Spotlight on Reviews

"Fun Home" - Review by Al Bresloff

★★★★★For those of you that listen to me on the radio (WCPT820 every Sunday 2-3 p.m.), you have heard me say that seeing a play is unique each time you see it. Unlike a film that is cut and spliced and then stays the same, a play enjoys a new life each time it is done. A different director sees things differently. A different venue changes the blocking. Each set causes a different concept and of course the actors and their interpretations of the roles they are playing is unique. I say this all because tonight, Jane and I attended our third incarnation of “Fun Home” with music by Jeanine Tesori and the book and lyrics by Lisa Kron, as staged by Jim Corti and Landree Fleming as part of the BOLD SERIES at Paramount Theatre’s Copley Theatre in Aurora. What a production!

Other Professional Theater Reviews

Read more about "Fun Home" - Review by Al Bresloff

"Campaigns, Inc." - One of my Top Ten Plays of 2022 - Review by Carol Moore

**** Highly Recommended **** TimeLine Theatre is known for their thoughtful, well-researched, intelligent plays based on real people, real history. In addition to meeting those criteria, "Campaigns, Inc.", a story about the very first political consulting firm – and its female founder – is poignant and surprisingly funny and so very relevant today! Guess what? Dirty tricks in politics have been around for a long time! Kudos to Director Nick Bowling, "Campaigns, Inc." is one of my top ten plays of 2022. 4 BIG Spotlights

Reviews by Carol Moore

Read more about "Campaigns, Inc." - One of my Top Ten Plays of 2022 - Review by Carol Moore

"The Devil Wears Prada" has Pzazz! -Review by Carol Moore

4 Spotlights**** Highly Recommended **** Another Broadway-bound musical premieres in Chicago! On Sunday evening, I was in the audience for the long awaited world premiere of The Devil Wears Prada. I really enjoyed it. It’s not sparkly but it is stylish. Elton John’s frothy pop music and James Alsop’s brilliant choreography added just the right amount of pzazz. 4 Spotlights

Reviews by Carol Moore

Read more about "The Devil Wears Prada" has Pzazz! -Review by Carol Moore

The Second City e.t.c.’s 46th Revue, "Great Altercations" - Review by Carol Moore

**** Highly Recommended **** The Second City e.t.c.’s 46th Revue, "Great Altercations" is downright hilarious. Everywhere I looked, the folks in the audience were laughing – not polite little titters, either – I’m talking guffaws! And this revue is family friendly! We all know that family situations and altercations can be hilarious – afterwards. This revue is all about pointing out the humor in things we’ve all experienced. 4 BIG Spotlights

Reviews by Carol Moore

Read more about The Second City e.t.c.’s 46th Revue, "Great Altercations" - Review by Carol Moore

"A Matter of Red Herrings" A Mystery Spoof - Review by Carol Moore

**** Recommended **** A Matter of Red Herrings. a mystery spoof produced by A Theater in the Dark, is a terrific new option for theater lovers. You don’t have to go to a theater to enjoy it! You listen to it! Just like an audio book or a podcast, you can listen wherever you are – at home, in your car, even while you’re working out! You’ll be laughing in no time listening to all the bad puns and detective story clichés. 4 Spotlights

Reviews by Carol Moore

Read more about "A Matter of Red Herrings" A Mystery Spoof - Review by Carol Moore

Murder, Mayhem and a Lot of Laughs in "A Fine Feathered Murder" - Review by Carol Moore

**** Highly Recommended **** Hell in a Handbag is one of my favorite Chicago theater companies. Their unauthorized parodies of old black and white films and TV shows from the fifties are always packed with double entendres, puns, running sight gags and bad wigs. Since I love Agatha Christie’s mysteries featuring Miss Marple, I was thrilled to see their latest effort, "A Fine Feathered Murder" featuring the always delightful Ed Jones as Miss Jane Marbled. Playwright – and incredibly stylish Lady Violetta Fowler – David Cerda has written another hilarious tongue-in-cheek farce. Be prepared for murder, mayhem and a lot of laughs. 4 BIG Spotlights

Reviews by Carol Moore

Read more about Murder, Mayhem and a Lot of Laughs in "A Fine Feathered Murder" - Review by Carol Moore

Mercury Theatre's "Priscilla: Queen of the Desert" - Reveiw by Carol Moore

**** Recommended **** Mercury Theatre’s production of "Priscilla: Queen of the Desert" is all about disco music and ‘dancing queens’ in sequined costumes. It’s totally over-the-top and a fabulously fun time! Unless you’re a Grinch, you go home laughing and happy. The whole premise, the adventures of three drag queens driving across the Australian Outback, is insane, but don’t let that get in the way. No one else does! People were whooping it up from the first note. I love "Priscilla Queen of the Desert" and I think you will too! 4 Spotlights.

Reviews by Carol Moore

Read more about Mercury Theatre's "Priscilla: Queen of the Desert" - Reveiw by Carol Moore

"Dear Jack, Dear Louise" One of the Best Plays This Year - Review by Carol Moore

**** Highly Recommended **** Northlight Theatre’s production of "Dear Jack, Dear Louise" is one of the best plays I’ve seen this year! Advance reading about the play intrigued me, but I wasn’t sure how the concept would translate to the stage. I didn’t want to see a clone of Love Letters - two people dispassionately reading side by side. I’m happy to say that Ken Ludwig’s tribute to his parents is a fully realized play which is nostalgic, deeply personal yet historically resonant. 4 BIG Spotlights

Reviews by Carol Moore

Read more about "Dear Jack, Dear Louise" One of the Best Plays This Year - Review by Carol Moore

"Reefer Madness" - Review by Carol Moore

**** Highly Recommended **** "Reefer Madness" is a tongue-in-cheek musical satire about the evils of marijuana, based on a 1930’s government-produced film strip. Don't be put off by the title, this is right up there in my funniest musicals top ten. Marijuana is mostly legal now, so I can’t figure out why it’s so rarely staged. Jeff Casey and Kevin Bellamy have embraced the hilarity. After the show, Reefer Madness got the loudest applause I’ve ever heard at the Towle. 4 Spotlights

Reviews by Carol Moore

Read more about "Reefer Madness" - Review by Carol Moore

"It Came From Outer Space" - Review by Carol Moore

**** Highly Recommended **** "It Came From Outer Space" is a new musical by Joe Kinosian and Kellen Blair (the people who wrote Murder for Two). It’s a takeoff on Universal’s 1953 3-D movie starring Richard Carlson and Barbara Rush. Now considered a classic of science fiction cinema, "It Came From Outer Space" is based on a Ray Bradbury film treatment called "The Meteor". "It Came From Outer Space" is a clever comedy, with lots of campy melodrama, tongue-in-cheek dialog, physical humor, slapstick and puns that will make you groan. I loved it! 4 BIG Spotlights

Reviews by Carol Moore

Read more about "It Came From Outer Space" - Review by Carol Moore

"Fun Home" - Review by Al Bresloff

"Campaigns, Inc." - One of my Top Ten Plays of 2022 - Review by Carol Moore

"The Devil Wears Prada" has Pzazz! -Review by Carol Moore

The Second City e.t.c.’s 46th Revue, "Great Altercations" - Review by Carol Moore

"A Matter of Red Herrings" A Mystery Spoof - Review by Carol Moore

Murder, Mayhem and a Lot of Laughs in "A Fine Feathered Murder" - Review by Carol Moore

Mercury Theatre's "Priscilla: Queen of the Desert" - Reveiw by Carol Moore

"Dear Jack, Dear Louise" One of the Best Plays This Year - Review by Carol Moore

"Reefer Madness" - Review by Carol Moore

"It Came From Outer Space" - Review by Carol Moore

Pages

Upcoming Events