It’s a Woman’s World

Casa Valentina – Pride Films & Plays

As part of Pride Films & Plays’ exploration of all things gender related, we travel back to the Chevalier d’Eon Resort in the Catskill Mountains. It’s 1962, and a secret world is revealed to twenty-first century audiences that actually existed during those more innocent, post-war years. For at least one weekend during the late Spring, a group of happily married men with families, highly-respected in their chosen, white collar professions, gather together in this secluded Garden of Eden to express their alter-egos.

Lips Chicago

Having first opened in NYC over twenty years ago, Lips Drag Queen Show Place has traveled from New York City to San Diego to Fort Lauderdale to Atlanta and has finally arrived in Chicago. Lips Chicago is a drag dining experience located at 2229 S. Michigan Avenue and will undoubtedly become a mainstay for residents and tourists of Chicago. This particular venue hosts 8 shows starting on Wednesday of every week until Sunday evening, so take your pick! It’s a Russian roulette of top-notch-high-heel entertainment. 

Ever After

Into the Woods – Writers Theatre

Wish fulfillment and their consequences, the pain of growing up, parental and child relationships, learning to accept responsibility and the message that no one is ever alone: those are the themes that Stephen Sondheim leaves us with by the end of this magical musical. Imagine a world in which your favorite childhood fairy tale characters all live in the same neighborhood? Suddenly those familiar stories begin to merge and blend together as Cinderella, her Prince Charming, Little Red Riding Hood, the Big Bad Wolf, Jack and his beanstalk, Rapunzel, her Witchy mother, and many others, all work together trying to navigate their enchanted existence. Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s clever interweaving of these fairy tales propel the familiar characters forward on a journey of personal growth and self-discovery. The first act is frothy and fanciful but, in an unexpected about-face, the second act turns darker, more sobering and powerfully thought-provoking. The result is simply enchanting, especially in Writers Theatre’s deliciously delectable production. 

“Out of Love” with Interrobang Theatre Project

Interrobang Theatre Projects has launched its tenth season with the U.S. premiere of Elinor Cook’s Out of Love. The story follows two childhood friends as they grapple with human connections through three decades. Directed by Georgette Verdin, we see Grace and Lorna explore what companionship means in terms of trust, rivalry, and honesty between two women, as well as the dynamic between women and a patriarchal society that seeks to pit them against each other. It is not only one of the most raw depictions of women in society, it is also a study in how to use every tool in a theatre artist’s toolbox to craft a theatrical experience that shows organic expressions of the human existence without appearing too pristine and polite. 

God Bless the Outcasts

The Hunchback of Notre Dame – Music Theater Works

Victor Hugo’s sweeping early 19th century novel was written, much like his Les Miserables, as a social commentary, as much as an entertaining Gothic romance. It’s a timeless reminder about the importance of looking beyond the physical to find an individual’s inner beauty. It’s also a tragic love story, telling about how a beautiful young Gypsy woman named Esmeralda bewitches three men from very different walks of life: the Archdeacon of Notre Dame, the Captain of the Cathedral Guard and the Cathedral’s hunchbacked bellringer. Set in 1482, everything takes place in and around Paris’ massive stone structure that is the world-famous Cathedral of Notre Dame. 

Always, Always Remember

All That He Was – Pride Films & Plays

First, a gentle warning to theatergoers planning to see this deeply moving, sometimes humorous new musical: bring along  lots of Kleenex. If any audience member can make it through this stunningly soulful production without shedding a tear or two, you’d better see your doctor immediately. Because, like the Tin Man of Oz, you’re missing a heart.

“A Kind of Love Story” at Oil Lamp Theatre

What an apt name for a tale of modern day romance: A Kind of Love Story. The current generation has been lambasted for our non-committal views and our reluctance to label aspects of our lives. So, in turn, we are given a love story that is a saga of missed encounters and opportunities that have fallen through the net. Oil Lamp Theatre’s first show of the season, A Kind of Love Story by Jenelle Riley, is marketed as 500 days of Summer meets Sleepless in Seattle, but it would be more appropriate to purely market it as a conglomeration of Meg Ryan’s rom-com resume of Sleepless in Seattle, You’ve Got Mail, and When Harry Met Sally.

Lost in Space

Women of 4G – Babes with Blades

It’s the year 2094, 75 years in the future. Because of the arrogance and stupidity of our world leaders, the earth’s fragile environment has now been totally destroyed. With the planet’s atmosphere almost completely polluted, mankind is literally gasping its last breath. In one final, heroic attempt to insure  another 500 years of life, a team of seven, superior female scientists, and their lone male Captain, have been sent on a life-and-death mission into outer space. Once into the cosmos, the crew of 4G plan to launch a lifesaving satellite, brilliantly developed by one their their own, LT Wollman. This celestial orb promises to reverse the harmful gases and lethal rays that have destroyed earth’s precious oxygen supply. But something else has gone deadly awry.

A Triumph of Humanity Over Hatred

Come From Away – Broadway in Chicago

First of all, this musical is not, as many have labeled it, about the 9/11 tragedy. It’s an uplifting show inspired by those events, but it’s really about the triumph of humanity over hatred. It’s an exhilarating, joyous, sometimes funny and often heartbreaking story that celebrates the goodness inside most of us. It shows what happened when people put away their fears, prejudices and hostility to embrace the positive side of what it means to be a  human being.