Sometimes we just have to talk about the blog itself. Sorry. Can’t be helped. We’ll try to be entertaining when we do. :-)
So this week marks my 500th day and 300th show as a reviewer. (Well, I’m at 298 Chicago reviews as I write this but within two days it will be 300, and I also have over forty USAOnStage reviews, about a dozen of which I wrote.) I’m a number person (meaning I like interesting numbers), […]
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 […]
Just a quick word to let everyone know that, as of today, ChicagoOnStage is expanding its coverage into Raleigh-Durham, an area with over 95 theatres and a thriving community. Our reporter for Raligh-Durham shows is Lauren Van Hemert. She is one of two Raleigh Regional Contributing Editors for Broadway World Raleigh, and we’re happy to have […]
With the same caveats as my Top 10 Productions list—I’ve only had the site going for three months, so this list can only cover the final quarter of 2017—here are some of the finest performances I have seen in the sixty-something shows I have reviewed. First, in alphabetical order, the Top 10: Dana Black (Alice, […]
It’s that time of year when critics create sometimes arbitrary “Top 10” lists, and (being a bit of a list nerd) I feel like adding my own to the ever-growing mix. However, I have a bit of a problem: 2017 was the year in which I launched this site, and it only launched at the start […]
No, that is not the sequel to a Matchbox Twenty song. Went to a play tonight and wrote the review, yeah; I always hurry with things like that A green light recommend , a great show to exalt…and so very darned entertaining… And don’t think, don’t think I’m complaining… But, baby, it’s 4 AM and […]
Bevery Friend shares her thoughts on what being a theatre critic is all about… It is far easier to review a bad play than a good one. Opening sentences seem to write themselves! For Hunting Cockroaches, a supposed comedy by Polish playwright Janusz Glowacki, I wrote, “While the characters on stage discussed various ways to […]
To those who don’t know: My site went live at 4:30 10/5/17. It was called inthefootlights.com, which is a massively cool name (so much so that I was utterly thrilled to find it available. And I saw that it was good, and I slept. But… Then after a few hours I awoke, and I discovered that […]
Obviously, I answered the Bard’s question in the affirmative. Yes, it is true! We are live and online! There are still some errors and quirky points that I’m working on, I still need to create my own list of shows so I don’t need to borrow from others, and there are a few parts I still […]
Yes, they might be different from others you have read. Good. They are supposed to be. After four decades as an English teacher and three decades as a director and drama teacher, I’d think it would be sort of impossible for my style and perspective not to shine through. So these reviews, at times, might examine aspects […]