There’s nothing new here: in a satire of middle-class social life, a group of English suburbanites get sloshed at a cocktail party, grope each other, fight with their spouses, and listen to terrible music. The play grew out of improvisation by actors in the original 1977 production,  and while the cultural and stylistic datedness of the work is fun, it’s unfocused as a series of jokes rather than a coherent theater piece. The gags are predictable from a mile away, and the narrative as a whole seems to drag from one somewhat contrived  scene to another (a cuckolded husband trying to talk about art while his wife seduces a sleazy ex-professional soccer player), as characters get drunker and drunker and lurch toward an inevitable farcical tragedy. Social commentary about relationships and petty ambition comes through, but it’s dated in a way that keeps it from feeling relevant, such as a brief discussion of the neighborhood becoming “mixed.” What saves the show is the acting; Kirsten Fitzgerald in particular as the materialistic bulldozer of a hostess adds a much-needed level of sharpness. As a vehicle for astute comic actors to play off of each other, it’s an amusing time, but like a bad party, the show goes on just a bit too long. (Monica Westin)

At A Red Orchid Theatre, 1531 N. Wells, (312)943-8722. Through March 28.

Tara DeFrancisco, No. 36

In this town of performers—theater makers, dancers, comedy creators—you’d think it’d be pretty easy to assemble a list of artistic influencers and innovators. And it is. The challenge is paring that list down to a mere fifty. It’s a testament to the wonders of the performing-arts culture in Chicago that we easily came up with about 200 names when we set out to create this year’s version of The Players. Unfortunately, we’re only listing a fraction of those worthy of your attention, but that’s the problem with an abundance of riches. Hopefully you’ll see a handful of recognizable names and a whole lot more you’ll start noticing from this point on. We’ve retooled the criteria for this year, focusing on onstage artistic achievement, rather than the backstage influence of artistic directors, executive directors and the like—who will get their day again next year. Let the arguments begin. Read the rest of this entry »

Top 5 Shows
“Desire Under the Elms,” Goodman
“Blackbird,” Victory Gardens
“South Pacific,” Lincoln Center Theater
“The Tempest,” Steppenwolf
“Spring Awakening,” Broadway In Chicago 
—Brian Hieggelke

Top 5 Shows
“The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity,” Victory Gardens/Teatro Vista
“An Apology For the Course and Outcome of Certain Events Delivered by Doctor John Faustus on This His Final Evening,” Theater Oobleck
“The Pillowman,” Redtwist
“Frat,” The New Colony
“Red Noses,” Strawdog
—Nina Metz Read the rest of this entry »

The Addams Family at The Oriental/Photo: Samuel Adams

By Brian Hieggelke

As the wind blows the snow sideways this December evening, the weatherman is telling Chicagoans to stay bunkered; the deserted downtown streets reflect their obedience. All save the sidewalk near the intersection of State and Randolph, as TV crews jockey for faces on the red carpet in front of the Ford Center for the Performing Arts Oriental Theatre, where more than 2,000 patrons, including a who’s who of backstage Broadway, are gathering for the world premiere of a new musical featuring a AAA list of talent, onstage and off. “The Addams Family,” with multiple Tony winners Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth in its leads, a book from the librettists of “Jersey Boys” and so on, is certainly Broadway bound, but tonight—tonight—Chicago is the center of theater in the world.

That’s the story of Chicago theater in the zeroes: the decade in which it grew up and got big. Whether it’s the launch and monumental success of Broadway In Chicago, the maturation and astonishing quality of a remarkable number of small and mid-sized companies or the increasing demand for Chicago product and Chicago talent on Broadway, Chicago theater has fully come into its own. Read the rest of this entry »

Peter DeFaria and Randy Steinmeyer in "A Steady Rain" at Chicago Dramatists

Annoyance Theatre
Coed Prison Sluts: $64,000, 5,380 people

The Artistic Home
Peer Gynt: $19,044 box office, 1,200 people

Chicago Dramatists
A Steady Rain: $21,000 box office,1,500 people at CD, 10,000 at Royal George Theatre
Cadillac: $23,000 box office,1,600 people at CD, 1,500 at Theatre on the Lake

Collaboraction
The Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow, $150,000 box office, 6,500 people Read the rest of this entry »

The 2006/07 season brought the grand opening of the new Victory Gardens Biograph Theater, following more than $11 million in renovations

Annoyance Theatre (founded 1987)
“We don’t really have a regular operating budget—just plan as we go along.”
—Jennifer Estlin, President, Annoyance Theatre

The Artistic Home (founded 1998)
End of nineties: $62,000
End of zeroes: $164,500

Bailiwick Chicago (founded 2009)
End of nineties: N/A (Bailiwick Repertory is now defunct)
End of zeroes: $120,000 projected 2010

Chicago Dramatists (founded 1979)
End of nineties: $171,000
End of zeroes: $550,000

Collaboraction (founded 1996)
End of nineties: $50,000
End of zeroes: $500,000

Court Theatre (founded 1955)
End of nineties: $2.6 million
End of zeroes: $3.2 million Read the rest of this entry »

As part of our decade retrospective, we surveyed more than forty theater companies for their observations to a couple of questions. What follows are their formatted but unedited responses.

Deb Clapp
Executive Director, League of Chicago Theatres (founded 1979)

Any observations or thoughts about Chicago theater in the last decade?
Over the last decade, Chicago has seen the downtown theater district grow and thrive, Goodman moved downtown and several theaters were re-furbished. Lookingglass moved into their new digs on Michigan Avenue and theater has flourished. Several exciting new companies have been established including The House Theatre of Chicago, Silk Road Theatre Project, New Leaf Theatre and Rasaka, among many others.

Is there a “Chicago style” anymore (if there ever was) and has it changed? What, today, distinguishes Chicago theater from anywhere else?
A number of unique characteristics distinguish Chicago theater. We have a unique ecology encompassing a wide range of theater artistry, from spectacle to culturally specific, horror to improv, houses with thousands of seats to houses with 18 seats. Our community is very collegial and collaborative, sharing ideas and resources. When one theater has a hit show, its not just a hit for that show, it’s a hit for Chicago. Our directors, authors, actors, stagehands, producers, all are Chicagoans and all create for a Chicago audience.

Outside of your own company, who or what excites you most about local theater right now?
Chicago is the best place to see and to make theater in the world. A lot of attention from other parts of the country and the world is being paid to Chicago theater right now and while that is wonderful and will inevitably lead us to greater things, what continues to happen every night in Chicago theater brings me joy. Telling our stories and the stories of others, bringing the world on stage every night, that’s what excites me most. Read the rest of this entry »

Here’s the press release announcing the Jeff noms for Equity:

Chicago Theatres Shine in Outstanding Jeff Nominated Productions of 2008-2009 Season

Goodman Theatre and Drury Lane Oakbrook
Top List of Award Nominees

50 Years of The Second City to be Spotlighted
at The Jeff Awards

Thursday, August 27, 2009 – Chicago, IL.   The Jeff Awards today announced 179 nominations in 35 categories for Chicago Equity theatrical productions which opened between August 1, 2008, and July 31, 2009. The Jeff Awards sent judges to the opening nights of 141 productions offered by 57 producing organizations. From these openings, 98 Equity productions were “Jeff Recommended,” which made them eligible for award nominations.

The 41st Annual Jeff Awards ceremony, honoring excellence in professional theatre produced within the immediate Chicago area, will be held on Monday, October 19, at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie, 9501 Skokie Boulevard. A pre-show Appetizer Buffet will run from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., and the Awards Ceremony, directed by Michael Weber, will begin at 7:30 p.m. The Second City, celebrating 50 years as a producer, will play a featured role at the Jeff Awards ceremony. Advance purchase tickets, which include the ceremony and the pre-show buffet, are $75 ($55 for members of Actors’ Equity Association, United Scenic Artists, Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, and The Dramatists Guild of America). The evening is black tie optional and the public is cordially invited to attend. To purchase tickets, visit the Jeff Awards website at www.jeffawards.org. For more information, contact Equity Chair Diane Hires at equitywing@jeffawards.org. Read the rest of this entry »

Diversey Harbor

By Nina Metz

Theater is about showing.  Don’t tell us something is sad or tough or funny or complicated.  Show us, and leave the exposition to book writers. There are exceptions, of course, and you can catch two fine examples currently in town with “Diversey Harbor” (Theatre Seven at the Greenhouse) and “Pumpgirl” (at A Red Orchid). The scripts are verbal landscapes—closer to books-on-tape or something you’d hear on “This American Life.”  You have to adjust your ears and listen—really listen or you’ll miss the story.  The story is the payoff.

The cast speaks only in monologue, and they never interact with one another on stage.  Done right, their stories will bloom inside your head.  Done right, characters that remain offstage are just as vivid as the ones you see.  Done right, images become fixed in your mind—the backseat of a car littered with crumbs and soggy potato chips; an empty bowling alley where muddy footprints appear out of nowhere.  Done right, your senses become engaged in unexpected ways—the smell of gasoline becomes smashed cherries dunked in vinegar. Read the rest of this entry »

Here’s the press release from AROT (updated August 13, 2009):

A Red Orchid Theatre’s 2009-2010 Season to feature

The World Premiere of Craig Wright’s Mistakes Were Made

Featuring Oscar Nominee Michael Shannon;

Mike Leigh’s Abigail’s Party

and the return of the holiday hit,

A Very Merry Unauthorized Children’s Scientology Pageant

CHICAGO, IL—A Red Orchid proudly announces its revised 2009-2010 season, featuring the World Premiere of Craig Wright’s Mistakes Were Made, directed by Dexter Bullard and featuring Ensemble Member and Academy Award nominee Michael Shannon and Ensemble Member Mierka Girten; the return of the smash holiday hit, A Very Merry Unauthorized Children’s Scientology Pageant featuring members of the A Red Orchid Youth Ensemble & guests; and Academy Award nominee and Palme d’Or winner Mike Leigh’s Abigail’s Party, directed by Shade Murray, to feature an all-Ensemble cast.

Flexible Season Subscriptions are on sale now through the A Red Orchid box office,

(312) 943-8722 or www.aredorchidtheatre.org Read the rest of this entry »