Reviews by Carol Moore

**** Highly Recommended  As I watched Porchlight Music Theatre’s new production, "The Irish … and How They Got That Way," I felt like I was watching my family history. The narrative storytelling by the ensemble cast of four, interspersed with Irish music, was witty, interesting, historical, and sometimes downright sarcastic (especially when describing the English and how they got that way - food). "The Irish …" is charming and I give it 4 Spotlights

**** Recommended  "Stereophonic" is kind of a difficult play to review. First, it’s a drama with music, not a musical. I think a lot of people didn’t like it, since many of them left at intermission. Maybe they thought it was going to be a jukebox musical. Second, it has four acts, one intermission, and comes in at a whopping 3 hours long (give or take five minutes). Finally, it felt like a documentary, gritty and truthful. I’m recommending "Stereophonic," with a slight caveat – remember, creativity just doesn’t go in a straight line. 3 ½ Spotlights

Highly Recommended  I really enjoyed "Charles Dickens Begrudgingly Performs A Christmas Carol, Blake Montgomery’s Jeffrey Award-winning one-man show. The genial Montgomery, wearing reindeer ears and a battle worn tail-coat, greeted and welcomed us as we claimed our seats, even offering candy canes before he began the program. 4 Spotlights

**** Highly Recommended  I absolutely LOVED Chicago Shakespeare’s production of "Much Ado About Nothing." It’s fresh, frolicsome and very, very funny. As the title indicates, the characters are reacting – and over-reacting – to what they think they know about something that actually never happened. In his comedies Shakespeare often set up situations in which the supposedly ‘wise’ men are fools and the fools are wise men. It’s certainly true in "Much Ado about Nothing." 4 BIG Spotlights