The last time Robert Falls directed a Shakespeare play at the Goodman, where he serves as artistic director, he transplanted “King Lear” into a landscape that resembled war-torn Yugoslavia. It was a shocking, riveting, gut-wrenching and epic experience. Now, Falls is taking a similarly transformative approach to another Shakespeare work, “Measure for Measure.” Although […]
The “Jekyll & Hyde” musical revival’s pre-Broadway express derailed at Chicago’s Cadillac Palace March 14, replete with theatrical carnage demanding its patrons look away. Put the debacle squarely at the feet of the show’s producers, undaunted by the musical’s original 1,543-performance run from 1997- 2001 that still managed to lose more than $1.5 million and […]
Vengence. Revenge. Don’t get mad, get even. The desire to exact retribution is so universal that Scripture is on record warning us against it.
“Completeness” is about young people falling in and out of love.
“Short Shakespeare! Romeo and Juliet” at Chicago Shakespeare Theater is an emotional 75-minute journey through familial and romantic love.
“Did you ever have one of those days?”
How thin is the veneer of civilization? Pretty skimpy if we believe “God of Carnage,” now running at the intimate Citadel Theatre in Lake Forest. Michael and Veronica have invited Alan and Annette to their Brooklyn apartment to discuss a touchy subject. Their 11-year-old son was hit in the face with a stick by the […]
How long is too long for an opera? Looking from the outside in at the Lyric Opera of Chicago’s production of Wagner’s “Die Meistersinger Von Nurnberg,” even the most devoted fan might tremble at the thought of committing about five-and-a-half hours to one opera. Fear not. In every aspect, the singers, the musicians, the set […]
Assassination, betrayal, politics—“Julius Caesar” has a lot of potential, but in this modern retelling, the audience is left looking for the heart of the production. The story is familiar; Caesar rises to power after a successful military campaign. But the people’s wish to crown him king threatens the new republic. Senators, including Cassius and Brutus, […]
Theatergoers in search of serious fare need look no further than Lookingglass and “Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo.” Directed by Heidi Stillman, the award-winning, Tony-nominated play by Rajiv Joseph marks an uncommon departure from Lookingglass Theatre’s usual in-house repertoire. Fair warning—this play is not for the timid, nor the occasional theater fan looking purely […]
