If you were labeled a “shrew” by your friends and family, how would you act? And would love allow you to show your true self? These questions are central to the spirited adaptation of “Short Shakespeare! The Taming of the Shrew” that just opened at Navy Pier’s Chicago Shakespeare Theater. The play is produced for […]
The American Gay Rights Movement started not with a bang but with several bangs. The Compton Cafeteria and the Black Cat Tavern riots in California foreshadowed a movement about to come to fruition. But neither of those conflicts grabbed the attention of the uprising that would become the linchpin of gay rights: The Stonewall Rebellion. “Hit […]
Oh man, you might be thinking. Avant-garde theater?
Shakespeare explored the dream realm as it pranks the real world in his perennial favorite, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” Chicago Shakespeare Director Gary Griffin updates the story’s era to the 1920s and lumps in Sigmund Freud’s dream analysis for good measure. For those who never read it high school, here’s the plot: In the real […]
“Oohrah!” is how U.S. Marines often greet one another. That rallying cry is also the title of a play by Bekah Brunstetter about an American soldier returning home to his family in North Carolina after four tours of duty in the Persian Gulf. He’s an Army guy, not a Marine, but a young man wearing […]
As a blaze during a night chill, the Joffrey Ballet’s “Winter Fire” illuminates the Auditorium Theatre. It revealed a company of dancers rich in the heritage of classical ballet, but pushing the boundaries of their bodies and the art form. This powerful program delivers three ballets, including the U.S. premiere of “Infra” by Wayne McGregor, […]
“The Houdini Box” exemplifies Chicago Children’s Theatre’s passion for introducing young patrons to the performing arts. With its interactive playbills, gorgeous sets and a production melding acting, singing and puppetry, the show is, indeed, a good first taste of live performance. The world premiere musical, based on the book by children’s author and illustrator Brian […]
After barely surviving a bombing in Iraq, photojournalist Sarah Goodwin is faced with a decision. Does she settle into a “normal” life in New York or heal up for her next life-threatening assignment? For most people, this might seem like an easy choice, but not for Goodwin. Her struggle is at the heart of “Time […]
“South Pacific” is a real treat—especially in this national tour rendition, based on the 2008 Tony Award-winning production at Lincoln Center. Strong cast members with wonderful voices tell the romantic story of two couples on a tropical island during World War II and the challenges that wartime brings them. Baritone Marcelo Guzzo, who has performed […]
The Mississippi riverboat named the Cotton Blossom has docked on the stage of the Civic Opera House. “Show Boat,” the wonderful, ground-breaking 1927 American musical by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II, deserves a first-class presentation, and Lyric has given it just that with this lavish production, conducted by John DeMain. All the characters, under […]
