704 stories by "Zach Freeman"
RECOMMENDED Playwright Hamish Linklater's first play is being billed by Steep Theatre as "funny." But there was not a single laugh from the audience the night I saw the show. Alright, there …
RECOMMENDED Somewhere in the dusky realm between classic and forgettable lies Maxwell Anderson's political tragicomedy "Both Your Houses." Now undergoing a nifty revival by Remy Bumppo, the …
RECOMMENDED At the end of a party I usually feel exhausted. All my energy has been spent. Walking out of Bailiwick Chicago's "The Wild Party" I felt much the same way. Dulled and listless, l…
RECOMMENDED Loaded with the star power of soprano Renée Fleming, propelled by music director and conductor Sir Andrew Davis' unique understanding of the score, and set in the 1920's framewo…
RECOMMENDED From our youth we are indoctrinated to believe that only the "best" are rewarded. The "best" student gains admission to the premier university. The "best" athlete wins the ultima…
RECOMMENDED Comedian Shawn Bowers has an intriguing, slightly stomach-churning hobby: he poses as a young, attractive woman (Margie) on dating sites, baiting and then reeling men in for reve…
Think of a suburban neighborhood " the kind that is mostly quiet, where neighbors all know each other by name and often greet each other from day to day, help each other with errands and the…
RECOMMENDED More than 60 years after its Broadway debut, Arthur Miller's "All My Sons" continues to stand the test of time. This poignant story, which centers on a man grappling with the cho…
RECOMMENDED The Gift might be the place I would take an out-of-towner in order to describe the phenomenon of Chicago storefront theater. The lobby is about the size of a modest walk-in close…
RECOMMENDED When I tell you that the House Theatre's newest show is a theatrical adaptation of "Moby Dick" that is also about a theater company attempting to put on a theatrical adaptation o…
By Sean Kelley In the world of American acting, fame and fortune are to be found on the coasts in Los Angeles and New York. However, many of America's most successful actors and comedians co…
RECOMMENDED At a point early on in Noah Haidle's moving morality/mortality tale, troubled father Daniel (a world-weary Eric Slater, effectively straddling inner sadness and external buoyancy…
RECOMMENDED "The Magic Flute" is one of those indelible works of art. Even people who do not like opera will perk up when you mention it's being performed. Its musical refrains such as the Q…
RECOMMENDED Disheveled, run-down and struggling for work, aging Tommy (portrayed with a lived-in sort of grace by Francis Guinan) lives in a disheveled, run-down room in his uncle's a…
RECOMMENDED The main issue one encounters when judging a musical based on the "Evil Dead" series of movies is how to pull it off without Bruce Campbell. The beloved B-movie actor anchors the…
RECOMMENDED Kurt Weill's career, like this show, had two very distinct acts: the first superb, the second not so much. Act I was set in Weimar Germany in the late 1920s, where the conservato…
RECOMMENDED What does it mean to be "let down easy?" When put in the context of being "let down easy" in terms of healthcare, does that idea change? One might interpret the saying to mean wh…
RECOMMENDED As I walked into the theater and was greeted by the set for "Mercy Strain" I had to smile to myself. The show has been advertised as a hit at the 2013 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, …
The image one usually comes away with from a production of "King Lear" is that of the aged king, stripped down to his skivvies and raging against the elements. But one comes away from Chicag…
RECOMMENDED In a "Poem About My Rights" June Jordan pens these words, "Wrong is not my name/ My name is my own my own my own/and I can't tell you who the hell set things up like this/ but I …
RECOMMENDED In the Midwest Premiere of "Rest" by 2014 MacArthur "Genius" Grant recipient Samuel D. Hunter a character expresses his disdain for jig-saw puzzles. He professes he enjoyed them …
RECOMMENDED Before Caitlin Parrish began to write for television's "Emily Owens, M.D." and "Under the Dome," she was an award-winning playwright. With director Erica Weiss at the helm, Parri…
RECOMMENDED Shakespeare's play of the same name came to be called "The Bard's Opera" because producers would schedule the widely popular piece when revenues were low, giving the players reas…
RECOMMENDED Lucas Hnath is not concerned with getting it right. He's concerned about getting it true. From the outset of his devious new play "Isaac's Eye" he states that this story is fille…
RECOMMENDED Tony Fitzpatrick is moving to New Orleans, and his friend Stan isn't happy. That about sums up the premise of "The Midnight City," currently playing at the Steppenwolf Garage. It…
