Sometimes I take living in the city for granted. To avoid the rat race, I typically take the Pedway to get from the train to my downtown office and back again, which means that I may go for weeks at a time without ever really seeing downtown Chicago — even though I work in the [...]
Hollywood takes Chicago theatre by (dust) storm in ‘Johnny Theatre’
Ah, Chicago theatre. The place where people willingly toil away for countless hours in windowless black boxes, bearing their souls for little to no pay. As a frequent voyeur of such perversions, I’m in constant awe of the commitment and courage these artists place on telling a story to those of us who show up. [...]
‘Best Musical!’ turns weary Wednesday nights into lyrical lunacy
What do you get when you take five singer/comedians, one pianist, a top hat filled with fictional song titles and shove them on a stage? You get BEST MUSICAL! A Completely Improvised Musical Comedy! Musicals often take years — even decades! — to develop. Just look how long it’s taking the folks in Smash to [...]
Ravinia Bob returns: LuPone, Callaway and more planned for Ravinia 2012
There are some people out there (you know who you are) who refer to me as “Ravinia Bob.” Over time, this nickname was been truncated to “RivB,” and eventually “Riv2theB.” Why? Because I’ve made some lifelong friends over the years attending many events at the Highland Park concert venue — particularly during the summer of [...]
This and that
Remy Bumppo’s only halfway through their season, and newly appointed artistic director Timothy Douglas has suddenly called it quits, much to the surprise of the theatre company’s board of directors and artistic associates. It seems like only yesterday he was saying things like, “It is with gratitude, humbleness and divinely guided purpose with which I [...]
Chicago Theatre Addict’s TOP TEN of 2011
Hollis Resnik in Chicago Shakespeare Theater’s “Follies” Why, yes! It’s yet *another* top 10 list! This year I was actually on top of shit and maintained an honest-to-god spreadsheet of all the shows I’ve seen in 2011. In total, I saw 104 plays and musicals — nearly all of them in Chicago. And next to [...]
One star-making turn barely keeps this lackluster ‘La Cage’ afloat
If there’s one reason to see the tour of La Cage Aux Folles, which is playing at the Bank of America Theatre through January 1, it’s for Christopher Sieber’s ovation-worthy turn as Albin, the campy, drag-tastic dynamo who, as his alter-ego Zaza, stars in the nightly revue at La Cage. Sieber, who’s had the opportunity [...]
Guest review: National tour of ‘Memphis’
Bryan Fenkart and Felicia Boswell star in the national tour of “Memphis.” Photo credit: Paul Kolnik. Due to the holiday weekend, I sadly couldn’t make press opening of the national tour of Memphis, so I asked a guest reviewer to cover the show on my behalf. Like me, this person is a musical fanatic, so [...]
Profiles explores its caregiving side with ‘Assisted Living’
Assisted Living, a new play by Deirdre O’Connor, is a tender domestic drama about a woman, whose life has been consumed by taking care of her ailing mother, struggling to rediscover herself. Really? Profiles Theatre, a company known for producing extremely violent and upsetting works such a Killer Joe and Kid Sister, is producing this? [...]
All brain and little heart in Hershey Felder’s ‘Maestro: The Art of Leonard Bernstein’
Hershey Felder is a talented man. He can play piano virtuosically (that’s a word, right?). He can command a stage. He knows how to establish a mood through carefully modulated delivery of words and music. He can sing (though, at times the sound isn’t what one would describe as pleasing). He can even do accents! [...]
Sondheim gets his Shakes on, the most overrated play of 2011 and more …
Get ready for some random theatre-y thoughts: Sondheim gets his ChiShakes on: After receiving the Chicago Tribune Literary Prize for lifetime achievement on Sunday morning, the man himself visited Sunday’s matinée of Follies at Chicago Shakespeare Theater (along with playwright David Henry Hwang and the great Sir Peter Hall). He then went backstage following the [...]
Raven hits a road bump with lackluster ‘Bus Stop’
Sophia Menendian, Antoine Pierre Whitfield and Jon Steinhagen in Raven Theatre’s “Bus Stop” I admire Raven Theatre for many reasons. The staff and actors all seem to love what they do. And the highly diverse audiences seems to love watching the result. It’s a supportive and inviting atmosphere, and the last few shows I’ve seen [...]
Chicago Like a Local: How to Get the Best Chicago Theater Seats
If you truly want to experience Chicago like a local, then you should know the secrets us locals use to get the best seats when attending Chicago theatre. Find out how in my latest Chicago Like a Local blog post >
Art isn’t easy in Goodman’s searing ‘Red’
Patrick Andrews and Edward Gero get to work in John Logan’s “Red.” The creation of art is a daunting thing. Not only is the process most usually taxing (especially if the creative muses aren’t hitting you at the moment — and you’re on deadline), but, when it’s done (and how do you even know when [...]
Welcome to [CTA]
- Hi. My name's Bob Bullen and I'm a Chicago Theatre Addict [CTA]. Learn more here. Please leave comments — I'd love to hear what you think, and promise to do my best to reply.
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