Author: Colin Douglas
An Attempt to Make History Accessible
Richard III – Eclectic Full Contact Theatre
Sparked by the rise of alcoholism, family violence and political corruption, the United States entered a period of history called Prohibition. Between 1920 and 1933, a strict ban on alcoholic beverages made the production, importation and sale of liquor illegal. However, this attempt to impose healthier living and sound morals on the nation also encouraged a rise in crime and illegal activity. Bootleg booze and secret nightclubs that served liquor, called speakeasies, became popular in large cities. Criminal gangs, who controlled the underground alcoholic beverage supply, became the rulers of metropolitan areas, like Chicago. This is the background for Eclectic Full Contact Theatre’s imaginative vision for Shakespeare’s history/tragedy drama.
Read More
And the Butler Didn’t Do It
Who Killed Joan Crawford? – Glitterati Productions
A violent storm rages outside, but within the cozy, countrified cottage, belonging to Emmy Award-winning soap opera star, Trick Rogers, a birthday party is about to commence. The theme for the elaborately festive soiree is to come dressed as one of the iconic characters that Joan Crawford played in her films. So, one by one, each of the five gay men, decked out in full drag, arrive with gifts in his arms and hostility in his heart. It turns out that one of the guests is consumed with more than mere bitchiness. His masked malice toward the birthday boy and his sycophantic entourage is unleashed as this merrymaker turns into a murderer.
Read More
Crack-a-lackin Fun for the Family
Madagascar – Marriott Theatre
Following a typical day of crowd-pleasing performances at the Central Park Zoo, Marty the Zebra is surprised by a party thrown in his honor by his animal friends. Alex the Lion, Gloria the Hippo and Melman the hypochondriac Giraffe all help Marty celebrate his tenth birthday with a cake and some gifts. But, after Marty blows out the candles, he confesses to his buddies that his secret birthday wish is to escape the confines of the zoo and return to The Wild.
Read More
Photographs Left Undeveloped
Sundown, Yellow Moon – Raven Theatre
Cody Estle, the clever and accomplished young Artistic Director of Raven Theatre, has gently navigated this inaugural production of his company’s 37th season. Rachel Bonds’ mellow, somewhat merciful one-act drama is warmhearted, but doesn’t go anywhere. It’s like seven characters in search of a plot, or a series of photographs left undeveloped. By the end of this play with music, the audience is left wanting more.
Read More
Overstuffed With Facts and Fiction
Mosquitoes – Steep Theatre
Like the titular insect, in the US premiere of Lucy Kirkwood’s latest drama, the author of “Chimerica” and “The Children,” tiny things appear bigger than they actually are, while larger problems sometimes unfortunately fade into oblivion. Kirkwood shows how as our scientific knowledge expands our personal understanding of each other diminishes. Yet, in a play overstuffed with so many facts and ideas, the playwright creates an argument for her theme that this is an epoch of erudition, but also an era of fear.
Read More
Poetic and Gritty
The Brothers Size – Steppenwolf Theatre
In Steppenwolf Theatre’s latest exciting offering for Young Audiences, Director Monty Cole presents ensemble member Tarell Alvin McCraney’s second installment of his trilogy, “The Brother/Sister Plays.” Mr. McCraney is the Oscar Award-winning screenwriter for “Moonlight,” the co-creator of Steppenwolf’s recently acclaimed “Ms. Blakk for President” and the playwright of the marvelous drama, “Choir Boy,” which recently wowed New York audiences.
Read More
A Witch, a Giant, a Mermaid and a Son
Big Fish – BoHo Theatre
Get ready to be impressed, thoroughly moved and absolutely inspired to live your life with all the exhilaration and empathy as humanly possible. BoHo Theatre has a magical hit on its hands with this beautiful, deceptively simple and gloriously production. Directed with so much love and care by the multitalented Stephen Schellhardt, this intimate production bursts beyond the stage and into the audience, warming hearts and, at times, evoking tears.
Read More
You Take the Good, You Take the Bad
The Facts of Life – Hell in a Handbag
The magical Mr. Cerda has done it again! Finding a seemingly endless cache of farcical fodder amid the sitcoms and films of the 1970’s and 80’s, the masterful Artistic Director and creative wizard behind Hell in a Handbag Productions has hit upon a new source for his clever, campy parodies. In his clever mashup of two very different sources, David Cerda has blended the 1973 made-for-TV horror film, “Satan’s School for Girls,” with “The Facts of Life,” the chirpy television sitcom about another girls’ school.
Read More
A Caged Songbird
A Doll’s House – Writers Theatre
A program note states that a theatre is a charged space, filled with energy and anticipation. Rather than being invited to sit back and relax, the audience is urged to lean forward and engage in the story they’re about to experience. This is sound advice for a groundbreaking, 19th century drama that was, in its 1879 Danish premiere, considered shocking and controversial. Henrik Ibsen’s play, which was based on the life of his friend, Laura Kieler, depicts how Victorian women lacked opportunities for personal fulfillment in a male-dominated world. Although times have changed significantly, equality among the sexes is still an issue everywhere, which makes this production in 2019 especially timely.
Read More
A Psychological Horror Story
Equus – Aston Rep Theatre Company
In 1973, British playwright Sir Peter Shaffer heard a report about a horrific crime that took place in the small town of Suffolk. A 17-year-old boy had, without any understandable provocation, blinded a stable full of horses with a metal spike. Shaffer who, prior to writing “Equus,” had authored such popular plays as “The Private Ear” and “The Public Eye,” “Black Comedy” and “The Royal Hunt for the Sun.” He would go on to write a number of other important dramas, including “Amadeus” and “Lettice and Lovage.” However, of all Shaffer’s plays, this psychological horror story remains his most popular and often-produced drama.
Read MoreRECOMMENDED SITES
