Chicago Sun-Times

Chicago gets shout-outs as ‘Kinky Boots,’ Steppenwolf vie for Tonys

Wed, 01 May 2013 11:53:11 -0500

With abundant nominations for two productions first seen here — the Cyndi Lauper musical and the revival of “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf” — the city’s theater scene again proves it can take N.Y. by storm.

Joffrey Ballet’s ‘Othello’ positively stunning

Wed, 01 May 2013 02:26:18 -0500

HEDY WEISS: Revival of Lar Lubovitch’s masterpiece at the Auditorium Theatre suggests Shakespeare’s tragedy may best be told with dance.

‘Kinky Boots’ gets a leading 13 Tony Award nods

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 08:00:01 -0500

NEW YORK — The Cyndi Lauper-scored “Kinky Boots” has earned a leading 13 Tony Award nominations, with the British import “Matilda: The Musical” close behind with 12. “Kinky Boots” is based on the 2005 British movie about a real-life shoe factory that struggles until it finds new life in fetish footwear. Lauper’s songs and a story by Harvey Fierstein have made it a crowd-pleaser. “Matilda: The Musical” is a witty musical adaptation of the novel by Roald Dahl and is true to his bleak vision of childhood as a savage battleground. The nominations were announced Tuesday in a televised event …

Stage almost empty but full of emotion in ‘Yellow Moon’

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 18:02:26 -0500

HEDY WEISS: Scottish playwright David Grieg’s way with words is apparent in the Writers’ Theatre production of his play about a rebellious Glasgow teen on the run with a shy girl from a refugee family.

ACT II: A second look at area stages — Dancing Shakespeare

Thu, 02 May 2013 09:20:05 -0500

Choreographers of both classical ballet and modern dance have long found inspiration in Shakespeare. His plays have inspired many versions of “Romeo and Juliet,” as well as memorable takes on “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” “The Taming of the Shrew,” “Hamlet” and “The Tempest.” It was the modern dance master Jose Limon who first tackled “Othello” in the form of a lean, elegant quartet that has long been a classic, “The Moor’s Pavane.” But in 1997, in a co-commission by American Ballet Theatre and the San Francisco Ballet, Chicago-bred choreographer Lar Lubovitch gave this tale of love, jealousy and betrayal, with …

‘Anything Goes’ sails with sensational touring company

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 09:48:13 -0500

HEDY WEISS: The gloriously goofy Cole Porter musical arrives with powerhouse Broadway star Rachel York and one terrific song after another.

A Red Orchid Theatre’s youth ensemble probes intolerance, violence

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 02:34:17 -0500

HEDY WEISS: “Many more people need to be exposed” to plays about violence, says one teen cast member.

Cluchey, Beckett — unlikely collaborators forge friendship, stage works

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 02:28:10 -0500

This is the story of an inquisitive prisoner and a legendary playwright who would become unlikely friends and collaborators. San Quentin State Prison seems the last place one would expect the avant-garde plays of Samuel Beckett to be appreciated. But Rick Cluchey is living proof that they were. He first encountered the Irish playwright’s classic “Waiting for Godot” in the mid-1950s as a 23-year-old inmate serving time for robbery and kidnapping. It was the first play Cluchey had ever seen, and it changed his life. Performed before an audience of inmates by the San Francisco Actors Workshop, it inspired Cluchey …

The Guide — Theater Listings 04.26.13

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 15:38:05 -0500

OPENING BRIGHTON BEACH MEMOIRS. Raven Theatre presents Neil Simon’s semi-autobiographical story about growing up in Brooklyn in the years before World War II. Directed by Cody Estle. Previews April 30-May 4. Opens May 6. Thu-Sat, 7:30 pm; Sun, 3 pm. $22-$45. To June 29. Raven Theatre’s East Stage, 6157 N. Clark. (773) 338-2177; raventheatre.com. AN EVENING OF BECKETT: KRAPP’S LAST TAPE & SAM AND RICK. Shattered Globe Theatre presents Chicago actor/playwright and Beckett protege Rick Cluchey in two solo performances. Opens May 1. Thu-Sat, 8 pm; Sun, 3 pm. $10-$28. To May 12. Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont. (773) 327-5252; …

Rarely staged ‘Pal Joey’ a zippy affair at Porchlight

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 02:34:05 -0500

For much of “Pal Joey,” the edgy, funny, infrequently revived Rodgers and Hart musical now in a zesty Porchlight Music Theatre production, two women — Vera Simpson (Susie McMonagle), a winningly jaded middle-aged socialite, and Linda English (lovely Laura Savage), a pretty, smarter-than-she-seems young shop girl — vie for the attention of Joey Evans (Adrian Aguilar), a handsome, frustrated, second-rate nightclub performer whose attempts at self invention invariably backfire. But the joke is that these two women, who start out singing together in “What Is a Man?,” again join forces late in the second act for a song titled “Take …

16th Street Theater nabs emerging theater award

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 11:31:44 -0500

The 16th Street Theater, which has developed into an important cultural outpost in the Berwyn community in recent seasons, has been selected as the recipient of the 2013 Broadway In Chicago Emerging Theater Award. The award, overseen by the League of Chicago Theatres, comes with a $5,000 prize, as well as consultation with Broadway In Chicago staff members and a marketing package that includes advertising support. Created in 2007, the award was devised “to encourage, support and promote emerging theaters in Chicago that have demonstrated great ability and promise, artistic excellence and fiscal responsibility in business practices.” The 16th Street …

‘Still Alice’ at Lookingglass delivers powerful ‘long good-bye’

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 11:32:15 -0500

At once devastating and enthralling, “Still Alice” is not an easy show to watch, but it is riveting from first second to last. And for anyone who wishes to be reminded of the power of theater — and its ability to explore the most complex, emotionally crushing aspects of life — this altogether masterful Lookingglass Theatre world premiere is not to be missed. It would be far too simple and far too clinical to say that this play is about the unraveling of a mind as a result of early onset Alzheimer’s disease. More to the point, it is about …

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 16:56:01 -0500

‘Happiest Song’ spins a tiresome, apologetic tale

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 17:29:19 -0500

HEDY WEISS: The homefront half of Quiara Alegria Hudes’s new play works, but the premise behind another storyline in the aftermath of war is hard to stomach.

‘Big Fish’ catches wave of America’s ‘Greatest Generation’

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 17:16:27 -0500

HEDY WEISS: In its world premiere, the Broadway-bound musical boasts impressive visuals but doesn’t really grab the heart until it gets real in Act 2. You can’t help but root for star Norbert Lee Butz, whose energy is both enormous and easeful.