REVIEW: 'Some Men' by Pride Films and Plays ★★★ by Kerry Reid

Terrence McNally has served as the go-to chronicler for gay life in America " or at least for a certain subset of educated white gay men who live primarily in New York " for decades. So it's…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 5:25pm on August 18, 2014☆⚑

REVIEW: First Look Repertory in the Steppenwolf Garage by Kerry Reid

The three plays in Steppenwolf's ninth annual First Look Repertory share something beyond their official status as developmental productions grown through the theater's new-work program. Eac…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 4:19pm on August 11, 2014☆⚑

REVIEW: 'Geezers' at Redtwist Theatre ★★½ by Kerry Reid

Tommy Lee Johnston's "Geezers" has its heart in all the right places. But the writing in this world premiere for Redtwist Theatre, directed by Jan Ellen Graves, could use some tweaks to over…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 11:50pm on August 6, 2014☆⚑

REVIEW: "Take the Cake" at Factory Theater ★★★ by Kerry Reid

Some day (if it hasn't already happened), a women's studies Ph.D. candidate will examine the significance of women as bakers in post-millennial American pop culture.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 11:50pm on August 6, 2014☆⚑

REVIEW: 'Catch the Fish' by Poor Theatre ★★ by Kerry Reid

Jonathan Caren's "Catch the Fish" brings a millennial TMZ spin to the young-strivers-in-Hollywood genre, a la Nathanael West's "The Day of the Locust." Caren's piece, now in a local premiere…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 12:44pm on July 31, 2014☆⚑

REVIEW: 'Catch the Fish' by Poor Theatre ★★ by Kerry Reid

Jonathan Caren's "Catch the Fish" brings a millennial TMZ spin to the young-strivers-in-Hollywood genre, a la Nathanael West's "The Day of the Locust." Caren's piece, now in a local premiere…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 12:44pm on July 31, 2014☆⚑

REVIEW: 'The Importance of Being Earnest' at Oak Park Festival ★★★ by Kerry Reid

"In matters of grave importance, style, not sincerity, is the vital thing," observes Gwendolen in "The Importance of Being Earnest." That line serves as a mission statement for Oscar Wilde's…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 4:32pm on July 30, 2014☆⚑

Alfresco 'Earnest' is played deliciously straight by Kerry Reid

THEATER REVIEW: "The Importance of Being Earnest" at the Oak Park Festival ★★★ "In matters of grave importance, style, not sincerity, is the vital thing," observes Gwendol…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 4:32pm on July 30, 2014☆⚑

REVIEW: 'Intimate Apparel' by Eclipse Theatre Co. &#9733&#9733&#9733 by Kerry Reid

Lynn Nottage's "Intimate Apparel" shares some of the same foundational supports familiar to fans of Henry James and Edith Wharton, from the Gilded Age Manhattan setting to its focus on a wom…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 8:28pm on July 25, 2014☆⚑

Crafting a simple, compelling story in 'Intimate Apparel' by Kerry Reid

THEATER REVIEW: "Intimate Apparel" by Eclipse Theatre Company ★★★ Lynn Nottage's "Intimate Apparel" shares some of the same foundational supports familiar to fans of Henry Ja…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 8:28pm on July 25, 2014☆⚑

REVIEW: 'The Gun Show' at 16th Street Theater ★★★ by Kerry Reid

In the days between the shooting death of photographer Wil Lewis on Devon Avenue, not far from my own home in Rogers Park, and the death-by-stray-bullet of 11-year-old Shamiya Adams at an Ea…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 5:35pm on July 22, 2014☆⚑

'Gun Show' is about gun ownership outside debate lines by Kerry Reid

THEATER REVIEWS: "The Gun Show" at 16th Street Theater ★★★ and "Catch the Fish" by Poor Theatre ★★ "The Gun Show"

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 5:35pm on July 22, 2014☆⚑

In 'Charlotte's Web,' a spider with heart and a lump in our throats by Kerry Reid

THEATER REVIEW: "Charlotte's Web" by Emerald City Theatre ★★★ The last time I saw Emerald City Theatre's production of "Charlotte's Web" (adapted from the E.B. White class…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 4:40pm on July 15, 2014☆⚑

Wit prevails over weather, and First Folio makes the most of 'Merry Wives' by Kerry Reid

THEATER REVIEW: "Merry Wives of Windsor" at First Folio ★★★ Director Nick Sandys' open-air staging of "The Merry Wives of Windsor" at First Folio opens with the entire ens…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 4:38pm on July 15, 2014☆⚑

'Seussical' has Horton, Cat in the Hat and surprising depth by Kerry Reid

THEATER REVIEW: "Seussical" at Chicago Shakespeare Theater ★★★½ When asked why he never had children of his own, Theodor Seuss Geisel reportedly responded, "You make 'e…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 11:04pm on July 14, 2014☆⚑

'Boxes' tells stories of gay, undocumented immigrants by Kerry Reid

THEATER REVIEW: "Checking Boxes" by About Face for Night Out in the Parks ★★ Talk about timeliness. With the issue of unaccompanied children from Central America entering the Un…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 5:02pm on July 14, 2014☆⚑

Wander as faculty or students at 'Burn the Black Dog' by Kerry Reid

THEATER REVIEWS: "Burn the Black Dog" by Wayward Productions ★★★ ... "Lady Mechanics" at the Annoyance ★★½   "Burn the Black Dog" 

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 4:42pm on July 10, 2014☆⚑

In 'Partners,' 20-somethings face down futures with each other by Kerry Reid

THEATER REVIEW: "Partners" by LiveWire Chicago ★★½ Dawn Powell, the great chronicler of comedies of bad manners in Manhattan in the post-World War II era, created a character…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 4:41pm on July 1, 2014☆⚑

'Myths and Hymns' all about the music and imagery by Kerry Reid

THEATER REVIEWS: "Myths and Hymns" by BoHo Theatre ★★★ and "The Late Henry Moss" by Artistic Home ★★★ "Myths and Hymns"

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 1:39pm on June 26, 2014☆⚑

Mobster world fits this power-mad 'Hamlet' by Kerry Reid

THEATER REVIEW: "Hamlet" by Oak Park Festival Theatre ★★★ If you're tapping your feet impatiently awaiting the return of HBO's "Boardwalk Empire," Oak Park Festival Theatr…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 6:45pm on June 23, 2014☆⚑

World of 'Monstrous Regiment' is anything but flat by Kerry Reid

THEATER REVIEW: "Monstrous Regiment" at Lifeline Theatre ★★★★ Full disclosure: I've yet to get my literary passport stamped for Terry Pratchett's "Discworld." But af…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 2:10pm on June 16, 2014☆⚑

Issues of drone warfare get a female pilot's human face by Kerry Reid

THEATER REVIEW: "Grounded" by American Blues Theater at the Greenhouse ★★★½ Despite its title, George Brant's solo play "Grounded," now in a local premiere with America…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 4:55pm on June 13, 2014☆⚑

'Caged Dames' has the lock on a crass good time by Kerry Reid

THEATER REVIEWS: "Caged Dames" by Hell in a Handbag ★★★½ ... "Half-Life of Memory" by Cold Basement Dramatics ★★★ "Caged Dames"

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 4:50pm on June 11, 2014☆⚑

In 'Yankees,' sweetness and light, baseball and the devil by Kerry Reid

REVIEW: "Damn Yankees" by Light Opera Works REVIEW: "Damn Yankees" by Light Opera Works ... On my way to Light Opera Works' "Damn Yankees" Saturday night, I passed a young man wearing a T-…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 4:13pm on June 9, 2014☆⚑

'Ivanov' relentlessly strips down Chekhov by Kerry Reid

THEATER REVIEW: "Ivanov" by Piven Theatre Workshop ★★★ There are few traps worse for a play than to be chockablock with characters who proclaim — early and often &md…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 3:36pm on June 3, 2014☆⚑