However you describe “BigMouth,” the virtuosic, one-of-a-kind, one-man show created and performed by Valentijn Dhaenens – its impact is undeniable.
Stories by Hedy Weiss
3 Popular Musicals Sing of Quest for Self-Esteem
They are set in different eras, and come with notably different sounds and story lines, but the three musicals now being produced on local stages share one major theme. Here’s a closer look.
Shattered Globe’s Piercing Dramatization of a Dostoyevsky Classic Soars
The haunting dramatization of “Crime and Punishment” now on stage attacks the work with the same fire and attention to moral argument as the master writer, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, himself.
‘Radio Golf’ Revival Tunes in to Hidden Wealth of August Wilson’s Final Play
A revelatory, brilliantly acted revival of August Wilson’s play is currently on stage at Court Theatre, under the direction of Ron OJ Parson.
Funny, Heartbreaking ‘No Child’ Taps Into the Art of Education
The blight, as well as the occasional bursts of beauty that define life in inner-city high schools is all too familiar. But rarely has it been captured with such a sense of wit, grace, exasperation and tragicomic insight.
Chicago Talent Headlines Bernstein’s ‘Candide’ in Knoxville, Tennessee
Not only does director Calvin MacLean have deep Chicago roots, so do a number of the major players in this grand-scale production.
Black Button Eyes Brings John Collier’s Twisted Stories To Life
One thing you realize from the very start of “Nightmares and Nightcaps: The Stories of John Collier” is that its narrator – a dissipated, devilishly twisted writer – is not going to sugarcoat things.
2018 Equity Jeff Award Nominations Announced
Nothing more concisely captures the impressive scope of the work done on Chicago-area stages than this annual list of nominations.
‘Vietgone’ Explores Emotional Wars of Vietnamese Immigrants Forging New Lives In US
Qui Nguyen’s play, now receiving its Chicago premiere at Writers Theatre, is a second generation, rap-era kid’s flashy, sexually charged version of a story about the pain and rage that come with being a refugee, and the difficult process of assimilation.
Dancing the Night Away at Dance for Life
As always, the annual benefit concert served up a rich smorgasbord of styles Saturday. It also offered a subtle suggestion of Chicago’s dance history.
The Music and Mayhem of Midsummer Nights in Grant Park
As difficult as it may be to believe, the summer of 2018 is winding down. One significant marker: the Grant Park Music Festival will give the final performances of its 84th season on Saturday.
A Glimpse of Magic in the Photo-Realist Paintings of Jeong Im Herbert
The Chicago-based artist has an uncanny ability to capture the texture of surfaces in a way that is as precise as a photograph, yet at the same time, magically abstract.
Reaping Faith, Fear and Ambivalence in ‘The Harvest’
Broken souls grasp for meaning and connection in Samuel D. Hunter’s intense play that unfolds in a dreary church basement in the small town of Idaho Falls, Idaho.
1960s Chaos Meets Upheaval of 2018 in Bernstein’s ‘Mass’
A roundup of recent concerts from the Ravinia Festival
As visitors to the Ravinia Festival well know, the picnics on the grass staged there tend to be legendary feasts. But it is the musical feasts that are the real food for thought.
Black Ensemble Unwraps the Joyful Healing Properties of the Blues
In her deftly crafted new show, “Rick Stone the Blues Man,” writer/director Jackie Taylor has devised a wonderfully engaging way to explore the full spectrum of blues classics.
‘Something in the Game’ Wins One for The Gipper, and for Musical Theater, Too
In spinning the tale of Knute Rockne and his prize athlete, the creators of this terrific show have tapped into much grander themes than the nature of intensely competitive college football.
In ‘Pamplona,’ Stacy Keach Runs with Hemingway and the Matadors
A little more than a year after he suffered “a mild heart attack” midway through his opening night performance in “Pamplona,” Stacy Keach is in top form.
Elvis Makes a Faustian Bargain in ‘Heartbreak Hotel’
Too often this Elvis Presley-focused prequel to “Million Dollar Quartet” homes in on material that might have been cut from that earlier show. But on the plus side, it infuses the story with much that was omitted from “Quartet.”
‘Murder for Two’ Sets Pair of Actors in Breathless Pursuit of Perpetrator
The real question at the heart of this 95-minute, music-infused marathon of a farce – which features two actors playing 13 characters and frequently sharing time at a piano – is whether the performers themselves will make it out alive.
Tapping Into the Operatic in ‘Cat on a Hot Tin Roof’
In the feverish intensity of its emotions alone, this Tennessee Williams revival directed by Marcia Milgrom Dodge is grand opera from start to finish.
In ‘The Csardas Princess,’ Cabaret Singer Embroiled In Love, Marriage and Social Chaos, Operetta-Style
What is most impressive about this romantic comedy, the first work to be produced in Folks Operetta’s “Reclaimed Voices” series, is the exceptional beauty of the voices in the show’s large cast, and the performers’ comic swagger.
In ‘Waitress,’ Master Pie Maker Finally Discovers Recipe for Love, Liberation
Director Diane Paulus taps into the pain and high comedy of the story, but Chicago’s Cadillac Palace Theatre is far too big a venue for this essentially intimate show.
High-Wired ‘Peter Pan’ Flies on Well-Defined Gender Battle
The elaborately produced 75-minute show has all the energy and magic necessary to keep young audiences engaged. At the same time, the adult aspects of the story emerge with particular force and clarity.
At Goodman and Steppenwolf, 2 Plays That Mirror Each Other While Stretching Believability
While both “Support Group for Men” and “The Roommate” rely on predictable clichés, each serves as a prime example of how absolutely first-rate actors invariably bring total devotion to mediocre scripts.
Mercury Theater’s ‘Avenue Q’ Revival Taps Into Irresistibly Funny Truthiness of Life’s Disappointments
The surprising thing about “Avenue Q” is just how wise, witty, open-minded and openly devoid of by-the-book political correctness it manages to be.
