WHO'S AFRAID OF ADAPTING VIRGINIA WOOLF? Virginia Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway beautifully intertwines the inner and outer worlds of her characters, seamlessly sweeping from description to dialogue…
SHINES BRIGHT BUT GOES DIM In Michael West's Dublin by Lamplight, a community theater's idealistic mission to establish an "Irish National Theatre of Ireland" crosses commedia style with the…
Arias with a Twist: Review for Stage & Cinema
THE ETERNALLY UNMISSABLE SHOW An alluring voice reverberates across the intimate, pitch black theater. This sultry sound is the product of a mysterious Z chromosome, the audience is informed…
What’s Wrong with Angry?: Review for Stage & Cinema
WHAT’S WRONG? IT’S ALL RIGHT In thousands of YouTube videos, out-and-proud adults tell marginalized queer youth that life will get better. Yet the "It Gets Better" campaign advoc…
What the Moon Saw: Review for Stage & Cinema
A NEARLY MAGICAL EVENING News reporters ask one passerby after another, "Where were you when the Moon fell?" Yet the Moon has not fallen. She perches on a white chiffon-covered platform, plu…
The Comedy of Errors: Review for Stage & Cinema
The Trojan women are not hysterical. With the exception of Kassandra who is blessed (and cursed) with foresight, these women are not mad. The clean and classical lines of SITI Company’…
A COMEDY OF EXCELLENCE Cue the epic battle underscoring, full orchestra and chorus. A lanky gaoler lopes onstage, indicates a prisoner's head, clumsily hoists an ax from the prop box, and " …
My Name is Rachel Corrie: Review for Stage & Cinema
In my summer of excessive theatergoing, I have learned a few things about my theatrical tastes. Specifically: I am not in love with the genre of musical theater as I once thought I was. (…
A PATCHWORK OF THE PERSONAL AND POLITICAL My Name is Rachel Corrie is a solo show comprised of a patchwork of actual e-mails and diary entries by a young female activist in Gaza who was trag…
1001: Review for Stage & Cinema
WHAT ARE ANY OF US BUT A COLLECTION OF STORIES? Collaboraction's 1001 spins the audience into a delightful vertigo. This whirling postmodern adaptation of The Arabian Nights collapses time a…
Pornography: Review for Stage & Cinema
FOR THOSE WHO LIKE TO WATCH The rumblings of the elevated train beside Steep Theatre are chillingly atmospheric for the Midwest premiere of Simon Stephens' Pornography. After all, this colle…
Senior prom is not likely to be a favorite memory for most hipsters. After all, prom represents the pinnacle of conformity to high school culture. The school year builds up to this overblown…
I caught the last performance of Steve Yockey’s Heavier than … at Boston Court today. While production values were high, the script and lead performances were disappointing. Trut…
The Adventures of Pinocchio: Review for Stage & Cinema
CARLO COLLODI'S CLASSIC TALE COMES TO LIFE At the heart of Chicago's Navy Pier lies the stunning Chicago Shakespeare Theater. On a recent Wednesday morning, this 500-seat space was packed wi…
Middletown: Review for Stage & Cinema
The Original Grease: Review for Stage & Cinema
IN THE BEGINNING, IT WAS EVEN GREASIER Apparently Los Angeles is not the only city prone to over-praise its local theater. American Theater Company's The Original Grease has been receiving c…