Review by Karen Topham, ChicagoOnstage, member American Theatre Critics Association; photo by ITP During the shutdown necessitated by COVID-19, some theatres are creating new content by streaming Zoom versions of known plays. Though these sometimes work quite well, there is always that bit of reservation knowing that viewers are cutting some slack due to the […]
Review by Karen Topham, ChicagoOnstage, member American Theatre Critics Association There is something marvelously compact about Marsha Norman’s ‘Night Mother, a play that begins with a grown daughter informing her mother that she will be killing herself before the night is over. Its dialogue structure and simple, clear emotional content make it a nearly perfect […]
Review by Karen Topham, ChicagoOnstage, member American Theatre Critics Association Radio plays are nothing new; in fact, in this age of virtual reality, they are so antiquated as to seem almost quaint. One of the most well-known of this genre is the original Orson Wells version of The War of the Worlds, an adaptation of […]
By Beverly Friend, PHD, Member American Theatre Critics Assn. While I certainly miss seeing plays, I miss reviewing them even more: the excitement of opening night, the thrill as the house lights dim and the curtain goes up, the responsibility of writing a valid assessment of the production which will benefit readers by giving — […]
Review by Karen Topham, ChicagoOnstage, member American Theatre Critics Association; photo by NeoFuturists Theatre as a history lesson: I actually learned something just reading the subheading on NeoFuturists’ page promoting its newest offering, 45 Plays For America’s First Ladies. As internet memes put it, I was “today old” when I first learned that we have […]
Review by Karen Topham, ChicagoOnstage, member American Theatre Critics Association; photo by Kamille Dawkins The traditional British fox hunt, of course, features hunters on horseback and packs of dogs on long leashes tracking down an elusive fox for some reason alleged to be sport. British playwright Titas Halder turns that old image on edge in […]