Stage
High Visibility
“I am an invisible man.” To begin a play with that phrase can’t help but raise expectations. Court Theatre’s current run of “Invisible Man” has especially high expectations to reckon with, owing to both the long history of the celebrated novel and the nature of the production: this is the first time the book... »
Creative Futures
Bruce Taylor began the first day of class by asking his nine students why they were given their first names. “I was named Joy,” responded one student, “because my daddy said I brought joy into his life.” After two beats of respectful silence a single giggle escaped from someone’s mouth. The class erupted in... »
Emerge and See
Imagine the shockwaves that would ensue if a slave ship docked at the feet of the Statue of Liberty in present times. Renaissance man Daniel Beaty’s dynamic one-man play “Emergency!,” which landed at the DuSable Museum for two performances this past weekend, attempts to capture that hypothetical moment. Standing alone on a stage set... »
A Thousand Ships
“An Iliad” tells the story of the last few weeks of the war, when the Acheans Agamemnon and Achilles are fighting over a woman, Briseis. Achilles loses Briseis and refuses to fight in the war. As the struggle within the Achean ranks unfolds, the war wages on outside the walls of Troy. »
Old Jokes
At the Woodlawn Tap, a group of performers begins to reimagine the first performance of the 1950s Hyde Park sketch comedy troupe, the Compass Players. »
God Save the Scene
The Orphanage, on the second floor of the community center attached to Bridgeport’s First Lutheran Church of the Trinity, seamlessly merges luxury with punk. At last Wednesday’s show, kids in studded jackets kicked their Docs up on velvet divans and sipped on cans of cheap beer. »
Like a Flame
Wendy Clinard was trained as a professional flamenco dancer, drawing inspiration from her familiarity with the lines of the human body from years of painting. She now runs the Clinard Dance Theatre in Pilsen, which is home to a professional performance company and provides lessons for all levels of dancers. »
That’s all folk
Last Sunday, the auditorium of the National Museum of Mexican Art was filled to capacity, with young families and older couples chattering eagerly before the the Mexican Folkloric Dance Company of Chicago’s performance of Tardeada del Corazón. Stepping onstage, director of the company José Ovalle asked if anyone in the audience did not understand... »
