2,003 stories by "Scotty Zacher"
In little more than an hour, Chicago performer Kevin Coval conjures up a raw craving that earns its audience. Part os Victory Gardens' "Fresh Squeezed" Series, Coval's performance build like…
Jessica Redish's choreography is astounding " the sure highlight of the production. When the Pippin ensemble dances, the audience murmurs appreciation between moments of utter awe. If only …
Challenging, nervy and above all, beautiful, *Gospels of Childhood Triptych* is a stunning performance piece of sweeping thematic grandeur and affecting personal closeness. Highly Recommend…
*Fucking A* is perhaps the most theatrically truthful exploration of the seeds of violence and of women's participation as both victims and perpetrators that I have seen. Whomever you take t…
*Last Duck* possesses the kind of character exploration that only happens when there are no other distractions. And just when it seems this is going to be about friendships forged in the fu…
*Tom Jones* is an epic story, and it takes over two and a half hours to see it through to the end. The fact that Polarity Ensemble Theatre is able to perform it in a small space wth limited …
It's a rare treat to see a true ensemble piece with strong character development and intelligent dialogue, and rarer to see one as superb as *Absolute Hell*. The Gift Theatre should be comme…
Taken as it is, *Freud's Last Session* is a simple, luminous one-act that will do more to engender respect for titanic differences than it will to spark any new revelations. And throughout t…
This world-premiere children's musical, based on the book by Mo Willems, is a lively, family outing. The *clothes optional* show is a perfect fit! Highly Recommended.
Though it doesn't reach the book's powerful highs and lows, Adventure Stage Chicago's production serves as an excellent jumping-off point for kids to ponder the vital importance of emotion a…
Is it timeless or dated? Some of the content will always be relevant, but drinking to oblivion went out in the 80's. Despite this, director Kevin Theis and Seanachai Theatre do a masterful…
Though defeated by the staging's tepid tempo, a strong cast do all they can to turn easy targets into cunning stereotypes. Inevitably their hard work gets wrecked by a play that seems to liv…
Sightly tweaked to update the content for modern audiences, *An Adult Evening of Shel Silverstein* is a fun diversion for the beginning of an adult night on the town. Recommended.
Even Jonathan Berry's intrepid staging can't overcome the fact that *The Sea* can't both mock its characters and scare its audiences at the same time. Though the show ends with some (sorta) …
The Black Playwrights Initiative was formed to provide new works for the venerable Black Ensemble Theater (BET). The festival, the Initiative, and BET are from the heart and soul of BET foun…
*Bard Fiction* is definitely a comic gem that should not be missed. Commedia Beauregard blends Quentin Tarantino and the Bard himself, and there are more similarities than you'd ever imagine…
At a fast-paced 105 minutes, Stephen Massicotte's *Oxford Roof Climber's Rebellion* is an utterly absorbing look into the minds of two very different but equally brilliant men, the lifelong …
GRAPHOMANIA represents the best possible results of performers at play: an intriguingly ambiguous story experimenting with shadow, light, sound and movement. Fare the well, Plasticene. We wi…
In the hands of The Artistic Home and director David New, *Tea and Sympathy* becomes a nuanced story in capable hands; it is neither heavy-handed nor saccharine, and raises questions that ar…
Purlitzer Prize-winning *Beyond the Horizon* is one of Eugene O'Neill's lesser performed pieces due script challenges, but Eclipse Theatre has taken this play off the shelf and onto the stag…
True to form, Piccolo Theatre uses their limited space in typically creative fashion; using both front and back entry points to the theater as part of the stage space. Amy Gorelow, Berner Ta…
Less a finished plot than a set of dramatized calling cards, Northlight's *Ten Chimneys* delivers an intimate inside look at the private lives of America's First Couple of the theater, Alfre…
*MeTube* tells the story of YouTube beatbox sensation Yuri Lane's internet stardom, and the ramifications and consequences after the notoriety. But while the performer and production values …
Second City veteran Matthew Loren Cohen has devised a build-your-own-adventure improv musical. This show is just fun! Every Wednesday, the antics will be fresh pickings, and the abilities o…
Gary Kirkham's *Falling: A Wake* is a powerful day-in-the-life of a couple, and it takes a crash to help the spouses feel. Director Victoria Deiorio does such a wonderful job turning a trag…
