To say that Heidi Schreck’s 2017 Pulitzer-and-Tony-nominated play What the Constitution Means to Me hits differently in a post-Roe v. Wade world is a huge understatement. TimeLine’s current production (the first by a local company—Schreck’s piece, which she originally performed, has been seen here twice on tour, pre- and post-COVID shutdown), moves the show from […]
Tag: TimeLine Theatre
#OscarsSoWhite
This past fall, TimeLine offered a blistering revival of Alice Childress’s Trouble in Mind, in which a Black actress in a 1950s Broadway play about lynching (penned and directed by white men, naturally) takes a stand against the insulting stereotypes in the script and the microaggressions in the rehearsal room. They’ve followed that up with […]
She sees you, white American theater
Alice Childress’s Trouble in Mind made its off-Broadway debut in 1955, but it never made the leap to the Great White Way (emphasis most definitely on “White”). The white producers demanded that Childress give her story about racism in the American theater a happier ending depicting racial harmony. (Pause for irony.) Childress refused at first, […]
Screwball smear tactics
Politics has always been a “smelly kitchen,” to borrow a phrase from Jean Anouilh’s version of Antigone. But in 1933, two new cooks entered that kitchen. And the recipes they came up with continue to befoul the air of American elections. Leone Baxter and Clem Whitaker (a widow and a married man who eventually became […]
Jail support, political consultants, and The Bat
Chicago Community Jail Support, the volunteer mutual aid network that supports people recently released from Cook County Jail, hosts two teach-ins and volunteer training sessions on Zoom this month to guide people in how to lend a hand in meeting the needs of those who are recently incarcerated. Learn skills like setting up and breaking […]
Hot weather, hot shows
Summer is officially here, in case the sweat and lightning bugs weren’t enough of a clue. In addition to the shows and artists we profiled in our summer arts preview issue this week, we’ve got just a few suggestions for other offerings in theater, dance, and opera that look promising—whether you’re looking for a nice […]
The price of exposure
In Viola Spolin’s seminal work Improvisation for the Theater, the very first exercise listed is named “exposure.” During this exercise, a group of actors are divided into halves and instructed to simply look at others and allow others to look at them. This deceptively difficult task often challenges new performers greatly; not only do they […]
These events ain’t for fools
Even though we’re posting this on April 1, we’re not foolin’: we think you’ll find something to enjoy in this week’s list of upcoming events. FRI 4/1 Chicago Repertory Ballet celebrates its tenth anniversary with a program called, appropriately enough, Ten. The lineup includes three world premieres: Transcending Quiet, a pas de deux and “study […]
History is Relentless
The year 1919 is having a theatrical moment this season in Chicago, even with Steppenwolf postponing the world premiere of Eve L. Ewing’s 1919 (which was originally slated to open this week as part of the Steppenwolf for Young Adults series) until fall of 2022. That watershed year in American history comes to complicated and […]
Tyla Abercrumbie is about more than The Chi
Playwright, actor, director, and artist Tyla Abercrumbie remembers when she was called to theater as clear as day. Blue lights beamed from a ceiling as Alvin Ailey dancers weaved and flowed with silk fabrics, making grade school Tyla feel like she was swimming in an ocean as the company of dancers performed their “Wade in […]
A trilogy for times of terror
Three streaming productions give us plenty to ponder in the pandemic.
Kill Move Paradise imagines an afterlife for victims of police killings
James Ijames puts the audience on trial in this TimeLine production.
Rutherford and Son is Succession without the sex, drugs, and rock ’n’ roll
Githa Sowerby’s long-neglected drama has a strong cast at TimeLine, but drags at times.
Give thanks for some promising November live performances
The table is set this month with theater world premieres, dance works in progress, and comedy with cured meat.
Oslo paints a picture of the personal touch in international relations
The Tony-winning play gets a smart and timely local premiere from TimeLine.