Saturday, November 30, 2013
After 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 04:39PMFriday, November 29, 2013
With A Very Merry Madrigal, Theo Ubique serves up a shiny bauble of a show as a cast of six talented vocalists (Sarah Grant, Missy Aguilar, Tom Chiola, Molly Kral, Greg Foster and Andrew Sic…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 05:59PMUnder the direction of Henry Wishcamper, a Christmas Carol rookie making his debut with the piece - the spirited tale of redemption remains evergreen, a thrilling, gratifying and joy-inducin…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 04:14PMThursday, November 28, 2013
Polaroid Stories Written by Naomi Iizuka Directed by Hutch Pimentel at Red Tape Theatre, 621 W. Belmont (map) …
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 04:41PMAn interesting spin on the Christmas classic, it’s certainly worth seeing during the holidays. But a good script doesn’t always guarantee a good production, and in this presentation Nig…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 02:55PMDespite the script’s imperfections, Red Theatre’s production of Sidney Michaels’ theatrical biopic brings the wit and passion of the Welsh poet to vibrant life. Dylan is a fascinating …
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 12:36PMWednesday, November 27, 2013
Is it a fairytale, a folktale or a muzical? Yes. Playwright Emily Schwartz has concocted a play-full original - the plot is layered but not overly complicated, the characters whimsical wit…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 11:59PMA remount of Court Theatre’s universally praised one-man show from two years ago, An Iliad returns to provide an enthralling, contemporary interpretation of Homer’s opus. For those who …
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 08:09PMTuesday, November 26, 2013
La Traviata is beautifully sung and well-executed, jam-packed with some of the most beloved arias ever written. Although this classic is a sure thing, it suffers from living in the mammoth s…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 09:10AMSunday, November 24, 2013
This new adaptation of Christmas Carol has an intriguing premise but loses too much of the original. And with Christmas carols interspersed throughouth (and not enough character development…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 05:44PMWith their re-imagined, hyper-creative Nutcracker, The House Theatre has found its perfect annual gift to the theatre-going public. As a new uncle myself, I can’t wait to bring my own niec…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 12:04PMSaturday, November 23, 2013
A cunningly raucous holiday romp, Mikado's circus backdrop nicely enlivens the pell-mell proceedings, with the supposedly restless audience moving about like gawkers under the imaginary canv…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 06:37PMFriday, November 22, 2013
Strongly acted and visually intersting, Paulus’ main weakness lies in its script, which never quite hits the mark, running nearly two hours, when 90 minutes could clearly tell the story. S…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 09:08AMThursday, November 21, 2013
Though one might expect a sweeping saga that serves as a history lesson, what we find instead is a Motown drama with solid-gold performances - a very specific yet illuminating story about a …
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 09:04AMTuesday, November 19, 2013
Even with the considerable talents of a creative team and cast that are among Chicago’s finest artists, this script is not worth the time and money of these companies or their audiences. T…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 09:12AMMonday, November 18, 2013
It is rare, particularly in the world of theater, to find shows that are quite genuinely *fun for the whole family*. A mix of over-the-top humor, physical comedy and meta-jokes, ensures that…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 09:08AMSaturday, November 16, 2013
The title definitlely sums it up - a cast of five throws out rapid fire Jewish-flavored jokes at the audience, on such topics as sex, marriage, money, doctor’s visits, old age, retirement,…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 09:16PMIn Conor McPherson's deeply moving 3-person play, the seemingly unassociated men are joined by a common yearning. McPherson renders that yearning gorgeously, capturing all the sadness and jo…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 07:23PMEven 20 years after it first debuted, Hellcab still offers audiences a very different kind of holiday show. Rather than being overly sentimental, it’s realistic and relatable. Its familiar…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 04:14PMFriday, November 15, 2013
File this one in the Underwhelming drawer. With his 70-minute Elegy, playwright Ron Hirsen explores the tragic legacy of the Holocaust from the distance of the 1970s. Unfortunately, the wor…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 05:06PMParsifal is a huge commitment that comes with a huge reward. As much as audience members may murmur their discomfort at the marathon, we all jumped to our feet in unison at the spectacular …
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 02:58PMWith all its intriguing moral questions for our city, this is an admirable effort and one that ought to be of interest to those interested in the rough and tumble scene of Chicago politics. …
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 02:42PMThursday, November 14, 2013
Street Justice: Condition Red doesn’t try to present itself as anything more than an action comedy romp poking fun at both Hollywood movie conventions and itself. Because the production do…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 09:08AMTuesday, November 12, 2013
While touring companies are frequently known for going stale, Wicked remains surprisingly fresh, injecting new energy by allowing the performers to make the roles their own. Kudos to directo…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 09:08AMMonday, November 11, 2013
Archly coy to a fault, Playwright Calamity West's work depicts a gratuitously hostile fiction-writing workshop at an American university in 1946 where it symbolically snows a lot. Festering…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 09:18PMThough not as raucous as it could be, Joel Kim Booster's black comedy holds an interesting dramatic undercurrent, a desire for truth under artifices that are not the sole domain of celebrity…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 09:14AMSunday, November 10, 2013
The Normal Heart is set in the early 1980’s, but it’s far from dated. On the contrary, this play is essential. As the lights came up and I wiped away the tears, I reflected on the play's…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 06:12PMMarriott's overall take on the crowd-pleasing Disney musical definitely does not add up to a jolly holiday. Directed by Gary Griffin, the show is all but thoroughly derailed by a barrage of …
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 11:51AMSaturday, November 9, 2013
No question, however nonsensical the kids’ tales may seem, the Barrel of Monkeys and their guest artists treat them as faithfully as gospel and make them merry where they might otherwise s…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 06:15PMFor a play based around chess, a game that’s supposed to encourage logic, this is a surprisingly illogical play. By the end, we’re not sure if either woman has grown as characters, or wh…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 04:13PMThey Died Where They Lied is billed as a comedy, and in that sense it definitely succeeds. If you enjoy well-executed, intelligent humor with a few hilariously coarse bits thrown in, camp ou…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 12:50PM 
