Sex, Silliness and Star Wars

 The Empire Strips Back: A Burlesque Parody, now playing at the Logan Theatre, is a sparkling example of an evening’s entertainment that is much better than it needs to be.  

On the Right Track

Pippin

A disoriented young man wanders onto the stage to a bed. He appears glassy-eyed and looks quite bewildered. Suddenly, from out of the mattress leaps the Leading Player, a supernatural-like sorcerous, colorfully decked out in black, red and silver. This mysterious, magical being encourages the youth, with a large bottle of pills in hand, to “Join us, leave your fields to flower; join us, leave your cheese to sour; Come and waste an hour or two.” Where, exactly is she luring this befuddled boy, and why? Is she tempting him with options for living or seducing him with a drug-induced escape from life through suicide?

Here She Is Boys, Here’s Rose

Gypsy

Everyone wants approval and attention, to be noticed, to be liked. In the eyes of many people, becoming successful is equated with being loved. This is the universal theme that propels this classic show that playwright Arthur Laurents subtitled, “A Musical Fable.” While on the surface, this is a show business saga. It’s a success story that’s set in the world of theater, particularly in Vaudeville and Burlesque of the 20’s and 30’s. The story is also a twist on the Hans Christian Andersen tale of “The Ugly Duckling,” where a homely, awkward young bird grows up to become a beautiful, graceful swan. But because everybody, regardless of gender, age or occupation, harbors the need to be noticed, praised and loved, “Gypsy” is a fable for every one of us.

The Odd Couple

Shaw vs. Tunney

When a reporter went to interview the famous up-and-coming prizefighter, Gene Tunney, he noticed that his modest mountain cabin was filled with—of all things—books! The writer asked the pugilist what he was reading and he replied, The Way of All Flesh, by Samuel Butler. Why? Because Tunney had found it for 50 cents at a thrift shop and it had contained a preface by his favorite author and playwright, George Bernard Shaw. 

You Know, You Simply Want to Shout!

The Real Housewives of Motown

Like so many audience members at the Press Opening, I grew up on the Motown Sound. A native of Detroit, the soundtrack of my youth and teenage years were the songs of the Supremes, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Little Stevie Wonder, The Jackson Five, Marvin Gaye, Mary Wells, Martha and the Vandellas, Smokey Robinson, The Four Tops and The Temptations, among so many others. Hit tunes, like “Dancing in the Street,” “Stop in the Name of Love,” “My Girl,” “Tracks of My Tears,” and “Fingertips” kept me rocking and rolling, while they blasted out of the tiny speaker of my transistor radio. 

Dance with the Devil

The Crucible

Though it was written to skewer the McCarthy era red scares of 1950s, Arthur Miller’s classic The Crucible is a timeless show. Set in Salem in 1692, the show uses the historical Salem Witch Trials to explore paranoia and suspicion, and the cost of holding to your principles. A group of teenage girls accuse a handful, then eventually hundreds of Salem residents of witchcraft, leading to hundreds of arrests and eventually, almost two dozen executions. Neighbors turn against each other as they begin to grapple with the reality that it may be safer to accuse their neighbor before he can accuse them.

A Celebration of Life

The Gospel at Colonus

The Court Theatre closes its 2022/2023 season with what can only be described as a jubilant musical and dramatic celebration of life. I defy audiences to sit quietly, casually and passively just observing this pulsating production. If you aren’t clapping your hands, you’re bobbing your head to the beat; if you’re not actively participating in the kind of call-and-response tradition found in a Pentecostal Church service, you’re at the very least emotionally engaged. Theatergoers will find themselves filled with exultation at this ancient story brought into the twenty-first century. And if none of these things apply, you might want to check your pulse. 

A Play More Timely Today Than When it Premiered

What the Constitution Means to Me

If you were lucky enough to see the world premiere of Heidi Schrek’s What the Constitution Means to Me at the off-Broadway New York Theatre Workshop back in 2018, in its subsequent Broadway incarnation, or in the Prime Video special, be forewarned that the first Chicago-based production of the play currently onstage at the TimeLine Theatre Company is now a very different piece of work.   

The Butterfly Effect

Tango

When a small, seemingly insignificant occurrence causes or contributes to other, larger and more dramatic events, we call this the Butterfly Effect. At one time, it used to be referred to as Chaos Theory. This belief that the flapping of a butterfly’s wings might actually create tiny changes in the atmosphere that would bring about something catastrophic, like a tornado or a typhoon, is a more poetic turn of phrase. Such a phenomenon is the premise of Joel Tan’s two-act drama, now having its American premiere at PrideArts.

To Tell the Truth

The Whistleblower

James A. Garfield, the twentieth President of the United States, once said, “The truth will set you free, but first it will make you miserable.” In his new comedy, prolific playwright, Itamar Moses seems to have decided to take this idea and run with it. The Tony Award-winning book writer of the musical “The Band’s Visit” poses this query: What if you told everyone the whole truth about everyone and everything? What would their reactions be to your complete candor? And, as a result, how would your own life change?