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Theater Review: IRAQ, BUT FUNNY (Lookingglass in Chicago)
A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO BAGHDAD: COMEDY BUMPS INTO HISTORY TO CREATE A MASTERPIECE We sometimes forget how much the theatrical stage can be a place of true discovery—until we stumble upon islands of magic like Iraq, But Funny, a marvel now running through July 20. Written by the immensely talented Lookingglass…
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Theater Review: SMILE: THE STORY OF CHARLIE CHAPLIN (Broadwater Main Stage)
NOT A DETAILED BIO, BUT MARCEL COLE IS THE REEL THING Smile: The Story of Charlie Chaplin is wildly successful for many reasons, only not for the reasons it would succeed with me. As a major film geek, I confess to being a certified PITAP (“Pain In The Ass Purist”). For me, the show was…
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Theater Review: Woody Allen’s MR. BIG (Hobgoblin Playhouse)
THE BIG SLEEP MEETS BIG QUESTIONS IN MR. BIG “Mr. Big” is the final entry in Woody Allen’s Getting Even (1971), his first published collection of 17 tales and essays, most of which originally appeared in The New Yorker. The main character in “Mr. Big” reflects a recurring motif for Allen: Sam Spade. Kaiser Lupowitz,…
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Off-Broadway Review: PRINCE FAGGOT (Playwrights Horizon)
A RADICAL FAIRY TALE FIT FOR A KING The only marketing I saw for Jordan Tannahill’s provocative new play Prince Faggot, which opened last night at Playwrights Horizons (a co-production with Soho Rep), was the single-line tease: “Let us tell you a fairy tale about a prince.” It didn’t prepare me for the electrifying, emotionally rich, and theatrically thrilling experience waiting…
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Theater Review: THE SECOND COMING OF JOAN OF ARC (The Actors Company)
NOT ENOUGH HEAT The Second Coming of Joan of Arc is the best-known work of American playwright, author, and lesbian feminist Carolyn Gage. Loosely based, scholars will tell you, “very loosely,” on the history of the teenage “Maid of Orléans,” who led the French armies to a series of victories over those of the English…
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Theater Review: BROADWAY’S BEST NIGHT EVER (Transcendence Theatre Company at Fazio Field in Sonoma)
BROADWAY ON A BASEBALL FIELD: TRANSCENDENCE THEATRE HITS IT OUTTA THE PARK Transcendence Theatre Company has opened a triple-hitter “stars under the stars” summer season with their song-and-dance revue spectacular Broadway’s Best Night Ever. This veteran production company has been inviting the best and the beautiful talents from Broadway and international touring companies to perform…
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Theater Review: YOU WILL GET SICK (Steppenwolf Theatre)
SICKENINGLY FUNNY Noah Diaz’s You Will Get Sick, which opened last night at Steppenwolf, is an odd bird of a play. It begins with an irresistible premise: a middle-aged woman, Callan, responds to a flyer promising “$40 $20″ to anyone who will receive a phone call from a stranger; the only requirement being that she…
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Theater Review: WILDS OF SEA (Actors Company Other Space; Hollywood Fringe Festival)
SEA WORTHY Wilds of Sea is an undersea adventure that will leave little ones wide-eyed and utterly captivated. But make no mistake—this all-ages puppet spectacle is as enchanting for the grown-ups as it is for the kids. Directed by Shannon Reagan, who also built the stunning life-sized puppets, Wilds of Sea follows a mischievous seal…
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Theater Review: AN ILIAD (Court Theatre, University of Chicago)
STORYTELLING THAT LAUNCHES A THOUSAND SHIPS There is a moment in Court Theatre’s fourth (!) iteration of An Iliad where The Poet holds a flashlight below his chin—I immediately flashed back to memories of ghost stories told in a tent while lights were supposed to be out. The conceits of Lisa Peterson and Denis O’Hare’s…
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Theater Review: BEAUTIFUL (Reagle Music Theatre of Greater Boston in Waltham, MA)
A BEAUTIFUL TAPESTRY OF SONGS AND STORY Reagle Music Theatre kicks off the summer with a vibrant, lovingly crafted staging of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, directed with finesse and flair by Deanna Dys. Her production fluidly moves from cramped domestic scenes in Brooklyn to the adolescent alchemy of late-50s and early-60s pop in the…
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Theater Review: RAG DOLL ON A BOMB SITE (Hudson Guild Theatre; Part of the Hollywood Fringe Festival)
THIS SHOW NEEDS A LOTTA LENYA I always look forward to the shows of Shelley Cooper at the Hollywood Fringe. They are musical biographies of women who made history not only with their presence but with their voices as well; La Divina: The Last Interview of Maria Callas and Jenny Lind Presents P.T. Barnum were…
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Theater Review: BOOK OF MORMON (National Tour)
A MUSICAL SALTIER THAN SALT LAKE ITSELF Let’s start the actual religious text called The Book of Mormon, published in 1830. Without going into all its details about other planets, Jesus visiting America, and more–suffice it to say that if you weren’t raised with it, it sounds a bit bizarre. So when you give already-unconventional…
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Theater Review: THE SOUND OF MUSIC (Berkeley Playhouse)
THE SOUND OF FAMILY Berkeley Playhouse has a reputation for doing family-friendly musicals right, and their latest production, The Sound of Music, hits that sweet spot again. With a cast that blends seasoned pros and impressively talented young performers, this production serves up all the charm and heart you remember—minus the commercial breaks. The true…
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Theater Review: CHARMIN THE MUSICAL (Stephanie Feury Studio Theatre; Hollywood Fringe Festival)
SQUEEZABLE THEATER Those dark days all seem so long ago. The face masks, drive-thru testing, fear of crowded indoor spaces, and some idiot assuring us, “It’s going to disappear. One day — it’s like a miracle — it will disappear.” Yes, I’m talking COVID-19, which in 2020 spread worldwide, causing global shortages in ventilators, vaccines,…
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Theater Review: MIKE BLAHA: INTERNATIONAL JOKE (Broadwater Studio, Hollywood Fringe Festival)
Unlike his previous shows at The Hollywood Fringe — Spank the Monkey and Shagadelic: The Origins of Slang Words for Doing It — Michael Blaha has shed his stage persona of Professor Richard Fondler and presents himself in the aptly named Mike Blaha: International Joke. In taking this step, Blaha has proven what was already obvious:…
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Theater Review: 42 BALLOONS (North American Premiere at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre)
A MUSICAL COMEDY TO REMIND YOU WHY YOU FELL IN LOVE WITH THE ARTFORM IN THE FIRST PLACE “In 1982 a man called Larry put himself in a lawn chair, got some 42 balloons, and went to sixteen thousand feet up in the air. This actually happened. You can look it up,” creator Jack Godfrey…
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Theater Review: BECKY’S NEW CAR (Theatre 40)
Have you ever wanted to run away from your own life? In Becky’s New Car, now playing at Theatre 40, playwright Steven Dietz takes that midlife fantasy and drives it straight into a quirky, comedic romp filled with detours, breakdowns, and a few surprisingly sharp turns. Becky Foster (a charming and wonderfully grounded performance by…
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Theater Review: HOLY, HOLY: THE BIRTH OF DISCO (The Broadwater; Part of The Hollywood Fringe Festival)
FEMINIST CLOWNS COLLIDE WITH CAPITOLISM Clownish perfection poses a unique problem for reviewers in that the blend of Da-Da slapstick and rib-tickling existentialism tends to defy easy description, in that they tell stories that go beyond language. I’ve always suspected the reason for this is that in our evolution, “clowning†preceded language. Holy, Holy: The…
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Theater Review: HITCH*COCKTAILS (“Summer of Suspense” at Annoyance Theatre & Bar in Chicago)
DIAL M FOR MURDEROUS LAUGHTER Chicago is the city of improv, but excellent improv can still be hard to come by. Yet the magnificent company Hitch*Cocktails always delivers, and they do it while under the influence. Hitch*Cocktails has been a staple of the mainstage at The Annoyance Theatre & Bar for over a decade, and…
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Theater Review: MRS. WARREN’S PROFESSION (Central Square)
REVENUE AND RESPECTABILITY George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) knew about cancel culture long before the term came into vogue. The first New York production (1905) of Mrs. Warren’s Profession was shut down by police due to charges of obscenity, and while we aren’t seeing police shut down theaters today, funding cuts may have a similar effect….
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