Chicago Theatre Review
The Strange Things We Inherit
White Rooster
Drawing from a Chinese legend told by family during the early 1900’s, multitalented Lookingglass Ensemble member, Matthew Yee, has written, composed the music and directed this strange and fascinating tale. It’s a story filled with fantasy and folklore. Mr. Yee’s play is an original, incredibly inventive saga that weaves together ghosts, puppets, movement and music. And at its core, Mathew Yee’s two-act drama, liberally laced with plenty of dark humor, is a tale of love, loss and the strange things we inherit.
Read MoreHungry For More
Two Sisters and a Piano
The year is 1991. The setting is Havana, Cuba under strict Communist rule. Maria Celia, a famous revolutionary writer and outspoken author, along with her younger pianist sister, Sofia, are currently living under house arrest. The stifling situation is almost a welcome respite for the two sisters, after having shared a tiny prison cell for the past two years. Both Maria Celia and Sofia were arrested and imprisoned for their shared political views, but now they’re confined to the family home. The women aren’t allowed outside their house, except by a circular staircase that leads to the roof. The heat is omnipresent, as is their loneliness and boredom. The only pleasure for these two artistic young women comes from the battered, out-of-tune piano that still remains. And the only other human contact for the two women is a visit each day by a charismatic Cuban military officer, charged with monitoring the sisters. Lieutenant Portuondo is ordered to check in on the women and interrogate them. But eventually the Lieutenant’s visitations become more social and something much more.
Read MoreA Purr-fect Production
Cats
Based upon T.S. Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats, a book written to entertain the poet’s grandchildren, one of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s best known musicals is primarily a song and dance concert. Without any deeper meaning, the show only seeks to entertain and introduce the audience to a variety of feline characters. Through all their dances and songs, the cats’ only goal is to be chosen by their leader, Old Deuteronomy, to journey to the Heavyside Layer, a kind of reincarnation.
Read MoreBack In the Room Where It Happens
Hamilton
Can anyone recall a Broadway musical that’s had as significant a cultural impact as HAMILTON? Who would’ve thought that a musical telling the story of one of America’s most important, but little understood, founding fathers would become an international phenomenon? And other than Broadway musical aficionados, was anyone else familiar with the name Lin Manuel Miranda before this musical took Broadway by storm? But now, ten years later, HAMILTON has not only been seen and adored by millions of avid theatergoers, it’s achieved what many thought was impossible: the show has brought scores of young people into theaters who had never set foot there before. And now, for only a few weeks in early Spring, HAMILTON is back in “The Room Where It Happens.”
Read MoreFantasy Films and Falling in Love
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
In 2007, Dominican American author, Junot Diaz wrote an incredible, multi-award-winning novel that was especially unique. He lovingly gave his fellow Dominicanos a story with which they could truly relate. Through the character of Oscar de Leon, a young, overweight teenager living in New Jersey, the Dominican community could finally see themselves as a part of the American story, vividly alive on each and every page. Now, in enjoying its World Premiere in English, this new stage adaptation by Marco Antonio Rodriguez offers Chicago audiences an opportunity to experience Diaz’s book as it roars to life.
Read MoreA Post Pandemic Fantasy
Morning, Noon and Night
Back in March of 2020, just six years ago, the World Health Organization officially declared the dangerous and highly infectious COVID-19 outbreak to be a worldwide disease. During the pandemic, people were sequestered in their homes and, whenever going out anywhere, were required to wear a mask.Travel came to a standstill. Schools closed and at home learning became the new normal. Class discussions and town hall meetings were held via computer. As a result, the internet became our best friend, as social interaction and work meetings took place during Zoom calls. Online shopping and home delivery of takeout meals became the new way of life. In short, we were physically cut off from each another.
Read More“WTF?” “Exactly! Genius.”
Kubrickian
Kubrickian is the current don’t-miss production at The Factory Theater. This ground-breaking dark comedy, written by local playwright Zach Peercy and brought to life by director AJ Schwartz, is a mind-bending ode to the legendary Stanley Kubrick and a heart-opening journey towards better, conscious, and connected versions of masculinity in a hostile, isolating world. This play is a particular delight for those who love to dive into what a piece of art is about, working the puzzle that makes the meaning.
Read MoreThe Lady of Lourdes
Bernadette, the Musical
In February of 1858, near a forest grotto, a young girl named Bernadette Soubirous was out collecting firewood with her sister and a friend. From a niche in a riverbank grotto, the 14-year-old saw, as she is quoted saying, “a dazzling light and a white figure.” It would be the first of 18 visions Bernadette would experience of a young woman she called “Aquero.” Her companions said they saw absolutely nothing.
Read MoreDealing With Grief
Pivot
Grief is a universal emotion. Sadly, everyone will experience some form of grief in their lives and each individual will deal with their deep sorrow in different ways. In playwright Alex Lubischer’s dark comedy, cleverly titled PIVOT, he uses the meaning of that word in a couple of different ways.
Read MoreThe Quest of Bilbo Baggins
The Hobbit
Set in mythical Middle Earth during the ancient time, between the age of Faeries and the Dominion of Men, simple and home-loving Bilbo Baggins hears an unexpected knocking at his Hobbit hole door. Just as he’s settling down for tea, Gandalf, the Wizard, comes calling to convince Mr. Baggins that he needs some adventure in his life. Suddenly, thirteen dwarves descend upon Bilbo’s cozy underground home. Led by Thorin, their proud and pompous leader, the dwarves are setting off on a quest to both take back their kingdom under Lonely Mountain and to retrieve the treasures stolen by Smaug, a wicked and ferocious dragon.
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