“Gospel According to James” Tackles Crime and Lies Surrounding It
Charles Smith’s “The Gospel According to James,” dramatizes a real-life 1930 Indiana lynching, examining the wily nature of truth and who defines it.
On the Red Carpet with “Glee” Star Matthew Morrison
Matthew Morrison, who stars on the hit Fox TV show “Glee” as teacher Will Shuester, spoke with Make It Better before his Goodman Theatre gala performance. “The last three years of my life have been very gleeful,” he said, introducing his performance, “but I’ve missed performing in theaters like this one.” That’s because the Emmy […]
“Hickory Dickory” at Chicago Dramatists: Provocative, Timely Fantasy
Embedded inside everyone is a mortal clock. The timepiece ticks down the minutes until death.
Lips and Laughter: Goodman Theatre’s “Stage Kiss”
When former lovers get cast as romantic leads in a 1930s melodrama, the line blurs between fake lip-locking on stage and real smooching. “Stage Kiss” is the latest collaboration by director Jessica Thebus and playwright Sarah Ruhl; most recently, Thebus directed Ruhl’s stage adaptation of Virginia Woolf’s “Orlando” at the Court Theatre. But “Orlando” and […]
Joffrey's “Rising Stars” is the Stuff of Dreams
The Joffrey Ballet’s “Rising Stars” program, which opened May 4 at the Auditorium Theater, is an exercise in abstraction. It’s filled with sublime, graceful movement, punctuated with surprises, and packed with tried and truly beautiful dancing. Two world premieres, “Woven Dreams” by Edwaard Liang and “Bells” by Yuri Possokhov, plus a company premiere, “Night” by […]
Peter Pan, the iPad of Theater, Flies into Chicago
Like the first generation Apple tablet, Broadway in Chicago and threesixty° entertainment’s “Peter Pan” flew into town with deserved graduation-season pomp and circumstance, befitting theater’s prospective next big thing. Common to most new technology, this production simultaneously wows and disappoints. The wow begins walking up to the 1,300-seat, in-the-round theater tent parked in a lot […]
Lisa Loeb: Singer-Songwriter, Philanthropist and New Mom
You might remember Lisa Loeb, who will perform locally on June 3 and 4, from her meteoric ‘90s hit, “Stay.” (“You say, I only hear what I want to … ”) But you might not know that the prolific singer-songwriter and Grammy nominee is passionate about making music for children, has her own foundation to […]
Not Travolta’s Rydell High: ATC Reclaims “Grease” for Chicago
It’s fall of 1959 and the school year has just begun on Chicago’s northwest side. Leaves are falling, the weather is unpredictable; it’s liable to rain any minute on the senior class at Rydell High. In the American Theatre Company’s latest production, “The Original Grease,” it does. The musical was made famous on Broadway and […]
A Cultural Bouquet for Mom on her Day
Want to give Mom a great gift for Mother’s Day? What about a mother-daughter theater afternoon or evening? We’ve combed May offerings on stages in Chicago and the suburbs, and found several options to suit various tastes. Broadway Mom “Spring Awakening” May 8-13 Ford Center for the Performing Arts, Oriental Theatre 24 W. Randolph St., […]
Shaw's Masterpiece Has More Humor Than Heartbreak at Writers' Theatre
George Bernard Shaw has always had a great deal to say, and in his comic drama “Heartbreak House” he says plenty. This three-hour production, which recently opened at Writers’ Theatre in Glencoe, intends to shine an unflattering light on the British leisured class, who are living on their country estates, filling their vapid lives with […]
