Chicago Theatre Review
A Virtual Folktale Retold
Hershel & the Hanukkah Goblins – Strawdog Theatre
For the past two seasons, Strawdog Theatre has presented a special family holiday offering that’s aimed primarily, but not exclusively, at the Jewish community. Experienced live, the 60-minute Hanukkah-themed children’s play was always entertaining, educational and because it was based upon a book, it even promoted reading. The show was delightful. It was filled with kid-friendly riddles, songs, simple dances, games and all sorts of interactive fun for both the children and their parents. They even provided printed puzzles and coloring sheets for the kids to work on before the play, or to take along home with them as a souvenir of their experience.
Read MoreAnother Blast From Christmas Past
The Rip Nelson Holiday Quarantine Special – Hell in a Handbag
For those of us who’ve looked forward to the Fat Man in the Red Suit since the 1950’s, the Christmas season has always meant a myriad of televised holiday variety shows. Each TV special always starred some has-been comedian or washed-up movie star, ably supported by an array of popular, talented entertainers of the day. Playwright and iconic actor David Cerda has revived his fictional funnyman from a few years back. Rip Nelson, beautifully portrayed again by the luminous Ed Jones, returns for his third holiday TV special. This one, because of the pandemic, feels absolutely authentic because it’s being streamed to our television, tablet or computer screen. And the way Cerda has incorporated Covid-19 as part of the plot is clever and spot-on. The result is a professional and highly entertaining adult Christmas musical that’s another blast from the past.
Read MoreIt’s the Final Countdown
Burning Bluebeard – The Ruffians and Porchlight Theatre
Sending in the clowns to tell this horrific, nearly forgotten incident from Chicago’s history, the Ruffians’ production is definitely not your typical Christmas entertainment. It’s a dark, expressionistic retelling of the events surrounding the fire that destroyed the Loop’s “absolutely fireproof” Iroquois Theatre. In fact, the only holiday element of the story is the December date during which the tragedy took place. But it’s a production that’s sometimes humorous and often quite beautiful in its poetic, dramatic presentation.
Read MoreA Scrooge for Today’s New Normal
Manuel Cinema’s Christmas Carol
Here we are, still in the depths of a worldwide pandemic that’s put a damper on our usual Christmas festivities and prohibited our typical social gatherings. The spread of the disease has demanded that, to protect ourselves and others, we continually wash our hands, keep six feet apart and wear surgical masks, when we’re out and about. The result is that the majority of us are remaining quarantined in our own homes. This is the new normal for this holiday season. But Manual Cinema, the creative theatrical/multimedia company that brought us their unique interpretation of “Frankenstein” at the Court Theatre, just a year ago, has devised a clever, imaginative, contemporary new version of the world’s favorite holiday story.
Read MoreThe Return of a Holiday Fairy Tale
The Steadfast Tin Soldier – Lookingglass Theatre
For two seasons, Chicago’s highly-respected Lookingglass Theatre has presented Mary Zimmerman’s creative adaptation this charming, yet sad, holiday story, based upon the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale. This year, however, because of the restrictions imposed by the pandemic, a previously filmed, live streamed presentation is available for the month of December, to enjoy in the safety and comfort of our homes. Here’s a true theatrical treasure that’s perfect for the whole family, and a Christmas story that shouldn’t be missed.
Read MoreThank You for Being a (Socially Distanced) Friend
The Golden Girls: The Lost Episodes, Vol. 4 – LOCKDOWN! – Hell in a Handbag
David Cerda’s long-running loving but acid parody of The Golden Girls is back, and like us, the ladies are in lockdown. Set in 1992, the specific disease and the means everyone is using to communicate from quarantine are different (and hand-waved away with classic sitcom ease), but the effects are much the same, and the girls are cracking under the pressure and beginning to take it out on each other.
Read MoreThe Queen of Cabrini Green
Her Honor Jane Byrne – Lookingglass Theatre
Jane Byrne, the 50th Mayor of Chicago, left behind a large, impressive legacy of accomplishments. Despite her mayoral predecessor, Michael Bilandic, proclaiming in a memorandum that she was “a shrill, charging, vindictive person,” Jane Byrne won the Democratic bid to become the first female to hold that office. The Chicago Blizzard of 1979 that paralyzed the city only fueled the fire that Bilandic was an ineffective leader and helped elect Byrne. Labeling herself as a reformer, Jane Byrne became Mayor with 82% of the vote, the largest margin in Chicago history.
Read MoreI Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter
Steppenwolf for Young Adults’ performance of I’m Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter, encourages audiences to lean in and engage with a captivatingly beautiful and emotionally complex story.
Read MoreConfessional Catharsis
Five Encounters on a Site Called Craigslist – Pride Films & Plays
Whenever theatergoers attend a production they know, deep down inside, that what they’re about to see is make-believe. The drama is made-up, the characters aren’t real but are being portrayed by actors who’ve memorized dialogue that a playwright has written. The story takes place in an mock setting that another theatre artist has designed and built, and it’s lit with artificial, colored stage lighting, created by yet another designer. Even the clothes that the characters wear have been carefully chosen or designed and built by another artist.
Read MoreFilled With Good Vibrations
In the Next Room (or The Vibrator Play) – Idle Muse Theatre Company
Utilizing Edison’s 1880 discovery of electricity, Dr. Givings has created a machine to treat women’s “hysteria.” Relegated to the sitting room, to care for their new baby and answer the door, his young, lonely, inquisitive wife Catherine is understandably restless. She’s especially curious about what goes on in the next room, her husband’s operating theatre. The distracted doctor thinks that since he’s given his wife a comfortable home and a child, she has plenty to keep her busy and from meddling in his “dry, boring science.” But Dr. Givings is mistaken.
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