"Don Giovanni" Updated for Lyric's 60th Anniversary

Voices make the opera, and “Don Giovanni,” Lyric Opera of Chicago’s opening production of its 60th season, had stellar vocal artists to spare. The title role in this Mozart masterpiece is sung by Polish baritone Mariusz Kwiecien, not only a powerful singer, but a formidable embodiment of the aristocrat whose womanizing ways lead to his […]

"Luna Gale" at Goodman a Strong, Emotional Drama

The title character of “Luna Gale” is never visible. In the few moments when she is onstage during this Goodman Theatre production, Luna is quietly hidden away inside a baby carriage. And yet, as invisible as she may seem to the audience, the infant named Luna Gale is the force driving most of the adult […]

Falling for Theatre and Winning it Over as Well

A winning combination: That’s what Goodman Theatre artistic director Robert Falls and actor Brian Dennehy have been for a quarter of a century. Together they have created hit productions of plays by Eugene O’Neill and Arthur Miller, which they took to Broadway and for which they both received Tony Awards. Lucky for us, the two […]

Goodman Theatre: "Measure for Measure"

The last time Robert Falls directed a Shakespeare play at the Goodman, where he serves as artistic director, he transplanted “King Lear” into a landscape that resembled war-torn Yugoslavia.   It was a shocking, riveting, gut-wrenching and epic experience. Now, Falls is taking a similarly transformative approach to another Shakespeare work, “Measure for Measure.” Although […]

"The Iceman Cometh" at Goodman Theatre

The combination of Eugene O’Neill, Brian Dennehy, and Robert Falls has yielded huge artistic returns over the years for the Goodman. Falls’ current staging of O’Neill’s “The Iceman Cometh” raises the already-formidable stakes by tossing the star wattage of Nathan Lane into the mix. But even if you go into this long (five hours with […]

"The True History of the Johnstown Flood" Thought Provoking

There is thought provoking entertainment in the Goodman Theatre’s world premiere of “The True History of the Johnstown Flood,” a new play by Northwestern University based writer Rebecca “Spinning into Butter” Gilman. Directed by Robert Falls, the play runs through April 18. The drama takes place amid a devastating flood that wiped out the town […]