Sunday, April 7, 2013
LiveWire Chicago knows how to throw an existentialist crisis. What really does matter? This show! A Permanent Image is darkly compelling and potentially life altering. (read more...)
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 06:56PM[SHARE]Saturday, April 6, 2013
More than a decade since its premiere, Proof shows no signs of aging. It beautifully captures the curse and the gift of beautiful minds.
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 08:00PM[SHARE]Friday, April 5, 2013
This is a comedy... dark and freaky as it is. Playwright Jason Grote wrote a hot mess of a story. And Director Marti Lyons actualizes it with a vengeance that leaves one a little stunned. (r…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 09:52PM[SHARE]Thursday, April 4, 2013
Movie-to-stage transitions run the gamut from spectacular to paltry. Catch Me If You Can, the musical, edges toward the former: a stylized, colorful tale of one of America's best and brighte…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 09:45PM[SHARE]Wednesday, April 3, 2013
The tiny space of the BoHo Heartland Studio is perfectly claustrophobic, especially with John Zuiker's set of a grim interrogation room. The deliberately harsh lighting by Diane D. Fairchild…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 05:29PM[SHARE]Midlife Something rings true. The pain is real and buried deep. Nick Cardiff's story could be tightened and secondary characters fleshed out, but still, it's a true depiction of life lost. …
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 03:01PM[SHARE]Director Kathy Scambiatterra clearly has a keen understanding of the play and its characters. And with John Mossman setting its center boil, this Iguana has heat to spare. (read more...)
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 12:05PM[SHARE]Tuesday, April 2, 2013
In only 80 taut minutes in this Midwest debut staged by Joe Jahraus, Playwright David West Read presents a convincing range of reactions to the sudden death of teenager Dane, played by Vic K…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 06:16PM[SHARE]Sunday, March 31, 2013
While the show isn't perfect, it is, however, entertaining. Adam Webster's direction makes good use of the small space, and the performances are spot-on. (read more...)
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 11:42PM[SHARE]Blithe Spirit takes the typical drawing room drama and turns it on its head. Fast-paced dialogue and witty repartee characterize the script. And Piccolo Theatre is up for the challenge. (rea…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 08:07PM[SHARE]To a one, the cast throws itself into the story with a contagious enthusiasm, at once goading the audience to revel in the hijinks and imparting the ultimately bittersweet story of impossibl…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 04:15PM[SHARE]Saturday, March 30, 2013
Playwright Tennessee Williams' iconic play ignites on the Lyric Opera stage. Composer André Previn uses sultry melodies with hints of New Orleans jazz to provide a powerful opus for the fam…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 09:53PM[SHARE]While the comedy is intoxicating, the serious themes are equally gripping, and the somber moments are beautifully played; the command of range shown by this cast is formidable. I've heard sa…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 01:40AM[SHARE]Friday, March 29, 2013
By show's end, you truly care about these people and their lives, all their flaws, their compromises, and their bravery on more than one kind of battlefield. Under a Rainbow Flag is a fittin…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 12:11AM[SHARE]Thursday, March 28, 2013
By striking a balance between honoring Arthur Schnitzler's original La Ronde premise and updating themes and humor for a modern audience, Street Tempo Theatre's *The Blue Room8 is definitely…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 09:29PM[SHARE]Ultimately, La Ronde runs a bit long for a show that doesn't do much to develop plot or characters, instead repeating a scenic formula to develop a theme. But the themes presented are worth …
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 09:29PM[SHARE]Though in need of some tweaking, F**king Men unflinchingly discusses the trials of being a gay man searching for love, or at the very least, a way to not be lonely. (read more...)
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 09:29PM[SHARE]Tuesday, March 26, 2013
The Emperor's New Threads: A Fashion Statement is the perfect fit for a family outing. The cast keeps the kids and their adults engaged in their interactive wardrobe craze. It's a runway hit…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 11:42PM[SHARE]Pedro Páramo provides a lot of visual interest with the attractive cast's slow, stylized movements and the interesting use of light and shadow playing against the white sheet. But the ove…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 06:11PM[SHARE]Sunday, March 24, 2013
*Teeny Travel* is a strange blend of dystopian dreck cribbing from superior sources that is"in theory" dark humor, vulgar humor, farce, serious emotion, and some neighborhood-café-hosts-an-…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 07:16PM[SHARE]This insightful work by an incredibly mature, talented, and engaging group is a perfect example of what great theater can accomplish when it combines a trenchant message with a beautiful way…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 04:24PM[SHARE]Saturday, March 23, 2013
While An American Story reveals some interesting details about the hours following the assassination of President Lincoln, it doesn't bring the character of Charles Leale to life any better …
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 10:32PM[SHARE]The biggest disappointment is the show's failure to let us into the inner torment of the main character, to explore the very ideas at the core of the tale. In the end, you don't care about a…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 03:26PM[SHARE]Friday, March 22, 2013
This musical adaptation of the 1994 cult film has moments of real gravity and heart tucked away in its snappy one-liners and sparkling high heels. A celebration of individuality and acceptan…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 05:57PM[SHARE]Thursday, March 21, 2013
Each cast member is a standout in his and her own right; as an ensemble, they are a force of nature. There is not a low note in this wonderful evening of extraordinary talent and music. (re…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 07:12PM[SHARE]Wednesday, March 20, 2013
I found everything about this production charming. I think there are enough universals to keep anybody laughing, Whether you're Jewish or not, Beau Jest is definitely worth taking the time a…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 06:21PM[SHARE]This Julius Caesar, true to form, is chock full of babes with blades. For the thrifty and homegirl appeal, it's hard to say no to this sword-fighting all-female production. (read more...)
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 02:29PM[SHARE]Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Director Robert Falls doesn't shy away from darkness in the play's first half, injecting a few appropriate lighthearted moments. However, the second half's descent into slapstick humor is qu…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 06:07PM[SHARE]the script is colorful and witty, and well delivered by the cast. That being said, the show suffers from the fact that the writer is also the director (and one of the leads), making it hard …
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 04:10PM[SHARE]This king wants to be the monarch of the Warlock Motorcycle Gang, and he is willing to con and kill anyone to become supreme ruler. Richard III revs up the hog and takes Shakespeare on a ro…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 12:43AM[SHARE]Monday, March 18, 2013
The Q Brothers, born and bred in Chicago and now acclaimed worldwide, step up to the plate in this their third work, creating a masterful hip-hop homage to the classic Shakespeare tale. (re…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 09:44PM[SHARE] 
