Chicago Theatre Review

Author: Colin Douglas

Mystery, Tension and Strong Characters

January 21, 2020 Comments Off on Mystery, Tension and Strong Characters

The Tasters – Rivendell Theatre

First seen last year as part of Victory Gardens’ 2019 IGNITION Festival of New Plays, Meghan Brown’s dark, sometimes humorous dystopian drama is being given a fully staged production at Rivendell. The story has a definite feeling of familiarity. Its tense, frightening plot must’ve been inspired by the current leaders of our country and their oppressive, authoritarian administration. Meghan Brown’s play and the five characters who tell her story may remind theatergoers of such powerful novels as 1984 and The Handmaid’s Tale

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Fitting For Our Time

January 21, 2020 Comments Off on Fitting For Our Time

Top Girls – Remy Bumppo Theatre

If given the opportunity to ask any famous person from history to a dinner party, who would you invite? Well, to celebrate her big promotion at the Top Girls Employment Agency, Marlene has chosen an extremely interesting, eclectic group of strong, independent women, particularly considering the varied locales and time periods from which they come. Invited to Marlene’s soiree are the mythical Pope Joan, who was alleged to have achieved her position dressed as a man during the Middle Ages; the 19th century Scottish author and international explorer, Isabella Bird; Chaucer’s fictional Patient Griselda, from his Canterbury Tales; a 13th century Japanese concubine to the Emperor, Lady Nijo; and Dull Gret, the Flemish peasant woman who invaded hell with a brigade of women warriors, depicted in artist Peter Brueghel’s painting, Dulle Griet

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Black Lives Matter

January 21, 2020 Comments Off on Black Lives Matter

Sheepdog – Shattered Globe Theatre

Playwright Kevin Artigue writes for television and film, but his scintillating 90-minute one-act play may make Mr. Artigue a household name. The drama had its much-praised world premiere at South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa, California, and it’s currently being given a powerful production by Shattered Globe Theatre at Theater Wit. The playwright’s created a gut-wrenching two-hander that seems to be ripped from today’s headlines. The drama is both arresting and thought-provoking, a play that moved some theatergoers to respond audibly to what they were experiencing. The play is undoubtedly bound to stimulate lots of post-production conversation among audiences.

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Being Human

January 18, 2020 Comments Off on Being Human

Stop Kiss – Pride Films & Plays

Callie and Sara are two young women living in 1998 New York City. They meet, become good friends and eventually fall for each other in this 90-minute serio-comedy, by Diana Son. A sweetly touching love story, this winner of the GLAAD Media Award for Best New York Production, is told through a series of non-chronological scenes, tragically interrupted by a horrible act of violence that sends Sara into a coma. While the audience, thankfully, is spared witnessing the actual brutal attack, Callie vividly describes the unprovoked viciousness and inhumanity to other characters, including a Detective assigned to the case. 

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Go, Go, Go, Go!

December 28, 2019 Comments Off on Go, Go, Go, Go!

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat – Music Theater Works

As the 2019 holiday season and the year wind down, what better way to celebrate than this joyous, unabashed, sometimes poignant musical comedy? It’s impossible to sit still while experiencing this show. It’s so gorgeously sung, energetically danced and comically enacted that it will stay with audiences long after the final bows. This is a winning show, particularly appropriate for the entire family. It even features a choir of children who add their sweet voices to the chorus, forever encouraging Joseph and the rest of the company to “Go, go, go, go!” 

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Not for the Faint of Heart

December 26, 2019 Comments Off on Not for the Faint of Heart

Dance Nation – Steppenwolf Theatre

The eight pre-teen members of an amateur Ohio dance troupe all  have their hearts set on winning a trophy at each of the upcoming district competitions. They passionately hope to eventually work their way up to the National Finals, which will be held in Tampa, Florida. Dance Teacher Pat (played with humorously stern seriousness and an almost callous demeanor by Steppenwolf ensemble member, Tim Hopper), constantly references one of his former young dancers who made him proud, winning the top honors a few years ago, and then going on to dance in the chorus of a Broadway show. Her framed portrait hangs on the wall of his dance studio, where the kids are encouraged to pay homage to her. But the price of such success isn’t easy, as theatergoers are about to discover.

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An Over-Exuberant New Holiday Musical

December 18, 2019 Comments Off on An Over-Exuberant New Holiday Musical

The Land of Forgotten Toys – Greenhouse Theatre

Amidst a growing crop of holiday productions, Chicago is being treated to yet another new family friendly show. Chirpy, relentlessly over-exuberant and with very few moments of reflection or subtlety, this new holiday musical could really use some layers and a bit of variety. As it now plays in its world premiere, the production is a little overpowering. It’s a little like sitting in the front row of an IMAX theatre: there’s no escape.

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Send in the Clowns

December 17, 2019 Comments Off on Send in the Clowns

Burning Bluebeard – The Ruffians

Audiences flocking to the theatre these days seldom give any thought to their own personal safety. Even back at the turn of the century, only 30 years after the Great Chicago Fire, there was little cause for alarm…that is until Chicago’s Iroquois Theatre, billed as “absolutely fireproof,” caught fire during an oversold matinee, on December 30, 1903. Who could’ve imagined that a holiday pantomime entitled “Mr. Bluebeard” would result in one of the most tragic losses of life in American history.

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A Tribute to the Common Man

December 17, 2019 Comments Off on A Tribute to the Common Man

Working – Theo Ubique Cabaret

The dreams, duties and dynamics of the everyday worker are celebrated in this wonderful musical play. A tribute to the common man, Stephen Schwartz’s musical first saw the light of day at the Goodman Theatre in 1977, and eventually opened on Broadway the following year. It was nominated for six Tony Awards in 1978 and has been produced around the world ever since. Continually being updated by the playwright, this latest version of the musical is being given a fresh, gorgeous new production at Fred Anzevino’s Evanston cabaret theatre. 

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Still Not an Elf on the Shelf

December 17, 2019 Comments Off on Still Not an Elf on the Shelf

The Santaland Diaries – Goodman Theatre

The holiday season isn’t always a time for unbridled joy and delight as movies, musicals and television specials would have you believe. Even that crabby old curmudgeon, Ebenezer Scrooge, eventually found Christmas to be a season of joy and renewal. But ask anyone working in the public sector during the holidays, especially in retail or hospitality, where they’ve suffered the indignities and downright rudeness of people at their worst, and you’ll understand how some folks look at Christmas in an entirely different light.

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