I must say that playwright Dennis Kelly over works the speeches that come across as as personal confessionals or sketches or interwoven scenarios that have a thin strand with one couple – David (Peter Moore) and Jess (Julia Siple) – debt-laden misery of a married couple as their spending and lavish lifestyle threaten their peace.
Read MoreNick is a sexually frustrated teen and adventure seeking lad who devises ever more dangerous Internet games to quench his thirst for danger and control over others. Based on a true story of a British teen who ventured down a dark path into the virtual world from a 2005 “Vanity Fair” magazine story, Nick creates a fictional Internet identity first as a harmless prank then as a personal obsession
Read MoreProlific playwright Brett Neveu, a company member of A Red Orchid, presents his sixth world premiere at the intimate Old Town Chicago theatre. Megacosm is an amazingly eerie and totally engrossing cliff-hanger 85 minute one-act comic mystery…Chris (Larry Grimm) is a nerdy shaggy-haired inventor anxious to make a presentation to Britt (Danny McCarthy) the head of a multinational corporation. The atmosphere around the company’s headquarters is ripe with violent protestors.
Read MoreBetter this work is defined in traditional Japanese formats with Asian actors without all the contradictory style elements. I’d get rid of the terrible songs and I’d trim at least 40 minutes off the script. Me and most of the audience members in the production I saw became restless and bored with this redundant and wordy work.
Read MoreThis unorthodox, vibrant satire on sports, business, race, politics and power in the U.S. is narrated by Puerto Rican wrestler Mace, aka Macedonio Guerra (Brandon Morris), who has loved wrestling, and played with his brothers and toy action figures since childhood.
Read MoreMr. Rickey Calls A Meeting is a fine historical fictional drama based on real characters put into a “what if” scenario. The show is humorous, thought provoking and truthful as it attempts to ask underlying questions as to the ramifications of a single ensuing historical event. The performances are strong and winning. The play highlights the multilevel consequences of Jackie Robinson and Branch Rickey’s bold move
Read MoreBlizzard ’67 is much more that a snow storm comedy, more that a quirky satire of ’60’s corporate types. It is a honest look at how four men deal with unforeseen chaotic events. Their personalities, warts and all, dictate their actions. Besides being a engaging theatre piece, Blizzard ’67 is a poignant study into the nature of human reactions – guilt and self-preservation dominant. This is Steinhagen’s finest work to date. Don’t miss this quirky gem. It is worth battling a snow storm to see.
Read MoreThe strong, articulate and disciplined performance by Lance Newton is impressive. Christopher Hart’s nice guy and truthful take on friendship is winning. The work of these two covers for the lack of details as to how Julian can actually be transformed into a tree and Peter’s finding a cure if Julian decides to revert back. To Tree is a sly little work that creeps up and stimulates us into reexamining our meaning of life and what the essence of being human is about
Read MoreTharp’s choreography reminds me of Bob Fosse meets classical ballet in that arm movements, sensual body language work together with jumps, twirls, kicks and lifts. These wonderful and sexy dances were executed with precession and a smoothness that was magical…Besides doing Sinatra, this expert orchestra deftly nailed Count Basie’s “Jumpin’ at the Woodside” as well as channeling Dave Brubeck and Paul Desmond in the haunting “Take Five” jazz classic. I felt like I was at the Sands in Vegas seeing Sinatra again. Brings back found memories.
Read MoreMy other problem with In The Heights is in its story that has for its central problem–will Nina go back to Stanford (why not just get student loans?) and will Vanessa get her Bronx apartment and how will Abuela Claudia spend her $96,000 lotto winnings? The closest In The Heights gets to conflict is the racism from Nina’s family toward the African-American Benny. This is a sugar-coated, idealized and sanitary depiction of the modern big city barrio that plays as fantasy and becomes a parody of Latino barrio life.
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