Playbill, October 2017 — People love to root for the underdog. And who’s more of an underdog than a ragtag kid shouting “Extra!, Extra!” as he sells newspapers on the crowded streets of a big, dirty city? That’s a big part of the appeal of Newsies. “It is an immigrant story,” says Aaron Thielen, artistic… Continue reading Why Newsies’ Regional Premiere Is Unlike Any Other Staging of the Tony-Winning Musical
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What to Expect from Paramount Theatre’s Million Dollar Quartet
Playbill, September 2017 — On December 4, 1956, Sam Phillips—the record producer famed as the father of rock ’n’ roll—telephoned the Memphis Press-Scimitar with a hot tip. Acting quickly, the newspaper rushed a reporter and photographer over to Phillips’ little storefront recording studio, Sun Records. The photo caption in the next day’s paper set the scene:… Continue reading What to Expect from Paramount Theatre’s Million Dollar Quartet
Why Machinal Should Be Revived More Often
Playbill, August 2017 — Plot spoilers aren’t a big worry with Sophie Treadwell’s 1928 play Machinal. Just about every description of the expressionist drama says it was inspired by the true story of Ruth Snyder, a Queens housewife who murdered her husband and was executed at New York’s Sing Sing. Chicago’s Greenhouse Theater, which is… Continue reading Why Machinal Should Be Revived More Often
How a Government Agency Ended Up Responsible for Swing Mikado, Among Others
Playbill, July 2017 — Arts agencies consume a microscopic fraction of the $4 trillion U.S. budget. And yet government funding for the arts is controversial; calls to eliminate it never fully subside. But there was a time when the government did more than just provide grants. For a few years, the government actually had its own… Continue reading How a Government Agency Ended Up Responsible for Swing Mikado, Among Others
Good Fences Don’t Necessarily Make Good Neighbors in Native Gardens
Playbill, June 2017 — A fence divides two backyards in Native Gardens, a new play at Chicago’s Victory Gardens Theater. A white couple has lived for a long time on one side of the fence. On the other side, a Latino couple has just moved in. When you see that fence, it’s hard not to think… Continue reading Good Fences Don’t Necessarily Make Good Neighbors in Native Gardens
Ike Holter and ‘The Wolf at the End of the Block’
Playbill, January 2017 — For a playwright who has received the highest praise from critics, Ike Holter is disarmingly modest. “I’m pretty dumb,” the 30-year-old Chicagoan says, struggling to explain how he writes his riveting dialogue. “I have no way of saying how it comes out.” Dumb? Really? That’s just about the last thing you’d say after… Continue reading Ike Holter and ‘The Wolf at the End of the Block’
Newberry Library’s Shakespeare Exhibit
Playbill, December 2016 — As the world marked the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare’s death, Chicago had good reason to boast. Even though it’s an ocean and half a continent away from Shakespeare’s home turf in England, the city hosted the largest celebration of the Bard in 2016. “There’s really nothing that matches Shakespeare 400… Continue reading Newberry Library’s Shakespeare Exhibit
‘An Issue of Blood’ at Victory Gardens
This article by Robert Loerzel originally appeared in Playbill magazine’s Chicago edition in April 2015. Last fall, Marcus Gardley was supposed to be writing A Wonder in My Soul, a play revolving around a group of Chicago soul singers from the 1960s. It was scheduled to make its world premiere in April at Victory Gardens Theatre. But after… Continue reading ‘An Issue of Blood’ at Victory Gardens
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
Viola Spolin, pioneer of Chicago improv
By Robert Loerzel Originally published in Playbill magazine in June 2012. Theater and comedy in Chicago wouldn’t be what they are without Viola Spolin. She may not be quite as famous as others who left their marks on the city’s theater scene — such as playwright David Mamet or performer John Malkovich — but as an… Continue reading Viola Spolin, pioneer of Chicago improv