When Betsy Simson, long-time owner of Jerry’s/Corner Cooks in Winnetka, sought to sell the business in the fall of 2014, Chef Steve Leviton stepped in. Having spent the past few decades cooking in the kitchens of Kiki’s Bistro in Chicago and Highland Park’s Exmoor Country Club, as well as management stints for various catering outfits, […]
From the first notes of “The Carousel Waltz” it is clear that this Rodgers & Hammerstein musical drama will not end happily. Harmonies like shards of glass scrape and slice through the lovely melody as the Lyric Opera of Chicago‘s production of “Carousel” comes to life on stage at the Civic Opera House. A wordless […]
It’s been 24 years since The Marriott Theatre staged “Anything Goes,” the biggest musical comedy of the 1930s, and the revived production is a feat of fabulous choreography, beloved Cole Porter songs, and eccentric, entertaining characters. “Anything Goes” represented common “escapist entertainment” of the time, or entertainment that allowed the public to escape from the harsh […]
Like so many other plays before it, “The Herd” is about a family gathering that turns into a moment of crisis and confrontation. It’s a familiar formula, but British actor-playwright Rory Kinnear’s drama is an exceptionally well-written take on this scenario. Now making its U.S. premiere at Steppenwolf Theatre with a wonderful cast skillfully guided […]
Goodman Theatre’s world premiere of “The Upstairs Concierge” is a play about The Hotelman Arms, a luxury boutique hotel in Chicago that serves every waking need (no matter how ridiculous) of each celebrity guest, and its upstairs concierge, Ella Elizondo, who tries desperately to put her degree in “Comprehension of Contemporary Conciergery” to the best […]
Like any play that seriously deals with the history of race relations in America, “Two Trains Running” has dark moments. Many of the African-American characters in the late August Wilson’s play, who are gathered in a Pittsburgh diner in 1969, feel a sense of grievance over the past wrongs they’ve suffered. And yet, director Chuck […]
Steppenwolf, one of Chicago’s most famous and venerated theaters, brings attention to lesser-known theatrical companies once a year with a festival called Garage Rep. Three groups get a chance to put on shows in a space that’s actually inside Steppenwolf’s garage building. Garage Rep is always a mixed bag, but one common theme in the […]
A Wagner opera delivers three things: a seamless score, glorious melodies and great length. Lyric Opera of Chicago‘s production of the composer’s “Tannhauser,” which opened Feb. 9 at the Civic Opera House, certainly had all of the above. But this opera is also a conflict between the spiritual and the sensual. The role of Tannhauser […]
An opera as suspenseful as a Hitchcock film, a soul-searing score, and a marvel of a two-tiered set. And that’s before we even mention the voices on stage at the Lyric Opera of Chicago‘s premiere of “The Passenger” the evening of Feb. 24. The score by Mieczysław Weinberg begins with menacing drums, painting a musical portrait […]
Scene One. Marie Antoinette and her ladies drink tea and nibble on decadent French pastries as they walk back and forth across the golden “Hall of Mirrors” and chat frivolously about fashion, gardens and men. So begins Director Robert O’Hara’s modern and unconventional production of “Marie Antoinette” at Steppenwolf Theatre. Playwright David Adjmi intends to […]
