The 2001 movie “Shrek” is a quirky fairytale, with its story of a swamp-dwelling ogre and a homely, chubby princess who fall in love. “Shrek, the Musical,” which runs through Sept. 5 at the Cadillac Palace Theatre in Chicago, tells that story in a frantic, over-amplified production, with crude humor (farting and the like) that’s […]
Who says men cornered the market on beng musical influences? Here are a handful of female singer/songwriters you must know—now! Joni Mitchell: May stand as the most important and influential female recording artist of the late 20th century. Val’s take: “The inspiration of many female singer songwriters today.” Natalie Merchant: Socially conscious poet with […]
“The Sins of Sor Juana”, a moving drama about a defiant nun and poet highlights the fifth biennial Latino Theatre Festival at the Goodman’s Albert Theatre. So what were her sins? Perhaps the secular poems this prolific 17th century Mexican woman wrote — though she remarked that the Bible’s “Song of Songs” contained far racier […]
Alice is an aerialist, who soars above the audience. Lewis Carroll walks up the wall — yes, he really does. And characters pile out of a picnic basket like Keystone Kops. Such is the magic of this slightly mad, definitely madcap circus-like version of the classic Lewis Carroll tale about a girl who falls down […]
Paul Corona leads what he calls “the pampered life” of a successful opera singer. Since graduating from Northwestern in 2006, he has performed in numerous operas with the Lyric, jet-setted to New York and Santa Fe to perform, and won several awards. This fall, the happy-go-lucky bass-baritone makes his debut at the Metropolitan Opera […]
“Theater is a living, moving art,” says Susie McMonagle, the Evanston actress who is starring in the Chicago production of “Billy Elliot.” “It’s a collaborative work of art; that’s what I love about it,” she says. And the theater loves McMonagle right back. She is “Mum” in “Billy Elliot,” which is a great tear-jerker […]
It’s Father’s Day this weekend and “Get a Present” still hasn’t been checked off the “to-do” list. If you’re short on ideas—and time—this week, here’s a few suggestions from Val Haller of Valslist that are certain to tickle his musical mojo: 1. Playlists for Dad’s iPod: Here’s something even younger kids have already mastered—how to […]
You will never hear the blues performed better than in Northlight Theatre’s world premiere of “Low Down Dirty Blues.” We’re not talking about “Stormy Weather” or “The Man That Got Away.” Nope! “Low Down Dirty Blues” makes those mainstream songs sound like nursery rhymes. Mississippi Charles Bevel, Felicia P. Fields, Gregory Porter and Sandra Reaves-Phillips […]
The cast of Tennessee Williams’ “A Streetcar Named Desire” tear up the stage in a new production of this drama at Glencoe’s Writers’ Theatre. The performance, directed by David Cromer, is packed with raw emotion and sexual energy, but at the same time is tender, painful and even beautiful. From the minute Natasha Lowe appears […]
The Goodman Theatre’s production of “The Good Negro” rarely cackles on its own but it soars on the strength of its actors. Set in Birmingham, Alabama in 1962 in the early days of the American civil rights movement, Tracy Scott Wilson’s play is a thinly disguised drama about the challenges and successes achieved by Dr. […]
