Thursday, January 16, 2014
Kokandy Productions’ Sweet Smell of Success is a terrific musical noir, a throwback to a time when the printed word was king and one amoral writer held all the cards. As with their previou…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 09:11AMWednesday, January 15, 2014
The non-Equity cast has the attractive Steven Grant Douglas and Katie Postotnik as its star-crossed lovers. The two have a believable chemistry, even if their acting feels not quite organic.…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 09:15AMTuesday, January 14, 2014
Robert Bouwman’s staging of Julia Weiss's delicious spoof fills the space and makes every action count. Seth Wanta and Erin Thorn are comic gold as the angsty millennials, while each ensem…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 02:01PMAll in all the cast is good, but the material is more of a work in progress. Mike Mroch’s direction is appropriate, especially given the material. The work has a promising premise and for…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 02:00PMMonday, January 13, 2014
With the combined artistry of Lillian Hellman's multi-layered, passionate script and Director Derek Bertelsen's adept staging and casting, I found myself, by the end of the play, on the edge…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 09:37PMSunday, January 12, 2014
Pontypool is a fast-paced darkly comic tale rife with surreality that will leave audiences reeling—and possibly quieter. Playwright Burgess and Director Lawfer throw you into the deep end…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 05:44PMTuesday, January 7, 2014
I highly recommend Through The Leaves. It was -15 degrees when I ventured to Side Project and well worth the trek. (read more...)
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 08:19PMTuesday, December 31, 2013
This is a decent way to spend a Friday late night, but it could be more fun - Men Exposed is overloaded with dialogue and thus the pacing suffers. Additionally, the staging is not well suit…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 07:09PMSunday, December 29, 2013
Taking into account the 600+ productions that we reviewed in 2013, here are our picks for the best of the best. Bravo!! (note: for the 3rd year in a row, we’re honored to have the nationa…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 12:30PMWednesday, December 25, 2013
Much of An Inspector Calls works extremely well, and it is the relationships between the six principal characters that Director David Darlow and his cast bring out so well that carries the p…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 12:24PMSunday, December 22, 2013
Cleverly mounted, fast-paced, and plucky as its success story, Light Opera Works’ Annie Get Your Gun is a happy contest between spectacle and sentiment. Though Annie and Frank are self-pro…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 04:08PMThis is a fine production with nuance and excellent pacing. There are acrobatics as well as slapstick in this entertainment. There is also a deep moral to the story that you’ll still be po…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 01:15PMFriday, December 20, 2013
The only thing cuter than kindergartners singing in a holiday concert is this video of five-year-old Claire Koch going into full ASL-mode so that her hearing-impaired parents can fully enjoy…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 01:21PMWednesday, December 18, 2013
Even with the delightful and not inconsiderable talents of the many youth-oriented amateur dance troupes and The San Andreas Fault providing live music, the pageantry lacks sparkle. By the f…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 09:09AMTuesday, December 17, 2013
With an adaptation of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s classic tale, Lookingglass joins the melange of Chicago holiday theater fare. The only problem? Despite its young title character and fan…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 09:04AMMonday, December 16, 2013
With snow falling on the Courtyard Theater stage and a cast that includes many of Chicago Shakes’ best-loved and most talented regulars, The Merry Wives of Windsor comes off as more than a…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 09:58PMWhile Raine’s themes are intriguing and the acting outstanding, I’m not certain how fair a review I’ll be able to provide of this script, thanks to the infuriating direction by the nor…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 09:07AMSunday, December 15, 2013
Adding to the show's musical cheer are carols and favorites that punctuate the action, performed by the jazzy 11-member ensemble and sometimes sung by the audience. There are also a few insi…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 11:08AMSaturday, December 14, 2013
Fresh from the San Francisco Opera, Johann Strauss Jr.’s ever-green masterpiece is the most inebriating operetta ever written. Watching it leaves you woozy, the famous waltzes mellowing an…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 05:15PMFriday, December 13, 2013
With Bob Fosse-inspired choreography, this is frequently a delightful spectacle for the eye and ear, and the devoted cast knows how to pitch their kitsch between sweet and broad, all backed …
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 08:04PMThursday, December 12, 2013
Even if you know the plot inside-and-out, this production is still a delightful holiday treat for the season. - even moreso rof anyone who (for whatever reason) has never seen the film. Thi…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 08:50PMMore than any other ballet, The Nutcracker is uniquely personal to each audience member. The Joffrey Ballet’s always-stellar production is an ideal place to celebrate old traditions, and t…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 08:43AMWednesday, December 11, 2013
Silent Theatre's version of A Christmas Carol jaunts along at an 80-minute clip that holds the attention of a modern audience throughout. Kudos goes this ensemble for revitalizing both an ov…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 08:49AMMonday, December 9, 2013
The actors in this epic Dickens classic give the roles a fine, classically toned reading worthy of Masterpiece Theater, and are to be commended for their work. And what work they do - 6 acto…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 05:54PMOut of all dramatic forms, satire demands the most thought and effort. Elemeno Pea is either too preoccupied with trying to squeeze in different tones or too lazy to really explore the issue…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 09:10AMSunday, December 8, 2013
Amongst the drinking and merry-making on this Dublin Christmas Eve, Playwright Conor McPherson yanks the rug out. He drops an otherworldly twist into this holiday libation by way of a visit…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 09:55PMThursday, December 5, 2013
An invaluable contributor to Chicago's Yuletide joy, The Christmas Schooner has, within a generation, become a holiday addiction for the Windy City. It tells a tale that celebrates a homegro…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 04:11PMWednesday, December 4, 2013
Billed as a “psychological superhero-noir,” we certainly are waxed philosophical for its 70-minute duration. This is no fast-paced action piece. The surprisingly slow-moving narrative fe…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 08:14PMSunday, December 1, 2013
Between the imaginative visual designs and the talented, hard-working cast of 20, is by no means a cheap-looking show, fully embodying the feel of a Broadway-scale production. But the materi…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 10:32AMSaturday, November 30, 2013
American Blues Theater continues its anachronistic ode to one of the great American tales. With their rich cast of voice actors and a live Foley sound set, we're treated to a brisk retelling…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 07:49PMAfter all the superlatives, it’s enough to say that this is not just great theatre, it’s the reason to go to theatre—to be transported, challenged, moved, enraptured. Bluebeard goes an…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 04:39PM 
