Theater
2680 results
Page 224
Temple Repertory Theater's "Measure For Measure'
Is there a hypocrite in the house?
It's a wonder that anyone would take on such a complex and difficult work as Shakespeare's Measure For Measure. Yet director Douglas C. Wager and his new Temple Repertory theater team have navigated this riddle of a play with two original (albeit flawed) features.
Articles
4 minute read
Second City's 50th anniversary tour (2nd review)
It's the material, stupid
Great comedians can always elevate even bad material. But in this collection, it's the superb writing that ensures the show's hilarity.
Articles
2 minute read
Second City's 50th anniversary tour (1st review)
50 years of taking risks
After 50 years, Chicago's Second City still displays a distinct style of satirical humor that transcends its competitors. Its forte is spontaneous improvisation, but its real distinction is an indescribable weird, dark quality.
Articles
3 minute read
Word feast at Canada's Shaw Festival
Where words speak louder than actions
The treat of Canada's Shaw Festival, held annually in the charming, flower-filled town of Niagara-on-the-Lake, is that it offers productions of plays you rarely get to see— not only by George Bernard Shaw, but by his contemporaries like Chekhov, Wilde and Barrie.
Articles
7 minute read
"The Secret of Sherlock Holmes' at People's Light (2nd review)
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, meet Dr. Watson
The Secret of Sherlock Holmes challenges conventional detective stereotypes, presenting a Sherlock Holmes with noticeable flaws and a Dr. Watson of intellect and humor.
Articles
4 minute read
"The Secret of Sherlock Holmes' at People's Light (1st review)
Portrait of a friendship
The Secret of Sherlock Holmes focuses not on a single mystery but on the evolving relationship between Holmes and Dr. Watson. It's an ideal summer diversion: not too heavy but just substantial enough to give the viewer something to chew on afterward.
Articles
2 minute read
Shakespeare, Shylock, anti-Semitism— and Al Pacino (1st comment)
Shakespeare (and anti-Semitism) on trial
At least since the Holocaust, Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice has been widely reviled as an anti-Semitic screed. But Al Pacino's majestic portrayal of Shylock in New York suggests an entirely different interpretation: of Jews (and Israel too) surrounded by a hostile world.
Articles
11 minute read
"Musical of Musicals' at Walnut Studio 3 (2nd review)
What they did for love (of Broadway musicals)
Unlike satire, which comes out of anger, pastiche comes out of love. The Musical of Musicals (The Musical!) is definitely the latter.
Articles
3 minute read
"Musical of Musicals' at Walnut Studio 3 (1st review)
A simple tale, in the hands of five Broadway composers
This complex 2003 parody of Broadway musicals keeps revealing new subtleties, and we can appreciate this superb cast even more when we see them up close in an intimate space like the Walnut's upstairs independence Studio 3.
Articles
5 minute read
A new twist on "Avenue Q'
Truth is stranger: Avenue Q as Reality Street
The Broadway musical Avenue Q finds its raison d'être in contrasting what kids learned from “Sesame Street” with what they experience when they go out in the real world. The untimely death of the troubled former child actor Gary Coleman makes you wonder: Is this really a laughing matter?
Articles
3 minute read