Broken Nose Theatre Archives

Photo of Monty Cole, a Black man in a black T-shirt, blue denim jacket, and a tan stocking cap

Swinging for the Fences with Monty Cole

by Kerry Reid June 30, 2022June 30, 2022

In 2016, Monty Cole made his directorial debut in Chicago with Eugene O’Neill’s The Hairy Ape at now-defunct Oracle Productions—and what a debut it was. His staging of the story of Yank, a swaggering stoker on a steamship who is ultimately destroyed by a society that sees him only as a brute, brought together a […]

Blback woman with white robot puppet in left foreground. White woman in mustard-colored jumpsuit kneeling slightly behind puppet on left, with look of joy on her face.

Theater Review

The play about the baby

by Kerry Reid May 19, 2022May 19, 2022

Reproductive rights cuts both ways: the government deciding that you may not have a child comes from the same authoritarianism that tells you that you must continue an unwanted pregnancy. Given current grim news about the impending SCOTUS decision overturning Roe v. Wade, that thought is unavoidable when viewing Zoe Kazan’s dystopian After the Blast. […]

City Life

Broken Nose, American Writers Festival, and a Crystal Ball

by Kerry Reid, Micco Caporale and Salem Collo-Julin May 13, 2022May 14, 2022

Looking for some mid-month fun? Check out the following events and ideas. FRI 5/13 Broken Nose Theatre continues its season with the Chicago premiere of Zoe Kazan’s dystopic drama After the Blast, directed by JD Caudill. In light of the leaked SCOTUS draft decision on Roe v. Wade, Kazan’s story about a couple forced to […]

A South Asian woman in a dark top and light trousers kneels, lunging forward toward the right side of the photo, drenched in a blue light.

Arts & Culture

Springing ahead with live performance

by Kerry Reid, Deanna Isaacs and Irene Hsiao April 4, 2022April 6, 2022

While the BA.2 variant of COVID-19 looms as a possible impediment to attending live performances (even as some of us now qualify for a second booster), shows are booming. We’ve got a baker’s dozen of events to consider if you feel up to getting out and about in the next couple of months. We also suggest […]

Five people standing in row in front of a classroom door. The fourth from left is a middle-aged man with a prop gun held in the air.

Arts & Culture

Scattered shots

by Kerry Reid February 16, 2022February 16, 2022

In his 2018 comedy special Kid Gorgeous, John Mulaney recounts the crime safety (or “Stranger Danger”) lectures delivered to him and his fellow classmates by former Chicago cop J.J. Bittenbinder. (“Time for ‘Street Smarts’ with Detective J.J. Bittenbinder. Shut up! You’re all gonna die. ‘Street Smarts!’”) Bittenbinder was making his mark during those more innocent […]

Ghost Light

Digital theater options haven’t fallen away

by Kerry Reid October 8, 2021October 15, 2021

With so many theaters opening their doors again for live performances (we have at least a half-dozen new reviews coming up next week, which is the most we’ve run since March 2020), it might be easy to overlook the ongoing digital drama produced by local companies. But there are still plenty of online shows to […]