2,003 stories by "Scotty Zacher"
Lifeline Theatre's world-premiere Miss Holmes, by Christopher M. Walsh, is a refreshing female-driven portrayal of the classic detective. Katie McLean Hainsworth and Mandy Walsh are wily, ma…
Sideshow Theatre's *The Happiest Place on Earth*, written and performed by Philip Dawkins for Greenhouse Theater's Solo Celebration! series, is an essential theatrical experience, a twisted …
I Do Today is a loving and lighthearted collaboration of playwright Sarah Myers, director Jacob Harvey and solo actor (and Other Theatre Company artistic director) Carin Silkaitis, who is ut…
Victory Garden Theater's Hand to God, though gloriously gruesome and wildly over the top, is at its heart a probing study on how one deals with grief, faith, temptation and the daily struggl…
Mary Zimmerman deftly directs a lavish revival of Leonard Bernstein's classic musical, featuring a company of more than 40 actors and musicians. If you're looking for larger-than-life stagin…
Adapted from the Frebcg short story Le Passe-Muraille by Marcel Ayme, this Tony Award-nominated musical is a Chicago premiere. And with Amour, Black Button Eyes Productions and Director Ed …
Though incredibly talented, not even this mighty ensemble can fully compensate for Playwright Aaron Posner's lengthy exploration of the facts that life isn't fair and unrequited love hurts. …
The most memorable elements of Writers Theatre's *Julius Caesar* are its cinematic video designs and impressively versatile set. The people who propel the tragedy, however, are all too often…
With Lin-Manuel Miranda's groundbreaking *In the Heights*, Porchlight Music Theatre's staging wears its dramatic heart on its sleeve, bursting with percussive flair and exuberant sensuality.…
Per Catey Sullivan: By the time the powerhouse *Smokey Joe* ensemble goes into the reprise that (almost) closes the show, you'll feel like these people are your old friends. And when the *St…
Reviewer Catey Sullivan: Paramount Theatre's Mamma Mia!, directed by Jim Corti, is the most delightfully over-the-top musicals you're apt to see this season. But unapologetically kitschy is…
Marriott Theatre's *How to Succeed in Business* looks great. But scratch the surface of strong performances and slick production values, and there's nothing resembling the human condition " …
With Boho Theatre's stellar *Next to Normal*, there's no compromising of musicianship, with the stellar vocals of all six in the cast under the musical direction of Ellen K. Morris. Despite …
Broadway in Chicago's Kinky Boots, by Cyndi Lauper and Harvey Fierstein, is back for its 2nd national tour (after first having its Broadway-bound world premiere here in 2012), and it's bigge…
The Sound Chicago's world premiere of *For Annie*, by Beth Hyland, is a haunting cry for help and a meditation on the intricacies of grief. This cry and meditation just happens to involve gl…
Greenhouse Theater's "Rose", part of their summer-long Solo Celebration! festival, speeds by as the audience is kept entranced by the inner workings of matriarch Rose Kennedy, a woman we thi…
TimeLine Theatre's *Bakersfield Mist* is equal parts comedic and heartbreaking, acknowledging absurdity and cliché without ever descending into either. Thanks to playwright Stephen Sachs an…
Light Opera Works' glitzy production of *Mame* looks great. And musically *Mame*, with its 32-member cast and 26-member full orchestra, sounds great. The score " arguably Jerry Herman's most…
Cor Theatre's The Good Person of Szechwan, Tony Kushner's adaptation/translation of the Bertolt Brecht classic parable, shows us the difficulty of being good in a world filled with people wh…
Greenhouse Theater's Bloodshot, part of their Solo Celebration! series, is a compelling, nuanced story in the wrong medium - a story of obsession and murder that deserves a better outlet tha…
Babes With Blades' world premiere of Dustin Spence's The Promise of a Rose Garden contains strong performances, well-design fight scenes and solid production design. Despite weaknesses in t…
Bluebird Arts' Three Hotels is a lovely morality play, a family tragedy with occasional gallows humor that's written with both heart and bite. The audience truly roots for this production " …
Derek Van Barham's Bite is pure enjoyment. A loose adaptation of Midsummer Night's Dream, at first glance Bite appars to be pure camp, but as the show swirls by, this glittery cabaret feast …
With Playwright Mark Stein's Direct From Death Row: The Scottsboro Boys, presented by Raven Theatre, the audience is brought a piece of history not found in many text books, but done in such…
in Genesis Theatricals' Einstein's Gift by Verne Thiessen, we find a fascinating, true story about Einstein and Fritz Haber become a dull flat production that feels more like a history proje…
