Make It Better magazine, February 25, 2015 — PA celebration of the late, lamented August Wilson dominates Chicago’s theater scene in March and April, while at Victory Gardens, another African-American scribe tells a story inspired by today’s headlines. … Read my story for Make It Better.
Category: Theater
Play review: ‘White Guy on the Bus’
Play review: ‘The Night Alive’
Make It Better magazine, October 1, 2014 — Ghosts and devils often mingle with living human beings in Irish playwright Conor McPherson’s dramas. If there are any supernatural elements in his latest play—which is debatable—they aren’t quite so obvious… Read my review in Make It Better. Photo by Michael Brosilow
Play review: ‘Isaac’s Eye’
Make It Better magazine, September 1, 2014 — Just about every work of historical fiction takes liberties with the facts, but some take more liberties than others. “Isaac’s Eye,” Lucas Hnath’s play about 17th-century scientist Isaac Newton, takes a lot. It’s more fable than documentary. But this play, now at Writers Theatre, is completely upfront about that… Read… Continue reading Play review: ‘Isaac’s Eye’
An unforgettable marathon of theater: The Hypocrites’ ‘All Our Tragic’
The Huffington Post, August 13, 2014 — Like most stage plays, All Our Tragic concludes with a final appearance by its cast. Just seeing all of those actors again — and thinking back on the multiple roles each of them had played on that stage over the previous 12 hours — was an unusually stirring experience on Sunday… Continue reading An unforgettable marathon of theater: The Hypocrites’ ‘All Our Tragic’
Play review: ‘Brigadoon’
Make It Better magazine, July 1, 2014 — The mythical village Brigadoon appears in Scotland’s Highlands once every hundred years. After a day, it vanishes back into the mists, its people frozen in time for another century. “Brigadoon,” the 1947 Broadway musical by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe, isn’t quite as difficult to see… Continue reading Play review: ‘Brigadoon’
The Chicago developer who sued Cyrano’s author for plagiarism
This article by Robert Loerzel originally appeared in Playbill magazine in 2014. In 1902, Parisians laughed whenever they heard the name “Chicago.” In cafes, they joked about that city in America where some judge had just ruled that the popular French play Cyrano de Bergerac was a work of plagiarism. Incroyable! And even more unbelievable,… Continue reading The Chicago developer who sued Cyrano’s author for plagiarism
Play review: ‘Henry V’
Make It Better magazine, May 1, 2014 — Shakespeare had a keen eye for spotting the foolishness of humanity, including the frequently bad behavior of Europe’s kings and noblemen. But “Henry V,” the drama now at Chicago Shakespeare Theater, is a different sort of royal history… Read my review in Make It Better. Photo by… Continue reading Play review: ‘Henry V’
Play review: ‘The White Snake’
Make It Better magazine, May 1, 2014 — From the very first moment of “The White Snake,” it’s clear that we’re in Mary Zimmerman Land—a magical and beguiling world that’s familiar from previous plays by this renowned Evanston director. “The White Snake” at Goodman Theatre is classic Zimmerman… Read my review at Make It Better.… Continue reading Play review: ‘The White Snake’
Play review: ‘In the Garden: A Darwinian Love Story’
Make It Better magazine, April 1, 2014 — Charles Darwin shocked the world with his theory of evolution 155 years ago, and people are still arguing about it. These impassioned discussions began right inside Darwin’s home, a story that playwright Sara Gmitter imagines in her new drama… Read my review in Make It Better.