steppenwolf – ROBERT LOERZEL

‘Grand Concourse’ play review

Make It Better, July 24, 2015 — Young people can be so puzzling to older generations. Countless articles have asked, “What’s up with millennials, anyway?” And several recent plays at Steppenwolf Theatre, including “The Night Alive” and “Airline Highway,” zeroed in on this struggle for comprehension across the generational divide. In each of these plays, the… Continue reading ‘Grand Concourse’ play review

Play review: ‘The Herd’

Steppenwolf Theatre’s production of “The Herd” features, from left, Audrey Francis, Cliff Chamberlain, Francis Guinan, Lois Smith and John Mahoney. Photo by Michael Brosilow.

Make It Better magazine, April 14, 2015 — Like so many other plays before it, “The Herd” is about a family gathering that turns into a moment of crisis and confrontation. It’s a familiar formula, but British actor-playwright Rory Kinnear’s drama is an exceptionally well-written take on this scenario. Read my review for Make It… Continue reading Play review: ‘The Herd’

Play reviews: Steppenwolf’s Garage Rep

“Heat Wave” features, from left to right: Carmen Molina, Claudia DiBiccari, Mykele Callicut, Paula Ramirez, Preston Tate Jr., Deanna Reed-Foster and James McGuire. The show is part of Steppenwolf Theatre Company’s Garage Rep 2015. Photo by Anna Sodziak.

Make It Better magazine, March 9, 2015 — Steppenwolf, one of Chicago’s most famous and venerated theaters, brings attention to lesser-known theatrical companies once a year with a festival called Garage Rep… Read my review for Make It Better. Photo by Anna Sodziak

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: ‘Russian Transport’

Make It Better magazine, February 1, 2014 — The characters in “Russian Transport” sprinkle their conversations with Russian phrases. Sometimes, they switch over to the language of their motherland for a whole sentence or two. But you don’t need to be fluent in Russian to understand what they’re talking about… Read my review in Make… Continue reading Play review: ‘Russian Transport’

Play review: ‘Tribes’

Make It Better magazine, December 1, 2013 — The tribe at the center of “Tribes” is an argumentative English family, a bunch of Brits who are prone to shouting matches and cruel taunts. Except, that is, for Billy, one of three adult children in this combative clan… Read my review in Make It Better. Photo… Continue reading Play review: ‘Tribes’

Play review: ‘Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?’

The Huffington Post, December 16, 2010 — Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre is on a hot streak. One of the reasons is its strong ensemble of actors… Read my review at the Huffington Post. Photo by Michael Brosilow

Play review: ‘The Brother/Sister Plays’

The Huffington Post, April 17, 2010 — There are at least two levels in just about every great piece of theater. On one level, we should believe the characters we’re seeing onstage are real. On another level, we’re fully aware of the fact that we’re watching a performance… Read my review at the Huffington Post.

John Mahoney discusses ‘The Seafarer’

This article by Robert Loerzel originally appeared in Pioneer Press on December 3, 2008. When John Mahoney needed a refresher course on how to do a Dublin accent, he went straight to an expert — the acclaimed Irish actor Gabriel Byrne. Mahoney, the Oak Park actor best known for his role in the 1993-2004 sitcom “Frazier,”… Continue reading John Mahoney discusses ‘The Seafarer’