ACT OUT: Theatre Opening, Closing, Postponed, Extended #reviews

Cyndi Lauper & Harvey Fierstein press conference for Kinky Boots currently in previews. Opening night October 17th.


Here's our round up of Chi, IL Live Theatre Shows Opening, Closing, Postponed & Extended(also check out our highly recommended list):

Opening:

Black Watch by National Theatre of Scotland at Broadway Armory -ChiIL Live Shows caught opening night and we were shocked and awed.  This action packed war drama is raw, real and disturbing without glamorizing combat.  In a brilliant way, the seduction of honor, history, and the warrior way stand in stark contrast to the soul killing, psychologically damaging, desert warfare of today.  Black Watch is political without being heavy handed and loud, bright and intense enough to get the message heard.   Highly recommended!

Get your tickets today--short two week run.  



Click here for our past coverage and show details here.


Half price tickets available here. 

Stephen Sondheim's Assassins at Viaduct Theater-ChiIL Live Shows will be there for the opening tonight and we'll have a full review up shortly.  Click here for our past coverage and show details.

Harold and the Purple Crayon at Chicago Children's Theatre (family friendly-ages 3+)-Check out our photo filled feature on the early creative process behind the costumes and set design and show details here.


Here's more of our past Harold coverage including full show details.






Broken Glass at Red Twist-

Red Twist is one of our favorite black box storefront theatres and they consistently impress with high quality, Jeff recommended offerings.  Click here for our past coverage and show details.











Kinky Boots at Bank of America Theatre with Broadway in Chicago-check out our original video footage with Cyndi Lauper and Harvey Fierstein and photos from the press conference here.   The show is currently in previews and we'll be there for opening night October 17th.   Can't wait!   


Check back with ChiIL Live Shows/ChiIL Mama like we vote in Chi, IL...early and often.   We have loads more original video clips and photo filled features coming!


Closing:


Equivocation at Victory Gardens (review)


If you haven't seen this show yet, go already.  Equivocation unequivocally rocks!   Bard nerds will find this show a laugh riot with plenty of Shakespearian references and in jokes.   Yet Equivocation is something utterly unique and new, with biting political commentary, compelling characters, and multilayered meaning.   Highly recommended.  Click here for our past coverage and show details.   

Postponed:

Due to major funding that did not come through, the production of “Unspeakable,” which was scheduled to start performances at the Royal George Theatre Oct. 16, has been postponed until the spring.  More details to come.  Refunds available at point of purchase.

Extended:

After at Profiles Theater (review)


There are plenty of prison dramas, but what happens after?  This slice of life exploration of the aftermath of wrongful conviction is a thought provoking social commentary.  What price can you put on a life unjustly snatched away in a miscarriage of justice.  How does jail time inextricably alter a man?   The characters go well beyond stereotypes and are a unique blend of traits and surprises.   Check it out.   

Three weeks added: now playing through November 4, 2012

Profiles Theatre will extend the Midwest premiere of After by Chad Beckim, directed by guest artist Matt Hawkins.  The production, which opened September 5, will extend for an additional three weeks through November 4, 2012. All original cast members continue in their roles including guest artists Alice da Cunha, Carlos Rogelio Diaz, J. Salome Martinez, Stephenie Park, Gabriel Ruiz and Foster Williams, Jr.  Performances are held at Profiles original venue, The Alley Stage, 4147 N. Broadway.

When a wrongfully imprisoned man is exonerated by DNA evidence after seventeen years in prison, he is forced to re-assimilate into a cold, foreign world of toothbrush shopping, doggy day care, and a friendship with an anxious young woman with secrets of her own. After is a compassionate portrait of a man struggling with the challenges of socializing and the anger he still feels for having his youth unjustly destroyed.

After, written by Chad Beckim, received its World premiere production in September 2011 by Partial Comfort Productions in New York where he is co-Founder and co-Artistic Director. His playwriting credits include …a matter of choice, `nami and Lights Rise on Grace which won Outstanding Play at the 2007 New York International Fringe Festival and finalist for the 2007 Princess Grace Award. Chad holds an MFA in Playwriting from Mac Wellman’s Brooklyn Colleges Program and in July 2007, he was named one of 50 Playwrights to Watch by the Dramatists Guild.

After is the second production of Profiles Theatre’s 24^th season. The 20^th Anniversary production of Hellcab by Will Kern opens at Profiles’ The Main Stage on November 15, 2012.  

  
Click here for our past coverage and show details.

ACT OUT: Arthur Miller's Broken Glass Opens at Red Twist

Broken Glass By Arthur Miller  Directed by Michael Colucci & Jan Ellen Graves Opens at Redtwist Theatre Sunday, Oct 14, at 3pm Company member and Jeff Award-winner, Jacqueline Grandt, plays a woman with a mysterious illness in Miller's 1995 award-winning period drama about the demons of your past that become your present nightmare.  Redtwist Production History of the Play Redtwist (then called Actors Workshop Theatre) produced the play in 2001 at the then-Victory Gardens studio as an itinerant company, opening just days before 9/11. During that production, Michael Colucci directed and played the role of Harry Hyman. He cast Jan Ellen Graves as his wife Margaret, who later became his actual wife and producing partner. They moved into the Bryn Mawr location in 2002, and producedBroken Glass as the opening show in their first full season in 2004-05. Jan again played Margaret Hyman, and Michael directed. It was Redtwist's first show for Jacqueline Grandt and Neal Grofman (as Sylvia and Phillip Gellburg), who are reprising their roles for this production. Michael is revisiting the role of Harry Hyman, and co-directing with Jan Ellen Graves. "I'm thrilled to have Jacqueline Grandt recreating a role that very few people saw in 2004 when Redtwist was a new company," says Artistic Director, Michael Colucci. "Broken Glass will be a reunion of sorts as we are celebrating our 10th year in Edgewater." Steve Scott was originally scheduled to direct but needed to tend to health matters. Jan Ellen Graves comments, "We'd like to thank Steve Scott for laying the foundation for this production." CAST Featuring company members, Jacqueline Grandt (Sylvia Gellburg) and Michael Colucci (Harry Hyman), with guest artists, Neal Grofman (Phillip Gellburg), Susan Fay (Margaret Hyman), Mike Nowak (Stanton Case), Robyn Okrant (Harriet). STAFF Michael Colucci & Jan Ellen Graves (Directors), Willie Landon (Assistant Director), Shelby Glasgow (Stage Manager), Olivia Leah Baker (Assistant Stage Manager), Justin Castellano (Production Manager), Amanda Lautermilch (Production Assistant), Frank Sjodin (Tech Director), Joe Schermoly (Set Designer), Christopher Burpee (Lighting Designer), Christopher Kriz (Sound Designer), kClare Kemock (Costume Designer), Rachel S. Parent (Costume Assistant), Jeff Shields (Prop Designer), Eva Breneman (Dialect Coach), Cassandra Rose (Dramaturg), Mary Reynard Liss (Vocal Coach), Chris Rickett (Fight Director); Garvin Jellison (Master Electrician); Jan Ellen Graves (Graphic Designer); Charles Bonilla (Box Office Manager); Malcolm Martinez (Box Office Associate); Johnny Garcia (Associate Producer); Michael Colucci & Jan Ellen Graves (Producers) SCHEDULE Opens: Sun, Oct 14, 3pm Runs: Thu, Fri, Sat, 7:30pm; Sun, 3pm Closes: Sun, Nov 18 Running Time: Approximately 2:15, which includes one intermission Previews: $15; Wed, Thu, Fri, Oct 10, 11, 12, at 7:30pm (no show on Oct 13) Tickets: Thursdays, $25; Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, $30 (seniors & students $5 off) Group Rates: Special discounts for groups of 10 or more, and groups of 25 or more   DETAILS Call: 773-728-7529 Email: michael@redtwist.org Website/Tickets: www.redtwist.org Redtwist is located at 1044 W Bryn Mawr, 2 blks W of LSD, 2 blks E of the Red Line El station. Street parking (paybox/meters until 9pm) is available on Bryn Mawr, side streets, and Broadway. Please reserve 48 hours in advance. Credit cards accepted by phone and via Paypal to guarantee seating.