704 stories by "Zach Freeman"
With "Our New Girl," a show that's ostensibly about a nanny that shows up unexpectedly on an overwhelmed (and very pregnant) mother's doorstep and then insinuates herself a little too far in…
RECOMMENDED Initially, Trap Door Theatre's "The Woman Before" feels like a sitcom. Wife and husband, Claudia and Frank (played by Loretta Rezos and Kirk Anderson, respectively), are packing …
RECOMMENDED Midway through Michele Lowe's "Inana," an Iraqi museum curator (Demetrios Troy) argues that the value of art cannot be properly assessed without historical context. His interlope…
RECOMMENDED "You are all complicit in our little adventure," intones the smarmy MC of the hit game show "False," where "perception is reality." Indeed, viewers become part of the act in Brit…
RECOMMENDED If all theater is a lie, as repeatedly asserted by co-creators Dan Kerr-Hobert and Phil Ridarelli, then "Trust Us/ Screw You" is a masterpiece of manipulation. It is also an insi…
With its raft of good intentions, talented cast and relevant theme, this is a play that one very much wishes to like. But PJ Paparelli's and Joshua Jaeger's interview-based documentary take …
RECOMMENDED It takes a certain kind of integrity"or perhaps better still, gall"to stage a production of John Patrick Shanley's "Doubt: A Parable" in an actual church. And while Glencoe Union…
RECOMMENDED Oh the joys of being a teenager. Making reckless decisions without contemplating an ounce of repercussion. Thinking you know everything but in actuality knowing nothing. Discover…
By Dennis Polkow Composer Ricky Ian Gordon has written instrumental music over the years, but "there's no getting around it," he admits, "I'm most excited by the voice. My mother was a singe…
By Hugh Iglarsh The area premiere of Sarah Ruhl's "Melancholy Play: A Chamber Musical" at Evanston's Piven Theatre Workshop is a big event in a small venue, and therein lies a tale. The Wilm…
RECOMMENDED In college, the old adage goes: sleep, work, social life; choose two. For Anton Chekhov, a similarly triangular logic exists: happiness, knowledge, safety; choose two and constan…
RECOMMENDED Coming on the heels of their insightful production of "Sondheim on Sondheim," Porchlight Music Theatre provides just enough silly to make "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to th…
Written and directed by Ruben D. Echoles, “Sounds So Sweet” follows the Harris family on their journey to lay their matriarch to rest. As the Harris' gather in Mississippi to hos…
RECOMMENDED Satire works best when it has enough of a bite that even those laughing can feel the teeth marks. Too gentle and the jokes just feel safe and congratulatory for those in agreemen…
RECOMMENDED If you're looking for an enchanting emcee who can walk the fine line between low-key and high class while sipping a giant martini, look no further than MsPixy, the quick-witted h…
A high school student in Germany, alienated by the hypocrisy and materialism of his surroundings, turns to religious literalism. Soon, he becomes a gleaming-eyed fanatic at war with society …
RECOMMENDED We all have secrets. Some bind us to others; some keep us bound in silence to ourselves; very few remain concealed. "Between You, Me and the Lampshade," a world premiere written …
By, Mary Kroeck The arts community lost a staggering number of incredible talents in 2014. Arguably, no death caused the world so much shock as the suicide of Robin Williams. He and hi…
Some people, when moved to frenetic laughter, are prone to requiring so much air to replace the air lost due to their audible guffaws that they suck in through their noses, creating a snorti…
RECOMMENDED The depth of a woman's love is unmatched. For the man lucky enough to capture a woman's heart, she will move heaven and earth for him, even at times to the detriment of bo…
By no coincidence whatsoever, my saddest, oldest, drunkest (SOD) friend is a big fan of pro wrestling, so a trip to the Annoyance to see some ladies go at it seemed like just the ticket. Dir…
RECOMMENDED Alongside the Neo-Futurists, Waltzing Mechanics are purveyors of micro theater. Their latest edition in the "El Stories" series ought to be called "Not Talking to Strangers," fol…
RECOMMENDED While Marcus Gardley's "An Issue of Blood" is not a perfect play, it is indeed a powerful one. Set on a tobacco plantation in 1676 Virginia owned by Negro Mary (Lizan Mitchell), …
RECOMMENDED Note the quotation marks in the title of Director Taylor Hackford's near-perfect tribute to Louis Prima and Keely Smith, the 1950s act that made Vegas its own. The quotes aren't …
RECOMMENDED The customer is always right. Even when they're wrong. So goes the logic of the service industry, a labor market whose sole purpose is to chew up disposable, well-meaning persons…
