“Why Torture is Wrong and the People Who Love Them” with Eclipse Theatre Company

To conclude their 2019 season of Christopher Durang’s work, Eclipse Theatre Company chose Why Torture is Wrong and the People Who Love Them, a political comedy that examined the line between jumping to conclusions and dormantly not checking what is hidden in the closet. Even though this text tended to ramble and meander more than Durang’s other works, it sharply poked and prodded our minds about whether the USA’s enemies lie in nations across the sea or in the behaviors of those we share a house and a name with. With direction by Steve Scott, Eclipse has again succeeded in delivering a comedy with relevant issues, presented in an accessible way.

Don Giovanni Returns to the Lyric

Don Giovanni – Lyric Opera of Chicago

The classic opera, last performed at the Lyric in their 2014/15 season, returns to Chicago this fall.

Conversation and Combat

The Niceties – Writers Theatre

As the lights rise on an office at an upscale, Ivy League university, we discover junior college student Zoe Reed, a smart, articulate African-American student, in the middle of a conversation with her history instructor, Professor Janine Bosko. The appointment appears to be going affably enough, as Ms. Bosko takes a fine comb to her student’s research paper. She humorously points out that Zoe has left a comma out of a sentence, but then continues to pick apart and denigrate most of her student’s work. The kindly conversation gradually turns combative, as an abundance  of less than politically correct phrases innocently tumble from Janine’s mouth. Soon a war of words and ideas breaks out between student and teacher, further fueled by the fact that Ms. Bosko is an entitled, Caucasian Baby Boomer and Ms. Reed is a proud, African-American Millennial. 

Free Skate

Rink Life – Lucky Plush Productions

With a name like Rink Life, you’d be forgiven for expecting the show to include roller skates and an upbeat pop soundtrack. When the first pair shuffles onto the floor at Steppenwolf’s 1700 Theatre barefoot and providing their own accompaniment a capella, you may also be forgiven for wondering what you’ve gotten yourself into. But in stripping away those obvious trappings, Lucky Plush’s new show manages to focus on what really matters and the result is a lovely evening that combines the joy of movement and the quiet importance of connection.

A Dickens of a Great Production

Oliver – Marriott Theatre

Filling the Marriott Lincolnshire stage with the largest cast ever assembled at that venue, more than 35 talented triple-threats, from children to adults, entertain, amaze and bring down the house with an entertaining musical classic and a lesson about love. Nick Bowling’s much-welcome production of Lionel Bart’s adaptation of Charles Dickens’ classic, Oliver Twist, is dark, often tragic but also filled with surprising moments of comedy and glorious music. Mr. Bowling, who’s one of Chicago’s premiere directors, has fashioned a true family-friendly production for the holidays that has so much more to offer than just a large cast.

A Contemporary Take

Romeo and Juliet – Chicago Shakespeare Theatre

In a cleverly orchestrated, lightning-paced production of the Bard’s most popular love story, Chicago Shakespeare Theatre not only sometimes involves the audience in its production but it  has updated the play, setting it in the near future during the upcoming hot Summer of 2020. The look and sound of this production is a more contemporary take on the familiar tragedy about two feuding families. In this version, the death of the two star-crossed lovers, whose untimely demise ultimately reconciles their kin, looks more like “West Side Story” than an Elizabethan drama, albeit without the gorgeous songs and jazzy, finger-snapping dances.

LAURA AND THE SEA with Rivendell Theatre Ensemble

Currently playing with Rivendell Theatre Ensemble, Laura and the Sea opened on November 4th and is a perfect palate cleanser for all of the saccharine and synthetic sentimental tripe that we are going to be inundated with over the approaching holiday season. For the world premiere of Kate Tarker’s play, it was placed with utter confidence and trust into director Devon de Mayo’s accomplished hands. This comedic tragedy asked us how well do we know and understand the people that we see everyday. Do you know someone at their core, or do you only know them by how they fit into your life? 

An Overstuffed Suitcase of Memories

Packing – About Face Theatre

Each of us have lived lives that are filled with significant situations, emotional events and meaningful memories. If we all possessed an eloquent gift for writing, as well as a talent for emotionally honest storytelling, any one of us could probably condense our childhood, adolescence and early adult years into a 90 minute narrative, like this. But few would be as captivating at sharing his life story as Scott Bradley. Performing alone on a simple, white square platform, which sometimes serves as a blank canvas for Stephen Mazurek’s colorful and evocative projection artwork, Mr. Bradley opens his heart and bares his soul in this incredibly moving solo performance of disco and survival.

A New Christmas Pantomime

The Steadfast Solider – Lookingglass Theatre

Returning for a second holiday season at Lookingglass Theatre, Mary Zimmerman’s gorgeous adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen’s classic story of love and valor warms the heart and nourishes the soul. From the moment we enter the theatre, we’re put in the holiday mood. The act curtain has been transformed into a gigantic Advent calendar. While the four powdered-wigged musicians begin playing below in the show’s petite pit orchestra, the cast enters the stage one-by-one. Clothed in delicious, brightly colored, exquisitely detailed costumes, designed and created by Ana Kuzmanic, each character opens one of the 25 tiny doors and reacts to the images behind them. The final door reveals the titular character and the pantomime begins. By the conclusion of the play the audience will understand the significance of each image.

Magic, Music and Misery

Hoodoo Love – Raven Theatre

In a cluster of shacks nestled within a cul-de-sac near Beale Street, a pretty, young, African-American woman named Toulou dreams of becoming a celebrated blues singer. Katori Hall’s poignant drama, set in Memphis during the Great Depression, is filled with magic, music and misery. The ominous fog and mist roils out from between the hovels, drenching Toulou’s life in deception, despair and death. This two-act play, which debuted in 2007 at New York’s Cherry Lane Theatre, is the kind of drama that will leave audiences both spellbound and shaken by its conclusion.