New Centerstage Review Up

Posted on October 4, 2010 by lisafindley

I saw Candide at The Goodman Theatre, which is a very fancy and fine theater that actually employs equity actors (a novel thought to me, when just about every play I see is entirely volunteer-based — would that all actors could be paid!). I enjoyed the show and recommend it if you have the cash. An excerpt:

Voltaire understood that the best way to get at the fundamental questions of life is to show just how absurd life is. The Goodman’s production of Leonard Bernstein’s musical adaptation of “Candide,” helmed by director Mary Zimmerman, perfectly captures this spirit.

Read the rest of the review here.

Also, if you know of any plays coming up that you think I should review, let me know, and I will see if I can snag it for my editor.

New Centerstage Review Up

Posted on September 27, 2010 by lisafindley

I promised you a GBS and then callously broke that promise. Apologies, friends, but will you forgive me if I tell you it was because I was eating duck fat fries at Hot Doug’s? No? Yeah, didn’t think so. To make up for it, here’s where you can see my latest Centerstage review, and tomorrow morning you’ll have a brand-new post.

The most difficult thing about adapting Emily Bronte’s “Wuthering Heights” is convincing the audience to empathize with characters who are all totally despicable. Christina Calvit’s adaptation for Lifeline Theatre nimbly sidesteps this problem by posing a question in narrator Nelly’s mouth in the play’s framing scenes: How are we to make sense of these people and what they have done to one another? Is it even possible to do so?…

Read the rest of the review here.

New Centerstage Review Up

Posted on September 7, 2010 by lisafindley

I’m just home from Boston, and I’m sure I’ll be telling you more about that later, but for now, enjoy my latest review of a Chicago theatrical event:

Brian Friel’s “Lovers” consists of two unrelated acts, one labeled “Winners” and one labeled “Losers.” It’s a bittersweet play, celebrating the intense connection couples feel while also lamenting the complications and compromises that inevitably pull them farther apart. …

Read the rest here. I should also say that they all talked in Irish accents, and stayed remarkably consistent throughout, which is pretty impressive.

Hope you had a good Labor Day weekend!

In Which We Join the Hallowed Halls and Hated Ranks of Published Critics

Posted on August 12, 2010 by lisafindley

Just a short self-promotion post today: I have a theater review up at Centerstage! Centerstage is one of those nifty social life guides, and they’re good at covering a lot of theater in this, the second most popular theater city in the country. It’s a pleasure to be joining their ranks. Here’s a snippet:

Perhaps it’s an unfair criticism of a play titled “The Armageddon Dance Party,” but there is too much death and not enough dancing here.

That’s not to director Jack Dugan Carpenter’s discredit; he fills the tiny stage at Gorilla Tango Theatre with plenty of movement, without ever letting it feel too frenetic. But David L. Williams’ script shoehorns entirely too many speeches into what started out as an interesting meditation on how we negotiate our relationships and beliefs in the face of certain doom and ended as a platform for the playwright’s pet peeves.