To focus on a single sense in Lyric Opera of Chicago’s second annual Broadway dalliance is a gross injustice to its breathtaking production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “The Sound of Music.” It’s akin to crediting Michael Jordan’s basketball accomplishments to just the shoes. This not-to-be missed staging of arguably the most well-known musical in the […]
The Marriott Theatre‘s production of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical “Cats,” based on T.S. Eliot’s collection of poems, “Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats,” opened April 2. The following review is presented in the style of one of these poems, “The Naming of Cats.” The reviewing of “Cats” is a difficult matter, It isn’t just one of […]
It may finally be spring, but this month’s noteworthy plays have a dark tinge. Death will come dancing at Writers Theatre, while the past disturbs a young man at Next. Elsewhere, a sea captain’s obsessive quest will drive him toward destruction. But it won’t be all doom and gloom—hope springs eternal at the theater. Road […]
What would you do if you couldn’t remember a traumatic event in your life? That’s just one question raised in Next Theatre’s “The Great God Pan,” written by Amy Herzog and directed by Kimberly Senior, whose work has been nominated for multiple Jeff Awards. Senior spoke with Make It Better about “The Great God Pan,” […]
One can hardly glance at his or her Facebook news feed without being cleverly implored a time or eight to “Dream BIG!”
The artistic director of a theater company is like the captain of a ship. A captain can’t do everything but must be sure everything gets done. Tasks include overseeing the budget, choosing the repertoire, hiring actors, set designers, costumers and directors. The men at the helm of two important North Shore theaters—BJ Jones, now in […]
You don’t have to buy the hottest ticket in town this weekend—it’s free.
When Janet Louer and I first created a young actor’s Repertory Company at The Actors Training Center (ATC) it was a way to offset costs.
They are “Puttin’ on the Ritz” at the Cadillac Palace Theatre in Chicago, and Frankenstein’s monster never looked better. The national tour of the Mel Brooks musical “Young Frankenstein” is hanging out in that gloomy castle in Transylvania Heights through Dec. 13, and all the old familiar pals from Brooks’s 1974 film comedy are there […]
Theater wonks prone to grousing over venues, contracts, subscriber bases or other foibles needn’t bother including Fred Anzevino in their gripefests. He doesn’t have the time. Because Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre’s artistic director is too busy discovering and fostering new talent, creating artistic community, directing, hawking tickets, laughing and secretly planning his next masterpiece to […]
