata Pilch At Trap Door Theatre, Chicago Enticing dark
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