한자로

REVIEWS

presented by

This advertiser has no influence over Editorial decisions or content.

REVIEW: 'The Merry Widow' by Light Opera Works

Chris Jones

When Light Opera Works produced "The Merry Widow" in 2005, starring Stacey Tappan and Larry Adams, the company was greeted with reviews remarking on the frolicsome pleasures of Franz Lehar's quintessential Viennese operetta, then 100 years old but replete with a newly adapted libretto from...

REVIEW: 'Cinderella' at the Cadillac Palace Theatre
Chris Jones

Two Cinderellas dreamed of a handsome prince at the Cadillac Palace Theatre on Wednesday. The one listed in the program, Paige Faure, suffering from what sure sounded like a severe cold or flu, danced off into the wings in the middle of the first act, never to go to the ball. Out then popped...
REVIEW: 'Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Christmas Goose'
Nina Metz

The mystery at hand is a thin one, but maybe that's the point. Sherlock Holmes never seemed like a man particularly swayed by the holiday season; surely he would look for any excuse or busywork — a tepid mystery will do just fine — to avoid anything remotely sentimental foisted upon...

REVIEW: 'HoliDaze' from Step Up Productions at Chicago Dramatists
Nina Metz

I was fully charmed by this small-scale collection of original short plays from Step Up Productions. The stories at hand are not necessarily Christmas-focused, but they all share the holiday setting and capture that strange love-hate sensation this time of year tends to evoke.
REVIEW: Redmoon 'Winter Pageant'
Kerry Reid

Amid the Christmas shows (Ebenezer, meet George Bailey) and anti-Christmas shows (you know who you are, Crumpet!) flooding theaters this time of year, Redmoon's annual "Winter Pageant" stands out as a quirky alternative. Secular but sweet, it's filled with the same messages of love, peace and...

REVIEW: 'Living The History — 125 Years of the Auditorium Theatre'
Chris Jones

Tuesday night's performance in celebration of the 125th anniversary of the Auditorium Theatre ended with something even regulars at the venerable arts venue had never seen before. The gilded panels at each side of the stage — the ones with the composers' names — were flown out...
REVIEW: 'Exit Strategy' by Jackalope Theatre ★★★★
Chris Jones

At once poetic, political, sad, funny, timely, complex and compassionate, Ike Holter's thrilling, beautiful new play "Exit Strategy" is the story of the desperate final days of a condemned, crumbling Chicago public school dreading its upcoming prom date with the cruel bulldozers from City Hall.

REVIEW: 'Native Son' at Court Theatre ★★★★
Chris Jones

In 1938, a young African-American named Robert Nixon, a man born in small-town Louisiana, was executed by the electric chair in Chicago for the murder of Florence Thompson Castle, whom Nixon was convicted of killing with a brick. Even by the standards of the time, the racist outpouring that...
REVIEW: 'Men Should Weep' by Griffin Theatre at Raven ★★★★
Chris Jones

Ena Lemont Stewart's "Men Should Weep," the warm-hearted but unstinting story of a Scottish family enduing grinding Glaswegian poverty during the Great Depression of the 1930s, is one of those plays that few people on this side of the Atlantic have seen. Even dedicated theatergoers. A closely...

THEATER
REVIEW: 'All Our Tragic' by The Hypocrites ★★★★
Chris Jones

"Make no little plans" long has been the mantra of this city, a common justification for our hubristic plans for the skyline or lakefront, often trumping fiscal prudence. But between 11 o'clock in the morning and 11 at night on Sunday, a stretch of theatrical time so voluminous as to permit...
THEATER
REVIEW: "This is Our Youth" at Steppenwolf Theatre
Chris Jones

Theater Loop
REVIEW: "Luna Gale" at the Goodman Theatre
Chris Jones

"Tragedy," the critic Eric Bentley once wrote, "is an experience of chaos." True. But not only is the chaotic the landscape of "Hamlet," "Othello" and the like, it also visits many of us on a daily basis. A waiter finds himself in the weeds. A reporter collapses under too many deadlines. An...
Theater Loop
REVIEW: "Our Class" by Remy Bumppo Theatre Company
Chris Jones

It is easy for a journalist in a rush to describe a Nazi death camp with the country of its location. "The Polish concentration camp Auschwitz," one often reads. This is understandably infuriating to some of those with roots in those countries, who watch closely for the practice, demanding...
Theater Loop
REVIEW: "Hedda Gabler" at Writers Theatre
Chris Jones

From the first moment she opens up the case of General Gabler's famous pistols, Kate Fry's Hedda seems well aware of her name and how her story ends.

Theater Loop
REVIEW: "Road Show" at Chicago Shakespeare Upstairs Theater
Chris Jones

In the years since Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman's "Bounce" bowed at the Goodman Theatre in 2003, replete with Hal Prince, Broadway stars, press conferences and expectations to match, it has become clear to Sondheim watchers that this particular show touched an especially personal chord...
Arts & Entertainment
REVIEW: "I Love Lucy Live On Stage" at the Bank of America Theatre
Kerry Reid

When Desi Arnaz performed "Babalu" on "I Love Lucy," it was an exercise in sheer head-tossing, tie-loosening, id-releasing exuberance. That same number in "I Love Lucy Live On Stage," despite the charm and vocal chops of Euriamis Losada as Desi/Ricky Ricardo, feels like a dress rehearsal for...
THEATER
REVIEW: 'The Clean House' by Remy Bumppo Theatre Company
Chris Jones

Playwright Sarah Ruhl, who grew up on Chicago's North Shore and has enjoyed a long and extensive relationship with several Chicago theaters, has published a new book of prose, "100 Essays I Don't Have Time to Write." One entry in that charming volume is especially telling: "Why I hate the...
Theater Loop
REVIEW: "I and You" at Redtwist Theatre
Kerry Reid

Caroline needs change. More to the point, she needs a new liver. Holed up in her bedroom, the critically ill teen mostly communicates through social media. So she's not particularly amenable to Anthony, who shows up unannounced to tell Caroline that they are supposed to work together on a...
THEATER
REVIEW: Hansel & Gretel by Emerald City Theatre
Chris Jones

Justin Roberts, the Chicago-based kids singer and songwriter, has written the kind of score for "Hansel & Gretel," the holiday attraction from the Emerald City Theatre, that makes you wish someone would hand him an assignment to pen a full-length score for a more complex show. Maybe,...

Theater Loop
Review: 'Pretty Persephone' musical by Billy Corgan
Chris Jones

It might engender a few eye rolls, but the notion of Billy Corgan writing a musical makes excellent sense. He has always been an artist of ambition, his lyrics long suffused with the emotional language of melancholy and transformation. He has enjoyed being involved with soundtracks to movies...
THEATER
REVIEW: 'Shining City' by Irish Theatre of Chicago
Chris Jones

For all its simplicity and folksy familiarity, the word "storyteller" is a much-overused term in the arts. It's claimed by those less than committed to the art of the raconteur, the craft of the fabulist, the spinner of yarns. But of all the writers out there, none can lay stronger claim to...
THEATER
REVIEW: 'Desperate Dolls' at Strawdog Theatre
Nina Metz

The tropes of old-school grindhouse flicks are transferred to the stage with enthusiastic fidelity at Strawdog Theater, and when actor Joe Mack makes his first entrance — wearing mirrored sunglasses, a mustache and a suit with a turtleneck — you know you're in good hands, at least...
Theater Loop
REVIEW: 'Red, White & Blaine' at iO Theater
Nina Metz

Beloved as it is, "Waiting for Guffman" didn't even crack $3 million at the box office when it came out in 1997. The comedy is probably best watched on the small screen anyway, where you can rewind the funniest moments into oblivion. Among Christopher Guest's mockumentaries, his...
THEATER
REVIEW: 'We Three' at Side Project
Kerry Reid

Imagine a creepier version of Lake Wobegon — perhaps one designed by Harold Pinter. That gives you some idea of the claustrophobic but ultimately uninvolving world of Mary Hamilton's "We Three," now at the Side Project under Josh Sobel's direction.

THEATER
REVIEW: 'Hot Georgia Sunday' by Haven Theatre Company
Chris Jones

Tank tops, shorts and sweaty sexual desire are the main currency of the aptly titled "Hot Georgia Sunday," the engaging little sleeper of a show from the rising Haven Theatre Company, staged at The Den Theatre in Wicker Park and directed by Marti Lyons, who is rapidly becoming a leading...
THEATER
REVIEW: 'A Christmas Carol' at the Goodman Theatre
Chris Jones

Anyone who just played King Lear is ready for a little fun. So that might explain why the hard-working Larry Yando, once again starring in "A Christmas Carol" at the Goodman Theatre, seems especially eager to arrive at the end of the show, when a newly cheery Mister Scrooge, suddenly aware that...
Theater Loop
REVIEW: 'The Testament of Mary' at Victory Gardens
Chris Jones

As most theaters trot out their Scrooge, Schooner or George Bailey, the Victory Gardens Theater opens a difficult, sparse, austere, intense and most assuredly haunting piece that — given the graphic depiction of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ therein — is something one more readily...
THEATER
REVIEW: 'Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas!'
Chris Jones

Cindy Lou Who'd believe it? The Grinch got his union card! I don't mean that Shuler Hensley, who plays the verdant old meanie on the road, is the newest member of Actors' Equity Association. Au contraire. Hensley has more Broadway credits than the Whos have Roast Beast, including a Tony...
THEATER
REVIEW: 'Dee Snider's Rock & Roll Christmas Tale'
Chris Jones

Chicagoans being nice folks for the most part, it's not unusual to sit in a theater here and feel an audience will a show to succeed. Especially in the so-called season of goodwill. Especially when it's new and blessedly Scrooge-free material. Especially when you've shown up for a hot rock...

THEATER
REVIEW: 'Annie' at the Cadillac Palace Theatre
Chris Jones

So it's Thanksgiving week — and family and "Annie" are in town. Whaddya wanna know? I'd venture it's whether the latest bus-and-truck "Annie" delivers the full "Annie" experience.
THEATER
REVIEW: 'Line One' by Waltzing Mechanics
Kerry Reid

There is an intriguing concept underpinning the Waltzing Mechanics' latest outing, "Line One," which originated with John Kaufmann at Seattle's Annex Theatre 10 years ago. But at least on the preview night I attended, it didn't jell into an evening of theater as compelling as the company's...
THEATER
REVIEW: 'Iphigenia in Aulis' at Court Theatre
Chris Jones

Would you kill your own daughter as a sacrifice to the gods?
Theater Loop
Review: 'The Mousetrap' by Northlight Theatre
Chris Jones

Agatha Christie's "The Mousetrap" has been running in London for more than 60 years now — some 25,000 performances of the whodunnit that bested all whodunits have taken place, making "The Mousetrap" by far the longest-running show in British theatrical history. All the big critics who...
THEATER
REVIEW: 'Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey: Legends'
Chris Jones

As an annoying pooch jumped over a llama Wednesday night at the Allstate Arena, as annoying pooches are wont to do, the llama shot its fellow llama a knowing look that truly said it all in that minimalist llama way: What the heck are we both doing here, night after night, surrounded by dogs,...

THEATER
REVIEW: 'Mud, River, Stone' by Eclipse Theatre
Kerry Reid

Long before she won the Pulitzer Prize for "Ruined," her searing drama about abused young women in the Congo seeking respite from soldiers on both sides of a civil war by working in a bar/brothel, Lynn Nottage bellied up to a different African bar. There, she hoped to examine the costs of war...
THEATER
REVIEW: 'Women at War' by Rivendell Theatre Ensemble
Nina Metz

Outside of "Private Benjamin" and "G.I. Jane," pop culture hasn't really given much thought to women who serve in the military. The more prosaic reality — the day-to-day of what it means to serve in what is still a predominantly male environment — is explored in this new work from...

THEATER
REVIEW: 'Comedy Against Humanity' by Under the Gun Theater
Nina Metz

Created by a group of friends from Highland Park High School, the party game Cards Against Humanity incorporates the non-sequitur silliness of Mad Libs with a blazingly simple premise wherein even drunk people — who are we kidding, especially drunk people — can excel.
THEATER
REVIEW: 'The Lieutenant of Inishmore' by AstonRep
Nina Metz

Once, when I was a young teenager and my parents were out of town, the baby sitter staying at our home looking after me — and, by extension, looking after Missy, our sweet if somewhat daffy rescue dog — made the careless mistake of leaving the gate open to our backyard. Missy got...
THEATER
REVIEW: 'Social Creatures' by Tympanic Theatre
Nina Metz

In a zombie story that never actually uses the word "zombie" — one of the more realistic decisions made here — playwright Jackie Sibblies Drury sticks a handful of survivors in an abandoned building and watches them squirm.

THEATER
REVIEW: 'The Anyway Cabaret (an animal cabaret)' by TUTA Theatre
Kerry Reid

We often hear that what separates animals from humans is that the former don't know that they're going to die. Of course, since we lack the interspecies communications skills of Dr. Dolittle, we can't really say for sure. But if animals did have awareness of their mortality, a fondness for...
THEATER
REVIEW: 'Strandline' at A Red Orchid Theatre
Chris Jones

In the beginning of Abbie Spallen's dense 2009 drama "Strandline," now in its U.S. premiere at A Red Orchid Theatre, we learn of a man apparently drowned, off the coast of Northern Ireland.
THEATER
REVIEW: 'Titanic' by Griffin Theatre ★★★★
Chris Jones

No Broadway musical of the last two decades is more ill-served by a massive production than Maury Yeston and Peter Stone's “Titanic.” That might seem counterintuitive. The RMS Titanic was a behemoth floating on superlatives. The international obsession with the facts and minutiae of...
THEATER
REVIEW: 'The Hundred Flowers Project' by Silk Road Rising ★★½
Kerry Reid

What does it mean to record your experiences even as you're experiencing them? Are you living a life of pastiche, with the cultural influences and opinions of friends and strangers who are just a click away constantly defining and redefining your own perspectives? Or are you a "narrativist" who...
Music
REVIEW: 'Il Trovatore' at Lyric Opera
Mark Thomas Ketterson

When Giuseppe Verdi's "Il Trovatore" premiered in 1853, it was the second of a trio of masterpieces including "Rigoletto" and "La Traviata" that emerged in the composer's "middle" career period and found him developing the art form beyond the traditions of bel canto to a heightened...

THEATER
REVIEW: 'Devil's Day Off' at Signal Ensemble ★½
Nina Metz

My experience with the plays of Chicago writer Jon Steinhagen has been mixed. He can be such a funny writer, and he has a real instinct for throwing groups of lousy-but-endearing idiots together and letting them mix it up a bit (his "Aces" and "Successors" being the strongest in this vein).
THEATER
REVIEW: 'Parade' at BoHo Theatre ★★
Chris Jones

It is dangerous for a critic to close his or her eyes at the theater; it usually is construed as sleepiness or disrespect. But at one point on Saturday night, I briefly rested my eyelids at "Parade," partly because I just wanted, for a moment, to be carried off again by Jason Robert Brown's...
THEATER
REVIEW: 'Frederick' at Chicago Children's Theatre ★★★
Chris Jones

Should the mice in "Frederick," the rather sweet new musical at the Chicago Children's Theatre, ever decide to turn tail and move to Chicago, they will be ahead of the civic game.
THEATER
REVIEW: 'Amazing Grace' at Bank of America Theatre ★★
Chris Jones

One way to understand the main problem facing "Amazing Grace," the very sincere new musical with Broadway aspirations, is to imagine a version of the Academy Award-winning movie "12 Years a Slave" wherein the protagonist is not Solomon Northup, the free-born American sold into slavery, but...
THEATER
REVIEW: 'Animal Farm' at Steppenwolf Theatre Company ★★★★
Chris Jones

THEATER REVIEW: "Animal Farm" from Steppenwolf Theatre Company ★★★★ A blistering new adaptation of "Animal Farm" is the best production in the Steppenwolf for Young Adults program since "To Kill a Mockingbird" in 2010.

THEATER
REVIEW: 'The Art of Falling' by Second City and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago ★★★★
Chris Jones

Aside from being a hugely entertaining and strikingly emotional show, "The Art of Falling," Second City's not-to-be-missed new collaboration with Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, is a very significant formative moment in this city's long history of improvisation and sketch comedy, forms invented...
Theater Loop
REVIEW: 'Ionesco Suite' by Theatre de la Ville ★★★
Chris Jones

"Are you going to Ionesco?" said the French woman in the Navy Pier elevator Wednesday night, a sharp question that set me off thinking about whether Ionesco could ever really be said to be a place and, if he could, probably merited a response like "aren't we all?"
THEATER
REVIEW: 'Agreed Upon Fictions' at 16th Street Theater ★★½
Kerry Reid

16th Street Theater has made much of the subject of neighbors in recent years. Steven Simoncic's "Broken Fences" last fall examined gentrification's impact on a West Side neighborhood. In Shayne Kennedy's "Agreed Upon Fictions," now seeing its world premiere at the Berwyn theater, the conflicts...
THEATER
REVIEW: 'Luce' at Next Theatre ★★★
Chris Jones

In the first moments of "Luce" at the Next Theatre on Sunday afternoon, I had a distinct sense of deja vu. There was actress Amy J. Carle, playing a defensive parent and confronting her son's teacher after the educator had come across disturbing material created by the young man in her class....
THEATER
REVIEW: 'The Wild Party' by Bailiwick Chicago ★★★
Chris Jones

One of the happier consequences of the recent uptick in the quantity and quality of off-Loop musical theater is that a very capable but often pigeonholed director and choreographer like Brenda Didier can take time away from the mainstream suburban circuit to get down and dirty with a risque...

THEATER
REVIEW: 'Watch on the Rhine' by Artistic Home ★★½
Nina Metz

Lillian Hellman's call to arms, cloaked in a light drawing-room comedy that morphs into something far more serious, debuted on Broadway in 1941. It was about eight months before the U.S. entered World War II, and you can practically feel Hellman imploring her audience: The jackboot of fascism...
Theater Loop
REVIEW: 'Owners' by Interrobang ★½
Nina Metz

Ugly people doing ugly things to one another isn't a bad premise for a black comedy. In her rarely produced first play from 1972, Caryl Churchill juices that premise with a kind of manic, larger-than-life odiousness of a sketch show shoved violently through a David Mamet-like meat grinder and...
THEATER
REVIEW: 'Sweeney Todd' by Porchlight Music Theatre ★★★
Chris Jones

Like those with the misfortune to bare their necks to the Demon Barber of Fleet Street, the Porchlight Music Theatre production of "Sweeney Todd" has its good and bad moments. But, to paraphrase (or bowdlerize) the Baker's Wife in "Into the Woods," if a Stephen Sondheim show were only...
THEATER
REVIEW: 'The Cryptogram' at Profiles Theatre Alley Stage ★★½
Chris Jones

The Profiles Theatre production of "The Cryptogram" features a really great performance from Aaron Lamm, a seventh-grader at Wilmette Junior High School. People tend not to believe critics when they say that a kid was really great in a show. "Oh, he's just being nice to the kid," they intuit....
THEATER
REVIEW: 'Both Your Houses' by Remy Bumppo Theatre ★★★½
Chris Jones

In 1933, the playwright Maxwell Anderson wrote a very lively drama all about Congress and pork, a drama that would go on to win the Pulitzer Prize and that now opens the season for Remy Bumppo Theatre Company.

Nov	DEC	Feb
	30
2013	2014	2015