Posted on January 21, 2010 by Scotty Zacher
Peter Robel shows grace & poise in this exquisite one-man show Boho Theatre presents: I Am My Own Wife By Doug Wright Co-Directed by Peter Marston Sullivan and Stephen M Genovese Thru February 13th (ticket info) Review by Aggie Hewitt Watching a one-man show is as terrifying as watching Philippe Petit walk on a [...]
Filed under: 2010 Reviews, Aggie Hewitt, Bohemian Theatre, Drama | Tagged: Bohemian Theatre, Doug Wright, Peter Robel, Boho Theatre, Moisés Kaufman, Stephen M. Genovese, Aggie Hewitt, I Am My Own Wife, Peter Marston Sullivan, Philippe Petit, Tobias Funke, Jefferson Mays, Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, Uta Hagen, John Zuiker | 1 Comment »
Posted on December 19, 2009 by Scotty Zacher
These are characters that could have just as easily stepped out of a 19th century novel as this 1970s play. The audience can neither escape from their seedy, depressed reality nor from the worlds they weave with the language they have at their disposal. Language–and the masculine values they have about loyalty, toughness, and cunning–proves to be both their doing and undoing. With the exception of a few moments, this American Buffalo delivers a taut, energetic, densely layered, and finely realized work
Filed under: David Mamet, Drama, Paige Listerud, Steppenwolf, Tracy Letts | Tagged: Tracy Letts, Steppenwolf Theatre, Amy Morton, David Mamet, Francis Guinan, Patrick Andrews, Jamie Abelson, Kevin Depinet, Rick Sordelet, Rob Milburn, Michael Bodeen, American Buffalo, Meisner technique, truthiness, Patrick Andrews actor, Nan Cibula-Jenkins, Pat Collins, Cecilie O'Reilly, Malcolm Ewen, Christine D. Freeburg | 3 Comments »
Posted on December 10, 2009 by Scotty Zacher
Actor Patrick Andrews gets pumped up for “stage violence” day Opening this Saturday, December 12th, Steppenwolf Theatre presents American Buffalo, written by David Mamet, directed by ensemble member Amy Morton, featuring ensemble members Francis Guinan and Tracy Letts with Patrick Andrews. Earlier weirdness: Also, the director and cast discuss their [...]
Filed under: David Mamet, Drama, Marketing, Social Media, Steppenwolf, Video, YouTube | Tagged: Tracy Letts, Steppenwolf Theatre, Amy Morton, David Mamet, Francis Guinan, Patrick Andrews, American Buffalo | Leave a Comment »
Posted on December 4, 2009 by Scotty Zacher
Misery and Mystery Undergird Two Plays by Beau O’Reilly Curious Theatre presents: Two Plays by Beau O’Reilly by Beau O’Reilly thru January 3rd (ticket info) review by Paige Listerud Program notes handed out for Curious Theatre’s latest production at the Center Portion Gallery tell you nothing typical regarding the plays performed. They give a [...]
Filed under: 2009 Reviews, Curious Theatre, Drama, Paige Listerud | Tagged: Beau O'Reilly, Center Portion, Center Portion Gallery, Curious Theatre, Dead to the World, Guy Massey, Jenny magnus, Julian Berke, Kate Teichman, Kelly Ann Corcoran, Logan Square, Sophie Sennard, Two Plays by Beau O'Reilly | 3 Comments »
Posted on November 27, 2009 by Scotty Zacher
A family drama in unfolding at Humboldt Park’s Batey Urbano (map), the storefront theater currently home to the midwest premiere of Reinaldo Povod’s Cuba and His Teddy Bear. At the heart of the dysfunction is Cuba (Madrid St. Angelo), a small time drug dealer, and Teddy (Christian Kane Blackburn), Cuba’s artistic son with a major monkey on his back. When Cuba’s friend Jackie (Hank Hilbert) unloads two pounds of marijuana on the pair, drug dealing becomes family bonding, but it’s only a matter of time before things go to hell.
Filed under: 2009 Reviews, Drama, Oliver Sava, People's Theatre, UrbanTheater, YouTube | Tagged: Madrid St. Angelo, Oliver Sava, UrbanTheater, Urban Theater Company, People's Theater of Chicago, Reinaldo Povod, Marilyn Camancho, Batey urbano, Christian Kane Blackburn, Christian Blackburn, Hank Hilbert, pachuco, Marilyn Camacho, K. Estela Rivera, Richard Ebeling, Jorge Felix, Carol Karaguez, Alex St. John, Anthony Acairdi, Kamal Hans, Erynn Mackenzie, Julian Martinez, Alex Polcyn, Edgar Sanchez, Ivan Vega | Leave a Comment »
Posted on November 7, 2009 by Scotty Zacher
Promising, if Incomplete, “1512 Studebaker” brings the Depression Era Alive Brain Surgeon Theater presents: 1512 West Studebaker Place conceived by Liz Ladach-Bark and Joseph Riley directed by Liz Ladach-Bark thru November 22nd (ticket info) reviewed by Paige Listerud One thing you have to say about Brain Surgeon Theater’s latest production: they do crowded tenement [...]
Filed under: 2009 Reviews, Brain Surgeon Theater, Drama, Paige Listerud | Tagged: . Lauren I. Sivak, Amy Gorelow, Brain Surgeon Theater, Brain Surgeons, Christopher Cole, Ethan Baum, Gwen Tulin, Henry H. Perritt, Joseph Riley, Jr., Laura Deger, Layla Kornota, Liz Ladach-Bark, Megan Bishop, Rob Graboswski | Leave a Comment »
Posted on November 7, 2009 by Scotty Zacher
This production is worth seeing for Marc Smith’s performance alone. His portrayal of this family’s baffled and embattled patriarch never hits a wrong note.
Filed under: Drama, Paige Listerud, Thunder and Lightning | Tagged: Home Front, James Duff, Jimmy Binns, Joan Merlo, Kimberly Logan, Kurt Bradenstein, Marc Kelly smith, Marc Smith, Mike Steele, Paige Listerud, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, PTSD, Thunder & Lightning, Thunder and Lightning | Leave a Comment »
Posted on November 4, 2009 by Scotty Zacher
The Gift Theatre Company ensemble members Lynda Newton and Danny Ahlfeld open Summer People with a dramatic storm scene. We don’t yet know who this anguished couple is, but we understand that a daughter is missing, possibly dead; her father unreachable; and the relationship between the two on stage troubled.
Filed under: 2009 Reviews, Drama, Gift Theatre, Leah A. Zeldes | Tagged: Brendan Donaldson, Danny Ahlfeld, Grace Goble, Jenny Connell, Jim Belushi, Justin James Farley, Leah Zeldes, Lynda newton, Minita Gandhi, Paul DAddario, Ray Gray, Rob Belushi, Summer People, The Gift Theatre | Leave a Comment »
Posted on November 4, 2009 by Scotty Zacher
The Artistic Home Shows Weaknesses, Not Strengths, of Days To Come The Artistic Home presents: Days To Come by Lillian Hellman directed by Kathy Scambiatterra thru November 29th (buy tickets) Reviewed by Paige Listerud If you believe, as the Greeks did, that man is at the mercy of the gods, then you write tragedy. [...]
Filed under: 2009 Reviews, Artistic Home, Drama, Paige Listerud | Tagged: Adam Smith, Dashiell Hammet, Days to Come, Elizabeth Argus, Ellen Siedel, Eustace Allen, Evelyn Kelly, Francesca Bourgault, Gerard Jamroz, Jeremy Glickstein, Joe Mack, Joe McCauley, John Mossman, Joseph Riley, Justine Serino, Kathy Scambiatterra, Leavey Ballou, Lillian Hellman, melodrama, Paige Listerud, Patrick Raynor, The Artistic Home, Tim Patrick Miller | Leave a Comment »
Posted on October 28, 2009 by Scotty Zacher
Find Time To See It! Rivendell Theatre Ensemble presents: These Shining Lives by Melanie Marnich directed by Rachel Walshe at the Raven Theatre thru November 21st (buy tickets) reviewed by Katy Walsh Catherine is elated to be starting a new job painting 100+ watches a day at 8 cents a watch. Time is her friend? [...]
Filed under: 2009 Reviews, Drama, Jeff Awards, Katy Walsh, Raven Theatre, Rivendell Theatre | Tagged: Kathy Logelin, Raven Theatre, Guy Massey, Melanie Marnich, Champion's Saloon Chicago, Rivendell Theatre Ensemble, Jeff Award, Champion's Bar, Rachel Walshe, These Shining Lives, Radium Dial Company, Ashley neal, Caitlin McGlone, Rani Waterman | 5 Comments »
Posted on October 24, 2009 by Scotty Zacher
More Entertainment Than Intellectual Challenge The Right Brain Project presents: The Modern Prometheus adapted by Brad Lawrence directed by David Marcotte and Nathan Robbel thru November 21st (buy tickets) reviewed by Paige Listerud The Right Brain Project enjoyed success with Brad Lawrence’s play Chalk in 2007, a gumshoe noir retelling of the Oedipus myth. [...]
Filed under: 2009 Reviews, Drama, Paige Listerud, Right Brain Project, World Premier | Tagged: Amy Sokol, Anthony Ingram, Brad Lawrence, Christopher M. Walsh, Colby Sellers, David Marcotte, Dennis Newport, Erin Elizabeth Orr, Frankenstein, Katherine Jordan, mark Hurni, Mary Shelley, Nathan Robbel, Ned Record, Paige Listerud, Sarah Elizabeth Miller, The Modern Prometheus, The Right Brain Project, Tom McGrath | Leave a Comment »
Posted on July 19, 2009 by Scotty Zacher
An Ode to the Wrong at Heart Project 891 Theatre presents: Never the Sinner: The Leopold and Loeb Story by John Logan directed by Michael Rashid Reviewed by Paige Listerud Project 891 Theatre’s first stage venture, Never the Sinner: the Leopold and Loeb Story, resonates with unresolved issues from the last century. These issues continue [...]
Filed under: 2009 Reviews, Chemically Imbalanced, Drama, Paige Listerud, Project 891 | Tagged: Bobby Frank, Chemically Imbalanced Theater, Clarence Darrow, Gary Murphy, John Logan, Leopold and Loeb, Matt Hays, Michael Rashid, Nietzche Superman, Paige Listerud, Project 891 Theatre, Robert Kaercher, Ron Popp, Swoon!, Val Bromann | 7 Comments »
Posted on July 18, 2009 by Scotty Zacher
Hubris’ Revival a Limited, but Still Devastating, Success Hubris Productions presents Bent by Martin Sherman directed by Jacob Christopher Green Review by Paige Listerud To appreciate Martin Sherman’s Bent, one has to acknowledge the times in which it was created. When Sherman finished it in 1970, he was addressing neglected history about the Holocaust–the persecution [...]
Filed under: 2009 Reviews, Drama, Greenhouse Theater Center, Hubris Productions, Paige Listerud | Tagged: Andrew Skenk, Bent the Play, Center on Halsted, Christopher Kauffman, CJ Leavens, Greenhouse Theater Center, Gregory L. Payne, Hubris Productions, Institute for Sexual Science, Jacob Christopher Green, Jason Dabrowski, Jason Ober, John Kamys, John Whittington, Lexi Staples, Magnus Hirschfeld, Martin Sherman, Michael Shepherd, Nathan Petts, Paige Listerud, Patricia Savieo, pink triangle, Richard Eberling, Stonewall Riots, Third Reich, Timothy McGuire, Tina Frey, Travis Walker | 2 Comments »
Posted on July 18, 2009 by Scotty Zacher
Three sisters in search of a narrative Idle Muse Theatre presents: Shotgun Shakespeare: What the Weird Sisters Saw by Evan Jackson and Tristan Brandon directed by Evan Jackson Reviewed by Paige Listerud The witches in Idle Muse Theatre’s Shotgun Shakespeare: What the Weird Sisters Saw are certainly women on the verge. But on the verge [...]
Filed under: Drama, Idle Muse Theatre, Paige Listerud, William Shakespeare | Tagged: Bradley Woodward, Elizabeth MacDougald, Evan Jackson, MacBeth, Paige Listerud, Robert Negron, Stacy Sublette, Surrealism, Tristan Brandon, William Shakespeare | Leave a Comment »
Posted on July 17, 2009 by Scotty Zacher
Blackbird a play by David Harrower Reviewed by Timothy McGuire The much anticipated dramatic play Blackbird, staring William Peterson and Mattie Hawkinson is indeed quite disturbing; it gives humanity to both a child molester and his victim as their characters are presented on stage un-judged by the author David Harrower. David Harrower has written [...]
Filed under: 2009 Reviews, Drama, Timothy McGuire, Victory Gardens | Tagged: Andre Pluess, Christine Barnes, Christine Pascual, David Harrower, Dean Taucher, Dennis Zacek, James Faruggio, Jesse Klug, Mattie Hawkinson, Olivier Award, Peter Morgan, Timothy McGuire, Tina M. Jach, Tom Stoppard, Tony Award, Victory Gardens Theatre, William Peterson | 7 Comments »
Posted on July 8, 2009 by Scotty Zacher
For 35 years, the Oak Park Theatre Festival has used its outdoor location to give their productions an authentic vibe and to allow their audiences to enjoy the summer weather while enjoying theatre. This works particularly well for staging Shakespearean works, which, after all, were originally produced in an open-air setting. In more recent years [...]
Filed under: 2009 Reviews, Barry Eitel, Drama, Oak Park Festival, Theatre Festival, William Inge | Tagged: Alexis Vejar, Austin Gardens, Brandon Dahlquist, El fish, Fifth of July, Glynis Gilio, Jeff Weisman, Jeremy Getz, Kate Kisner, Kyle Irwin, Lanford Wilson, Lydia Berger, Mary liming, Michael Weber, Oak Park Festival, Oak Park Festival Theatre, Pamela Maurer, Purlitzer Prize, Rebekah Ward-Hays, Ricky Lurie, robert W. Behr, Stef Tovar, Talley's Folly, William Inge | Leave a Comment »
Posted on June 28, 2009 by Scotty Zacher
Testing the Bonds of Brotherhood in Sam Kelley’s “Pill Hill” The award winning eta Creative Arts Foundation wraps up its 38th season with a sterling production of Sam Kelley’s Pill Hill, a play that explores the journeys of 6 Chicago steel mill workers trying to realize economic and social success. Director Aaron Todd Douglas [...]
Filed under: 2009 Reviews, Arthur Miller, David Mamet, Drama, Paige Listerud, eta Creative Arts | Tagged: Aaron Todd Douglas, Anthony Peeples, Arthur Miller, Cecil Burroughs, Corey Spruill, David Adams, David Mamet, Death of a Salesman, eta Creative Arts Foundation, Glengarry Glen Ross, Jr., Kelvin Roston, Kevin Hope, Pill Hill, Sam Kelley | 1 Comment »
Posted on February 28, 2009 by Scotty Zacher
Check out the Looking Glass Theatre‘s “Our Town” cast photo gallery at ChicagoTribune.com, starring David Schwimmer. Our Town plays at the downtown theatre through April 5th. Info and tickets here. UPDATE – REVIEWS Hedy Weiss of the Chicago Sun-Times: Apart from its (“trussed up”) set, the Lookingglass “Our Town” — co-directed by Anna D. Shapiro [...]
Filed under: Casting, Chicago Sun-Times, Chicago Tribune, Chris Jones, Drama, Hedy Weiss, Jeff Awards, Lookingglass, YouTube | Tagged: Chris Jones, Hedy Weiss, Jeff Awards, Jessica Thebus, Lookingglass Theatre, Heidi Stillman, Laura Eason, Our Town, Thornton Wilder, Philip R. Smith, Kevin Douglas, David Schwimmer, Catey Sullivan, Examiner, Anna D. Shapiro, ChicagoPride.com, Michael J. Roberts, Examiner.com, Joey Slotnick, David Catlin, David Kersnar, Thomas Cox, Andy White, Raymond Rox, Patia Bartlett, Tracy Walsh, Louise Lamson | 2 Comments »
Posted on February 25, 2009 by Scotty Zacher
Thursday, February 26 Modigliani by Dennis McIntyre The Artistic Home 3914 N. Clark St., Chicago (map) The Artistic Home is proud to present Modigliani by Dennis McIntyre, a play about passion, art and everything in-between. Immediately following the production enjoy a dessert and coffee reception, followed by a discussion on the topic of process and [...]
Filed under: Artistic Home, Drama, League of Chicago Theatres, Theater Thursdays | Tagged: Dennis McIntyre, John Mossman, Kathy Scambiatterra, League of Chicago Theatres, Modigliani, The Artistic Home, Theater Thursday, TVstands.com | 1 Comment »
Posted on February 2, 2009 by Scotty Zacher
Thursday, February 5 Fires in the Mirror by Anna Deavere Smith 16th Street Theater 6420 16th Street, Berwyn Come to 16th Street before the show to enjoy dinner catered by the popular Wishbone Restaurant featuring their healthy, southern-style comfort food. Then stay for the provocative Pulitzer Prize-nominated Fires in the Mirror, followed by a post-show [...]
Filed under: 16th Street Theater, Drama, New York Times, Theater News, Theater Thursdays | Tagged: 16th Street Theater, Anna Deavere Smith, Berwyn, Fires in the Mirror, New York Times, Pulitzer Prize, Wishbone Restaurant | Leave a Comment »
