Monthly Archives: March 2022
A Romantic Atmosphere
She Loves Me – Blank Theatre Company
At Mr. Maraczek’s perfume shop in Budapest, longtime clerk Georg Nowak and new hiree Amalia Balash are constantly butting heads. Whenever they aren’t finding fault with each other, they’re trying to one up each other selling skin creams and potions to the housewives of Budapest. Little do they know that they are each other’s secret pen pals, connected through a ‘lonely hearts club.’ If the story of business rivals unknowingly falling in love via correspondence rings a bell, it’s because the Hungarian play that this musical is based on also formed the basis for the Tom Hanks/Meg Ryan comedy “You’ve Got Mail,” among a few other movies. It’s an old story, and one often told to be sure, but that’s part of its charm. Everyone in the audience and everyone on stage except the leading couple know exactly how this story ends from the moment the curtain goes up. The pleasure is watching the leads catch up with the rest of us.
Read More
A Season of Healing Begins
It’s Just Like Coming to Church – Black Ensemble Theatre
As we gradually pull ourselves out of the isolation imposed by two-plus years of a crippling pandemic, and try to slowly return to a healthy and safe world, companies, like the Black Ensemble Theater are finally opening their doors again. We still need to wear masks throughout the show and they are offering socially distanced seating. But Jackie Taylor, the tireless, multitalented creative genius who’s the Founder and CEO of this company, has once again brought back her entertaining and inspiring musical productions to Chicago audiences. Written, directed and choreographed by Ms Taylor, this new production, the beginning of the company’s Season of Excellence, faces today’s challenges so the healing can now begin.
Read More
Sing Ho For the Life of a Bear
Disney’s Winnie the Pooh – Mercury Theatre
How magical it would be for a child to actually experience some of their favorite storybook characters brought to life on stage? That’s precisely what happens in this new family production having its Chicago premiere at the Mercury Theater. Winnie the Pooh and his friends are here for a 13-week stay in the Windy City, arriving on a Blustery Day in March and continuing through June. The production is fresh off a sold-out run in New York City. In the course of an hour, children and their adults will be able to enjoy this enchanting, live production that depicts a year in the life of Pooh Bear, Christopher Robin and their friends. It’s the perfect way to welcome the much-anticipated arrival of Springtime to Chicago.
Read More
The Petulant Prodigy
Good Night, Oscar – Goodman Theatre
Oscar Levant was an incredible man. He had an encyclopedic mind. His knowledge about classical music, baseball, films and books was astounding. Levant’s mind was always going a hundred miles an hour. He was forever multitasking before the word was even coined. He was unbelievably witty and unexpected jokes and hilarious observations just tumbled out of his mouth. Oscar Levant was extremely surly and cynical. Although he suffered from excessive stage fright, Levant was a genius at the piano. During the 1940’s Oscar Levant was the highest paid and most temperamental classical musician in America. He was, quite simply, a petulant prodigy.
Read More
Apple of Isaac’s Eye
Isaac’s Eye – Redtwist Theatre
When you think of Isaac Newton, who do you think of? Maybe you think of him as the inventor of Calculus, or more likely, the person who discovered gravity after that apple fell from a tree and hit him on the head.. But Isaac is a much more complicated man than that… as you’ll see in Redtwist’s performance of Isaac’s Eye by Lucas Hnath and directed by Rinska Carrasco-Prestinary.
Read More
Mrs. Patmore Explains It All to You
How the Hell Did I Get Here? – Greenhouse Theater Center
Most of the civilized world primarily knows Lesley Nicol as Mrs. Patmore, the hardworking head of the downstairs kitchen, on PBS television’s “Downton Abbey.” However, the charming, multitalented, three-time SAG Award-winning English actress has an extensive resume that proves that she’s not just a one-trick pony. Ms Nicol has played an array of memorable roles, both on television, film and in the theatre. And the lady has also lived quite an exciting, colorful life, as well, as we’re privileged to learn in this wonderful autobiographical presentation.
Read More
An Opening for a Princess
Once Upon a Mattress – Theo Ubique
Those of us who were fortunate enough to have a literature-based childhood grew up cutting our teeth on folk and fairy tales. They were a big part of our lives and colored our imaginations, often providing a stimulus for our playtime and fantasy worlds. There were so many versions of each story and it was always fun to hear or read each rendition. When Walt Disney began creating his own animated adaptations of these fairy tales they usually became THE undisputed version, because everyone went to the movie theaters to see them.
Read More
A Collaborative Community Experience
Stand Up If You’re Here Tonight – American Blues Theater
A small theatre space, furnished with only a table, a chair and a pool of light for the starring actor, welcomes the tiny Theater Wit audience. What we’re in for collectively isn’t too clear as we take our unassigned seats, but we’re assured that it’s going to be something memorable. And it is. The lights dim and when they restore themselves we find a middle-age actor seated at the table. He’s a familiar member of the American Blues Theater Company, Jim Ortlieb. Jim’s been seen in several plays produced by this company, as well as at many other Chicago theaters. His acting talents have actually been enjoyed all over the country and he’s even appeared on Broadway a few times. Mr. Ortlieb has starred in various previous productions of this show around America, and so his familiarity with the character he’s portraying is comforting.
Read More
Tension in the Rust Belt
Sweat – Paramount Theater
As the restrictions inflicted by the Covid pandemic lessen, there’s excitement in the air as a new theatre venue opens its doors. We enter the sleek, newly renovated Copley Theatre, Paramount’s intimate new venue for their season of more modest productions, and we’re immediately taken by the polished, professional look of this space. This glitzy, beautifully-furbished space, located just across the street from from the glorious Paramount Theater, is a state-of-the-art studio space that’s a wonderful addition to the growing Downtown Aurora Arts District.
Read More
The Language of Friendship
King James – Steppenwolf Theatre
Henry David Thoreau once said, “The language of friendship is not words, but meanings.” He could’ve been giving his reaction to the beautiful new play by Obie Award winner, Rajiv Joseph, the intuitive and gifted playwright and Pulitzer Prize finalist of “Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo.” This World Premiere is about two young men who start out as total strangers and end up as the best of friends. And although plenty of words are spoken, it’s in the unspoken, the meaning of what they say and the silences that sometimes occur that emerge with the loudest voice.
Read MoreRECOMMENDED SITES
