Photo credit: Dean Leprairie Is it a comedy? A love story? A ghost story? A tragedy? A murder mystery? In the first scene of Dating Walter Dante, playwright Jon Steinhagen actually addresses these questions head on, with the cast asking them out loud. As the focal point of Raven Theatre’s world premiere play, Laura (the likable Kristin Collins, [...]
Porchlight’s admirable ‘A Catered Affair’ is a study in subtlety
Jerry O’Boyle, Craig Spidle and Rebecca Finnegan in Porchlight’s ”A Catered Affair.” Photo credit: Brandon Dahlquist In its essence, Harvey Fierstein and John Bucchino’s A Catered Affair is a simple, slice-of-life family drama that happens to be accompanied by a delicate score. So it doesn’t surprise me that it didn’t find success when the show opened on Broadway [...]
A truly superior ‘Superior Donuts’ at Mary-Arrchie Theatre Co.
Every so often you encounter the perfect pairing of actor and role. Mary-Arrchie founding member and Artistic Director Richard Cotovsky has found one of those roles. From his shoulder-slumped shuffle to his cautious and weary gaze, Cotovsky fully embodies Arthur, an inert Uptown donut shop owner who’s the center of Tracy Lett’s 2008 play, Superior [...]
Strong cast salvages Circle Theatre’s ‘The Ritz’
Elizabeth Morgan as Googie Gomez in Circle Theatre’s “The Ritz” There comes a point in Circle Theatre’s production of Terrence McNally’s The Ritz where you realize, as hard as this eager-to-please cast works, this is one of those novelty plays that’s a victim of time. Back in 1975, when McNally’s farce premiered on Broadway, things [...]
A grand “Show Boat” at Lyric Opera of Chicago
Written by Jerome Kern (music) and Oscar Hammerstein II (book and lyrics), Show Boat broke the mold when it premiered in 1927. Most Broadway shows at the time were frivolous trivialities with titles like The Five O’Clock Girl, Little Nellie Kelly and Yes, Yes, Yvette (not to be confused with No, No, Nanette) that played [...]
TimeLine’s entertaining ‘Enron’ is all flash, little substance
Hey. I’ve an offer for you. Invest today in an idea I expect to have fully fleshed out in the future, and I’ll pay you back with this virtual stock made up of unicorn farts and fairy wings. Oh, you can trust me because I’m wearing a fancy suit and have a firm handshake. You [...]
This and that
>> Second City is getting ready for the grand opening of its new venue, UP Comedy Club, a “new hybrid performance venue with an eclectic blend of comedy.” The 300 seat space occupies the area where Tony n’ Tina’s Wedding played for several years. I’m planning to attend the fancy opening night celebration next Friday [...]
The jury’s mostly out in Mamet’s ‘Race’
“Everyone’s a little bit racist,” sing the puppets of Avenue Q. Then there’s sh*t white girls say to black girls. And what about anything comedienne Lisa Lampanelli says? Racism, in all its forms, is such a force in our nation (as grody as that statement sounds) that, at times, we just have to, well, laugh [...]
London diary: ‘Crazy for You’ and ‘Ghost the Musical’
Sharon D. Clarke in “Ghost the Musical” Spit-spot, cheerio and all that other rubbish. I’ve just arrived from London! While my primary purpose there was work-related, I carved out some time for a two shows. Lucky for me, the TKTS booth was just a five minute stroll from my hotel, so most of my theatre [...]
A sobering ‘Love and Money’ at Steep
Pay grades, insurmountable credit card debt, recession, excessive consumerism, love. One of these things is not like the other. However, in Dennis Kelly’s efficient and horrific 90-minute play, he examines the danger of having all these themes play together, and the catastrophe that ensues. As a shop-a-holic wife (Julia Siple) fills her emotional voids with stuff [...]
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 [...]
Red Orchid’s ‘Megacosm’ is a product under development
As we take our seats at A Red Orchid Theatre’s production of Brett Neveu’s new play, Megacosm, a high-strung inventor (Larry Grimm) nervously twitches and blinks as he prepares for some sort of secret meeting. He has a new product that will change the face of the world as we know it (or so he [...]
Flimflam phantasm: Vitalist Theatre’s ‘The Ghost is Here’ is haunting, but hesitant
Death is a scary thing, and scary things make us vulnerable. And as any salesperson will attest, a vulnerable person is the ideal customer. Just look at the funeral home business model: “What type of tribute do you want? Basic Package A, Super Package B, Delux Package C or Platinum Package D? Keep in mind, [...]
Chicago Like a Local: ‘Come Fly Away’ Brings Swank, Sass and Sinatra to Chicago’s Bank of America Theatre
The freakish 50 degree January weather may be over, but things are just getting heated up at the Bank of America Theatre where Come Fly Away is playing through January 22. Sinatra. We know that voice. It’s sexy, confident and masculine. After hours bars, cigars and tumblers of scotch. Romance, heartbreak and overcoming obstacles with [...]
Chicago Like a Local: Four shows to look forward to in 2012
Last year proved phenomenal for Chicago theater, with many outstanding productions capturing our hearts and minds (read my roundup of the best of 2011 Chicago theater), and 2012 promises to be no different. Perhaps you’ve made a resolution to see more theatre in the new year? (And if you haven’t made this resolution, maybe you [...]
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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