A doctor’s life’s work is depicted … On the main stage out Lincolnshire way At the Marriott Theatre for young-uns Where the shows all run during the day It’s a rhyming bonanza of color and fun An excellent show is this, “Seussical” The book, score and acting, directing and such Would make this a fine […]
“Mary Poppins” is a headline writer’s dream. A great staging can be summed up in one word: Supercalifragilisticexpialidocius. Performance not worth attending? Go fly a kite. It’s also an unequivocal showcase for the female lead, with the production’s success resting squarely on the title character’s shoulders. Consider Broadway in Chicago’s current run of the Disney […]
The musical “Follies” idolizes the days of Ziegfeld Follies while also poking fun at them. As a result, theatergoers get show-stopping numbers of the Vaudeville era as well as a deeper look at the past dreams and present follies of the characters. Chicago Shakespeare Theater’s production of “Follies,” by Stephen Sondheim and James Goldman, captures […]
In “The Amish Project,” Sadieh Rifai inhabits 7 characters with an emotional dexterity that’s virtuosic. On October 2, 2006, a non-Amish milk truck driver in Nickel Mines, Pa., entered a one-room schoolhouse for Amish children with a gun, demanding that all the boys and adults leave. He bound the girls with plastic ties. When the […]
Lucia Ashton is a madwoman, but she didn’t start out that way. Like Juliet Capulet, she falls in love with someone from a rival family and is under extreme pressure to marry someone else. Lucia finally cracks under the demands of her family and the absence of her beloved, and like Juliet, she perishes. Lyric […]
“Wait Until Dark” is a suspense-filled tale of a blind woman. She is trapped in her basement apartment in New York City by three criminals searching for a doll packed with heroin. A 1967 film starred Audrey Hepburn as Susy Hendrix, a young woman blinded from an accident and recently married to a mostly […]
“The Real Thing” is a meaty play packed with clever dialogue, passion and complex themes. Set in London, Tom Stoppard’s play follows a playwright whose livelihood starts crumble as the line blurs between his plays and his real life. Writers’ production of “The Real Thing” is as funny as it is poignant because of its […]
When I first read that “Clybourne Park” deals with race, I expected the play to be heavy, or polemical. It’s not, though it is certainly thought-provoking. Playwright Bruce Norris’ characters’ deep uneasiness and their struggles with political correctness—which will make you squirm in your seat—are relieved with inappropriate jokes and foul language, and the audience’s […]
“The Pitmen Painters” by “Billy Elliot” writer Lee Hall tells the powerful story of a group of miners who become acclaimed painters. As their teacher and a wealthy arts patron try to pigeonhole them as “working-class painters,” the miners learn to stand up for themselves and their talent—raising big questions for the audience about class, […]
Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire sets national regional theater subscription records for its ability to leave audiences walking out wondering how they do it. Pulling off such big musicals … in the round … with top-tier talent … where every seat is great … and for such a fair price. But leaving the theater’s current offering, […]
