An enchanting 'Dream' for the whole family by Kerry Reid

THEATER REVIEW: "Short Shakespeare! A Midsummer Night's Dream" on Navy Pier ★★★½ THEATER REVIEW: "Short Shakespeare! A Midsummer Night's Dream" on Navy Pier ★a…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 1:00am on February 24, 2014☆⚑

'White Plains' deftly takes on the bully, victim's revenge by Kerry Reid

THEATER REVIEW: "From White Plains" at Greenhouse Theater Center ★★★ and "Crime and Punishment" by Mary-Arrchie ★★½ THEATER REVIEW: "From White Plains" at G…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 4:04pm on February 12, 2014☆⚑

Hilarity on the high seas at First Folio by Kerry Reid

THEATER REVIEW: "Rough Crossing" at First Folio Theatre ★★★½ Norovirus outbreaks notwithstanding, the weather this past month has probably made even the most cruise-ave…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 5:10pm on February 4, 2014☆⚑

Warmth, wit in this Signal production by Kerry Reid

THEATER REVIEW: "Plainsong" at Signal Ensemble Theatre ★★★ It opens with a man standing alone at sunrise, gazing out the window with a cigarette in hand, and ends with tha…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 10:57am on February 3, 2014☆⚑

'Golden Dragon' has a lot on its plate by Kerry Reid

THEATER REVIEW: "The Golden Dragon" by Sideshow Theatre Company at the Biograph ★★½ The setting for Roland Schimmelpfennig's "The Golden Dragon" is a restaurant of that name,…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 5:42pm on January 29, 2014☆⚑

Spare, arresting 'Judith: A Parting from the Body ' by Kerry Reid

THEATER REVIEWS: "Judith: A Parting from the Body" at Trap Door Theatre ★★★ and "Quark" by MPAACT at the Greenhouse Theater Center ★★½ THEATER REVIEWS: "Jud…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 4:58pm on January 29, 2014☆⚑

Examining the power of a lie in 'The Children's Hour' by Kerry Reid

THEATER REVIEW: "The Children's Hour" by Pride Films and Plays in the Flat Iron Building ★★★ Somewhere, sometime, someone must have written a doctoral dissertation about t…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 7:56pm on January 28, 2014☆⚑

Family, disability and mortality, ready or not by Kerry Reid

THEATER REVIEW: "A Day in the Death of Joe Egg" by Stage Left Theatre at Theater Wit ★★★½ THEATER REVIEW: "A Day in the Death of Joe Egg" by Stage Left Theatre at Theat…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 2:53pm on January 17, 2014☆⚑

Not the usual feminine role in 'Through the Leaves' by Kerry Reid

THEATER REVIEWS: "Through the Leaves" at Side Project Theatre ★★★ and "Forgiveness" at the Cornservatory ★★ THEATER REVIEWS: "Through the Leaves" at Side Proje…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 6:12pm on January 15, 2014☆⚑

In 'Luna Gale,' judgment and the judged by Kerry Reid

Rebecca Gilman's last play at the Goodman, 2010's "A True History of the Johnstown Flood," used the 1889 cataclysm that killed more than 2,200 people as a sweeping indictment of Gilded Age c…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 6:12pm on January 15, 2014☆⚑

Stage is set in an Australian penal colony by Kerry Reid

THEATER REVIEW: "Our Country's Good" by Shattered Globe ★★★ THEATER REVIEW: "Our Country's Good" by Shattered Globe ★★★ ... At one point in Timberlake We…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 5:49pm on January 14, 2014☆⚑

Kerry Reid's top theater picks from 2013 by Kerry Reid

In addition to sharing Friday's "On the Fringe" column with Nina Metz , I also have the pleasure of writing individual reviews of many other shows the rest of the week. Here are five that st…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 1:00am on December 25, 2013☆⚑

One-percenters are the obvious targets by Kerry Reid

THEATER REVIEWS: "Elemeno Pea" at Redtwist Theatre ★★½ and "Tell Me When It Hurts" by Three Cat Productions ★½ THEATER REVIEWS: "Elemeno Pea" at Redtwist Theatre …

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 2:50pm on December 12, 2013☆⚑

At Seanachai, the devil is as real as the details by Kerry Reid

THEATER REVIEW: "The Seafarer" by Seanachai Theatre Company ★★★★ THEATER REVIEW: "The Seafarer" by Seanachai Theatre Company ★★★★ ... Playwri…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 1:00am on December 12, 2013☆⚑

Alien vampire and cruel humanity at Trap Door by Kerry Reid

THEATER REVIEWS: "Blood on the Cat's Neck" by Trap Door Theatre ★★★ and "Dylan" by Red Theater Chicago ★★½ THEATER REVIEWS: "Blood on the Cat's Neck" by Tra…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 11:46am on November 27, 2013☆⚑

An intelligent show about a crooked life by Kerry Reid

THEATER REVIEW: "I Wish to Apologize to the People of Illinois" by Agency Theater Collective at Flat Iron Arts Building ★★★ THEATER REVIEW: "I Wish to Apologize to the Peo…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 12:18pm on November 25, 2013☆⚑

Religious message comes through the loudest by Kerry Reid

THEATER REVIEW: "Paulus" by Silk Road Rising ★★½ THEATER REVIEW: "Paulus" by Silk Road Rising ★★½ ... Call it "The Last Temptation of Paul." Israeli playwright…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 4:16pm on November 19, 2013☆⚑

Real-world issues haunt horror-comedy 'Blacula' by Kerry Reid

THEATER REVIEWS: "Blacula: Young, Black and Undead" by Pegasus Players ★★★ and "Haunting Julia" by Eclipse Theatre ★★½ Halloween 2013 is in the rearview mir…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 1:53pm on November 14, 2013☆⚑

Generational pain, 75 years after Kristallnacht by Kerry Reid

THEATER REVIEW: "Elegy" at the Biograph Theatre ★★½ German philosopher Theodor Adorno's assertion that "to write poetry after Auschwitz is barbaric" hangs over Ron Hirsen's e…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 4:34pm on November 12, 2013☆⚑

Kids instead of stereotypes in this winner of a 'Bee' by Kerry Reid

THEATER REVIEW: "25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" by Griffin Theatre at Theater Wit ★★★½ THEATER REVIEW: "25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" by Griffin Thea…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 4:39pm on November 6, 2013☆⚑

Their wicked 'Wicked' ways by Kerry Reid

For Alison Luff and Jenn Gambatese, what it's like to step into the witches' roles in a long-running musical In a world where Hollywood blockbusters mostly cater to the tastes and interests…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 12:22pm on October 29, 2013☆⚑

'50 Shades' has fun dressing up the best-seller by Kerry Reid

THEATER REVIEW: "50 Shades! The Musical" at the Broadway Playhouse ★★½ THEATER REVIEW: "50 Shades! The Musical" at the Broadway Playhouse ★★½ ... While Hollywo…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 3:22pm on October 24, 2013☆⚑

Role reversal leaves some of Simon's bite behind by Kerry Reid

Twenty years after introducing Felix Unger and Oscar Madison to the "Mad Men" 1960s, Neil Simon performed a few gender nips and tucks to "The Odd Couple," re-imagining the fussbudget and the…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 12:56pm on October 21, 2013☆⚑

Role reversal leaves some of Simon's bite behind by Kerry Reid

THEATER REVIEW: "The Odd Couple (Female Version)" at the Greenhouse Theater Center ★★ THEATER REVIEW: "The Odd Couple (Female Version)" at the Greenhouse Theater Center ★&…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 12:56pm on October 21, 2013☆⚑

Troubled immigrant family pulls us close in 'Lydia' by Kerry Reid

THEATER REVIEWS: Lydia at National Pastime Theater ★★★ and The Goddess at Artistic Home ★★★ THEATER REVIEWS: Lydia at National Pastime Theater ★ …

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 4:31pm on October 17, 2013☆⚑