Spotlight on Reviews

****HIGHLY RECOMMENDED****   If you are hesitant to explore contemporary operas because you fear that the music will be too atonal or discordant, then you need to hear the soaring and oft-times ethereal score of "Proximity." If you shy away from modern operatic productions because you feel that they have nothing of any importance to state or that they are out-of-touch with reality and are completely irrelevant, then you need to let the profound importance of "Proximity" wash over you. And if all of that isn't enough to engage you, the visually stunning stagecraft of "Proximity" alone is well worth the price of admission to this bold, daring and highly inventive new work.  4 BIG SPOTLIGHTS

**** Recommended **** Hammond Community Theatre’s latest show is a totally macabre musical revue – and it’s hilarious!  No kidding, "Madwomen’s Late-Nite Cabaret" will have you laughing from the very first song all the way to the finale.  You will not believe how perfectly certain well-known songs certain maligned women’s lives/death scenes.  This is a don't miss show!   

**** Highly Recommended **** Chicago Shakespeare’s production of The Comedy of Errors is Barbara Gaines last gift to Chicago audiences – and it’s a great one!  I can’t think of anything I’d change. Gaines collaborated with Second City’s Ron West to update and reprise their 2008 version – putting Shakespeare’s shortest play literally inside another play.  The result is hilarious – with a ton of sight gags, slapstick and pratfalls.  Shakespeare lover or not, I think everyone will enjoy The Comedy of Errors!  A must-see!  4 BIG Spotlights

****HIGHLY RECOMMENDED**** Ask anyone that you may know, whether they are an avid patron of the arts, merely possess a casual interest in classical music or have never attended a theatrical production in their lifetime, to name an opera -- any opera -- chances are extremely high that they will mention Carmen, Georges Bizet's 1875 work is so universally beloved that even non-opera fans will be familiar with much of its iconic score. Carmen is one of the top three operas that are presented by opera companies, both large and small, throughout the world each year. With its popularity notwithstanding and many feeling that it may be presented much too frequently, some may shy away from seeing yet another production of Carmen.   However, the current offering at Lyric Opera of Chicago, featuring two stellar leads and one sensational soprano in her Lyric debut, is not-to-be-missed.  4 BIG SPOTLIGHTS