Author: Colin Douglas
Reindeer Games and Jazz Hands
SnowGirls—The Musical–by Hell in a Handbag
Reindeer Games and Jazz Hands
Derek Van Barham’s high-stepping holiday parody of the erotic cult film, “Showgirls,” with spritely music by David Cerda, follows the career of a pretty, if somewhat naive and overly ambitious reindeer named Snowmi Malone (nicely played by HiaH newcomer, Harper Leander).
Read More
No Elf on a Shelf
The Santaland Diaries–at the Goodman Theatre
No Elf on the Shelf
Not everyone looks upon the holiday season with the same unbridled joy and delight as movies, musicals and television specials would have you believe is in everyone’s hearts. Even that crabby old Victorian curmudgeon, Ebenezer Scrooge, eventually found Christmas to be a season of joy and renewal. But ask someone who’s worked in the public sector during the holidays, especially in retail or hospitality, and suffered the indignities and downright rudeness of people at their worst, and you will understand how some folks look at Christmas in an entirely different light.
Read More
Murder at Haversham Manor
The Play That Goes Wrong–at the Oriental Palace Theatre
Murder at Haversham Manor
Two warnings accompany this review. The first is to bring along an oxygen tank when you attend this show, because you’re going to laugh until you hyperventilate. This is, without any doubt, the funniest comedy, with more laughs per minute, than any other play, since “Noises Off.”
Read More
Getting the Best of the Bogeyman
Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins–at Strawdog Theatre
Getting the Best of the Bogeymen
Presented like a holiday vaudeville show aimed at younger audiences, this lively, laughter-provoking entertainment is actually a play-within-a-play.
Read More
Learning to Be True to Yourself
Book of Merman–by Flying Elephant Productions
Learning to Be True to Yourself
With the phenomenal success of Trey Parker, Matt Stone and Robert Lopez’s cleverly written, irreverent and infectious musical comedy, “The Book of Mormon,” it was inevitable that someone would eventually write a parody of this mega popular Broadway show.
Read More
The Grandaddy of Holiday Stories
A Christmas Carol–at the Goodman Theatre
The Grandaddy of Holiday Stories
And, as it has been for the past 40 years, this show is everything. It’s what Christmas is all about, and we are so lucky to have it back in Chicago for another holiday season.
Read More
Twice as Nice
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat–by Citadel Theatre
Twice As Nice
If you think you already know this show from seeing the countless productions of it that have already played in the Chicago area, a terrific holiday offering from Citadel may just possibly surprise you.
Read More
Go, Go, Go, Go!
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat–at BrightSide Theatre
Go, Go, Go, Go!
If you think you already know this much-produced family musical, the current production at BrightSide Theatre may just surprise you.
Read More
Loving in Illyria
Twelfth Night–at Writers Theatre
Loving in Illyria
There’s a lot of loving going on in the exotic fictionalized, coastal Kingdom of Illyria.
Read More
Jane Austen’s Novel Comes to Life
Mansfield Park–by Northlight Theatre
Jane Austen’s Novel Comes to Life
In Jane Austen’s third novel, following her more popular Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice, a young girl from an impoverished family is sent to live with her wealthy aunt and uncle, Sir Thomas and Lady Bertram. Fanny Price, who’s sweet, shy, sensitive and virtuous, must adapt to being the “poor relation” amidst the snotty aristocrats who live and visit the mansion.
Read MoreRECOMMENDED SITES
