**** Highly Recommended The Q Brothers Collective – GQ, JQ, Jax and Pos – are back at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre with their unique take on Julius Caesar. "Rome Sweet Rome" is fresh, cheeky, fun and very original. Loved it! 4 Spotlights
**** Recommended TimeLine Theatre’s production of Sandra Delgado’s new play, "Hundreds and Hundreds of Stars," at Lookingglass Theatre, is really timely, since the central character, Clara, artfully played by Delgado herself, is part of the sandwich generation – and dealing with immigration. The story is poignant and thought-provoking. Since it’s set in an earlier, more friendly time, Clara has time to get a lawyer and plead her case in court. 4 Spotlights
**** Recommended "Revolution(s)" is a rock musical, combining punk, hip-hop and metal – with decibel levels to match – but it’s not a jukebox musical. Although there are some familiar tunes, most of the music is new. Zayd Ayers Dohrn’s play has an actual plot, even though it was a bit convoluted and therefore confusing to me what with two different timelines with somewhat parallel experiences. 4 Spotlights
**** Highly Recommended When your entire life has imploded – for whatever the reason – can you go back? How do you put the pieces of your life back together? How do you adjust to the changes in people, places and situations that happened while you were gone? These questions are at the center of Shattered Globe Theatre’s gripping and thought-provoking new play, "Ugly Lies the Bone." 4 Spotlights
**** Highly Recommended The audience was clearly ready and waiting for the much anticipated return of " Lion King," judging by the cheers that greeted the first notes sung by Rafiki the Mandrill (Mukelisiwe Goba). I could see expressions of sheer awe on people’s faces as animals – everything from giraffes to elephants to birds in the sky – walked up the aisles toward the stage. Everything about "The Lion King" is larger than life and because it’s a Disney production, everything is perfect! I give it 4 Spotlights.
*** Recommended Remy Bumppo’s latest production, "Wish You Were Here," is a series of vignettes about four female friends in Iran. Although the acting was outstanding, I was a little underwhelmed. I thought the vignettes, while interesting and even at times poignant, were rather superficial. I think maybe the play was about how hard it is to keep friendships going when times are tough, but maybe not. Maybe I missed the point playwright Sanaz Toossi was trying to make. 3 Spotlights
**** Recommended Elizabeth McGovern, who stars as Ava Gardner in "AVA: The Secret Conversations," is one heck of an actress. I watched her play Lady Cora Crawley in every episode of Downton Abbey – and all three movies – and she was very good, but somehow dwarfed by the bigger personalities – her mother-in-law, her daughter, etc. – around the Abbey. Seeing her in this role, I see what a great actress she really is. 4 Spotlights
**** Highly Recommended Steppenwolf Theatre opens their season with a fascinating family drama, "Mr. Wolf." Rajiv Joseph’s play is about a family dealing the return of a 15-year-old daughter who was kidnapped as a toddler. Can she develop a relationship with these strangers? Can the adults work through all their hostility toward each other and work together? Was the kidnapper a mild-mannered astronomy professor or a total whack job? The answers to these questions kept me spellbound til the end. 4 Spotlights
***** Recommended I really enjoyed the Goodman Theatre’s production of "Ashland Avenue," written by Lee Kirk, a comedy filled with family angst. Kevin Depinet’s amazing set is part of the fun. How many TV sets can you count? And then there’s the cardboard cutout. The story wasn’t that original but it worked. It’s a little on the long side, however. 3 ½ Spotlights
**** Highly Recommended Drury Lane Theatre’s production of "Dial M for Murder" is stylish and sophisticated in a very British way. Seething resentment hides behind drinks and civilized behavior in a posh Mayfair drawing room. The talented cast not only kept everyone’s attention, they were able to convey unspoken nuances too. By the way, the title is something of an anachronism, considering that at least a third of the audience has never used a dial telephone. 4 Spotlights
