AN EXTREMELY HEAVY PORTRAYAL OF ABUSE IN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH It's no secret that the Catholic Church has a sordid history of covering up sexual abuse, and many have made art on this topic to…
In Symphony of Rats, a President of the United States has strange encounters of the phantasmagorical kind. Surrounded by his presidential aides, he plunges into…
S-T-U-P-E-N-D-O-U-S AND S-I-D-E-S-P-L-I-T-T-I-N-G The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is a delightful and unconventional musical comedy that debuted in 2005. With music and lyrics by …
It is the Fourth of July sometime in the future, and history is about to be made. We are about to witness the annual Hot Dog Eating Contest. The five women invited to this stage have set out…
PUTIN ON THE FRITZ The most entertaining part of Manhattan Theater Club's Vladimir, which opened tonight at NY City Center, was the tirade the woman sitting behind me went into during interm…
TALLULAH'S BACK IN TOWN, DAHLING! "Don't touch my purse! Touching a woman's purse is like touching her vagina! Except, I can only put so much in my purse." Not quite a lady-like quote fo…
IT TAKES DAN HOYLE TO CREATE GREAT JOURNALISTIC THEATER San Franciscans pride themselves on their open mindedness towards all walks of life and outlooks. But do we really listen objectively …
BACKSTAGE BROADWAY BACKSTABBING: ALL ABOUT THE WISDOM OF EVE Any fan of film noir most assuredly has seen the 1950 major motion picture All About Eve, which shares the story of a young Broad…
Directed by Richard Israel, (Civility of Albert Cashier, Floyd Collins, 110 in the Shade), King of Pangea, the spellbinding new musical with book, music, and lyrics by Martin Storrow, …
THE BOYS IN THE BEDROOM Now in its third season, The Bent is presenting Fucking Men by Joe DiPietro at the Palm Springs Cultural Center. Based on 19th-century Austrian playwright Arthur Schn…
IDIOT IS AS IDIOT DOES Unlike the jukebox musicals Mamma Mia and Escape to Margaritaville, which invented stories around the songs of ABBA and Jimmy Buffett, American Idiot " …
ONE OF THE ALL-TIME FEEL-GOOD MUSICALS COMES TO THE CARPENTER CENTER Ain't Misbehavin'Â is a sizzling celebration of Fats Waller's music " songs that he made famous in a career that ranged…
BEMUSING, DISAPPOINTING, SUPERFICIAL, AND FULL OF CONTRADICTIONS After all the hype about Matthew Broderick starring in the title role of Babbitt, presented by Shakespeare Theatre Company at…
A WITCH'S BREW WHICH EFFECTS HOPE AT HALLOWEEN There's a play about the Salem witch trials playing in Chicago, and amazingly it's not Arthur Miller's The Crucible. Sarah Ruhl wanted a turn a…
VOCALIZING VAMPIRES & THE UNDULATING UNDEAD BITE ME! SUCK ME! ROCK ME! From Dracula to Dark Shadows, vampires have always been an entertainment staple during the Halloween season. This y…
IF SOMETHING'S ROTTEN, IT SURE ISN'T THIS DELIGHTFUL PRODUCTION If you're ready for a break from the woes of daily life and tragic news cycles but can't swing a European getaway, head on ove…
As a female journalist myself, I was curious to learn about the life of Anne Royall, a former maid who married her employer, a landed gentleman in the early 1800s when such marriages were ra…
A SWEET, QUEER, NEURODIVERGENT LOVE STORY Open Space Arts' Chicago premiere of Light Switch by Dave Osmundsen is a charming play with representation that is refreshing to see on stage. The p…
A PLAY THAT'S OUT OF THE BOX Like an acrobat without a net who thrills us with her daring, Iranian-German playwright Nassim Soleimanpour offers a play with virtually no set, no costumes, and…
A BEACON OF NOPE A secluded matriarch, a remote cottage on the Irish coast, and a haunting family secret. The key components of an Irish drama are here. Yet despite strong performances and a…
WILL YOU STILL NEED ME, WHEN I'M (LOOKING) SIXTY-FOUR? How would you live your life if you knew you were going to die of old age … in your late teens? All teens experience appearance issue…
AN ELECTRIFYING TESLA Much has been written about Serbian-American inventor Nikola Tesla, the inventor of alternating current, radio and so much more, ever since his name became one of the w…
BLOOD AND RANCH DRESSING In December of 2020, the world was still in the grip of COVID-19's unpredictable terror. Moderna and Pfizer had just released their vaccines, but supply was scarce a…
THERE'S SOMETHING GOOD IN ROTTEN So you're a somewhat-talented duo of playwrights, living in 1595 England, with actors eager to work with you and a benefactor hiring you to produce a play. W…
THEATER THAT BINDS Raven Theatre's production of Martyna Majok's Ironbound directed by Georgette Verdin is a brilliantly patient drama supported by a stellar cast and a detail-oriented creat…