2010 Jeff Awards: How did Our Suburban Theaters Do?
Theaters on the North Shore came home with few laurels from the 42nd annual Jeff Equity Awards Monday evening Oct. 25 at Drury Lane Oakbrook.
November North Shore Theatre Guide
Northlight Theatre 9501 Skokie Blvd. 847-673-6300 Thursday, November 12 – Sunday, December 20: “Souvenir” Next Theatre 927 Noyes St., Evanston 847-475-1875 Through November 29: “End Days” Writers’ Theatre 325 Tudor Ct., Glencoe 664 Vernon Ave., Glencoe 847-242-6000 Tuesday, November 17 – March 21: “Oh Coward!” Through December 6: “Rosencrantz and Guidenstern Are Dead” Cahn Auditorium […]
Carmen Seduces Us All
Carmen is one of opera’s very bad girls. She seduces and then abandons her lovers about every six months, leaving them in various states of despair. But the weak-willed Don Jose, a Spanish soldier who deserts his regiment for her, will be her undoing. Lyric Opera of Chicago opened its production of Bizet’s “Carmen” […]
Joffrey Ballet: "All Stars"
The beauty of motion, the joy of dance, the shapes and choreographed patterns expressed through the human body all come together during the Joffrey Ballet of Chicago’s fall program, “All Stars,” at the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago. The most stunning work of the program is Christopher Wheeldon‘s 2005 “After the Rain,” a Joffrey premiere, […]
The Lyric’s “Macbeth” is a Stunning Pre-Halloween Tale
Blood was flowing at the opening of the Lyric Opera of Chicago’s 2010-2011 season the evening of Oct. 1. Giuseppe Verdi’s powerful “Macbeth” starred the mighty American baritone Thomas Hampson in the title role and slim, sensual German soprano Nadja Michael as his fiercely ambitious partner in crime. Sex accompanies the violence in this production […]
Goodman’s “Candide” is Memorable for Its Music
Mary Zimmerman’s imagining of Voltaire’s “Candide,” with the score of Leonard Bernstein’s Broadway musical, opened at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago Sunday evening. It is a very fine show with a strong cast, plenty of laughs and, of course, superb songs. The first question about “Candide”—often done as an opera and rightly so—is who will […]
"Romeo & Juliet" at Chicago Shakespeare
Imagine “West Side Story” without any songs. Or the Jets and the Sharks, wearing their trademark leather jackets, in a rumble with swords, but their names are Montague and Capulet. That’s only the first scene in Chicago Shakespeare Theater’s stunning production of “Romeo and Juliet,” which opened in its Courtyard Theater on Navy Pier Wednesday […]
Rock of Ages Launches Big Hair and Big Dreams in Chicago
If your parents loved “Jersey Boys,” you’ll love “Rock of Ages.” It’s the 80s rocking answer to the swooning crooners. The show is fast paced and super high energy, with a sweet but simple story that link songs by Journey, Styx, Pat Benatar and REO Speedwagon. Two innocents—Drew, “a city boy born and raised in […]
Sunday in the Park with George
Stephen Sondheim unites mothers, music and art in a controversial classic. While running over two hours and fifteen minutes (with intermission) and featuring dangerously eclectic song structures among its more traditional musical numbers, Porchlight Music Theatre’s pastel sparked production of Stephen Sondheim’s Pulitzer Prize winning Sunday in the Park with George (inspired by French painter […]
Rock of Ages Director Kristin Hanggi Brings the Music to Chicago
The director of the Broadway hit musical “Rock of Ages,” isn’t anything like you’d expect. First, she’s a she. Not an aging, wannabe male rocker with a few inappropriate tattoos. Instead, Kristin Hanaggi is a 33-year-old, lovely, articulate artist. She started her directing career with the show “Pussycat Dolls Live at the Roxy” in L.A. […]
