Review by Karen Topham, American Theatre Critics Association member; photos by Devon Green Kingdom, Broken Nose Theatre’s current presentation at the Den, is a thoroughly engaging and entertaining play. Directed by Kanomé Jones, it tells the story of a queer family (gay fathers, gay son, lesbian cousin) living in Florida shortly after that state legalized […]
Review by Karen Topham, American Theatre Critics Association member; photos by Airan Wright Set in Chicago in 2016 against the backdrop of the Cubs’ quest for the World Series, Through the Elevated Line tells the tale of immigrant siblings, one who has been long-established in America and one who just got here, through the prism of […]
Review by Karen Topham, American Theatre Critics Association member; photos by Claire Demos If I told you that The Gift Theatre’s Hang Man begins with a black man hanging from a tree, what would you think? It would seem to me that pretty much anyone would fairly instantly assume that this is a serious drama about […]
Review by Karen Topham, American Theatre Critics Association member; photos by Liz Lauren I always find it difficult to begin reviews of very familiar plays. What do you say that has not been said a million times before? And Boho Theatre’s Cyrano, though a new adaptation by Michael Hollinger and Aaron Posner of the Edmond Rostand […]
Review by Joe De Rosa; photos by Evan Hanover Let’s say we’re having a drink together and you ask, “What did you do last weekend?” And I say, “I went to see Dontrell, Who Kissed the Sea at the First Floor Theater.” And you ask, as I’m sure you would… “Was it good?” Now, some […]
Review by Karen Topham, American Theatre Critics Association member; photos by Michael Brosilow “We hold inside of us a history that ends in an ellipsis.” That statement from late in About Face Theatre’s midwest premiere of R. Eric Thomas’s Time Is On Our Side pretty much sums up both the play’s philosophy and its central mystery. We […]
Review by Beverly Friend, American Theatre Critics Association member Once upon a time, there was an elderly, very religious Jewish man, who was illiterate. Because of this handicap, when he prayed, he was only able to recite the Hebrew alphabet because this was all he knew. He was confident that God would be able to arrange the […]
Review by Karen Topham; photos by Cody Jolly Photography Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street contains what some (including me) feel is the best score ever written, a score that makes tremendous demands on its performers. If even one of the leads underwhelms, the entire show can break down. That’s why it makes me […]
Review by Karen Topham; photos by Steve Graue City Lit’s The Picture of Dorian Gray is one of those shows that ought to work better than it does. A strong piece of literature to adapt, a Jeff Ward winning adapter, great direction, and at least one outstanding performance: it would seem that it all adds up […]
Review by Joe De Rosa; photos by Suzanne Plunkett “All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” So begins Anna Karenina, a Promethean study of the heart’s capacity for profound love, reckless passion, hopeless frailty, and torturous self-doubt. As a work of realistic fiction, Anna Karenina is a masterpiece. And, […]