By Beverly Friend, PHD, American Theater Critics Association What an extraordinary experience. We had expected to be pleased – but found ourselves delighted! We had expected the singers to be skilled — but found them amazing. We expected to enjoy the tried and true music — but were bowled over by sensitive new interpretations that […]
Review by Karen Topham, American Theatre Critics Association member; photo by Evan Hanover. Sam Raimi’s 1981 cult film The Evil Dead is usually credited with starting the horror/zombie film genre, and it made a name for Raimi and for its star, Bruce Campbell. Because of the often awkward dialogue and over-the-top gore and performances, it […]
Review by Karen Topham, American Theatre Critics Association member; photo by Michael Brosilow. Since it was written in 1982, Michael Frayn’s Noises Off can arguably be said to set the modern theatrical standard for farce. This play-within-a-play follows a (fairly inept) theatre troupe as it presents its latest touring show, Nothing On. You don’t need […]
Review by Karen Topham, American Theatre Critics Association member; photo by Lara Goetsch. In the Humana Festival hit Cardboard Piano, now having its Chicago premiere at Timeline Theatre, playwright Hansol Jung explores the difficult path from outright hatred to forgiveness, and whether the latter is even possible. Set in Uganda in 2000 and 2014, the […]
Review by Karen Topham, American Theatre Critics Association member; photo by Helen Maybanks. A play about a theatre critic would seem to be right up the alley for a theatre critic, and if one judges from the reaction to the press opening of Conor McPherson’s St. Nicholas at the Goodman, this one certainly is. Brendan […]
Review by Karen Topham, American Theatre Critics Association member; photo by Shea Petersen. A woman vanishes on her way home from shopping. Her frightened husband calls the police, who begin a several-days-long search for her that yields nothing. Then, suddenly, she walks back through the front door, saying she has been with aliens. Not “abducted,” […]
Review by Karen Topham, American Theatre Critics Association member; photo by Jeremy Daniel. Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: a super-bright girl, a funny, somewhat geeky boy, and a boy who did not know he had any powers (but does) embark on a quest to save the world. Yes, this could easily describe […]
Review by Karen Topham, American Theatre Critics Association member; photo by Emily Schwartz. As I left the Rivendell Theatre after watching the premiere of Jonas Hassen Khemiri’s I Call My Brothers, a powerful look at the way our society rushes to judge all people of the same color, religion, or ethnicity (in this case Muslim) […]
