Though it has some of Lifeline’s patented how-do-they-do-that effects, like a completely persuasive storm at sea achieved with nothing but video, some noise, and actors purporting to be blown around, Middle Passage is too cluttered to be satisfying. Rutherford Calhoun’s misadventures on the high seas include a captain mad enough to compete with Ahab, participation […]
Tag: Lifeline Theatre
Posted inCity Life
Bunnies, Rollins, and poetry
Looking for some action? We can’t promise that, but we do think you’ll have a great time at the following events! Reader, read on. FRI 4/15 Barbara Burdick opened Cuddle Bunny in Lakeview (2901 N. Clark) in June of 2020, inspired by the animal cafes of Japan. At the shop, visitors can enjoy hanging out […]
Posted inBest of Chicago
Best performance space for dealing with interior microclimates
Lifeline Theatre Anyone who frequents establishments in the summer months knows that there are generally two temperatures: not cold enough and Hell has frozen over. Even so, some locations deal with that microclimate variety at any time of year. So, when it comes to dealing with indoor temperature changes, no one does it better than […]
Posted inPerforming Arts Feature
The unforgettable Jane Blass
Actor, singer, and all-around raconteur Jane Blass, who called Chicago home from 1988-2006 before she relocated to New York, where she performed on Broadway and in the touring companies of many shows, died at 59 after a long struggle with stomach cancer on August 6. Dorothy Milne, her friend and cofounder of the long-running women’s storytelling collective the Sweat Girls, compiled these remembrances from those who knew and loved her in Chicago and New York.
Posted inArts & Culture
BoHo and Lifeline examine the public and private split
The Pursuit of Happiness and Pride and Prejudice confront the limitations of Zoom culture with exhilarating results.
Posted inArts & Culture
Middle Passage is part voyage of the damned, part picaresque
Lifeline’s staging of Charles Johnson’s novel has sea legs.
Posted inArts & Culture
Leaping into live performance for February
Our critics suggest ten ways to fill out that slightly longer calendar this month.
Posted inArts & Culture
Bunny’s Book Club illustrates the love of a good story
Lifeline Theatre KidSeries brings children and animals together for a family-friendly yarn.
Posted inArts & Culture
Nestor Gomez and 80 Minutes Around the World land at Fillet of Solo
The Guatemalan immigrant shares his own perspectives on failure and finding his voice.
Posted inArts & Culture
Murder mystery meets buddy comedy in Whose Body?
Lifeline’s revival of this 2002 Dorothy Sayers adaptation could use more breathing room to fully come alive.
Posted inArts & Culture
Lifeline’s Emma takes some liberties but remains true to the playful spirit of the original
In which five actors play the entire village of Highbury.
Posted inArts & Culture
The Man Who Was Thursday’s visual splendors compensate for its extreme verbosity
When you get tired of listening to spies, there’s a beautiful set and lighting.
Posted inArts & Culture
Here are five theater festivals to help you survive January
Puppets! Storytelling! Social consciousness! Brilliant teens! Rhinofest weirdness!
Posted inArts & Culture
A roundup of 15 Halloween shows to thrill and chill you
Explore haunted houses, meet a vampiric rabbit, two Frankensteins, and Freddy Krueger’s hot brother
Posted inArts & Culture
Lifeline Theatre’s Frankenstein reduces Mary Shelley’s cosmic struggle to a therapy session
It fails to pay tribute to the big questions raised by the classic novel celebrating its bicentennial this year.