Wednesday, August 13, 2014
Having four playwrights who attend school in rural Ohio gives these often absurdist pieces an aura of authenticity. A Chicago audience can get on board with these larger-than-life character…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 08:00PMThe talented zanies of Second City debut their tongue-in-cheek Summer Blockbuster with all the panache and expert timing we’ve come to expect of one of the best name brands for comedy in t…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 05:15PMAs always with Light Opera Works, this production delivers on the music, with a spectacular 29-person cast and 23-piece orchestra under the musical direction of Roger L. Bingaman. Add to th…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 03:42PMTuesday, August 12, 2014
In the past year, I’ve been lucky to experience two productions of Romeo and Juliet that not only grasped the beauty and terror of the story, but also revered it. The first was Joffrey Bal…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 03:44PMMonday, August 11, 2014
I wanted to love Urinetown. When done right, the show is so much fun and more than a little twisted: just my cup of tea. Unfortunately, this Urinetown was largely wrong. A talented ensemble …
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 09:54PMSunday, August 10, 2014
Working with musical director Alex Kliner, Director Jan Ellison has sculpted a fast-paced production that delivers the humor you’d expect from a Second City show around an existential comm…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 12:22AMFriday, August 8, 2014
Despite some naturalistic dialogue, Playwright Christine Whitley delves into the well of heavy symbolism a bit too frequently. It comes off juvenile and disjointed despite the evocative sta…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 10:16PMThere’s sharp power in Joan Didion’s memoir that takes the reader down a vortex of willed illusion, of mental illness as magical thinking and a means of coping with grief. That power is …
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 06:28PMDescribed in the press release as “Bridesmaids” meets “Breaking Bad,” Take the Cake has good intentions and a potentially humorous concept. However, Stacie Barra’s writing is nothi…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 12:28AMThursday, August 7, 2014
Daniel Talbott’s dialogue rings true, and under Adam Webster’s insightful direction, a sleepless night between two friends grappling with the banal crises of life becomes a hidden world …
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 05:33PMWednesday, August 6, 2014
A Midsummer Night’s Dream has everything it needs going for it, and more than you might expect from free theatre. There’s even a concert to open the show courtesy of bands local to the n…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 08:39PMAs talented as young playwright Christopher Shinn has shown to be, this effort is a strange, muddled milieu with an oddly soap operatic quality unbecoming of his skill. The Blind Owl, back f…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 10:31AMTuesday, August 5, 2014
With The Marvelous Marvelettes, Black Ensemble Theater’s Jackie Taylor and playwright Reginald Williams put their story front and center, weaving in plenty of musical interludes throughout…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 07:36PMMonday, August 4, 2014
An intricate story of romance, oppression and empowerment, Lynn Nottage's richly told story is packed with historical import and contemporary relevance. (read Catey Sullivan's entire review.…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 09:41PMSunday, August 3, 2014
The Beverly Hillbillies, the Musical is harmless enough, but the trip down to Munster to see it isn’t a must. And let’s hope it doesn’t start a trend of setting old sitcoms to music. O…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 05:55PMSaturday, August 2, 2014
This is heavy stuff, to be sure, though the story does end with a measure of hope. This episode of inhumanity is one we as Americans ought to own up to. That it happened in our own city, not…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 09:54PMWednesday, July 30, 2014
While JPAC’s Big Fish is not as polished a production as you’ll usually find among professional companies in the area, Director Dante Orfei brings imagination to his staging. Come to Big…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 07:14PMIf you are someone who can accept an obvious set-up in the service of some crude jokes, you may enjoy this show. If, however, you are looking for realistic relationships and a story that’…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 04:10PMMonday, July 28, 2014
A satisfying world premiere from Redtwist Theatre, company member Tommy Lee Johnston’s two-act heartwarmer Geezers belies its dismissive title. Rising above insult, Jan Ellen Graves’ cha…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 07:27PMAmerican Buffalo swirls through David Mamet’s elliptically, at times oddly formal language as Teach, Donny and Bobby provide a window on survival in gutter lane. Director Keith Albers migh…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 04:07PMSaturday, July 26, 2014
There’s always a risk in staging a playwright’s lesser-known works. Hellish Half-Light has all the right ingredients: talented performers, solid production values, and the work of an abs…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 08:15PMThursday, July 24, 2014
In the most intimately-staged Steep Theatre production I’ve witnessed, A Small Fire puts life in perspective as we witness a believable portrayal of a family riddled with loss. This produc…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 08:00PMMonday, July 21, 2014
Chicago Shakes has once again delivered a thoroughly enjoyable Broadway musical designed for a young audience, but with all the showmanship of a first-rate Equity level production. Parents, …
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 08:41PMSaturday, July 19, 2014
The Gift ensemble proves yet again that well-crafted theatre does not necessarily need spectacle, gimmicks, or musical numbers in order to captivate a modern audience. This simple staging of…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 01:11PMFriday, July 18, 2014
It’s obvious that director Jeffrey Clark Stokes is passionate about this work. However, a passion for the source material only goes so far. Though intentions may have been pure, the end p…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 10:48PMThursday, July 17, 2014
With fantastic writing, robust direction and brilliant acting, The Qualms is an intense 90-minute journey that’s personal, hilarious and ultimately rewarding. (read Lauren Whalen's entire …
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 04:42PMWednesday, July 16, 2014
This summer production is a loving, faithful adaptation of the classic story so delightful that adults will find themselves nostalgically back in Zuckerman’s barn, and children will adore …
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 07:09PMMonday, July 14, 2014
This 67-year-old Scottish family tragedy hasn’t been seen in this country since 1983. Its return is more than overdue, given its own non-negotiable worth and Griffin Theatre’s piledrivi…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 09:18PMSunday, July 13, 2014
All in all, as social commentary, Dead Man’s Cell Phone brings no epiphanies. As a fun night out, however, it succeeds. Recommended. (read more of Joy Campbell's review...)
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 04:54PMThis Godspell is well worth the ticket price and trip to the suburbs. I left with my heart warmed and my whole being energized. If Director Matt Rafterty had let the source material speak fo…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 09:29AMSaturday, July 12, 2014
The exceptional performances in this Artistic Home production alone make the show wholly worthwhile, but the material itself has a lot going for it as well. Absurdist humor, vibrant characte…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 07:31PM 
