M. Proust is a major triumph for Mary Zimmerman, for About Face Theatre and director Eric Rosen. This is a flawless, totally engaging and richly psychological explanation of the obsessive relationship between Celeste Albaret and Marcel Proust. It is a theatrical treat of the first order.
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Black Ensemble offers one of their finest productions to date with Don’t Make Me Over (In Tribute to Dionne Warwick). Using her familiar formula that has a narrator, Ms. Divine tells Warwick’s story through short antidotes and summaries of her musical achievements that allows this tribute to shine through the songs.
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The Actor’s Workshop Theatre's play showcases Martin McDonagh’s brash humor, rich language, and inventive storytelling in an emotionally realized production. This fast-paced show captivates audiences from the start and transforms us into the bleak world of rural Ireland.
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Theo Ubique Theatre Company's production contains clever, bouncy tunes and funny situations to please those who enjoy vintage Broadway musicals. This play contains so many energetic and enjoyable moments that it makes this rarely produced show worth catching.
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Half and Half at the Victory Gardens Theatre is a smart telling comedy that is actually two interconnected one acts about married life. Set in a working kitchen the play covers one family living in the same Rogers Park house first in 1970, then in 2005.
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Lifeline Theatre’s snappy adaptation contains the flavor and spirit of Dorothy Sayers’ novels. This enjoyable show keeps audiences wondering ‘who-dun-it’ with terrific ensemble work, impeccable British accents, and a marvelous set. Gaudy Night unfolds as a slick, polished, and refined production.
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Bohemian Theatre Ensemble gives an ambitious production filled with wonderful singing, clever dancing and heartwarming characters. This show is a major summer hit! Side Show has a rich score with telling lyrics filled with many powerful ballads and entertaining songs.
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The Good Thief by The Gift Theatre is part truth, part Irish blarney with gobs of subtle Irish humor and loads of truth thrown in. It's a tale of a crime gone terribly wrong that leads to a near death experience and years of physical and emotional damage.
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Henry IV, parts 1 and 2, is a major triumph for Barbara Gaines, for Chicago Shakespeare Theater, and for the talented Chicago cast. Artistically, the two-play cycle is a magnificent achievement showing the cooperation, reverence, and respect by the veteran actors for The Bard’s work.
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Sweet Smell of Success, is a thoroughly smart and winning production that is now presented with a more consistent tone than ever before.Kudos to the creative team and cast at Circle Theatre for making this post-Broadway regional premiere a success that is truly entertaining.
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No one adapts Charles Dickens’ novels as wonderful as Lookingglass Theatre company. Their present Dickens’ work "The Old Curiosity Shop" is a sensual triumph featuring exquisite lighting, sets, and costumes that propels us back to the Victorian England in the 1830’s.
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Funeral Wedding (The Alvin Play) is a Victorian gothic style dark comedy that is a strange, intoxicatingly likable, and thoroughly entertaining show. It evokes the ever-appealing styles of Edward Gorey, Tim Burton and Charles Addams. Catch this little gem to discover excellent Chicago store front theatre at its best.
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FIORELLO! adds to the luster of Timeline Theatre’s reputation as a marvelous chicago theatre troupe by mounting an exquisite production of an almost forgotten Broadway musical.
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The Clean House at the Goodman Theatre unfolds as a fable-like treatment of modern American culture that is part comedy of manners, part surrealistic fantasy, and part humorous domestic relationships.
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City Lit Theater, the jewel of Edgewater, specializes in "literature theatre including stage adaptations of literary material” with two one acts that are re-imagined as psychological dramas. Kudos to City Lit Theater for offering us such polished work. Once you see this fine show, you’ll go to the bookstore for more of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s stories.
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