I really enjoyed “The War Plays” at The Athenaeum. It’s fun without being irrelevant or irreverent. Here’s an excerpt of my review:

“The War Plays” believes in the power of “a verifiable romance of wartime,” and it presents us with not one but three marvelous examples. Emily Schwartz’s funny and touching script is deftly handled by director Kate Nawrocki. They present a play within a play, framed by the actors welcoming the audience to a World War II London playhouse and then moving the show “underground” to the theater proper as shelter during an “air raid.” This device immediately draws the audience into the world of performers who passionately believe that no matter the outside circumstances, the show really must go on.

Interestingly, the reviewer at the Chicago Reader absolutely HATED it. I like a lot of what the Reader puts out, but this reviewer’s main complaint seemed to be that some of the songs were written after the play was set and that the play within a play concept is unrealistic if it’s set during the Blitz. These are insufficient reasons to pan a play, and ridiculously insufficient to hate it so vehemently.

But go see the play and decide for yourself!