Author: Colin Douglas
Love, Loss and a Sweet Little Bulldog
Gorgeous
Jenny is a nurse who has provided home care to an older man named Bill. We’re led to believe that through the mutual concern, tenderness and trust that flowed between Bill and Jenny, a fondness, perhaps even love, evolved. But Bill has recently passed away and Jenny has understood that his house will now be hers. While sorting through a lifetime of Bill’s accumulated treasures that have been stored away in the garage, Jenny is startled by the sudden, unexpected arrival of a loud, outgoing older woman named Bernie. And that’s when the fun begins.
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You Gotta Have Friends
Art
Serge is a very successful Parisian dermatologist who enjoys many of the finer things that life has to offer. To some people, he might be considered an intellectual snob, but to his two besties, Marc and Yvan, he’s simply their friend. Although each of the three men have a great deal in common, theirs is often a veritable love/hate relationship. The plot revolves around Serge having just purchased a large and controversial, all-white painting for an obscene price. Serge is pleased with and proud of his investment. Marc, however, is appalled by his friend’s frivolous acquisition, while Yvan tries to appease both his friends by remaining neutral. Their differences of opinion, while analyzing the nature of art, lead to heated discussions and passionate arguments. Eventually the confrontation turns outright physical. While not an olive branch, a bowl of olives is offered as a gesture of peace, and a kind of reconciliation takes place. Because, as Bette Midler sang, “You Gotta Have Friends.”
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The Course of True Love
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Did you know that, in addition to being a prolific poet, actor and theatrical director/producer, the Elizabethan playwright William Shakespeare wrote 37 plays? And among his dramas, histories and comedies, A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM is quite possibly still the hands-down favorite today. It probably earned its high berth on the Bard’s hit parade because of all the high-spirited hijinks that fill the stage. Certainly that’s true in BrightSide Theatre’s current campy, comic production, adapted and Directed by talented guest artist, Jason Harrington. His production is filled with slapstick and silliness, buffoonery and burlesque, physical humor and pure ridiculousness. Only a production of the Bard’s A COMEDY OF ERRORS would come off with such absurd nonsense and horseplay.
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Rages Through the Ages
Bust
Theatrical works tend to be put into convenient categories so they can be labeled and discussed. When talking about plays, there are dramas, melodramas, comedies, farces, adaptations of classics, mysteries, horror stories, psychological thrillers, fantasies and science fiction. But last night at the Goodman Theatre a new, World Premiere opened on the Albert stage. Written by Pulitzer Prize finalist playwright Zora Howard, this extraordinary play is unique in so many ways. But, most of all, BUST defies being pigeonholed with any kind of label.
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A City in Transition
Berlin
Following the end of World War I, Berlin, Germany had become the world’s center of intellectualism, creativity and sensual liberalism. With a large upper class population and a growing middle class, the city’s poorer citizens continually struggled with poverty and unemployment. Playwright Mickle Maher’s ambitious play is an adaptation of Berlin, a three-volume set of graphic novels by Jason Lutes. Both the books and the play span the years between 1928 and 1933. As we bear witness to all the upheavals and changes, a theatergoer will find himself hoping for the best While watching the fall of the Weimar Republic and the rise of Fascism and the Nazi Party. But there’s no doubt that the main character of this sprawling drama remains the actual city of Berlin, as seen throughout this two-and-a-half hour production. Its scope and spectacle astounds the audience depicting a city in constant transition.
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Sex, Drugs and Rocking Chairs
A Jukebox For the Algonquin
Many individuals have wisely commented upon aging. Mark Twain quipped, “Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don’t mind it doesn’t matter.” George Bernard Shaw stated that “We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.” Satchel Paige asked, “How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you are?” But author C.S. Lewis reminded us that “You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” All of these quotations, particularly the last one, could be the theme of Paul Stroili’s delightful comic drama, A JUKEBOX FOR THE ALGONQUIN, now playing at Citadel Theatre.
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History Repeats Itself
A Tale of Two Cities
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times; it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness…” Those opening lines of Charles Dickens’ epic novel are perhaps the most recognizable from all his books—probably from any work of fiction. The author’s 1859 serialized novel was very popular with Victorian readers, not just because it was filled with dozens of fascinating characters and thrilling, entangled plot lines. The story, which was set almost 100 years earlier, both in London and Paris, takes place before, during and after the French Revolution. However, 19th century readers could clearly see parallels with the era in which they were living. They were discovering a truism that we’ve all heard many times: History often repeats itself.
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Robert Langdon and the Holy Grail
The Da Vinci Code
Just in time for Easter, Drury Lane Theatre presents the Chicago premiere of Dan Brown’s popular 2003 mystery thriller, of the same name. The novel, which became a very popular film three years later, has been adapted for the stage by playwrights Rachel Wagstaff and Duncan Abel. This tense, two-act drama follows American Symbolist, Robert Langdon, and French police Cryptologist, Sophie Neveu, after Langdon is accused of murdering Jacques Saunière, Sophie’s beloved grandfather and the curator of the Louvre Museum in Paris. As a raft of mysterious clues pile up and an array of pulse-pounding events continue to unfold, what begins as a murder mystery turns into an exciting race against time between the good guys and the bad guys. Before we know it, the audience is cheering this anxious adventure story that could be subtitled, Robert Langdon and his Search for the Holy Grail.
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The Night Was Alive
Titanic, the Musical
Some musicals are pure escape stories; some shed light on the life of a famous or popular individual or musical group; a great many shows these days are simply jukebox musicals, helping us to relive the sounds of a era. And then there are musical dramas, like LES MISERABLES, that are so beautiful and breathtaking that they stimulate an emotional experience that both breaks our heart and stirs our soul. TITANIC, THE MUSICAL is such a show, especially in Marriott’s unbelievably moving, majestic and yet intensely intimate production. It draws the audience onto “The Largest Moving Object” and takes the passengers, crew and theatergoers on a memorable journey during which “The Night Was Alive.”
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A Comic Catharsis
Scary Town
Richard Scarry is known the world over as one of the best-beloved author/illustrators ever! The late creator of kiddy lit is recognized for his legacy of more than 300 large, colorful and minutely detailed picture books about daily life, expressly written for young children. Most of his books are set in a fictional place called Busytown, a sweet little metropolis populated by an assortment of anthropomorphic animals, all living together in harmony. He filled his stories with humanity, a strong sense of community, kindness and cooperation.
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