Greta Oglesby News

Langston Hughes' poem DREAM DEFFERRED is the source of the title of short-lived but influential playwright Lorraine Hansberry's classic play A RAISIN IN THE SUN. She died at the age of 34 just six years after the play opened on Broadway in 1959, but her work still resonates today. The story of a black family's struggle in 1950s Chicago to accomplish their dreams in a world that didn't want to let them can be palpably felt in the context of today's world. It's a great choice, then, for Park Square Theatre's 2016-2017 season and for their student matinee program, which serves over 30,000 students every year. And it's an incredibly moving production that brings out all the richness of Hansberry's writing. The fantastic local cast and the intimacy of the Andy Boss thrust stage making you feel as if you're in the Younger living room with them, experiencing this devastating, life-changing, and hope-inspiring event.

Park Square continues its 42nd season on the Andy Boss Thrust Stage with Lorraine Hansberry's classic and timely A Raisin in the Sun. This fiercely moving portrait of a family living and dreaming on Chicago's South Side in the 1950s was the first play written by an African American woman to be produced on Broadway. The Washington Post hails it as "one of a handful of great American plays - it belongs in the inner circle, along with Death of a Salesman, Long Day's Journey Into Night and The Glass Menagerie."

Did you know that there was an African Theater Company in 1821? We learn during American Players Theater production of 'THE AFRICAN THEATER COMPANY PRESENTS RICHARD III, that 6 years before New York abolished slavery and 20 years before the beginning of the Civil War, this company existed.

n a year when the country tries to discern the truth about numerous politician's pasts, presents and futures, Oscar Wilde's An Ideal Husband attempts to make some sense of blackmail and corruption in the government institutions and individuals who serve their citizens. American Players Theatre takes their audiences Up The Hill for Wilde's summer visual delight. This fascinating production captivates the eye along with the ear dressing the cast in lavish period costumes designed by Matthew J. Lefebvre amid a cream and golden gilded stage, period rooms, courtesy of Scenic Designer Takeshi Kata.

Outside the Touchstone Theatre in Spring Green, American Players Theatre (APT) stages an exuberant African Dance accompanied by the thunder of drums and keyboard. The impromptu performance celebrates the legacy of color about to be admired on stage in a production of Carlyle Brown's The African Company Presents Richard III. Set in 1821 New York, the play focuses on actual historical events where a small African-American theater company produced their production of Shakespeare's Richard III on the exact same night  the famous Park Theatre owned by Daniel Price opened their production featuring English actor Julius Booth as the deformed king.

American Players Theatre (APT) announces its 37th Summer Festival Season, June 3 - October 16, 2016, a diverse lineup of eight classical and contemporary plays in repertory that includes the return and work of two visiting Chicago directors: Derrick Sanders, founding Artistic Director of Congo Square Theatre Company directing The African Company Presents Richard III by Carlyle Brown in APT's intimate 200-seat Touchstone Theatre; and Jeff Award winner William Brown taking on William Shakespeare's King Lear in APT's flagship 1140-seat outdoor amphitheater on the Hill.

Fresh off its world-premiere run in Minneapolis, Children's Theatre Company's new production about an 11-year-old spelling prodigy comes to Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater. The show is adapted for the stage by veteran playwright Cheryl L. West (Arena's Pullman Porter Blues, Jar the Floor), who partners with celebrated director Charles Randolph-Wright (director of Broadway's Motown and an inaugural resident playwright with Arena Stage, where he premiered his play Love in Afghanistan). AKEELAH AND THE BEE runs now through December 27, 2015 in the Kreeger Theater, and BroadwayWorld has photos from the opening night festivites at Arena Stage below!

All in all, this is a thoroughly enjoyable production and one that I would highly recommend.

Fresh off its world-premiere run in Minneapolis, where Star Tribune declared "Akeelah and the Bee triumphs," Children's Theatre Company's new production about an 11-year-old spelling prodigy comes to Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater. The show is adapted for the stage by veteran playwright Cheryl L. West (Arena's Pullman Porter Blues, Jar the Floor), who partners with celebrated director Charles Randolph-Wright (director of Broadway's Motown and an inaugural resident playwright with Arena Stage, where he premiered his play Love in Afghanistan). Akeelah and the Bee runs November 13-December 27, 2015 in the Kreeger Theater.

Court Theatre, under the leadership of Artistic Director Charles Newell and Executive Director Stephen J. Albert, presents August Wilson's Gem of the Ocean, directed by Resident Artist Ron OJ Parson. Gem of the Ocean will run September 10 - October 11, 2015 at Court Theatre, 5535 S. Ellis Avenue.

I first saw the Stephen Sondheim/James Lapine musical fairy tale mash up INTO THE WOODS four years ago, and have seen it several times since then, including the recent star-studded movie. Every time I see it I like it more. I think Sondheim is like Shakespeare in that it has a very specific rhythm and cadence to it that takes a minute to get used to, but the more time you spend with it, the richer and deeper it becomes. Such has been my experience with INTO THE WOODS, so I was primed to love my favorite theater company Theater Latte Da's production of it. But it has exceeded my expectations, and even Sondheim newbies will be enthralled by this brilliant staging of a brilliantly written musical. Latte Da has pared down this big Broadway musical to something that feels intimate and innovative, using a small cast and orchestra, and inventive and thoughtful choices in every detail of the production. This, my friends, is Broadway re-imagined, or at least how I would like to see Broadway re-imagined. Simply put, it's sublime.

Court Theatre announces its 61st season under the continuing leadership of Artistic Director Charles Newell, Executive Director Stephen J. Albert, and Board Chair Marilyn Fatt Vitale.

In BY THE WAY, MEET VERA STARK, now playing at Penumbra Theatre as part of their 'Womansong' season, the title character is a black actress in 1930s Hollywood who gets her big break playing a loyal slave in an antebellum Southern melodrama. She imbues the stereotypical role with as much humanity and depth as possible, and so begins a long and successful career, until she mysteriously disappears from the spotlight. Vera is a controversial figure because on the one hand her characters perpetuate the stereotypes seen in movies, but on the other hand she makes her characters as real as possible and has built a successful career for herself and opened doors for black actors in Hollywood. The play examines these issues in a funny, entertaining, innovative way, jumping across time and using video of Vera's first movie.

Goodman Theatre, in collaboration with Chicago's various off-Loop theaters and Northwestern University, unveils partial programming in its spring 2015 citywide "August Wilson Celebration" -- an extensive retrospective of the late playwright's life, artistry and influence on American culture. The seven-week Celebration takes place in March and April 2015 on dual landmark occasions: the 70th anniversary of the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright's birth and the 10th anniversary of his death.

The 46th Annual Jeff Awards ceremony honoring excellence in professional theatre produced within the immediate Chicago area is tonight, October 13 at Drury Lane Oakbrook, 100 Drury Lane, Oakbrook Terrace.

Chicago actress, TV and film star Jane Lynch did the honor today of announcing the nominees for the 2013-2014 Equity Jeff Awards.

Theater Latte Da announces their 2014-2015 season. Check below for details. Season 17 includes a play with music, two musicals, a poignant holiday classic and a new work series--AND features some of the top talent in the Twin Cities. The curtain goes up on October 8. You won't want to miss a note! Purchase your season subscription now by visiting latteda.org/subscribe or by calling 612-339-3003.

The 2013-14 Playwrights' Center McKnight Theater Artist Fellows Sun Mee Chomet, Denise Prosek and Stephen Yoakam, along with their collaborators, will present selections from works in progress on June 16 at 7 p.m. at the Southern Theater. The event is free and open to the public; advance reservations are strongly recommended and can be made at www.pwcenter.org. The Southern Theater is located at 1420 S Washington Avenue in Minneapolis.

TimeLine Theatre Company begins its 2013-14 season with the award-winning play A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, directed by Ron OJ Parson, now through November 17, 2013 at TimeLine Theatre, 615 W. Wellington Ave, Chicago. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

TimeLine Theatre Company begins its 2013-14 season with the award-winning play that 'changed American theater forever' (The New York Times). A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, directed by Ron OJ Parson, runs August 28 - November 17, 2013 (previews today, August 20 - 25) at TimeLine Theatre, 615 W. Wellington Ave, Chicago.