Spotlight on Reviews

*** Recommended *** Chicago Shakespeare’s World Stage has finally returned!  The first World Stage production since 2019, Wise Children’s epic production of "Wuthering Heights", adapted and directed by Emma Rice, comes from Great Britain.  Although this production does convey the melancholy, brooding mood of Emily Brontë’s novel, I found it to be really heavy going.  It’s impossible to empathize with any of these characters.  Worse yet, at nearly three hours, it was way too long for American audiences.  3 Spotlights

*** Recommended ***  The Goodman Theatre production of "the ripple, the wave that carried me home" is a beautifully layered story about a family’s struggle against injustice.  Told from an estranged daughter’s perspective, the narrative seems to make huge leaps through time – present to past to earlier past and back again – without warning, which made it difficult to follow.  Another thing to consider, the ripple, the wave runs an hour and 50 minutes without an intermission, which is just too long for me (the seats in the Owen are not the most comfortable).  3 ½ Spotlights

3-1/2 stars – bumped up to 4 stars!  Porchlight Theatre’s “Cabaret” is fun and entertaining yet retains its dark underpinnings of things to come: having to do with the Nazis’ rise to power in Germany in the 1930s. With hummable music by Kander and Ebb and a remarkable book by Joe Masteroff, the singing, dancing, and acting in this show are terrific—and many elements are exceptional.

**** Highly Recommended **** Fans of the beloved TV show "The Golden Girls" will love "The Golden Gals Live!"  While we were chatting at intermission, a friend – who’s a GG aficionado – told me that all the lines in Act I were taken directly from the show, but weren’t always in the same order.  From a personal perspective, since I was only an occasional viewer, I can’t dispute that.  I must say, however, that this cast has the characterizations down pat.  This is a comedy that anyone – TV viewer or not – will enjoy.  The cast is terrific and the laughs are real!  4 Spotlights