If Laurie Anderson had done a mash-up of Scott O’Dell’s young adult classic Island of the Blue Dolphins and the 1994 John Sayles Celtic magic realist film, The Secret of Roan Inish, the result might be very similar to Islander. This minimalist but enchanting musical, which started life in 2017 on the Isle of Mull […]
Tag: Chicago Shakespeare Theater
Posted inTheater Review
Twelfth Night is a perfect ten at Chicago Shakes
They couldn’t be more different in tone and setting, but Tyrone Phillips’s current gorgeous staging of Twelfth Night at Chicago Shakespeare and Robert Falls’s brilliant 2013 reimagining of Measure for Measure at the Goodman have one thing in common: bold directorial choices at the end that resolve nagging questions I’ve always had about how Shakespeare […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Little Amal invites Chicago to walk a little closer together
Although Amal, a towering 12-foot puppet representing a ten-year-old Syrian refugee girl, is silent, she speaks a universal language of empathy that has shifted countless perspectives, including in our Windy City. “From the very first journey, it was apparent that this was something the community was craving,” says associate artistic director Khadijat Oseni. A collaborative […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Zoo Motel and The Journey take us away from it all
Links Hall and Chicago Shakespeare host two virtual interactive shows on isolation and connection.
Posted inArts & Culture
In Six, Henry VIII’s wives come back as pop divas
Divorced, beheaded, died; divorced, beheaded, survived—and slaying.
Posted inArts & Culture
A new Hamlet puts the prince of Denmark in a context all too familiar to many Chicagoans
Chicago Shakespeare’s staging draws upon the concept of a legacy interrupted and destroyed by racial violence.
Posted inArts & Culture
Leave the Light On
The ghost light, a single bulb in an empty theater, is for safety—and superstition.
Posted inArts & Culture
Two Pints pays tribute to human resilience and the power of Guinness
This Abbey Theatre import is unexpectedly wonderful.
Posted inArts & Culture
Here are 19 shows to get you into the holiday spirit
Christmas trains, elves, bingo, showgirls, and many, many carols, plus the Quranic perspective and Hanukkah goblins.
Posted inArts & Culture
Circolombia’s Acéléré is a story of old-fashioned romance and bodies launched into space by other bodies
The hour-long circus from Bogotá runs as part of the Chicago International Latino Theater Festival.
Posted inArts & Culture
Nell Gwynn is so breezy it almost floats away
Despite the best efforts of Chicago Shakespeare, the story lacks purpose.
Posted inArts & Culture
BigMouth asks you to consider what Socrates, Malcolm X, and Ann Coulter have in common
Valentijn Dhaenens’s one-man show is designed to start a conversation.
Posted inArts & Culture
Chicago Shakespeare presents an amped-up Midsummer Night’s Dream in the parks, the way it was sort of meant to be
Barbara Gaines’s adaptation includes hip-hop faeries, a cute lion, and abundant Chicagoiana.
Posted inArts & Culture
Chicago Shakespeare’s Peter Pan is a soaring delight for both kids and adults
You may have to explain afterward that flying without a harness should not be attempted at home.
Posted inBlogs
Chicago Doomed & Stoned Festival and more of the best things to do in Chicago this weekend
A screening of Full Metal Jacket in 35mm and more goings-on 6/1-6/3.