By Hugh Iglarsh Before the black gold of petroleum became the driving force of business and empire, it was whale blubber that lit the lamps and lubricated both the machinery and the ambition…
RECOMMENDED Given that "West Side Story" is often considered the greatest musical ever written, odd that its predecessor "On the Town," the first show to unite choreographer Jerome Robbins a…
RECOMMENDED In case you were wondering, yes, you read the title of this show correctly. It's called "Methtacular!"And I must say that the title is a very apt one, as Steven Strafford's one-m…
RECOMMENDED In a way Chekhov is a lot like Nirvana, in that it's really easy to forget how great he was when you've been inundated with a century of increasingly pale imitations. If Chekhov'…
Chosen as the inaugural production of Cole Theatre, Mike Leigh's "Ecstasy" begins with a naked Jean (Maura Kidwell) and Roy (Joel Reitsma), in her run-down London flat. Whatever they've just…
The creation and delivery of a historical play presents very specific challenges. The story of the life of any individual, no matter how private and quiet it might seem to others, is a fulso…
RECOMMENDED I arrived at City Lit Theater's space to see Black Button Eyes Productions' "Coraline" a complete Neil Gaiman virgin. I'd heard that the novelist's 2002 horror/fantasy novella wa…
Preachers normally ask for a call and response of "Amen" or "Hallelujah." But in the church of the future, where people give themselves to the great "architect," people happily chant in comp…
RECOMMENDED Friday night with thirty minutes to go before the doors to the Neo-Futurarium open, a line already snakes down Ashland and around the corner onto Foster. With patrons ranging fro…
RECOMMENDED The character of Medea haunted Greek culture like a nightmare, embodying patriarchal anxiety and guilt. It's a fitting subject for Dream Theatre Company's resident playwright Jer…
RECOMMENDED It's Audrey (played by the willowy Cora Vander Broek), Hank Williams’ put-upon first wife, who best sums up her husband's fatal contradictions: "You wear a $500 custom suit…
RECOMMENDED As the saying goes, truth is often stranger than fiction. When it comes to the world of religion, the line between the two (truth and fiction) becomes blurrier and blurrier. And …
This Hitchcock-themed improv show features not one but two drinking games happening simultaneously. The first is the more familiar audience drinking game. In this case you're asked to drink …
RECOMMENDED You learn a lot about the level of commitment of a company of actors"to say nothing of the commitment of the audience enjoying them"when both are willing to engage in the rain be…
RECOMMENDED When Mary Wilson of the Supremes came through town late last fall, she recalled that the Supremes had no less than seven flops before catching on while another Detroit all-female…
RECOMMENDED Usually when you hear someone use the phrase "the universality of the human experience" it's a load of hooey. People use it to justify why their production of "Timon of Athens" s…
RECOMMENDED As I sat watching "Intimate Apparel" presented by Eclipse Theatre Company, the words of renowned Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie echoed in my mind: "Because I am female,…
RECOMMENDED Some of the nicer things in life really are free, such as Shakespeare served al fresco on a summer evening by the talented and community-minded Midsommer Flight theater collectiv…
"Stoop Time," a new play staged by You&Me Productions, opens up with friends Jo (Angela Bullard) and Nora (Joni Arredia) having drinks, sharing laughs and recounting stories on Jo's stoo…
RECOMMENDED This summer Chicago audiences are given another chance to see "Principal Principle," a timely tale examining the potential polarizing effects of assigning corporate data-gatherin…
RECOMMENDED "O these men, these men!" sighs Desdemona (played by Brittany Burch), who is soon to be murdered by her jealous husband, Othello. She is confiding her bafflement to her friend Em…
RECOMMENDED Everyone has an opinion about guns. And everyone has a "gun story." Whether it's tragic, a tale of survival or just something from the news, everyone has a story that deals with …
RECOMMENDED With the way that the phrase polyamory has been tossed around over the last few years you would think that modern social psychologists invented the concept. And according to a fl…
Often when filling out applications and surveys, we are given the option of checking only one box as it pertains to our identity. Rarely do we see the selection "mark all that apply," and if…
Waiting for LiveWire Chicago's production of "Partners" to begin, my date and I talked about how much we would like an apartment that resembled Mike Mroch's elegantly shambling set. After th…