Review by Karen Topham, American Theatre Critics Association member; photos by Lara Goetsch. In an era when Nazis and white supremacists have gained influence in American culture and politics, when more than 20% of Millennials have no clue what the Holocaust was and a not insignificant number deny it ever happened, when we are adopting […]
Review by Karen Topham, American Theatre Critics Association member; photos by Michael Brosilow. Vietgone, appearing at Writers Theatre in Glencoe at the same time as Crazy Rich Asians is topping box office charts in movie theatres, is a sign of a new era of more inclusive entertainment that allows Asians to tell Asian stories. And […]
By Lauren Van Hemert This weekend Raleigh Little Theatre kicks off their 2018-2019 season with Sister Act. The show, based on the 1992 movie, follows the trials and tribulations of Deloris Van Cartier, a wannabe lounge singer turned state’s witness after stumbling on to a murder scene. She is hidden in the Queen of Angels […]
Review by Karen Topham, American Theatre Critics Association member; photos by Daniela Monico. Some say the world will end in fire; Some say in ice –Robert Frost According to the post-apocalyptic vision set forth in Henry Murray’s Treefall, now playing in a production by Exit 63, the fault will decidedly be fire. Terrible things have […]
Today’s review of Treefall marks the 200th review posted by chicagoonstage.com. I realized that yesterday and was momentarily amazed: a site that has only been in existence for about ten months has published that many reviews…and I have written the vast majority personally. What is even more amazing: for all but the last month, I lived in Vernon […]
Review by Karen Topham, American Theatre Critics Association member; photos by Cole Simon. Let’s get one thing clear from the start: despite its thrillerish title, Nightmares and Nightcaps: The Stories of John Collier, now playing at the Athenaeum in a Black Button Eyes production, is absolutely hilarious. Collier was a British expatriate author of poems, […]
Review by Karen Topham, American Theatre Critics Association member; photos by Michael Brosilow. Enter the theater for Underscore Theatre Company’s latest production, Haymarket, and you are immediately taken back in time by a group of actor/musicians in 19th Century garb playing various traditional folk instruments including guitar, banjo, mandolin, fiddle, and washboard. (There is a […]
By Lauren Van Hemert; photo by Margot Schulman In a world plagued by cynicism and “fake news,” it’s easy to back an optimistic, do-gooder political horse, albeit a fictitious one. That’s one of the reasons why the world premiere of the new musical Dave at the Arena Stage in our nation’s capital feels so right […]
Review by Lauren Van Hemert; photo by Julieta Cervantes It only takes a moment to fall in love with the Tony Award-winning revival of Hello Dolly playing at The Shubert Theatre. Eager with anticipation, the audience applauds during the overture, before the curtain even rises. And the fact that Tony Award-winners and original cast members […]
Review by Lauren Van Hemert; Photo by Deen van Meer This year, Disney’s highly anticipated Frozen stormed Broadway, opening at the St. James Theatre after a fall preview at Denver’s Buell Theatre. Inspired by the fairytale The Snow Queen, the story is essentially the same as the movie. It’s a tale of sisterly love overcoming […]