A Trip Through the Arab World

Detour Guide – Silk Road Rising

Travel can be kind of expensive these days. Most often one must tap into his savings to be able to afford a vacation that will take him to romantic and mystical locales on the other side of the planet. But this 90 minute journey through the Arab World, guided by Egyptian-American storyteller, musician and dancer, Karim Nagi, can be a money-saving alternative trip that will yield a fantastic educational and cultural experience.

The Choices We Make

A Bronx Tale – Broadway in Chicago

This latest offering from Broadway in Chicago was ten years in development. The musical is based upon a story that became a play and then a film, of the same name, by film actor Chazz Palminteri. The expanded musical version of a one-man show, with a book by Palminteri, music by Alan Menken and lyrics by Glenn Slater,  premiered at the Paper Mill Playhouse in February of 2016. It eventually opened on Broadway later that same year, co-directed by Robert De Niro and Jerry Zaks, and only closed last summer.

Monkeying Around in the Salon

Ruse of Medusa – Facility Theatre

Facility Theatre is a Chicago collective, that relishes searching for and locating rarely seen works and original plays and producing them with a fresh eye and an alternative perspective. With their current production, Dado, Facility’s resident director, has taken a forgotten short play by Erik Satie and put her own stamp on it. To say that Windy City audiences have never seen anything like this is an understatement.

Don’t Feed the Plants!

Little Shop of Horrors – Mercury Theater

Under the guidance of the superb team of director Walter Stearns and musical director Eugene Dizon, Mercury Theater has a bonafide hit to welcome the spring season. This company has recently produced several winning productions, sellout sensations that confirm the Mercury as one of Chicago’s finest theaters. In this current campy and impressively produced presentation, Mr. Stearns mines every ounce of humor, satire and wit from this cult classic. Audiences familiar with the musical, as well as those who are new to its hilarious, satirical sci-fi love story, will be singing the praises of this show-stopping production.

The World Inside a Frame

The Bridges of Madison County – Theo Ubqiue Cabaret Theatre

Happily, Fred Anzevino has worked his magic once again. In the earlier, much-awaited opening of Theo Ubique’s shiny, new theatre space in Evanston, there were some problems with the balance of sound between the singers and the accompaniment. But all of those kinks were eventually corrected after opening night. With “The Bridges of Madison County,” their second production, Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre is back once again as a Chicagoland treasure. This new production sparkles with talent and artistry, thanks to Mr. Anzevino’s always dazzling, distinguished, collaborative work.

Monster Jam 2019

Monster Jam 2019 is fun for the whole family. It’s a  great adrenaline rush, without any real dangers. The way these massive machines can move, turn and fly thru the air is incredible. 8 trucks compete during many different events including the 2 wheel challenge, donut competition and they even bring out the ATVs to race.

Singing God’s Music

Mahalia Jackson: Moving Thru the Light – Black Ensemble Theater

Jackie Taylor has plied her many talents by writing and directing another passionate, inspirational tribute to one of America’s greatest African American singers. In this musical revue, just in time to herald the much-welcome coming of Spring and the Easter and Passover holidays, the divine Ms. Taylor paints a stirring portrait of the Queen of Gospel, Mahalia Jackson. As with previous productions at the Black Ensemble Theatre, this show injects factual material from the singer’s life, that detail the highlights and low points of Ms. Jackson’s long career, into a concert of the singer’s greatest hits. During her six decades as an international singer renown, a successful recording artist and a civil rights activist, Harry Belafonte called her “the single most powerful black woman in the United States.” Mahalia Jackson recorded over 30 record albums and a dozen of her singles became million dollar sellers.

Beware Hootie Pie!

Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike – BrightSide Theatre

Christopher Durang, known for his hilarious absurdist comedies, such as “Beyond Therapy” and “An Actor’s Nightmare”, won both the 2013 Drama Desk and the Tony Awards for this, his most recent work. Durang’s riff on the characters and themes of Anton Chekhov sparkles with sunshine and his signature, unexpected humor, while still exploring some of the Russian playwright’s darker themes. This play is not, however, as the playwright insists, a parody of Chekhov’s comedies. Christopher Durang’s brilliant comedy is a gift to the audience on its own term.

Is There Life on Mars?

How to Live on Earth – Chimera Ensemble

The key of science fiction is the question “What if?” What if we had flying cars? What if we met aliens? What if we could transfer our brains to robot bodies? Sometimes the questions are small changes; sometimes they are seismic shifts. The best science fiction explores not just the technological marvels themselves, but the impact on people and their relationships. Chimera Ensemble’s new production “How to Live on Earth” is a great example of that. Focusing on four people all trying for the opportunity to be picked for a one-way mission to colonize Mars, we get to meet not just the aspiring astronauts, but the people and lives they’ll be leaving behind.

The Face of an Honest Man

Doubt – The Gift Theatre

Doubt, the Pulitzer Prize winning play and basis for the film starring Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman, is being given a Chicago revival by The Gift Theatre at Steppenwolf’s 1700 Theatre. It centers on St. Nicolas, a parochial school in the Bronx in 1964, and its principal, the stern Sister Aloysius and a new progressive priest, Father Flynn. One of Sister Aloysius’ teachers, Sister James, comments that Flynn is paying special attention to one boy, Donald Muller, the school’s first black student. Sister Aloysius becomes convinced that something inappropriate is happening and embarks on a crusade to stop him.