The Horrifying Legend of Dracula

Strange Cargo: The Doom of the Demeter

In 1897, Irish author Bram Stoker wrote a book that would become one of the bestselling classics of Gothic Horror. The legend of Dracula, or The Un-Dead, was creatively told through newspaper articles, invoices, telegrams, letters and diary entries by the various characters in the book. The novel begins when Jonathan Harker, a young English solicitor, journeys to remote Transylvania. He plans to meet one Count Dracula, in order to finalize the nobleman’s purchase of decaying property near London. 

Go With the Flow

Finding Nemo

Based upon the highly popular 2003 Disney/Pixar film, this spectacular, heartwarming musical comedy is a lovely story about a little clownfish named Nemo and her father. She is the only surviving baby guppy of Marlin, Nemo’s widowed, over-protective, “One Dedicated Father.” His sweetly devoted wife, Coral, along with all except one of her eggs, is devoured by a savage barracuda. In Coral’s memory, Marlin promises that he’ll never ever let anything happen to his little Nemo.

Trying to Start Over Again

Ugly Lies the Bone

Jess is an American Hero. She served three tours in Afghanistan as a brave, dependable soldier in combat. But now she has returned to her small hometown in Florida, after enduring an explosion that resulted in severe burns all over her body, as well as suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Learning to cope with the many new changes in her life is far more difficult than can be possibly be imagined. Not only does Jess have to endure unbearable pain, as well as all the differences that have occurred in body and personality, but there are transformations that have taken place at home. This includes the people who used to be a part of her world.

Places Aren’t Haunted, People Are

Paranormal Activity

A smart, attractive young married couple recently moved from Chicago to London. James had been so successful at his job that the company relocated him to their Great Britain office, and even provided the couple with a stylish two-floor flat. And, thanks to the internet, his wife Lou is able to continue with her own blossoming career via online videoconferencing on Skype. Even Jim’s religious, overly-possessive mother keeps in touch with her son by phone and on Zoom, as well. As with almost everyone, the young couple are also hoping to escape some dark moments from their past and begin a new chapter together. Life seems to be going so well that Jim and Lou are even talking about converting one of the upstairs rooms into a nursery. So what could go wrong?

Family, Immigration and American Identity

Hundreds and Hundreds of Stars

TimeLine Theatre’s 29th Season kicks off with a captivating new play that feels especially important and of the moment. Multitalented Actress Sandra Delgado’s World Premiere of HUNDREDS AND HUNDREDS OF STARS is about the collision of motherhood, marijuana and the multiverse. And although the play is set in Chicago in 2015, the Playwright has penned a dramatic story that’s as timely as today’s headlines. It’s a moving, often humorous tale about family, immigration and American identity. But, true to TimeLine’s mission, this story demonstrates how history connects us with the social and political issues of today. HUNDREDS AND HUNDREDS OF STARS mirrors the many incidents from today’s news about immigrant families being heartlessly torn apart by the government.

House of the Exquisite Corpse V: Blood and Puppets

Now in its fifth year, Rough House Theater Company’s House of the Exquisite Corpse has become my favorite Chicago Halloween tradition. Over the course of an hour, audience members in small groups make their way through a series of short plays. Some are scary. Some are unsettling. All are performed by puppets.

Whatever It Takes

Revolution(s)

An international coalition, led by the United States, went to war with Afghanistan in 2001. Operation Enduring Freedom was our nation’s response to the horrific tragedies inflicted upon America on 9/11. The military action raged on for many years, in an attempt to destroy the Al-Qaeda terrorist organization and the Taliban military regime. Though the armed conflict officially ended in 2021, there are still clashes and unrest that persist. Many young Americans bravely served their country during the bloody conflict. But if and when they returned home, these young soldiers often found that their home turf was now in the midst of its own revolution. 

‘Grimm’ Returns to Theatre Above the Law

Theatre Above the Law has brought back its fall tradition, Grimm, a remixing of Brother’s Grimm fairy tales. The mix of stories and characters veers from silly to scary, and as always, is a welcome addition to the fall theater scene in Rogers Park.

It’s Snatching Season

OAK

Along with the other junk discarded in the gutter, an old television unexpectedly comes to life, announcing that it’s seven o’clock—do you know where your children are? Then a perky newscaster covers in graphic detail the recent disappearance of sweet little blonde white child. Her poor, weeping mother is shown pleading with the public for any information that might lead to her baby’s return. And—oh yeah—fourteen black children have also disappeared from the tiny town of Oak. But it’s Snatching Season, so…