Melanie McNulty Archives - Chicago Reader

Two women are onstage. At the left is a woman in a blue polka-dot bathrobe. Her arms are folded in front of her and she looks concerned. At the right is the blurred face of another woman who is in the process of lighting a cigarette. The woman on the right has her eyes closed and one hand shields the lighter flame.

Baby blues

by Amanda Finn March 15, 2023March 15, 2023

When I read Molly Smith Metzler’s now award-winning Cry It Out in 2018, I knew it was something special. I am still not a parent myself nor (at that point) were any of my closest friends. Fast-forward five years and a lot has changed, but Metzler’s poignant portrayal of parenthood still resonates stronger than ever. […]

A white woman with blonde hair pulled back in a pony tail stands in front of an office desk. She is wearing a purple turtleneck sweater and a long beige skirt, holding a sign that reads "It's a child, not a choice."

Theater Review

Monologuing: Title Ten at Artemisia Theatre

by Amanda Finn November 30, 2022November 30, 2022

Int. messy Chicago apartment, unseasonably hot end of November. Being a theater critic can be so isolating when you don’t fit the story being told. Most of the time, I sit through shows that center on the cishet male experience or at the very least shows that don’t pass the Bechdel Test. I am not […]

A kitchen set. A young Black woman in contemporary clothes stands left, with a white woman in 19th-century dress next to her. In the foreground, another white woman in contemporary dress looks offstage.

Theater Review

The bones of grief

by Kerry Reid May 12, 2022May 11, 2022

Laura Schellhardt’s Digging Up Dessa was commissioned by the John F. Kennedy Center as part of its Theater for Young Audiences program in 2018. But this play, now in its Chicago premiere with Theatre Above the Law, is like a lot of great YA fiction—relevant to many audiences. Digging Up Dessa Through 5/22: Fri-Sat 8 […]