Chicago Critic Must See recommendations.
Now extended by popular demand through November 1, 2015 Created by Richard Maltby, Jr. Conceived by William Meade Directed by Brian Russell Musical Direction by Malcolm Ruhl At the Mercury Theatre Chicago Revise, refined yet still a crowd pleaser –Ring of Fire – The Music of Johnny Cash delights My third visit to Ring of … Read more
By Patrick Marber Adapted from August Strindberg Directed by Elly Green Produced by Strawdog Theatre Company, Chicago The Battle of the Brains Comes to Britain Listen to my interview with Elly Green Producing Patrick Marber’s After Miss Julie is to adapt an adaptation. Marber took August Strindberg’s landmark 1888 drama about a then-contemporary Swedish count’s … Read more
A Theatrical Investigation By Hillel Levin Directed by Kevin Christopher Fox Based on Interviews with Zechariah Shelton At the Museum of Broadcast Communications, Chicago Extremely thorough and exhausting investigation makes the case against the Chicago Mob’s involvement in the Kennedy Assassination After many self-serving films (by Oliver Stone) and countless books, my generation is burned … Read more
By Eleanor Bergstein Directed by James Powell Musical Supervision and Orchestrations by Conrad Helfrich Choreography by Michele Lynch Original Choreography by Kate Champion Produced by Broadway in Chicago Playing at the Cadillac Palace Theatre A Rousing Good Time With Top Talent Dirty Dancing—the Classic Story Onstage has been touring since 2004, leaving a trail of … Read more
By Jim Cartwright Directed by Erin Shea Brady Produced by The No Stakes Theater Project Playing at Theater Wit An Auspicious Beginning for New Directors Despite the company’s name, The Rise and Fall of Little Voice is a crucial project for The No Stakes Theater Project, founded by Erin Shea Brady. It’s their first full … Read more
Music by Richard Rodgers Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II Book by Oscar Hammerstein II & Joshua Logan Adapted from James A. Michener’s novel Tales of the South Pacific Directed & Choreographed by Rudy Hogenmiller Conductor Roger L. Bingman Produced by Light Opera Works At Cahn Auditorium. Evanston Romance, war, and racism are explored through 1949 … Read more
Songs by Peter Allen Book by Martin Sherman and Nick Enright Directed by David Zak Produced by Pride Films & Plays Playing at Stage 773, Chicago Pride’s Tribute Combines Intimacy With Glamor The Boy from Oz, a jukebox musical and memory play about songwriter Peter Allen, debuted in his native Australia in 1998 and ran … Read more
Written and Directed by Michel Laprise Produced by Cirque du Soleil Playing at the United Center, Chicago Steampunk and Fish Make a Wondrous Circus Four years after its last engagement in Chicago, Cirque du Soleil is back with a new show, a new director, and renewed creative energy. Kurios—Cabinet of Curiosities, which debuted in Montreal … Read more
By Aaron Posner Directed by Jonathan L. Green Produced by Carlisle Hart, LLC Originally Produced by Sideshow Theatre At Victory Gardens Theater, Chicago A Chekhov for Our Theatre Stupid Fucking Bird was the second new adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull I saw in a week, demonstrating the hold that the Russian author and his … Read more
Adapted and Performed by Ronald Keaton Based on the teleplay “Winston Churchill” by James Humes Directed by Kurt Johns Produced by SoloChicago and the Greenhouse Theater The Making of a Hero in WWII Nostalgia It was a few weeks shy of a year ago that Ronald Keaton opened his one-man show Churchill at the Greenhouse … Read more