A Can of Worms

The Lifespan of a Fact

Buddha said that three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon and the truth.  And so it goes in TimeLine Theatre’s exciting new production. Loosely based upon a book by the same title, written by John D’Agata and Jim Fingal, the play deals with the accuracy or truthfulness of a certain magazine article, also loosely based upon real events. D’Agata and Fingal also happen to be the two main characters in this comic three-hander. The third character is Emily Penrose, the  Senior Editor of a fictional, New York-based periodical. As the play opens she’s interviewing Jim, one of her topnotch interns, looking for a fact-checker for D’Agata’s article—correction, “essay,” as John would continually correct Jim Fingal. Little did Ms. Penrose know the can of worms she was opening.

You’ve Got a Friend

Beautiful – The Carole King Musical

In the first of three Chicagoland productions this season, the Marriott Theatre’s ebullient biopic musical, which is pure theatrical joy, draws the audience into its catchy music and captivating story. The production grabs you and never lets go until after the final bows. Relating the artist’s formative years, “Beautiful” celebrates the brilliant career of singer/songwriting legend, Carole King. Douglas McGrath’s libretto depicts the many ups and downs experienced by this modest, gifted artist. From a precocious 16-year-old, who skipped two grades in high school to study music education at local Queens College, to her first published and recorded hit song, “It Might as Well Rain Until September,” we watch a talented young lady grow from a sharp kid into a wise and gifted woman. 

The Whole Being Dead Thing

Beetlejuice

Back in 1988, a new movie hit the silver screen. One of the earliest films directed by the inimitable Tim Burton, “Beetlejuice” was a huge popular success. Much like his many other gothic horror/fantasy films that would follow, including “Edward Scissorhands,” a creepy remake of  “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” “Sleepy Hollow,” “Batman” and “Batman Returns,” “Alice in Wonderland,” “Sweeney Todd” and the animated classics “The Nightmare Before Christmas” and “Corpse Bride,” Tim Burton’s work is recognizable by its artistic style. Dark, eerie, often filled with supernatural situations and characters, and peppered with his recognizable black-and-white stripes, the stories are usually tangled and tortuous. “Beetlejuice” was Tim Burton’s first foray into the world of the occult.

The Gun Song

Assassins

Sacrificing oneself for the greater good, fighting against political injustice, seeking a brighter world, feelings of desperation and disillusionment and simply the desire for attention are all motivations for the assassin’s bullet. Imagined by playwright John Weidman and composer & lyricist Stephen Sondheim, this edgy, controversial 1990 musical probably won’t be everyone’s cup of tea. But as one of its melodies proclaims, this is “The Gun Song,”  and indeed it is. A lovely score, a fresh look at American history plus the sheer artistry of this production are reasons enough to see Theo Ubique’s latest offering.

Second to None

Oh, the Places You’ll Glow! 

Is there anything more delightful to do in Chicago as the days turn dark and dreary then to experience the world-class sketch comedy of Second City e.t.c.’s new show, Oh, the Places You’ll Glow?  Disregard the dopey title (the show features glow sticks and brilliantly colored fiber optics, but a hundred other titles would’ve sounded more appealing and less juvenile) and focus instead on a troupe of comic performers and writers at the pinnacle of heart and hilarity.  

LANDSLIDE VICTORY

A key moment in Steppenwolf’s triumphant new Chicago premiere production, POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Great Women Trying to Keep Him Alive, features a buxom young White House aide named Stephanie (Caroline Neff) clad only in her underwear, high on THC-enriched Tums, drenched in blood, and racing around the office of the First Lady of the United States (FLOTUS) with an enormous, translucent, lime-green inflatable flotation donut around her ankles.  

Where Is the Money?

The Night of the Hunter

The canon of mysteries and thrillers, scripts written expressly for the theater, has increased in recent years. Sometimes original works, or those adapted from novels and loosely based upon popular films, are typically box office hits. Recent productions of plays like “Deathtrap,” “Sleuth,” “The Pillowman,” “London Road,” “Wait Until Dark,” “Night Watch” and Agatha Christie classics, like “Witness for the Prosecution” and “The Mousetrap,” have become increasingly popular. Even musical thrillers, such as the recent hit Broadway revival of “Sweeney Todd,” the long-running “The Phantom of the Opera,” cult hits like “Little Shop of Horrors” or the dark and bloody “American Psycho” play to sell-out audiences.

Selling Your Soul to the Devil

Witch

Loosely adapted by Jen Silverman from the Jacobean play, “The Witch of Edmonton,” this prolific and talented playwright also gave us “The Roommate,” the tense two-hander presented by Steppenwolf Theatre, and “The Moors,” seen a while back at A Red Orchid Theatre. In Silverman’s 95-minute supernatural tale they offer a captivating, freshly told and mesmerizing story of six individuals who are all hoping to sell their souls to achieve  something. Even the Devil, as cocky and confident as he appears to be, has his own aspirations. Employing contemporary dialogue, complete with 21st century expletives and expressions, audiences can’t help but associate this need to achieve with our current political and social climate. In spite of Rachel Lambert’s authentic 17th century costumes, each character still feels startlingly familiar and au courant.

A Limited Vista 

¡Bernarda! 

The new production by Teatro Vista at Steppenwolf’s intimate 1700 Theatre, ¡Bernarda!, is a play by Emilio Williams based on the classic Andalusian drama by Spanish poet and playwright Federico Garcia Lorca, La Casa de Bernarda Alba.  

If Music Be the Food of Love…

Twelfth Night

The Summer has come and gone, Halloween has passed on and now the cold, wintry winds are blowing. It’s the perfect season for a holiday in the warm Caribbean isles. Guest director Tyrone Phillips, a first-generation Jamaican American and Chicago artist of many talents, has reimagined William Shakespeare’s perfect comedy set on a tropical island. And, taking his cue from the play’s opening line, “If music be the food of love, play on,” Mr. Phillips has filled his spectacularly colorful, comic production with a generous amount of song and dance. And love, don’t forget love, which seems to be everywhere for every single character.