704 stories by "Zach Freeman"
RECOMMENDED First, he turned "Pirates of Penzance" into a beach-bum sing-along. Next, he took "The Mikado" and made a three-ring circus with all three rings overlapping, like a Venn diagram.…
Last year, Seanachai Theatre Company"recently reborn as Irish Theatre of Chicago"brought to life one of the most pleasing Christmas-adjacent shows that this town has seen in recent memory. I…
RECOMMENDED What happens when four guys from failed bands join together, make a deal with the devil and pledge their souls to Satan in order to find fame and fortune? When it takes place in …
RECOMMENDED The first thing that strikes you about Strawdog's restaging of Charles Dickens' "Great Expectations" is the sheer number of books taking up the stage. They are stacked upon each …
RECOMMENDED In a world where Christmas shows are a dime a dozen, and productions of "1940s Radio Hour" are a staple of community theaters around the country, one may be forgiven for taking a…
RECOMMENDED Some of the most cherished moments of my childhood were story times with my mom. During those times with the turn of a page, the walls would disappear and voila! Me and my sister…
By Aaron Hunt Earlier this month I had the pleasure of attending the first outing of the new incarnation of Chicago's "Opera on Tap" chapter, "Introducing…Opera on Tap!" at the Heartland C…
RECOMMENDED Few films have the generational popularity of Frank Capra's "It's A Wonderful Life," which has now been broadcast on television for decades during the holidays. Familiar to most,…
On my way to the theater I noticed the red-and-green lights burning Christmas-y atop the Hancock and her sister-skyscrapers; maybe this caused me to feel a little Grinch-y. Maybe my fingers …
RECOMMENDED Nobody could dislike the 2014 version of "Lookingglass Alice," not even a Scrooge who had wandered away from one of the several "Christmas Carols" playing nearby. Lookingglass Th…
RECOMMENDED Tales of troubled youth and the teachers who want to get through to them have long been illustrated in books, plays and films. Those stories remain relevant because violence by a…
Revealing the twisted and sometimes supernatural underpinnings to events both historical and contemporary, "Improvised Twilight Zone" takes the format of the legendary series and translat…
RECOMMENDED Recently a friend asked me what my favorite show of 2014 was. I didn't have a good answer for him. This has a lot to do with the fact that I see more shows than the average theat…
RECOMMENDED Christmas is fast approaching. For those unfamiliar with the season, in the world of "It's Christmas Goddamnit!" it's that merry time of year when even the kookiest of families g…
Patsy Cline was a true country gal. Born and raised in Virginia, she began entertaining at a young age. Some accounts say she started performing for friends and family by the age of three. H…
RECOMMENDED The tale of an old miser who has no interest in the holiday spirit until his past, present and future come haunting him one Christmas Eve is fairly well known. Though the story i…
RECOMMENDED Watching a Greek drama is odd, because your moral compass gets completely rewritten. There's a moment in Nicholas Rudell's new translation of Euripides' "Iphigenia in Aulis" when…
RECOMMENDED As a first time Broadway-esque experience, this year's iteration of "Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical" performs its duties with enough pleasing flair and up…
RECOMMENDED If you are a newcomer to Benjamin Britten's masterpiece "The Rape of Lucretia," and aren't familiar with the semi-legend told by Roman writers and remembered in paintings of nake…
RECOMMENDED The specter of loss hangs like a literal specter, a ghost, over Stephan Karam's new play "The Humans," currently receiving its world premiere at American Theater Company. The los…
"It's A Wonderful Santaland Miracle Nut-Cracking Christmas Story… Jews Welcome" is a Christmas cabaret from Stage 773 artistic director Brian Posen that seeks to hearken back to the wholes…
RECOMMENDED From the orchestral bubbles at the top of the show"piccolos piping and xylophones pounding"there can be no doubt that you're in for an evening of Gershwin. The brothers George an…
I wouldn't be the first critic to note that the real mystery of Agatha Christie's "The Mousetrap" is not who killed the hateful houseguest (who seriously had it coming) at Monkswell Manor in…
RECOMMENDED Just once, I would like to invite someone along to see The House Theatre’s production of “The Nutcracker” without telling them what they were getting into. For …
RECOMMENDED Novelist and playwright Elizabeth Berg ("Over the Hill and Through the Woods," "The Pull of the Moon"), 16th Street Artistic Associate and Chicago Dramatists Resident Playwright …
