Category Archives: Theatre

REVIEW: Theatre-on-the-Hill’s God of Carnage

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As posted in the TribLocal, the following is my review of Theatre-on-the-Hill‘s production of God of Carnage written by Yasmina Reza.

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This past weekend, Bolingbrook’s Theatre-on-the-Hill introduced another amazing comedy to the suburbs, and didn’t disappoint. God of Carnage is an ambitious, hilarious and very difficult story about two affluent couples who come together because their sons got into a fight in school that resulted in one of the boys getting two teeth knocked out. What starts out as a very civil and reasonably open minded meeting unravels into an in-depth look at the human psyche and how these people are nowhere near as civil as they appear to be, finally asking the question: “What do we know, really?”

So what do we know, really? Well, the small and stellar cast is comprised of Theatre-on-the-Hill alums Bill Smith and Erika Enigk Grotto, who play the elitist Raleighs, as well as newcomers Leann Hoffrogge and Zachary Johnson-Dunlop as the more working class Novaks. Each performer brought to life a vibrancy to characters that are not only relatable as individuals, but as the show progresses, create the realization among audience members that a situation like this could very well happen (or already had) in their own lives.

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Review: Spotlight Theater’s Jake’s Women

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So last month (January) I went to New Lenox, IL to see a friend of mine in Jake’s Women by Neil Simon as produced by Spotlight Theater. Now this was directed by first time director: Nicole Fleming. Now if you remember, a few months prior I saw Spotlight Theater’s production of The Deadly Game which I really enjoyed… this show, however, brought out a very different perspective.

Essentially Jake’s Women revolves around Jake, a writer, who is at a crossroads in his life, his second marriage is failing, he’s slowly losing his sanity, and he’s trying to hold on to the only piece of light to get through the darkness. However, the women that he talks to aren’t in his reality, they are versions of the women in his reality that have a permanent residence in his head.

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Review: Shaking Spears (a conglomerate of Shakespeare’s tragedies set to the music of Britney Spears)

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Yes you read that right… one of my theater acquaintances wrote a stage play taking four works of Shakespeare’s tragedies
– Macbeth
– Romeo & Juliet
– Hamlet
– Julius Ceasar
taking various aspects, storyline lines, and characters and created a singular storyline. Not only that, she had various characters (including two of the male leads) sing Britney Spears songs…

Now upon first glance this shouldn’t have worked, Shakespeare and Britney Spears? I could hear Shakespeare rolling in his grave. However, the truth of the matter is that somehow, someway it did and I will be the one that would grudgingly admit that I was wrong in my original take of this particular ditty (and I really don’t like having to eat my words).

Let me explain:

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Comparison: TOTH’s Den of Thieves (three weekends later)

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So by the time of this writing I have seen seven (and a half) out of eight showings of Bolingbrook’s Theatre-on-the-Hill‘s production of Den of Thieves. One would think that after the first one or two shows, or even three in this case I would be sick of seeing this show already. The truth of the matter is, I’m not.

For someone with a little bit of theatre background, I can honestly say that seeing shows multiple times does not bore me as one would probably expect. More often than not it is a combination of a good script, with fantastic direction, and amazing actors that would typically drive the average theatre goer into seeing a production multiple times.

In the case of Den of Thieves, not only were there three versions of the show to watch but live theatre brings to the table an element of unpredictability that you can’t find anywhere else.

Where else would you find Hugh Jackman blowing up at an audience member for a cell phone going off in the middle of A Steady Rain? Where else could you find mishaps go wrong and watch an actor really show off their acting chops AND improv skills at a drop of a pin?

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Review: Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice (at NYMF)

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The New York Musical Theatre Festival is a musical only festival that appears on the New York theatre scene that takes in some of the strongest full productions of up and coming musicals from across the country and gives them the chance to show off their stuff in the heart of New York City.

Such known alumni include:

Every year presents a new crop of productions trying to find their footing and every year there has been standouts. This past year is no exception.

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Review: New Millennium Theatre’s Scott Janus Monster Hunter

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Here is a comedic monster show that will do nothing but entertain you to the point that you would keep talking until you reach home.

This original show completed it’s run at Theater Wit the Saturday before Halloween, it is a story set in a small town where a young comic geek is trying to prove that his neighbor is a vampire. When everyone believes him to be mad, he calls Scott Janus (whose ad was found in a comic book) for help in killing off the vampire.

When the vampire realizes that Scott Janus is in town, he calls in reinforcements to aid in terminating the thorn in their perpetual sides. A high stakes chase in trying to save the town ensues with an ending that this theatre goes definitely didn’t see coming.

Although there are aspects of the show that was just plain predictable, there were aspects of the show that was just laugh out loud roaring fun and games… especially when they start poking fun at one particular sparkling vampire “in training”.

This was another production that the beau took me to, and quite honestly it was well worth it. Non stop laughs, and for any geek out there, the nuances just keep coming. If anything, it is shows like this one that gives hope that creativity is still out there, you just need to know where to look.

Review: Beverly Theatre Guild’s Wait Until Dark

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Disclaimer: Normally I try not to review shows that I felt was below average (in my eyes), but since someone asked I have to oblige.

Wait Until Dark is probably best known for the 1967 film adaptation of the same name, with Audrey Hepburn as the young blind woman Susy Hendrix. The script itself is a fascinating read with the characters jumping out of the page. However, between myself and several other theatre goers we agree that there has yet to be a community theatre group that effectively creates the suspense necessary for this show.

Unfortunately for the Beverly Theatre Guild, they have not broken that mold. Wait Until Dark is about a recently blind woman, Susy Hendrix, who happens to be in possession of a doll full of drugs. Her husband came in possession of those drugs through a chance encounter with a thief while on flight heading home a few weeks earlier. In the meantime, there are three con-artists who are all gunning for the doll and lure the husband away on a trip of “business” so they could corner the blind woman and steal the doll. With the help of a young neighbor, Susy attempts to even the odds by turning off all the lights in the home… however she neglects one: the refrigerator.

This has all the ingredients for a splendid thriller, so where did it all go wrong?

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Review: Spotlight Theater’s Deadly Game

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Just last weekend my beau and I motored our way down to New Lenox to watch a mutual friend’s production of The Deadly Game by James Yaffe.

Spotlight Theater is fairly new to the New Lenox area (no pun intended), but it is definitely not new to the world of community theater. Originally from the Homewood area, it was difficult to have to uproot from an established area and move to not only somewhere fairly new, but a town that already had an established community theater group in vicinity. Is there room for two community theater groups in this sleepy southwest Chicagoland town, only time will tell. However, if closing night is any indication then I suspect that Spotlight Theater will be around for some time.

The production is about a quadrille of retired friends: a prosecutor, a defense lawyer, a judge and the extra. All of whom relax together at an isolated home out in the middle of Switzerland and play an old “parlour game” to pass the time.

During one of their get-togethers an American businessman happens upon them, finding himself stuck in the storm and unable to continue on his trip to town. After a little bit of time warming up by the fire and having a bit of alcohol and food he is invited into their parlour game playing the defendant.

And so begins a court enactment where each of the players re-enact their roles that they’ve played in their life and the American businessman being grilled for a “crime” that he may or may not have committed.

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Review: Theatre-on-the-Hill’s Den of Thieves (Original Draft)

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When I was approached to write a review for Theatre-on-the-Hill’s Den of Thieves, my first instinct was to wait until the second weekend of performances so I could compare and contrast actors in the roles that were double cast. But when I asked about deadlines it was brought to my attention the intent of the review was in the hope to bring in a larger audience for the remaining three weekends of performances.

So, below is the original idea that I had for a review for Theatre-on-the-Hill‘s production of Den of Thieves. There are notable differences between my original review and what was ultimately sent out to TribLocal as an official review, but the spirit of the review is still there for the most part. Which one do you like more?

Author’s Note: I will be posted my thoughts about various other productions that I saw in the past few years just to keep for posterity. Anything that is legitimate will be notated with an all capitalized REVIEW, whileas anything that is just my thoughts would simply be Review. Capeesh?

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REVIEW: Theatre-on-the-Hill’s Den of Thieves

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I was asked to review Theatre-on-the-Hill‘s fall production of Den of Thieves, and naturally I was honored to obliged. Then came a few issues:

This production of Den of Thieves has two roles that are double-cast, meaning that the performance dates are split between multiple actors. Theatre-on-the-Hill is notorious of doing this, particularly during the summer musical shows, this happens a lot less often during their Spring or Fall shows.

So which cast version to review upon? Well I went Opening Night, which wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t fantastic either. Then I went on the following Saturday night performance which was by and large the better of the two… so guess what my “legitimate” review was about?

This show will be open through the month of November 2011 in Bolingbrook. The version below was edited for the TribLocal online newspaper. I will include my original version in a bit.

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REVIEW: Madison Street Theatre’s Premiere Production: Animal Farm

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So I’m a theatre junkie. However, I’m more likely to go to shows that include friends or if I have someone go with me. In the case of Animal Farm out in Oak Park, my beau was a part of the cast. Now I have a nasty habit to see a show multiple times when I’m going to see a significant other perform, but that is mainly because I enjoy being in the company of people that I have grown to respect and appreciate not only as performers, but as people and friends as well.

Below is a legitimate review of George Orwell’s Animal Farm written in early August 2011. The first of what I hope to be many to come. From here on out, any shows that I’ve come across (be it a community theatre production, bootleg I’ve come across, or professional show) I will post my thoughts of them here…

And now without further adieu: Animal Farm.

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