Review: NOTES FROM THE FIELD At TimeLine Theatre Company
by Rachel Weinberg
- Feb 9, 2024
With NOTES FROM THE FIELD, playwright Anna Deavere Smith once again proves she’s a master of her genre of theatrical storytelling. Known for her documentary (or verbatim) plays, Smith presents monologues from 19 different interviews in this exploration of the school-to-prison pipeline in America. By allowing her interview subjects to literally speak for themselves, Smith has mastered the art of showing and not telling. NOTES FROM THE FIELD has a clear agenda; it’s a searing condemnation of the systemic failings of the American judicial, police, educational, and penitentiary institutions — and most notably a condemnation of the ways in which those systems have failed Black and Brown Americans. But Smith conveys her points with a blistering humanity (even if, at two hours and 40 minutes, I think she could have arrived at those points with a shorter run-time).
Review: THE NACIREMA SOCIETY at Goodman Theatre
by Rachel Weinberg
- Sep 27, 2023
It seems fitting that Goodman Theatre opens new Artistic Director Susan V. Booth’s inaugural season with THE NACIREMA SOCIETY, a play that’s about coming out to society. This Chicago premiere marks a continuation of Booth’s long-standing relationship with celebrated Black playwright Pearl Cleage. THE NACIREMA SOCIETY takes the form of an extended farce, following the incredibly wealthy Dunbar family in 1964 Montgomery, Alabama. In this light-hearted (if not always legitimately laugh-out-loud) comedic play, Cleage draws heavily from classic farce conventions. As the centennial event of matriarch Grace Dubose Dunbar’s beloved Nacirema Society, Montgomery’s organization for Black young women, dawns — and she awaits her own granddaughter Grace’s coming out — the antics become more and more heightened as family secrets come to light.
Cast Set For THE NACIREMA SOCIETY at the Goodman Theatre
by Stephi Wild
- Aug 16, 2023
Goodman Theatre’s 2023/2024 Season—Susan V. Booth’s first to curate as new Artistic Director—begins with works by Pearl Cleage, Atlanta’s first Poet Laureate and Booth’s longtime creative collaborator and friend. Learn more about the cast here!
TimeLine Theatre Adds Performances of TROUBLE IN MIND
by Chloe Rabinowitz
- Nov 30, 2022
TimeLine Theatre Company has announced he addition of two matinees to the current run of the company’s critically acclaimed revival of Trouble in Mind on Thursday, December 8, and Thursday, December 15, at 2 p.m.
Video: First Look at TimeLine Theatre's TROUBLE IN MIND
by Chloe Rabinowitz
- Nov 23, 2022
Get a first look at footage from TimeLine Theatre Company’s Trouble in Mind by Alice Childress, directed by TimeLine Company Member Ron OJ Parson, running now through December 18, 2022.
Governors State University Presents the World Premiere Musical RED SUMMER Next Month
by Stephi Wild
- Aug 8, 2022
Governors State University’s Center for Performing Arts announces the world premiere of Red Summer written by Lookingglass Theatre’s Andrew White and MPAACT’s Shepsu Aakhu, composed by Shawn Wallace, directed by Lydia J. Dymond. Red Summer will play at the Center for the Performing Arts stage, just 35 miles from Chicago in University Park, IL, September 16-25, 2022.
Cast and Creatives Announced for ANTIGONE at Redtwist Theatre
by Chloe Rabinowitz
- May 12, 2022
Redtwist Theatre has announced the cast and creative team for its next production, Antigone, adapted by Anne Carson and directed by Christine Freije, June 23 – July 31, at Redtwist Theatre, 1044 W. Bryn Mawr Ave.
1 … next »
|
|