Review: NORA at Antaeus Theatre Company
The problem with NORA is that in the longer, three-act running time of “A Doll’s House,” Nora’s world and its inhabitants would be fleshed out so that they had depth that is not evident in this adaptation.
Review: NOTES FROM THE FIELD At TimeLine Theatre Company
With NOTES FROM THE FIELD, playwright Anna Deavere Smith once again proves she’s a master of her genre of theatrical storytelling. Known for her documentary (or verbatim) plays, Smith presents monologues from 19 different interviews in this exploration of the school-to-prison pipeline in America. By allowing her interview subjects to literally speak for themselves, Smith has mastered the art of showing and not telling. NOTES FROM THE FIELD has a clear agenda; it’s a searing condemnation of the systemic failings of the American judicial, police, educational, and penitentiary institutions — and most notably a condemnation of the ways in which those systems have failed Black and Brown Americans. But Smith conveys her points with a blistering humanity (even if, at two hours and 40 minutes, I think she could have arrived at those points with a shorter run-time).
Toni Morrison's THE BLUEST EYE Opens 'Balancing Act' Season at A Noise Within
Three young Black girls in 1940s Ohio strive to make sense of love, sisterhood, abuse and hate. A Noise Within opens its 2023-24 'Balancing Act' season with The Bluest Eye, adapted for the stage by Lydia R. Diamond from the novel by Pulitzer and Nobel Prize-winning author Toni Morrison and directed by Andi Chapman.
BOULEVARD OF BOLD DREAMS Comes to Timeline Theatre
TimeLine’s 2022-23 subscription season returns February 1 – March 19, 2023 with the world premiere of Boulevard of Bold Dreams by LaDarrion Williams, a Los Angeles-based playwright new to Chicago audiences, with a story about dreamers overcoming obstacles and fighting for recognition amidst the racism and inequity of Hollywood.
Interview: Julanne Chidi Hill On Her Career & Her GREAT JHERI CURL DEBATEs
Next up at East West Players, playwright Inda Craig-Galván’s The Great Jheri Curl Debate opening September 17 (with previews beginning September 15). Scarlett Kim directs the cast of Julanne Chidi Hill, Ryun Yu, Ray Baker, Mildred Marie Langford and Bruce A. Lemon Jr. I got the chance to pepper Julanne, a frequent player in the Los Angeles theatre scene, with a few queries on Jheri Curl and her productive career.
Equity Jeff Awards Announce 2022 Nominations
The Joseph Jefferson Awards have announced this year's Equity nominations, including 201 theater artists across 38 categories. The 54th anniversary Equity Jeff Awards will take place October 17, 2022, at Drury Lane in Oakbrook, IL.
Echo LABFEST 2022 Readings to Take Place Online
The Echo Theater Company has moved the previously announced Echo LABFest 2022, readings of seven new plays developed in the company's Playwright's Lab under the leadership of Brian Otaño and Hannah Wolf, online.
BWW Interview: Jonathon Saia on the NEW WORKS FESTIVAL at Morgan-Wixson Theatre
I was so impressed with the two new plays I saw, Boulevard of Bold Dreams and Pretender, I decided to speak with New Works Festival Co-Producer Jonathon Saia (who is also active with the Morgan-Wixson as a D.E.I. Committee Member and Play Reading Committee Member) to find out more about how and why the New Plays Festival came into existence.