David Cromer, Patrick Andrews and Mary Beth Fisher in Timeline’s “The Normal Heart” Watching David Cromer as gay rights activist Ned Weeks storm the stage, with his hands over his face in a perpetual mixture of anger, outrage and fear, is not unlike watching a staged panic attack. And rightly so: the world is crumbling… Read More HuffPo Review: Timeline’s ‘The Normal Heart’ Proves a Sobering, Searing Reminder
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… Read More TimeLine’s entertaining ‘Enron’ is all flash, little substance
David Parkes and Janet Ulrich Brooks in TimeLine’s “A Walk in the Woods.” I took a negotiation class in grad school a few years ago. Despite all the fancy theories, case studies and tactics covered in the course, I think I actually learned more about the art of negotiation watching A Walk in the Woods,… Read More Power play: The art of arms negotiation explodes onstage in TimeLine’s ‘A Walk in the Woods’
I’m starting a new job next week, and took a week off between jobly obligations to head to Northern Michigan for some much-needed R&R in Alpena, Michigan — my hometown. It’s been nearly a decade since I’ve been home during the summer, and I guess I took for granted the serene beauty this port-side town… Read More While I’ve been out: an update
David Frost (Andrew Carter) leans in for the kill while interviewing Richard Nixon (Terry Hamilton). A few months ago, TimeLine Theatre gave Chicago audiences a compelling history on the advent of television with The Farnsworth Invention (read my thoughts on that production here). And now, Peter Morgan’s provocative Frost/Nixon demonstrates the power of this revolutionary… Read More TimeLine’s ‘Frost/Nixon’ asks the probing questions
“…I’ve come to feel that the Windy City is blowing the Big Apple out of its once-secure spot at the top of America’s theatrical tree.” – Terry Teachout, The Wall Street Journal theatre critic From his rave review of TimeLine Theatre’s The Farnsworth Invention. (I thought the production was top-drawer, but the jerky storyline was… Read More Quote of the day, or, year.
The brink of discovery: The cast of TimeLine Theatre Company’s ‘The Farnsworth Invention’ wait in anticipation. “What’s next?” The process of invention requires big thinkers and risk takers to tackle that daunting question. Aaron Sorkin’s turbo-charged The Farnsworth Invention dramatizes the race to invent television, a revolutionary concept that had been in development for many… Read More Information overload: TimeLine’s ‘The Farnsworth Invention’ isn’t for the lazy
Chicago Theatre Addict 