A Psychological Horror Story

Equus – Aston Rep Theatre Company

In 1973, British playwright Sir Peter Shaffer heard a report about a horrific crime that took place in the small town of Suffolk. A 17-year-old boy had, without any understandable provocation, blinded a stable full of horses with a metal spike. Shaffer who, prior to writing “Equus,” had authored such popular plays as “The Private Ear” and “The Public Eye,” “Black Comedy” and “The Royal Hunt for the Sun.” He would go on to write a number of other important dramas, including “Amadeus” and “Lettice and Lovage.” However, of all Shaffer’s plays, this psychological horror story remains his most popular and often-produced drama.

Stories That Kids Will Gobble Up

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show – Chicago Children’s Theatre

As the lights dim a gentle voice reminds adults to silence their cell phones; but our host also gives permission to the show’s target audience, ages 2-7, to join in telling the stories, if they’re so moved. It’s a “no shushing production,” much to the delight of both the children and their parents, because it’s so hard to keep quiet when you’re hearing stories that are so familiar you just have to add your own voice. And kids will certainly gobble up the stories they’re about to experience. 

A Musical Daisy Chain

Hello Again – Theo Ubique

If it’s true that sex sells; this show should bring in a fortune.  However, you would never know from the innocent title of this curious little 90-minute musical that it depicts just about every form of sexual expression known to man. And, in the intimate Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre, that means you get simulated sex practically in your lap. Younger and more sensitive audiences should be warned that Michael John LaChiusa’s 1993 musical is a mature, explicit treatise about how people have used sex as power throughout every decade of the 20th century.

Lost in Space

X – Sideshow Theatre

It’s haunted house season again. As Halloween approaches, all over Chicagoland the scary habitats are popping up everywhere. The holiday has turned into a month-long celebration of all things eerie, just as Autumn begins to nip the air. But in this latest Chicago production by British playwright Alistair McDowall, known for such unsettling dramas as “Brilliant Adventures” and “Pomona,” he’s created a new kind of haunted house. Tension builds as ghostly apparitions appear and ominous events occur. Strange sights and sounds torment and terrify the crew as the astronauts and the audience find themselves helplessly lost in space.

“Hope: Part II of A Mexican Trilogy” with Teatro Vista

Hope: Part II of A Mexican Trilogy, by Evelina Fernadez, tells the story of the Morales family living in the United States during the 1960s. This production has opened Teatro Vista’s 2019-20 season and was co-directed by Ricardo Gutiérrez and Cheryl Lynn Bruce. Don’t let the “Part II” of the title dissuade you from attending a performance. Even without a viewing of Part I, you will be entranced and invested in the plight of this Mexican-American family navigating life during the era of the Civil Rights movement and the sexual revolution. An all-star cast and beautiful costume and set design will keep you entranced through the many cliches present in the script and the distracting, unnecessary songs. 

“Every Brilliant Thing” with Windy City Playhouse

Windy City Playhouse is now presenting the Chicago premiere of Every Brilliant Thing, by Duncan Macmillan. Directed by Jessica Fisch, it opens their new performance space at the Playhouse’s South Loop location. Rebecca Spence as the narrator walks us through a list of objects, concepts, and occurrences that she started as a way to encourage her mother, who struggled with depression. As the list progresses, the items on the list expand to include things that help our narrator deal with the tragedies of life. This show truly has every brilliant thing about theatre in it: an outstanding performance, subtle and intricate script, flawless direction, and creative set, props, and sound design. 

“Family Drama: Two Norwegian Plays” with Akvavit Theatre

Akvavit Theatre has launched its 2019-20 season with a double bill production. Called FAMILY DRAMA: TWO NORWEGIAN PLAYS, the first half of the evening was The Returning directed by Lee Peters and and the second was Goliath directed by Kirstin Franklin. Both scripts have been translated into English, but unfortunately the different acts tackled the heightened syntax, dark humor, and hidden secrets differently. Merely from listening to the words, one could tell that English wasn’t the original language that it was written in; sometimes it was because of literal translations of sentences that should have been adapted to a phrase that is common to the socioeconomic class of the characters saying it, and other times it was unintended double-entendres. This re-interpretation of the oddly formal language was not handled well in the first act The Returning, but was used in an inventive and successful way in the second act, Goliath.

Artistic Challenge or Ego Stroking

Bernhardt/Hamlet – Goodman Theatre

Sarah Bernhardt was the most famous female actor in the entire world. She was a celebrity, a new concept that Madame Sarah created for herself. She was a self-made professional artist who had played every major female character in classic dramatic literature. However, by 1899 Miss Bernhardt, now in her 50’s, had tired of always playing ingenues. She forcefully announces to famed playwright Edmund Rostand, her married lover, that she “will not go back to playing flowers” any more. “I was never a flower. Playing an ingenue was always beneath me. It’s beneath all women.” And, thus, Sarah Bernhardt defends her decision to play Hamlet.

“Equivocation” with Idle Muse Theatre Company

Equivocation by Bill Cain has opened Idle Muse Theatre Company’s 2019-20 season. Directed by Evan Jackson, the story transports us to the aftermath of the failed assassination of King James I during the Gunpowder Plot of 1605. In this alternate history, Lord Robert Cecil has commissioned William “Shagspeare” to write a true account of the incident, but true to the interpretation of the king. Be forewarned, this script is a mental workout, but the cast and crew are all personal trainers of the highest degree, qualified to guide you and push you through this ever twisting and turning tale.