Kierra Bunch Archives - Chicago Reader

A diner set. A young Black waitress in a yellow uniform stands next to a Black man seated at a table in the forefroung. We see three other Black men behind them; one in a booth on the left, a younger Black man standing by the register, and a man behind the register.

Diner dialogues

by Kelly Kleiman May 25, 2022May 25, 2022

This is an impeccable production of a play whose weaknesses outweigh its considerable strengths. It’s the 1960s episode of August Wilson’s Pittsburgh Cycle, tracing a century of life in the African American Hill District, and urban renewal shadows everything. (Jack Magaw’s set presents this vividly.) The diner where the play takes place is nearly empty […]

A Black woman in denim overalls, holding a red plastic Solo cup, stands on the left, talking to a young white man in overalls seated on her right.

Theater Review

Art and appropriation

by Josh Flanders March 22, 2022March 22, 2022

Of the two plays exploring race that Steppenwolf has on stage right now—King James and WHITE—the latter definitely stands out for being not only funnier, but more complex and satisfying in its critique of race, privilege, and power. Written by James Ijames and directed by Ericka Ratcliff, Definition Theatre’s production is a delightfully silly yet […]

Arts & Culture

August Wilson’s King Hedley II shows the ravages of the 1980s

by Sheri Flanders September 25, 2019August 18, 2021

Ron OJ Parson’s production for Court Theatre hits with torrential force.