Chicago Theatre Review
The Devil’s in the Details
Covenant
A term frequently used in a religious context, someone who makes a contract, a solemn commitment or an agreement with another individual is entering into a covenant. It recalls the promises made by Noah, Abraham or David with God. But in COVENANT, a one-act horror-thriller, a rumor persists that a local young man once made such an unbinding contract with Satan. And, let me tell you, in Chicago playwright York Walker’s frightening new Southern Gothic, the devil is in the details.
Read MoreFeeling the Itch
The Hula Hoopin’ Queen
“Today is the day I’m going to beat Jamara Johnson at hooping. Then I’ll be THE HULA HOOPIN’ QUEEN of 139th Street!” Young Kameeka is bound and determined to prove to her friend, Jamara, that she’s no longer holds the title of champion hula hooper. Kameeka is finally going to win the crown today. Then suddenly Kameeka feels the itch, the Hula Hoopin’ itch. Her fingers start snappin,’ her feet start tappin’ and her hips start swingin.’ But Kameeka’s challenge to her hoopin’ friend, Jamara, will just have to wait. Today’s Miss Adeline’s 80th birthday and Kameeka’s planned a special party for the lovable woman who’s been like a grandmother to both her mother and her for many years. But today is also the day Kameeka has planned to win the title of THE HULA HOOPIN’ QUEEN.
Read MoreFanciful Adventures in Space, Friendship, and the Most Unlikely of True Loves
moonwatchers
Taking the tradition of tall tales into science fiction, moonwatchers is a light-hearted romp about opposites in friendship and star-crossed soulmates. The whimsical story written by Nigel Berkely and Corey Farrell, as Directed by Nealie Tinlin, and presented by Lazy Susan Theatre Co. is a high-energy evening of escapism that will lift your spirits. And how better to celebrate the historic Artemis II mission to the far side of the moon than taking in this far out adventure.
Read MoreYou’ve Got to Be Carefully Taught
South Pacific
Spring has finally blossomed in Chicagoland. And with the bounty of beautiful flowers comes an abundance of new shows, both original, Broadway-bound hopefuls and timeless classics of the musical theatre. Paramount’s latest offering is a polished, beautifully directed, acted and, especially, sung production that harkens from Broadway’s Golden Era. This fine presentation is visually stunning and very entertaining, but a few tiny hitches keep this production of SOUTH PACFIC from totally being “Some Enchanted Evening.”
Read MoreFacing The Monster
Octet
In what may be the most original, imaginative and unbelievably creative musical I’ve ever had the pleasure to experience, OCTET is enjoying its magnificent Midwest debut. And this utterly fascinating, superbly electrifying, totally mesmerizing musical is guaranteed to rock you to your very core. It’s very different, fresh and unusual, sometimes funny, very often affecting and supercharged by its honest humanity. This may seem contradictory because the 95-minute one-act musical is about a group of people who are all addicted to the internet. It’s a beast, who they collectively refer to as the Monster.
Read MoreFire and Ice
Loki—The End of the World Tour
The gods and goddesses, as well as many of the legendary creatures, heroes and events from Norse mythology, all come to life on the intimate Lifeline stage. Often spilling out into the house and up the aisles, sometimes even including members of the audience, this epic, ambitious and brilliantly spectacular rock musical may be one of the best shows of the year.
Read MoreBorn to Entertain
Ruthless!
Sweet, precocious little Tina Denmark is an accomplished and talented young lady…very young, in fact, and very talented. Tina’s only eight years old and already the tiny tyke knows she’s destined to become a Broadway star. In fact, teensy-weensy Tina Denmark was literally “Born to Entertain,” a song the little lady belts out within the first few minutes of the show. Then we learn that Tina’s meteoric rise to fame could begin very soon because her third grade teacher, Miss Thorn, is about to cast the elementary school musical, PIPPI IN TAHITI.
Read MoreAll You Need is Love, Laughter, and the Beatles
The Movement You Need: An Evening with Brendan Hunt
Absolutely do not miss Emmy and SAG Award winner Brendan Hunt in his limited engagement, Broadway-bound, one-man show The Movement You Need: An Evening with Brendan Hunt. Coming to Hunt’s hometown Chicago fresh from a sold-out run at the Soho Playhouse in Manhattan, this auto-biographical emotional rollercoaster exceeds all expectations; hurtling from hilarity to heartbreak, with scarcely a moment to breathe in between. The Movement You Need delivers all the catharsis you need – eye-watering laughter, gut-wrenching loss, and tears of deepest joy.
Read MoreFamily Fugue
Out Here
Self actualization. Being yourself. Becoming comfortable in your own skin. These are different ways of labeling the same act. Recognizing who you are and acknowledging this understanding of yourself and the world around you is usually just the beginning. It’s an act of freedom, of breaking down artificial barriers and starting over again with honesty and pride. This is part of the premise of OUT HERE, a new musical that was developed in a partnership between the University of Chicago and the Arts Lab at the Neubauer Collegium for Culture and Society. This new work is, as the song goes, also a “Family Fugue.”
Read MoreNo One Ever Wins
Fault
Chicago Shakespeare Theatre is celebrating The Bard’s birthday this April with 66 performances. The productions include FAULT, called “a wickedly dark new comedy,” and is a World Premiere that will have theatergoers talking for years to come. This edgy, energetic and profanity-filled and very adult 90-minute one-act is a definite departure from the typical, classical fare found on the Yard Stage.
Read MoreRECOMMENDED SITES
