All stories by Laura Molzahn on BroadwayStars

Tuesday, January 7, 2020

Charlie Vernon, a 'droll dance warrior,' dies at 66 by Laura Molzahn

Remembering the dancer, choreographer, cofounder of Links Hall, and former Reader critic Dancer, choreographer, Reader writer, and real estate salesman Charlie V…

SOURCE: www.chicagoreader.com at 08:30PM
Friday, October 18, 2019

Jane Eyre brings a feminist vision to the Joffrey—but only to a point by Laura Molzahn

Cathy Marston's staging features brilliant duets, but her take on Charlotte Brontë's classic has some limitations. Among the great pleasures of 19th-century nov…

SOURCE: www.chicagoreader.com at 05:10PM
Thursday, December 22, 2016

Chicago dance a blend of Joffrey, Merce Cunningham and an anniversary for Thodos by Laura Molzahn

In the coming months Chicago will host all kinds of dance artists, from international companies to little jewels of the local scene. Among the more unusual offerings: Batsheva Dance Company,…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 11:30AM

M.A.D.D. Rhythms' Bril Barrett is a tap evangelist by Laura Molzahn

Over the years, grass-roots warrior Bril Barrett has spread the gospel of tap every chance he gets, making his own way but also paving the way for others. The organization he founded in 2001…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 10:25AM
Saturday, December 17, 2016

Review: Molly Shanahan/Mad Shak presents crowd with movement sleuths by Laura Molzahn

Molly Shanahan has a way of making you question the fundamentals of dance. Is movement conscious or unconscious, voluntary or involuntary? A matter of muscles or mind? Why do different peopl…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 01:44PM
Monday, December 12, 2016

'Tidings of Tap!' moves to Skokie and adds a bit of flash by Laura Molzahn

"We're looking to make sure we deliver on the promise of a new venue," says Mark Yonally. This weekend, for the first time, he brings Chicago Tap Theatre's "Tidings of Tap!" — an upbeat, f…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 04:33PM
Wednesday, December 7, 2016

The best dance of 2016: Farewell to a beloved fest and why Hubbard Street is underappreciated by Laura Molzahn

An unusual quantity and quality of vintage dance graced Chicago this year. To name just a few items: the Joffrey's reprises of Sir Frederick Ashton's "Cinderella" and Jiri Kylian's "Forgotte…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 09:34AM
Monday, December 5, 2016

Disco is about sex, and so is dance in Same Planet's 'Honey' by Laura Molzahn

It's obvious, in a way, that there's a relationship between sex and dance. But what is it? Certainly some choreographers exploit it, often with a wink. Almost all, even when they seem to ign…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 01:34PM
Saturday, December 3, 2016

With finely tuned fun, Dance Crash brings Shel Silverstein poems to life by Laura Molzahn

Chicago Dance Crash excels at having fun, at playing. Which isn't as easy as it might sound: To let go and yet venture beyond the silly requires a bit of bite here, a bit of pathos there. It…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 01:54PM
Wednesday, November 30, 2016

Inside the brave new world of the Joffrey's 'Nutcracker': 'All the Christmas is still there' by Laura Molzahn

"The Nutcracker" is always a big production, literally. But on Election Day, Joffrey Tower was buzzing as never before. And not about the election, despite the artists' campaign T-shirts and…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 07:00AM
Saturday, November 19, 2016

Review: Dance Theatre of Harlem honors past as well as political present by Laura Molzahn

There's a lot of history bound up in Dance Theatre of Harlem, and not just because it was founded 47 years ago. When the company performed here in 2014, for the first time in many years, it …

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 01:48PM
Friday, November 18, 2016

New works highlight Hubbard Street's protean survival skills by Laura Molzahn

With its fall series, Hubbard Street — Chicago's repository of contemporary dance, old and new, American and European — burgeons yet again. And though it sometimes seems all contemporary…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 01:54PM
Monday, November 14, 2016

Harris choreographer Brian Brooks teams with Hubbard Street Dance by Laura Molzahn

Unlike many of us, Brian Brooks looks back to his teen years not only fondly but eagerly. The reason? "I found dance, or dance found me," he says. Choreographing at age 14, three years befor…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 01:37PM
Saturday, November 5, 2016

Dorrance Dance's electronic tap 'ETM' is ingenious but flawed by Laura Molzahn

If you double down, you're putting yourself out there, throwing down the gauntlet. It's a step beyond the ordinary — exactly what Dorrance Dance has done in "ETM: Double Down," an evening-…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 12:24PM
Friday, November 4, 2016

Tere O'Connor's dream dances finally come to Chicago by Laura Molzahn

For years I've been hearing about Tere O'Connor: a choreographer's choreographer, an exemplar of craft and integrity as well as a generous mentor to young artists. He's had a New York compan…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 02:45PM
Wednesday, November 2, 2016

Lizt Alfonso's 'Cuba Vibra!' brings her country's rhythms to Chicago by Laura Molzahn

Though restrictions on travel from the United States to Cuba have eased a lot in the past year, trips for the sole purpose of tourism are still prohibited. So why not make things easy on you…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 08:00AM
Sunday, October 30, 2016

In an ill-suited venue, Boomerang takes 'Repercussion' nowhere by Laura Molzahn

A man lying belly down, arms extended overhead, pulls himself onstage with painful slowness, inching forward as if crawling out of or into something. Gradually we see that there's another ma…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 11:30AM
Tuesday, October 25, 2016

DCASE's 'SpinOff' series takes on disability in dance by Laura Molzahn

For Chicago artist Barak ade Soleil, the term "disability" describes a "social model," he says, "the construct of oppression brought on by society — not referring to my body per se, but to…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 01:41PM
Saturday, October 22, 2016

Zephyr Dance's 'Valise 13' carries us to strange place by Laura Molzahn

Maybe it's the season, but Zephyr Dance's "Valise 13" made me think of the ghostly chemistry between buildings and their inhabitants, whose histories threaten to combine and combust. Maybe i…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 11:53AM
Friday, October 21, 2016

Nora Chipaumire's 'Portrait' is loud, powerful and deeply uncomfortable by Laura Molzahn

Nora Chipaumire's "Portrait of Myself as My Father," running at the Dance Center through Saturday, was in full swing when we walked in Thursday, everyone armed with earplugs supplied by the …

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 02:34PM
Monday, October 17, 2016

Danish Dance's 'Black Diamond' a many-splendored thing by Laura Molzahn

Silver confetti raining down like volcanic ash; a guardian in a "Matrix"-style long coat; masked dancers and a (briefly) nude dancer: All appear against a towering diamond-faceted backdrop w…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 09:58AM
Friday, October 14, 2016

Joffrey brings back a stronger, starker 'Romeo & Juliet' fit for today's climate by Laura Molzahn

What a difference a year and a half makes. A bitter presidential race has divided our country — or exposed its divisions — along clear lines in the starkest of terms. And clearly, even o…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 12:39PM
Tuesday, October 4, 2016

The Seldoms explore the dark web in Philip Elson's 'The Fifth' by Laura Molzahn

During the recent presidential debate, candidates were asked specifically about cyberattacks. Because when it comes to national security, the battlefield is no longer just about troops and b…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 02:33PM
Sunday, October 2, 2016

Indian and Indonesian dance don't mix, except in 'Incomplete Gesture' by Laura Molzahn

Chances are, when you picture two cultures coming together, nothing good springs to mind. Maybe Trump supporters and protesters at the same rally. Maybe Packers and Bears fans at the same ga…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 02:12PM
Tuesday, September 20, 2016

Cerqua Rivera Dance's fall works got a little extra breathing room by Laura Molzahn

More than most theater companies or music ensembles, dance troupes — especially those focused on contemporary dance or one of its many permutations — are dedicated to the new. From start…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 08:02AM
Saturday, September 17, 2016

Review: MacArthur Fellows impress in evening of dance by Laura Molzahn

How can you go wrong with a roomful of geniuses? You can't. "An Evening of Dance With MacArthur Fellows," Friday night only at the Harris Theater, proved a program of extraordinary quality, …

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 12:27PM
Tuesday, September 13, 2016

Harvest Chicago Contemporary Dance fest is a labor of love by Laura Molzahn

"We know what it takes," says Nicole Gifford, co-founder of Harvest Chicago Contemporary Dance Festival. "We know it costs a lot of money to rent rehearsal space, to pay dancers." And in ord…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 04:30PM
Sunday, September 11, 2016

Muntu Dance pulls people together with 'As'e' in Skokie by Laura Molzahn

It's hard to argue when you're dancing — or singing or drumming, for that matter. You can express yourself, you can be in community with others, you can even be competitive or aggressive. …

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 02:43PM
Thursday, September 8, 2016

Dance top 10 for fall: Braving some unfamiliar territory by Laura Molzahn

A choreographer born in Zimbabwe takes dance to the boxing ring. Tappers perform on an electronically rigged floor. A Chicago company hosts a performance/sleepover at a park district field h…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 11:21AM
Wednesday, September 7, 2016

For Julia Rhoads of Lucky Plush, dance comes with a 'Super' story by Laura Molzahn

Chicago must be the world capital of dance-theater troupes integrating text and movement — with spectacular results from companies of all sizes: Hubbard Street (collaborating with Second C…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 02:18PM
Sunday, August 28, 2016

The Era takes footworking a step further in 'In the Wurkz' by Laura Molzahn

Street dance doesn't get much respect — and that includes Chicago's homegrown style, footworking. Though kids have been doing it on the West and South sides for nearly 30 years, in parking…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 01:24PM

All that Chat

2023-2024 BROADWAY SEASON
May 30, 2023: Grey House - Lyceum Theatre
Jun 26, 2023: Just For Us - Hudson Theatre
Jul 24, 2023: The Cottage - Hayes Theater
Nov 16, 2023: Spamalot - St. James Theatre
Dec 18, 2023: Appropriate - Hayes Theater
Mar 07, 2024: Doubt - Todd Haimes Theatre
Apr 14, 2024: Lempicka - Longacre Theatre
Apr 17, 2024: The Wiz - Marquis Theatre
Apr 18, 2024: Suffs - Music Box Theatre
Apr 25, 2024: Mother Play - Hayes Theater
Jun 10, 2024: The Drama Desk Awards