Malaya Rivera Drew and Dion Mucciacito/Photo: Liz Lauren

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It speaks volumes about the sad state of human affairs when we can describe the story of the repression and destruction of a great, brilliant woman as fairly predictable fare. Predictable perhaps, but still poignant, especially in light of the continuing unabashed cruelty toward women in parts of the Islamic world even today. Perhaps we tsk-tsk these “uncivilized” cultures a bit too much, for it wasn’t long ago that it was Western culture, with the royal court and the Catholic Church at its core, that destroyed many a great woman (and man, for that matter), in the name of God or king.

So even if there is a familiar Joan-like arc to “The Sins of Sor Juana,” now playing at the Goodman, the particulars of the story of this great poet of Mexico are not as widely known. Brilliant, dynamic and beautiful from a young age, Juana Inés de la Cruz was pre-destined for trouble, and in playwright Karen Zacarías’ fairly straightforward imagining of the circumstances of her life, she finds it. Set at the moment when Juana starts to “lose her voice” thanks to the Church’s inability to abide by its promise to let her write, “The Sins” unfolds in a conventional overlapping story line, with an interwoven flashback that explains how Juana came to the Church and, more importantly perhaps, how she found the raw romantic emotions, both conventional and mildly Sapphic, that would manifest so powerfully in her poems. Read the rest of this entry »

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The story goes that songwriter Harold Arlen hailed a Manhattan taxi one rainy day only to have the cab driver serenade him with “Stormy Weather.” “Do you know who wrote that?” Arlen inquired. “Sure, Irving Berlin,” answered the driver. “Try again.” “Richard Rodgers.” “Nope.” “Cole Porter?” “Actually, I wrote it.” “Who are you?” asked the skeptical driver. “Harold Arlen.” “Harold who?” Despite having composed more than 400 songs including many of the biggest hits of the twentieth century, Arlen has never been a household name. Though he was the songwriter’s songwriter, when “Over the Rainbow” was voted the No. 1 “Song of the Century” by the Recording Industry of America and the National Endowment for the Arts in 2001, Judy Garland’s name was there but Arlen’s name was never mentioned. And yet, had you asked Garland, Sinatra, Ella or virtually any of the singers or songwriters closely associated with the classic American Songbook who their favorite songwriter was, the answer was simply, “Harold.” Read the rest of this entry »

Holly Bittinger, Andrew Jessop, Scott Butler/Photo: Christopher Burpee

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Redtwist Theatre has revived Peter Shaffer’s venerable “Equus,” but this 2010 revival is not to be confused with the company’s 2007 revival. In a full-length program note, Artistic Director Michael Colucci, who directs this “Equus,” goes into great detail about the differences between the two productions—from cast and crew to design changes. What this communicates to me—besides the fact that Colucci really, really, really likes this play—is that he and his collaborators have tremendous belief in what they can bring to it. This is a refreshingly bold artistic statement if ever there was one. But it is one Colucci and his collaborators have earned the right to make, for this “Equus” is a very good production of a very good play. It’s not without its challenges, but overall this is an absorbing, arresting and intelligent staging. Read the rest of this entry »

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For nearly  400 years, the Irish suffered at the hands of British landowners, suffocated by poverty, ignorance and superstition. But instead of focusing on its weaknesses, playwright Jim Lynch concentrates on the culture’s strengths—its cleverness and humor—to show poor farmers rising above tough times and surviving.

Lovers Katie (Marta Evans) and Finbar (Shane Kenyon) dream of leaving their village; Frankie (Nick Horst) dreams of staying, working the land and prospering. Finbar must go head-to-head with Katie’s over-protective, snobbish mother Breda (Miranda Zola); Frankie must outfox a corrupt priest (Malcom Callan).

Frank Nall and Bill Boehler’s slapstick is a hoot, Horst and Callan’s confrontation is a fearsome thing to watch. But the gem of the evening is Finbar’s come-to-jesus meeting with Breda; Kenyon savors his advantage like a starving man at a steak dinner while Zola gives as good as she gets. It’s good craic. (Lisa Buscani)

The Artistic Home, 3914 North Clark, (866)811-4111, through August 1.

Trinity Murdock, Rhonda Preston and Rick Stone/Photo: Danny Nicholas

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Any new show at the Black Ensemble Theater remains the perfect introduction for anyone who hasn’t experienced this troupe before. Their show template, or formula, or whatever you want to call it, just keeps getting better. Those God-given, up-to-the-rafters vocals still bring down the house, but there’s more control and texture to them. The quality of the sets and costumes look more and more like something you’d see on another big stage in the city. The song selections remain strong and fabulous, but the play list is more varied and allows for more of the singers’ divergent personalities to shine through. And the band! The five-piece band, led by musical director Robert Reddrick, alone is worth the price of admission. There will always be room for improvement in the book department, that thin narrative line on which those musical numbers are sometimes haphazardly hung. Still, you can’t fault BET too much for this, especially when they’re conscious of it themselves and can turn a lack of dramatic motivation into a humorous moment of meta-theatrics. And you have to give credit to an ensemble that will admirably toss political correctness to the side for the sake of an honest line and genuine social observation. In their new show, when one character is at the end of her rope with a nasty landlord and another asks if they can get their “boys” to “take care of things,” her response doesn’t mince words: “Oh, please negro, your boys are probably dead or on Social Security.” This gets one of the biggest laughs of the evening, as it should. Read the rest of this entry »

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Austrian playwright Arthur Schnitzler’s “La Ronde” focused on sexual encounters in nineteenth-century Vienna; it was a pornographic scandal. Joe DiPietro’s “Fucking Men” takes the same format, and moves it to the gay community with intriguing results.

It’s a meaningful look at the desire for connection and the work it takes to maintain it. The piece’s construction is a tad repetitive; emphasizing pull-out quotes from each scene wears a bit. And the final consolation that “you’ll meet someone else” offers precious little solace to a grieving lover. But the dialogue’s clever, the pacing is brisk and the guys are uniformly hot.

Standouts include Ryan Lanning as the “HIV-enhanced” playwright who pushes back when muscled by a closeted movie star, and Arthur Luis Soria as a street hustler who finds a dubious love. Both deliver the show’s sharpest lines with crackerjack timing. It’s perfect Pride Weekend fodder that should last beyond Pride. (Lisa Buscani)

Bailiwick Chicago at The Theater Building, 1225 W. Belmont, (773)327-5252, through August 29.

Luke Daigle and Brenton Abens

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This weekend’s first annual Hope Through Dance Festival, in honor of Laura Maceika, a Chicago Dance Crash member at the time of her death last year, consists of people who were connected to Laura—people she danced with, choreographers who worked with her, as well as students she taught.

The festival was created by her mother, Jeri Pulver, the founder of the Laura Twirls Foundation, which she started when she realized there was not a lot of support systems for the family victims of suicide. “I didn’t find this support and there’s not a lot out there period for suicide. No one wants to talk about it,” says Pulver.

The goals of Laura Twirls are to provide dance scholarships as well as financial support to mental health facilities focusing on assisting the survivors of suicide. “It is a reality. Mental illness, like other diseases, can result in death. I want to educate people and remove the stigma.” Read the rest of this entry »

By Sharon Hoyer

Grants from the Chicago Dancemakers Forum are designed to free artists from scrounging for funding and creating sacred time to reflect on, develop and deepen their work. When Kevin Iega Jeff went into the studio with a CDF grant, he found himself going back to his origins, tracing his development as a dancer and choreographer through the people that gave context to his world. He traveled to his parents’ respective hometowns in South Carolina, talked with mentors, friends and other dancers, all to better understand how his roots nourished his current life and work.

“For me it was an opportunity to reflect upon the years I’ve been here in Chicago and how people who have helped to make me possible have inspired my life,” Jeff says. “I’ve been here sixteen years and the journey has been great and challenging, uplifting at times and low at times—like anyone’s life you have high periods and low periods—and what anchors you in that are the people who give you an understanding of who you are in creation.” Read the rest of this entry »

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In her latest experiment, artistic director Michelle Kranicke manipulates the elements of proximity and attention span, allowing audience members to position themselves on the periphery or at the center of the Epiphany Church stage, and reminding us that perspective—and subjectivity in general—are potent players in the watching and, consequently, creation of dance. Kranicke was inspired by artist Brice Marden’s search for the perfect color via painting and repainting the same canvas—a practice she inverts by attempting to strip away the components of dance performance. It will be interesting to see what is revealed by the blank canvas, particularly for those with the guts to sit in the middle of the action (or inaction or potential action, alternately). The program also includes a new trio by associate AD Emily Stein, concerned with the complex relationship between the performer and the audience. The title, Kranicke says, was chosen for its implication of intent: looking is far more participatory than seeing. Check out this show; it’s all about you. (Sharon Hoyer)

At Epiphany Episcopal Church, 201 S. Ashland, (773)489-5069. June 24-26, 8pm. $20.