Steppenwolf's "Belleville" Shatters Illusions
Belleville is an actual place, a neighborhood in Paris with a name that means “beautiful town.”
Steppenwolf: "The Birthday Party"
Before you go see “The Birthday Party” at Steppenwolf, you should assess how you feel about Nobel-Prize winning writer Harold Pinter. Not sure, you say. Here’s a short quiz that might help: Do you prefer plays with a narrative arc that you can generally follow? Are characters with discernable motivations, who act according to those […]
Steppenwolf: "The Book Thief"
I am haunted by this play. I loved the novel, “The Book Thief,”(Knopf, 2007) and mulled over it for weeks after I finished reading it. The play is about the power of words and stories, but also about the randomness of life—and death—driven home by the narrator of the play: Death. Set in Nazi […]
Steppenwolf's "The March"
“The March” is about war, but Frank Galati’s stage adaptation of E.L. Doctorow’s novel doesn’t feel like a battle. Gunshots ring out a few times, and bodies spill blood on the Steppenwolf Theatre’s stage. But this Civil War drama is more about the the moments of fearful anxiety before the bullets fly, and the quiet […]
Steppenwolf Tackles Teen Angst with “fml”
If you don’t know what “fml” means, then you probably aren’t a teenager. Teens are both the subject and the intended audience for Sarah Gubbins’ play “fml: how Carson McCullers saved my life” — but adults are also likely to appreciate this timely, heartfelt drama in Steppenwolf Theatre’s series for young audiences. For those of […]
Steppenwolf’s Garage Rep: "Hit the Wall"
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 […]
“He Who” at Steppenwolf’s Garage Rep is a Strong Cocktail of Images and Sound
Oh man, you might be thinking. Avant-garde theater?
In "Oohrah!" at Steppenwolf's Garage Rep, the Acting Outshines the Writing
“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 […]
A Killer Cast Tackles Complex Characters in Steppenwolf’s “Time Stands Still”
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 […]
A New Year for Theater
We’ve survived the holidays, people; we’ve cured the hangovers, sidestepped that unwanted mistletoe kiss and kept the holiday weight gain down. Let’s celebrate our endurance with some theater that examines resilience and the indomitable human spirit. American Theater Company’s “Disgraced” February 3-March 4 1909 W. Byron St., Chicago 773-409-4125 atcweb.org American Theater Company presents Ayad Aktar’s […]
