With Halloween just weeks away, Chicago’s theater scene is chock full of eerie shows. We’ve reviewed seven of them for the new issue, plus 13 productions without holiday themes.
Boobs of the Dead: A Walking Dead Burlesque demonstrates Gorilla Tango Theatre’s evolving sophistication, says Tony Adler, and the cast of eight strippers come through the zombifying process looking surprisingly good. Adler laments that Splatter Theater doesn’t have the same verve it did in its original production 25 years ago, but another revival—Hell in a Handbag’s Scarrie, first staged in 1998—”works both as big camp and nuanced humor.”
Asher Klein isn’t impressed with City Lit Theater’s Frankenstein, remarking that Ed Krystosek’s performance as the titular scientist falls flat, bringing the whole show down with it. Albert Williams writes that impressive sound design and video segments help make the most of the flawed script for WildClaw’s The Life of Death.