Lost in Space

X – Sideshow Theatre

It’s haunted house season again. As Halloween approaches, all over Chicagoland the scary habitats are popping up everywhere. The holiday has turned into a month-long celebration of all things eerie, just as Autumn begins to nip the air. But in this latest Chicago production by British playwright Alistair McDowall, known for such unsettling dramas as “Brilliant Adventures” and “Pomona,” he’s created a new kind of haunted house. Tension builds as ghostly apparitions appear and ominous events occur. Strange sights and sounds torment and terrify the crew as the astronauts and the audience find themselves helplessly lost in space.

“Hope: Part II of A Mexican Trilogy” with Teatro Vista

Hope: Part II of A Mexican Trilogy, by Evelina Fernadez, tells the story of the Morales family living in the United States during the 1960s. This production has opened Teatro Vista’s 2019-20 season and was co-directed by Ricardo Gutiérrez and Cheryl Lynn Bruce. Don’t let the “Part II” of the title dissuade you from attending a performance. Even without a viewing of Part I, you will be entranced and invested in the plight of this Mexican-American family navigating life during the era of the Civil Rights movement and the sexual revolution. An all-star cast and beautiful costume and set design will keep you entranced through the many cliches present in the script and the distracting, unnecessary songs. 

“Every Brilliant Thing” with Windy City Playhouse

Windy City Playhouse is now presenting the Chicago premiere of Every Brilliant Thing, by Duncan Macmillan. Directed by Jessica Fisch, it opens their new performance space at the Playhouse’s South Loop location. Rebecca Spence as the narrator walks us through a list of objects, concepts, and occurrences that she started as a way to encourage her mother, who struggled with depression. As the list progresses, the items on the list expand to include things that help our narrator deal with the tragedies of life. This show truly has every brilliant thing about theatre in it: an outstanding performance, subtle and intricate script, flawless direction, and creative set, props, and sound design. 

“Family Drama: Two Norwegian Plays” with Akvavit Theatre

Akvavit Theatre has launched its 2019-20 season with a double bill production. Called FAMILY DRAMA: TWO NORWEGIAN PLAYS, the first half of the evening was The Returning directed by Lee Peters and and the second was Goliath directed by Kirstin Franklin. Both scripts have been translated into English, but unfortunately the different acts tackled the heightened syntax, dark humor, and hidden secrets differently. Merely from listening to the words, one could tell that English wasn’t the original language that it was written in; sometimes it was because of literal translations of sentences that should have been adapted to a phrase that is common to the socioeconomic class of the characters saying it, and other times it was unintended double-entendres. This re-interpretation of the oddly formal language was not handled well in the first act The Returning, but was used in an inventive and successful way in the second act, Goliath.

Artistic Challenge or Ego Stroking

Bernhardt/Hamlet – Goodman Theatre

Sarah Bernhardt was the most famous female actor in the entire world. She was a celebrity, a new concept that Madame Sarah created for herself. She was a self-made professional artist who had played every major female character in classic dramatic literature. However, by 1899 Miss Bernhardt, now in her 50’s, had tired of always playing ingenues. She forcefully announces to famed playwright Edmund Rostand, her married lover, that she “will not go back to playing flowers” any more. “I was never a flower. Playing an ingenue was always beneath me. It’s beneath all women.” And, thus, Sarah Bernhardt defends her decision to play Hamlet.

“Equivocation” with Idle Muse Theatre Company

Equivocation by Bill Cain has opened Idle Muse Theatre Company’s 2019-20 season. Directed by Evan Jackson, the story transports us to the aftermath of the failed assassination of King James I during the Gunpowder Plot of 1605. In this alternate history, Lord Robert Cecil has commissioned William “Shagspeare” to write a true account of the incident, but true to the interpretation of the king. Be forewarned, this script is a mental workout, but the cast and crew are all personal trainers of the highest degree, qualified to guide you and push you through this ever twisting and turning tale. 

A Fusion of Culture, History and Athletics

The Great Leap – Steppenwolf Theatre

Saul is a San Francisco basketball coach. A divorced father of a young daughter, his “family” is his team. He loves them, protects them, nurtures them and wants only the best for them. But, more than anything else in life, Saul wants to beat the Chinese basketball team in Beijing. Back in 1971, Saul was sent to China to help polite, good-natured gentleman, Wen Chang, a Communist official, understand the finer points of basketball and assemble his own winning Chinese team. Flash ahead to 1989 and Saul is about to bring his own talented team of American players to Beijing to challenge Wen Chang’s highly competitive team.

Talking with the King

The King’s Speech – Chicago Shakespeare Theatre

The story of how Albert Frederick Arthur George, the second son of King George V, unexpectedly inherited the throne and became King George VI is common knowledge to any Brit or English history buff. But a secret has been revealed that Albert, who was nicknamed Bertie, stuttered so badly that he was constantly teased, both by his father and his older brother, Edward. Bertie was made Duke of York and, as such, didn’t have to speak very much in public, plagued by his crippling speech defect.

Finding Your Home

Peter and the Starcatcher – Citadel Theatre

Seventeen actors pour down the aisles and flood a stage filled with rough wooden scaffolding, draped by sheeting, and backed by Eric Luchen’s array of chotchke-choked shelving. Amidst the chaos and cacophony, each actor takes his or her turn narrating what will ultimately become a unique, story theatre prequel to Sir James M. Barrie’s Peter and Wendy. Employing rapid-fire dialogue, an abbreviated prologue sets the tone for the next two-and-a-half hours. The actors shift between telling the tale and portraying a myriad of  characters in this creative, sometimes funny production by Rick Elice, adapted from the children’s novel by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson.