Tuesday, March 29, 2016
Though it wobbles in the beginning, 35MM is well worth watching. A snapshot into our minds and hearts, with the angst, passion and need for connection, the show is distinctive and emotional.…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 03:20PMMonday, March 28, 2016
Director Andrew Volkoff shapes 'all the terrible things i do' into a compelling, provocative evening of theater. The production looks fantastic -b set designer Chelsea Warren’s bookstore i…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 06:58PMSunday, March 27, 2016
Queen Christina’s story is a compelling one, and overall Cor Theatre's 'Christina, The Girl King' is worth the trip to Edgewater, especially as Toy Turner’s performance alone makes the p…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 10:32PMSaturday, March 26, 2016
Cole Theatre's 'The Bachelors', a play penned by Caroline V. McGraw and given its world premiere with Cole Theatre, is billed as a dark comedy on misogyny. This new play paints the three me…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 06:27PMFriday, March 25, 2016
With Teatro Vista's 'Where Did We Sit on the Bus?', creator-performer Brian Quijada presents a show that is so timely and focused that it engenders a *must see* command from this reviewer. …
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 07:02PMThursday, March 24, 2016
Interrobang Theatre's *Recent Tragic Events* has a solid concept and thru-line - the search for love in many forms in the face of a frightening new reality. Instead, the gimmicks are plenty …
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 05:30PMSideshow Theatre's 'Mai Dang Lao' is a sinister delight. The subject matter is unpleasant, sometimes shocking, but always realistic. Thanks to stellar work on everyone’s part, this difficu…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 01:57AMWednesday, March 23, 2016
In Court Theatre’s revelatory staging of the 1912-set drama 'Long Day's Journey Into Night', David Auburn has helmed a definitive staging of an American masterpiece. Highly Recommended! (r…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 02:25AMTuesday, March 22, 2016
Despite numerous problems, several elements of this play do work nicely. The stylized, ritualistic beheadings, hauntings, and suffocation come off quite powerfully. And the cast finds some w…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 10:28PMSomething is lost in the translation of Matei Visniec’s *How to Explain Communism to Mental Patients*. Being truncated to just 70 minutes, the piece loses chances to become universal whil…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 05:46PMMonday, March 21, 2016
In recent years, we’ve been treated to some fine stage productions of 'West Side Story', but this is the best I've seen. For newcomers to the musical, it’s a must. And for the much large…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 07:04PMSunday, March 20, 2016
Bluebird Arts' *Zoyka's Apartment* does contain a few bright spots, but for the most part is a dubious classic that perhaps should have stayed in the vault. Zoyka’s Apartment could pass a…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 11:34PMWith Hubbard Street Dance Chicago's Spring Series, yoy permeates the night at every point and turn, as the dancers use their trademark artistic athleticism to pay tribute to their stunning c…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 05:16PMFriday, March 18, 2016
Directed by Nate Silver, Jackalope Theatre's *Rolling* is a briskly paced two-hour production that's a taut blend of tragedy and comedy. Calamity West's opus asks big questions about ethics …
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 06:43PMWith Jonathan Larson's "Rent", Theo Ubique and Director Scott Weinstein make choices that border on genius, emphasizing the play’s cutting-edge themes and raunchy yet profound content in a…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 02:31PMThursday, March 17, 2016
This is a piece that really snuck up on me - *New Country* is a very funny and frequently poetic look at the nature of aging, regret and dignity, and took me by complete surprise. Recommende…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 07:10PMThough it had plenty of potential, Artistic Home's *Interrogation* Interrogation is a gratuitous, mean-spirited disappointment, with gaping plot holes, a dull framework and cliché after cli…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 12:56AMWednesday, March 16, 2016
Fans of film noirs from the ‘40’s and early ‘50’s will love this play. Elizabeth Lovelady's adaptation and direction of *D.O.A.* is fast-paced and true to the genre. And at an inter…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 08:34PMWith Lauren Yee's *In A Word*, reality is bent to the point of fracturing by the loss of a child, words become nearly meaningless and incredibly meaningful in approximately equal measure. Di…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 02:10AMMonday, March 14, 2016
Broadway in Chicago's *42nd Street* brims with a giddy celebration of song and dance, mixed with the power of believing in your dreams. Too bad the actors aren't getting paid the union salar…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 10:07AMSaturday, March 12, 2016
Shows like BoHo Theatre's *Fugitive Songs* are a living, breathing reminder that everyone has a story worth telling. Each song is a self-contained jewel, with the facets and messiness of hum…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 09:51PMSarah Gubbins’ new play "Cocked" deals with issues of racial violence, this time in modern-day Chicago through the eyes of an interracial lesbian couple. Cocked has good ideas – a great …
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 06:45PMReviewer Keith Glab: Scott Woldman's *Beautiful Autistic* brims with humor that the cast is able to realize well. The play avoids clichés and doesn't offer up any easy answers to the proble…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 12:18PM*From These Fatal Loins* presents a clever concept that just doesn't follow through with clarity. What could have been a poignant exploration of the false ideals surrounding love too often d…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 01:42AMFriday, March 11, 2016
Steppenwolf's *The Compass*, conceived and directed by Michael Rohd, is targeted towards young adults. But make no mistake, this production delves into some extremely existential philosophie…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 01:20AMThursday, March 10, 2016
Just the story of how Roberto Bolaño's massive-yet-still-unfinished book was adapted by Goodman's artistic director Robert Falls over ten years could be the subject of a documentary. In the…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 02:10PMBrown Paper Box Co.'s eight-person cast is diverse in race and gender, and acclaimed director Lavina Jadhwani guides her cast in intelligent choices from beginning to end. This Julius Caesar…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 01:08AMWednesday, March 9, 2016
Arne Lygre's work *Nothing of Me* serves as a powerful commentary on the ephemeral nature of life and relationships. Akvavit Theatre's skilled production remains focused and engaging in a sy…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 06:31PMTuesday, March 8, 2016
Even with director Rob Lindley’s passionate direction, Porchlight Music Theatre's *Far From Heaven* suffers from the inherent problem—this wasn’t a source that demanded reinterpretatio…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 07:19AMHallucinogenic, paranoid and borderline schizoid, the Chicago premiere of Ken Urban’s *The Awake* throws audiences into the deep end and doesn’t offer a hand to help you navigate its dee…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 04:15AMMonday, March 7, 2016
Chris Hainsworth new adaptation of James Leo Herlihy's novel *Midnight Cowboy* has grand scope but fizzles trying to create the appropriate atmosphere for the action. (read Clint May's entir…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 03:12AM 
