Contemporary choreographers set Joffrey Ballet on fire
If you had to identify the most influential dancemakers currently working on the international ballet stage, it’s a good bet that the following three names would make it to the very top of the list: Wayne McGregor (resident choreographer of Britain’s Royal Ballet); William Forsythe …
Fancy footwork takes on romantic airs at River North Dance
Forget the chocolates and champagne and all the many things wrapped in heart-shaped boxes. The most romantic way to celebrate the pre-Valentine’s Day weekend is to either go dancing yourself, or see dance.
A top choice is the bravura River North Dance Chicago, performing at …
Fancy footwork takes on romantic airs at River North Dance
Forget the chocolates and champagne and all the many things wrapped in heart-shaped boxes. The most romantic way to celebrate the pre-Valentine’s Day weekend is to either go dancing yourself, or see dance.
A top choice is the bravura River North Dance Chicago, performing at …
‘Superior Donuts’ comes home in Mary-Arrchie show
Tracy Letts’ play “Superior Donuts” is set in Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood, not far from Mary-Arrchie Theatre. So it’s a nice bit of serendipity that the first non-Equity staging of the drama will be at this 50-seat theater, one of the mainstays of the storefront scene. …
Broadway’s ‘War Horse’ riding into Chicago
“War Horse” will be galloping into Chicago in December. The acclaimed epic show that originated at London’s National Theatre, received multiple Tony Awards on Broadway, and was the inspiration for Steven Spielberg’s currently Oscar-nominated movie of the same name, will play for three weeks, Dec. …
Green Day concert spectacle overwhelms ‘American Idiot’ story
HEDY WEISS: It’s difficult to feel much of anything in “American Idiot” except the pulse of the music, and if you’re coming for a rock concert you won’t be disappointed.
Bring on da punk: From Green Day to Great White Way
THOMAS CONNER: “American Idiot,” the Broadway musical coming to Chicago this week, wasn’t so hard to develop from Green Day’s acclaimed album. “This band has an ingrained dramatic voice,” says the music supervisor.
Religion, pornography, love cross paths in ill at ease ‘Hesperia’
First, a few words about the title of Randall Colburn’s “Hesperia,” the alternately smoldering and God-fearing play now receiving a seductive Writers’ Theatre production that is exceptionally blessed by director Stuart Carden’s inspired casting.
In Greek mythology, the Hesperides were “nymphs who tended a blissful …
‘Ameriville’ paints a portrait of America both familiar, frightening
HEDY WEISS: The rhythmic rant, developed by new Victory Gardens leader Chay Yew, outlines a wide range of afflictions with an emphasis on the homeland.
Profiles Theatre’s ‘Bachelorette’ is no party
HEDY WEISS: Awful play about sexy but self-loathing women, getting wasted and talking dirty, is like an ad for date rape.
American Theater Co.’s ‘Disgraced’ creates a predictable chaos
HEDY WEISS: The fix is in from the very start for all five of the identity-warped characters in Ayad Akhtar’s play, “Disgraced,” now in its world premiere by the American Theatre Company. The play’s backdrop — an upscale contemporary urban apartment — should not fool you. This space will quickly turn into a cultural and psychological minefield — one that feels deliberately booby-trapped by the playwright.
Invest your time in TimeLine’s scorching production of ‘Enron’
HEDY WEISS: TimeLine Theatre’s vaudeville-style documentary about the energy company’s gargantuan bankruptcy is every bit as entertaining as it is riveting.
‘Punk Rock’ exceptionally disquieting at Griffin Theatre
In such plays as “Harper Regan,” “Pornography,” “On the Shore of the Wide World” and “Port” (all of which have received searing Chicago productions by either the Griffin Theatre or Steep Theatre), British writer Simon Stephens has captured the abiding tension and sense of disgrace …
‘Ameriville’ asks nation to take good, hard look at itself
The Bronx-based performance troupe Universes uses the devastation of New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina as a stepping-off point in the performance piece “Ameriville.” A theatrical exploration of the state of the union, it’s a storytelling hybrid of songs, hip-hop, poetry and monologue that asks questions …
The Guide — Theater Listings 02.03.12
OPENING
AMERICAN IDIOT. Broadway in Chicago presents Billie Joe Armstrong and Michael Mayer’s rock musical about three childhood friends each searching for meaning in a post 9/11 world. Directed b Mayer. Opens Feb. 7, 7:30 pm. Tue-Fri, 7:30 pm; Sat, 2, 8 pm; Sun 2 …
