Spotlight on Reviews

"The Tasters" - Review by Alan Bresloff

★★★★★ Recently I saw a play about Hitler’s tasters which may have been the start of Meghan Brown’s “The Tasters”, now in its World Premiere at Rivendell Theatre. Brown’s story is not about an actual leader but instead is about a Government that has four major leaders during what appears to be a people’s revolution. The fear of their food being laced with poison causes them to use tasters. The women that we meet are Bianca (Paula Ramirez), Corrine ( Daniellla Pereira) and Elyse (Shariba Rivers).

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"Grease" - Review by Alan Bresloff

★★★★★ Marriott Theatre has brought back the true “Grease” with its book, music and lyrics by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. This is the Chicago version and is quite different that the “Hollywood”, John Travolta/Olivia Newton-John film. This play was written by Chicagoans about a Chicago high school ( Taft High School is Rydell) and this version if far meatier. At the helm of making this pleasurable theatrical experience take place is director Scott Weinstein who truly knows how to use the in-the-round stage at Marriott. He keeps the action moving and allows all four sides of the theater great views.

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"Top Girls" - Review by Carol Moore

*** Recommended *** “Top Girls” is an unusual play written by British playwright Caryl Churchill. Since I’d seen the play before (a Dunes Summer Theatre production in 2010), I knew where it was going. A word of warning, what with the weird dream sequence in Act I, will be more or less incomprehensible – at least until Act III, when you’ll figure it out. “Top Gun” was written as a reaction to Margaret Thatcher’s election in England, so it has a definite feminist slant. Because it’s ‘non-linear’, Churchill skips through time, which explains why the rest of us end up clueless. 3 Spotlights

Reviews by Carol Moore

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Towle Theater Season Preview

The Towle Theater’s annual Season Preview is always a lovely event. It’s a short evening, just about two hours, with a reception (light hors d’oevres and drinks in the lobby) followed by a season sampler, typically a short scene or a single song from each. Two plays and two musicals make up the Towle 2020 season, “Theater with Vision - It’s all in how you look at it”. Managing Director Jeff Casey introduced each play, explaining how and why it was chosen.

Reviews by Carol Moore

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33rd Annual Young Playwrights Festival - Review by Carol Moore

*** Recommended *** After a couple of weeks off for the holidays, I look forward to the Young Playwrights Festival which is almost always the first theatrical opening of the year. This is the 33rd year of the annual event sponsored by Pegasus Theatre Chicago. This is a chance to see the future of Chicago theater – maybe the future of American theater. If you go, you’ll see three very different plays written by two outstanding high school students, and a third who graduated and started college in the meantime. I always gain valuable insight about the things on kids’ minds today. 3 Spotlights.

Reviews by Carol Moore

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"Dance Nation" - Review by Carol Moore

*** Recommended *** My first reaction after seeing “Dance Nation” was a qualified ‘interesting’. I just didn’t understand why adults were cast as tweens. However, the more I thought about it, the more it dawned on me. Tween angst is real! Some of the things that tweens are dealing with – things like fitting in, being bullied, zits, weight, menstruation, problems at home – are so embarrassing a young actor might have difficulty even voicing them. The Steppenwolf cast – adults of all ages – are well able to access those angst-y memories of tween-hood. “Dance Nation” was more than interesting, it was quirky, intense and insightful. 3 Spotlights

Reviews by Carol Moore

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The Amazing "Champions of Magic" - Review by Carol Moore

**** Recommended **** Champions of Magic is an amazing show! Several of the award-winning stars have appeared on the CW’s “Penn and Teller: Fool Us. The five are: illusionists, Young and Strange; mind reader, Alex McAleer; escape artist, Fernando Velasquez; and close-up magician extraordinaire, Kayla Drescher. I was in awe watching them perform. The show includes plenty of audience participation, too. Hurry and get your tickets for this family friendly spectacle. 4 Holiday Spotlights

Reviews by Carol Moore

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Irreverent, Mischievous and Snarky "The Santaland Diaries" - Review by Carol Moore

**** Recommended **** Goodman Theatre’s production of “The Santaland Diaries”, written by David Sedaris and adapted for the stage by Joe Mantello. In his early days as a struggling writer in New York, Sedaris took a job as an elf at Macy’s Department Store. Steven Strafford stars in the one-man show directed by Steve Scott. “The Santaland Diaries” is irreverent, mischievous, snarky, and really, really funny. 4 Holiday Spotlights

Reviews by Carol Moore

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"The Land of Forgotten Toys" - Review by Jeffrey Leibham

****HIGHLY RECOMMENDED**** The holidays seem to be a time when more and more theater companies are adding seasonal programming to attract new patrons and entertain large groups or families. The slate of Christmas-themed shows this year seems to be particularly brimming with tantalizing and appealing options. With the field so chock-full of copious goodies, packed tighter than Santa's sleigh on Christmas Eve, it can be difficult to choose just which show to see. Instead of going to see yet another version of "A Christmas Carol" or "The Nutcracker" why not take a chance and go to see a brand new family-friendly musical that is receiving its world premiere at The Greenhouse Theater Center? "The Land of Forgotten Toys," presented by CPA Theatricals, a Chicago-based non-profit organization, is a show that covers several different genres and is loaded with a ton of heart, robust good cheer and overflowing with genuine joy. 4 HOLIDAY SPOTLIGHTS

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“Miracle on 34th Street: A Live Musical Radio Play” - Review by Carol Moore

**** Recommended **** Take your family on a nostalgic trip into the past with the Towle Theater’s production of “Miracle on 34th Street: A Live Musical Radio Play”, adapted from the 1947 Lux Radio Broadcast by Lance Arthur Smith with original songs and arrangements by Jon Lorenz. Forget about all your electronic devices – sit back and relax. It’s 1947 and you’re a member of the ‘studio audience’ for a ‘live radio’ broadcast. The actors will stand at the mics, read their parts, sing the songs, and do the commercials right in front you. Did you ever wonder if Kris Kringle really is Santa Claus? The answer will be found in “Miracle on 34th Street: A Live Musical Radio Play”. 4 Holiday Spotlights

Community Reviews

Read more about “Miracle on 34th Street: A Live Musical Radio Play” - Review by Carol Moore

"The Tasters" - Review by Alan Bresloff

"Grease" - Review by Alan Bresloff

"Top Girls" - Review by Carol Moore

Towle Theater Season Preview

33rd Annual Young Playwrights Festival - Review by Carol Moore

"Dance Nation" - Review by Carol Moore

The Amazing "Champions of Magic" - Review by Carol Moore

Irreverent, Mischievous and Snarky "The Santaland Diaries" - Review by Carol Moore

"The Land of Forgotten Toys" - Review by Jeffrey Leibham

“Miracle on 34th Street: A Live Musical Radio Play” - Review by Carol Moore

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