Chicago Theatre Review
Farm Aid 2023
Farm Aid 2023 is officially history. And what a history making night it was. The 38th Farm Aid proved to be one of the greatest since it began.
Farm Aid’s roots go back to 1985 shortly after the success of Live Aid. Bob Dylan, who performed at the event, mentioned doing a music event to help the farmers. Willie Nelson became involved and pitched the idea to John Mellancamp and Neil Young, and so was born Farm Aid, with the first concert held in Champaign, Illinois. Thirty-eight years later, adding Margo Price and Dave Matthews to their board, the issue is still as important as ever, if not more so with Earth’s changing climate and greedy corporations looking to make a profit from factory farming.
Read MoreA Pragmatic Analysis
The Pragmatists
I make a practice of not reading about new plays — or plays unfamiliar to me — before seeing them, because I want to come to a performance fresh, without any preconceptions. In some cases, this means not even reading the brief plot synopsis in the program; it’s the playwright’s job to tell us the story. And I want to be surprised!
Read MoreHiding in the Shadows of Doubt
Sanctuary City
In the years just prior to, and following, the shocking and detestable events of 9/11, two young people attempt to navigate their precarious lives in a country that’s offered them asylum. Newark, New Jersey is a Sanctuary City, a metropolis that has promised to take in families who have fled oppression in their homelands. But survival is tricky, even perilous, for two teenagers who are battling prejudice, poverty and the fear of being sent back to a country they’ve never really known. All they can do is cling to each another, finding security and community in their mutual company. As lifelong friends coming of age and living on the edge, the two teens attempt to navigate their futures together.
Read MoreThe Trickery of Dr. Mesmer
Mesmerized: A Ben Franklin Science & History Mystery
Adapted by Suzanne Miller for the stage from Mara Rockliff’s children’s book, Mesmerized: How Ben Franklin Solved a Mystery That Baffled All of France. The storybook features colorful illustrations by Lacopo Bruno and, through this intriguing and imaginative story, makes the scientific method seem almost exciting. Ms. Miller’s exciting and dynamic play depicts a little known episode from World History that involved several big names from the past.
Read MoreSimply the Best
A Taste of Soul
This Autumn, Black Ensemble Theater is serving up a sumptuous Spread of Soul for the discerning audience’s musical dining pleasure. The production, written and directed by talented Daryl D. Brooks, cleverly presents a banquet of bang-on hit songs as an African-African themed cooking show. It copies the format of every much-loved how-to-do-it program on the Food Network and the Cooking Channel. It’s definitely a recipe for success.
Read MoreThe Man in the Chair
The Drowsy Chaperone
The house lights dim leaving the audience waiting in the dark for something to happen. Suddenly a man’s voice breaks the silence. The unnamed man confides that his personal prayer at every musical he attends, while sitting in a theatre before the lights go up, is that the show be short and that the actors stay out of the aisles. This audience laughs knowingly because they’ve undoubtedly been at a play where the fourth wall is broken and theatergoers become asked to clap, sing along or even come up on the stage. The feeling is, “Hey, I paid YOU to entertain ME!”
Read MoreLet the Good Times Roll!
Blues For an Alabama Sky
Welcome to the Harlem Renaissance. The bootleg champagne is flowing and the good times are rolling. It’s 1930 and Pearl Cleage’s exuberant and deeply moving play is sometimes funny and peppered with blues and jazzy music. But the play also provides a clear look at the lives of five very different individuals while tackling some serious social issues. Ms. Cleage’s drama celebrates the art, music, dreams and deep friendships forged within the urban African-American community during the Depression. Somewhere offstage are the shadows of luminaries like Langston Hughes, Margaret Sanger, Josephine Baker. But onstage we’re treated to four amiable and attractive New Yorkers whose lives are about to change, thanks to the blues brought on by a newcomer from Alabama.
Read MoreDeep Cut
The Rise and Fall of Little Voice
If you’ve never seen Jim Cartwright’s play, The Rise and Fall of Little Voice, you might assume that it’s yet another of those Broadway or Hollywood musical melodramas about a real-life or fictional singing sensation who rises to worldwide fame and then is destroyed by drugs, drink, groupies, self-doubt, the depredations of the music industry, or Fame itself. We’ve all seen this story before.
Read MoreA Soul in Torment
A View From the Bridge
Shattered Globe Theatre is known, and relied upon for, their consistently excellent productions. Their current presentation of “A View From the Bridge,” one of Arthur Miller’s finest, most gut-wrenching dramas, is as rewarding an evening in the theater as you’re ever going to find.
Read MoreBirthdays Are Like Boomerangs
Revolution
Someone once wrote that best friends are like soulmates. They stick by your side, no matter what. And that’s what playwright Bret Neveu celebrates in his world premiere that’s named for the hair salon where two of the three characters are employed. In fact Puff, the newly-appointed manager of Revolution Hair Cuts, has decided to commemorate her 26th birthday in an unusual location: the alley behind the mall where she works. She agrees to share the day with her best friend and co-worker, Jame. The Rain Forest Cafe looms just 300 feet away and serves up some provocative drinks, perfect for a special occasion. But their hard-earned paychecks can go a lot further and provide a greater blowout on the loading dock of Revolution.
Read MoreRECOMMENDED SITES
