Spotlight on Reviews

**** Recommended   My bad!  When I read the pre-show press release for "A Wonderful World, A New Musical about the Life and Loves of Louis Armstrong", I overlooked this key phrase – as told by the women in his life.  Although I didn’t expect a jukebox musical, I did think the musical would actually be about Satchmo!  Instead, I saw a musical divided into four chapters paralleling his career but defined by his four wives.  I was disappointed because I wanted to know more about him, not them.  "A Wonderful World" is a good musical but it just didn’t pop for me.  4 Spotlights

**** Highly Recommended   LUCHA TEOTL was a total blast!  I laughed so much my face hurt – it was that much fun!  Let me set the stage so you can visualize – people making signs to cheer on their favorites; pre-show mariachi music; a wrestling ring – and why call it a ring when it’s square, but I digress – in the center of the Goodman’s Owen Theatre: and wrestlers bouncing off the ropes.  Sheer craziness and it totally worked!  4 BIG Spotlights

*** Recommended   "Sanctuary City", an angst-filled drama, was just not my cup of tea. I really didn’t like the stop-action staging, on an empty stage, often repeating the same line of dialogue over and over again in different areas on the stage.  I found it distracting, making it difficult to concentrate on what the actors were saying, which meant I didn’t/couldn’t empathize with them.  I ended up thinking B was whiny, G was mean.  3 Spotlights

**** Recommended   As we were driving to Writers Theatre in Glencoe to see "Eurydice", my friend Crista and I discussed and dissected Sarah Ruhl’s plays.  Crista tended not to like them, I liked more than I disliked.  We both had questions about her version of Eurydice, wondering how the addition of Eurydice’s father would fit into the Greek legend.  In fact, I think Eurydice’s interaction with her father added emotion, pathos if you will, to a harsh legend.  Unfortunately, it’s rather slow-moving, so I zoned out once or twice.  3 ½ Spotlights