News & Reviews Category
A Story of Class, Ethics and Romance
Howards End – Remy Bumppo
E.M. Forster’s 1910 literary classic is a sprawling novel about three English families from different social classes. Through this tale, we come to know the wealthy, capitalist Wilcox dynasty; the idealistic, intellectual upper middle class Schlegel sisters; and the ever struggling, financially impoverished lower class Leonard and Jacky Bast. Forster spun a dramatic story of social rank, morals and love. His novel offered an insightful portrait of England at the height of its imperial world influence, in the years just prior to World War I. He showed, through the lives of three diverse families, how fast progress was happening and shaping Edwardian England. Forster seemed to ask, in light of the sweeping changes taking place, who would eventually inherit England? Which class would ultimately define this powerful nation?
Read MoreWork in Progress
Sons and Lovers – Greenhouse Theatre
It’s true that the very best writers use experiences from their own lives to inspire their writing. English author D.H. Lawrence, whose early twentieth century novels like Lady Chatterley’s Lover, Women in Love, Mr. Noon and The Rainbow shocked and entertained readers during this Age of Innocence. But it’s also true that his stories are all very intimately bound up with his own life. But none of his novels is more autobiographical than Sons and Lovers.
Read MoreIt’s a Woman’s World
Casa Valentina – Pride Films & Plays
As part of Pride Films & Plays’ exploration of all things gender related, we travel back to the Chevalier d’Eon Resort in the Catskill Mountains. It’s 1962, and a secret world is revealed to twenty-first century audiences that actually existed during those more innocent, post-war years. For at least one weekend during the late Spring, a group of happily married men with families, highly-respected in their chosen, white collar professions, gather together in this secluded Garden of Eden to express their alter-egos.
Read MoreLips Chicago
Having first opened in NYC over twenty years ago, Lips Drag Queen Show Place has traveled from New York City to San Diego to Fort Lauderdale to Atlanta and has finally arrived in Chicago. Lips Chicago is a drag dining experience located at 2229 S. Michigan Avenue and will undoubtedly become a mainstay for residents and tourists of Chicago. This particular venue hosts 8 shows starting on Wednesday of every week until Sunday evening, so take your pick! It’s a Russian roulette of top-notch-high-heel entertainment.
Read MoreEver After
Into the Woods – Writers Theatre
Wish fulfillment and their consequences, the pain of growing up, parental and child relationships, learning to accept responsibility and the message that no one is ever alone: those are the themes that Stephen Sondheim leaves us with by the end of this magical musical. Imagine a world in which your favorite childhood fairy tale characters all live in the same neighborhood? Suddenly those familiar stories begin to merge and blend together as Cinderella, her Prince Charming, Little Red Riding Hood, the Big Bad Wolf, Jack and his beanstalk, Rapunzel, her Witchy mother, and many others, all work together trying to navigate their enchanted existence. Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s clever interweaving of these fairy tales propel the familiar characters forward on a journey of personal growth and self-discovery. The first act is frothy and fanciful but, in an unexpected about-face, the second act turns darker, more sobering and powerfully thought-provoking. The result is simply enchanting, especially in Writers Theatre’s deliciously delectable production.
Read More“Out of Love” with Interrobang Theatre Project
Interrobang Theatre Projects has launched its tenth season with the U.S. premiere of Elinor Cook’s Out of Love. The story follows two childhood friends as they grapple with human connections through three decades. Directed by Georgette Verdin, we see Grace and Lorna explore what companionship means in terms of trust, rivalry, and honesty between two women, as well as the dynamic between women and a patriarchal society that seeks to pit them against each other. It is not only one of the most raw depictions of women in society, it is also a study in how to use every tool in a theatre artist’s toolbox to craft a theatrical experience that shows organic expressions of the human existence without appearing too pristine and polite.
Read MoreBristol Renaissance Faire
Just over the border of Illinois you enter Bristol, Wisconsin and are transported into a Renaissance theme park, complete with queens, knights, jousting and so much more. Voted the #1 Renaissance Faire in the country for the last 8 years it is easy to see why.
Read MoreGod Bless the Outcasts
The Hunchback of Notre Dame – Music Theater Works
Victor Hugo’s sweeping early 19th century novel was written, much like his Les Miserables, as a social commentary, as much as an entertaining Gothic romance. It’s a timeless reminder about the importance of looking beyond the physical to find an individual’s inner beauty. It’s also a tragic love story, telling about how a beautiful young Gypsy woman named Esmeralda bewitches three men from very different walks of life: the Archdeacon of Notre Dame, the Captain of the Cathedral Guard and the Cathedral’s hunchbacked bellringer. Set in 1482, everything takes place in and around Paris’ massive stone structure that is the world-famous Cathedral of Notre Dame.
Read MoreAlways, Always Remember
All That He Was – Pride Films & Plays
First, a gentle warning to theatergoers planning to see this deeply moving, sometimes humorous new musical: bring along lots of Kleenex. If any audience member can make it through this stunningly soulful production without shedding a tear or two, you’d better see your doctor immediately. Because, like the Tin Man of Oz, you’re missing a heart.
Read More“A Kind of Love Story” at Oil Lamp Theatre
What an apt name for a tale of modern day romance: A Kind of Love Story. The current generation has been lambasted for our non-committal views and our reluctance to label aspects of our lives. So, in turn, we are given a love story that is a saga of missed encounters and opportunities that have fallen through the net. Oil Lamp Theatre’s first show of the season, A Kind of Love Story by Jenelle Riley, is marketed as 500 days of Summer meets Sleepless in Seattle, but it would be more appropriate to purely market it as a conglomeration of Meg Ryan’s rom-com resume of Sleepless in Seattle, You’ve Got Mail, and When Harry Met Sally.
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