2,003 stories by "Scotty Zacher"
We recommend seeing Marat/Sade, but plan for it: Take take water. Take the fan. And consider wearing a hospital gown. It's light, flimsy and you'll fit right in with the other nuts.
All in all, *Rock of Ages* is, to use the parlance of its era, rad. Which is to say it's loud, stupid and terrific. Recommended.
*The Promise* is a beautiful and stirring production. Playwright Aleksei Arbuzov's Russian play brings war front and center in a palpable and non-sentimental way. Highly Recommended.
The true story that serves as the basis for Crow is mildly interesting at best. Though creator/performer Jeremy Sher bursts with energy throughout, it's not very interesting as a play either…
Fury Theater serves up a good portion of fun and magic with this production. A Midsummer Night's Dream is a fairy tale where love really does conquer all, and Fury Theatre's outdoor producti…
This is a fast paced production, and will leave your mind slightly dented. In a political climate that fosters wing nuts of all kinds, this piece will make you scratch your head and think fo…
This is an interesting way to present the ancient tale of Beowulf, and quite unexpected. However, while visually interesting and complex in its use of movement, more often than not the dialo…
Even at its least constant, *Camelot* - replete with a 29-piece orchestra - is another enjoyable chestnut from Light Opera Works. The Evanston musical theatre is never short on tuneful rendi…
Exploring themes of aspirations, tenacity and the precariousness of the middle class and the truth or untruth of that oft-quoted Fitzgeraldism about there being no second chances in America,…
In Forsythe, Hubbard Street Dance shows us what happens when the music goes away, when a stomp or slap echoes through the space. The result is a piece of moving modern art, the ultimate rewa…
Overall, Director MaxTruax's ability to conjure up the playwright Bob Fisher's make-believe and manifest it materially all the more remarkable and recommendable.
This show is THE reason to hit Navy Pier this summer. Whether for a family outing, date night or office coffee break, it's a fierce, untamable phenomena. It will slay YOU!
Direct from Dublin and concluding this weekend is the two-hour entertainment *The Twelve Tenors*, which features a wicked combination of high notes and good looks from a dozen mostly Irish t…
Organic Theater's *Bartleby*, adapted and directed by Alexander Gelman, moves at a fast clip, makes the audience laugh, and brings new life to a classic piece. Recommended.
Jacob Juntunen's play evokes compelling questions that are left up to the viewer to explore (and maybe even argue). Side Project Theatre uses its talented cast to tell the story and, along t…
Presented in repertory, *Enola* is one of a triumvirate on youth and war from Side Project Theater's Spring Series. It is an excellent beginning and I look forward to the other two.
Recomme…
Ruth Margraff's "Anger/Fly", which was inspired a Eugene Ionesco short film, stays true to the Avant-Garde pioneer's juxtaposition of the absurd and the banal. Trap Door's 9-member cast is …
The multinational Ontroerend Goed, as part of Chicago Shakespeare's World's Stage Series, have purchased poetic license to fudge history and science a bit for the desired effect. And it's a …
With the combination of incredible performances by Rae Gray, Tara Mallen and Hannah Gomez under the directions of skilled director Sandy Shinner, *Crooked* is a must-see that will leave you …
Playwright Bekah Brunstetter knows how to tell a story, and Director Margo Gray effectively intertwines the two main tales together, using the talented due of John Wehrman and LaNisa Frederi…
Comfortable in its own weirdness, Romeo Juliet - with its close quarter and actor interaction - is not for everyone. That said, Sean Graney and company take the most familiar of plays and th…
This is a very introverted piece, and while interesting, it's not for everyone. Nonetheless, Kevin V. Smith's power-driven performance of Bernard-Marie Koltès' script is a sight to behold.
Though uneven, The Jammer is still worth a look. Everyone loves an underdog, and Josh Odor plays one to a tee. And the stunning technical work done on a shoestring is worth the ticket alone.…
The structural premise of this play is clever: the first and last scenes are always the same, but in between, bingo balls dictate the sequential order of the inner scenes - so no show is eve…
This is the 100th revue Second City has staged. If the show is any indication, the next 100 will continue to keep Chicago firmly ensconced as an improv epicenter that's second to none. Recom…
