At the Goodman Theatre, Leonard Bernstein’s musical ‘Wonderful Town’ starts busy season

August 24, 2016, 2:04 pm

≫ Next: ‘Christmas Carol’ rings out again at Goodman: Scrooge & Co. affirm spirit at heart of the deal

≪ Previous: ‘The Matchmaker’ at Goodman: A (very) funny thing happens when sly widow decides to wed

$

0

0

2016-17 SEASON PREVIEW: The following is adapted from a news release submitted by an arts organization to Chicago On the Aisle. ——
Lauren Molina and Bri Sudia star as two sisters leaving Ohio in 1935 to conquer New York City in Bernstein's "Wonderful Town." Here's the Goodman Theatre's complete line-up...

---

‘Christmas Carol’ rings out again at Goodman: Scrooge & Co. affirm spirit at heart of the deal

December 3, 2016, 11:44 am

≫ Next: ‘Uncle Vanya’ at Goodman: Seeking purpose, or a numbing refill when the glass is drained

≪ Previous: At the Goodman Theatre, Leonard Bernstein’s musical ‘Wonderful Town’ starts busy season

$

0

0

Review: For his ninth season, Larry Yando plays the gnarled old man whose very name is now a synonym for miser, his "Bah! Humbug!" an all-purpose slapdown that distills the essence of a curmudgeonly world view. Until Scrooge discovers joy, that is. Yando's wonderfully long face is as capable as ever of rubbery contortions worthy of a cartoonist's pen. Goodman's "A Christmas Carol" is a tradition happily renewed. ★★★★

‘Uncle Vanya’ at Goodman: Seeking purpose, or a numbing refill when the glass is drained

March 8, 2017, 8:23 pm

≫ Next: ‘Objects in the Mirror’ at Goodman: Escaping calamity in Africa, surviving the folly of youth

≪ Previous: ‘Christmas Carol’ rings out again at Goodman: Scrooge & Co. affirm spirit at heart of the deal

$

0

0

Review: Chekhov’s “Uncle Vanya,” an existential snapshot of lost souls at a signless crossroads, exemplifies theater as an ensemble endeavor. In Annie Baker’s modernized, razor-sharp adaptation of the play, complemented by a directorial tour de force from Robert Falls, Goodman Theatre brings the spirit of dramatic teamwork to vibrant life. ★★★★★

‘Objects in the Mirror’ at Goodman: Escaping calamity in Africa, surviving the folly of youth

May 25, 2017, 7:55 pm

≫ Next: ‘Ah, Wilderness!’ at Goodman: Young lovers, plotting a path through life’s tangled comedy

≪ Previous: ‘Uncle Vanya’ at Goodman: Seeking purpose, or a numbing refill when the glass is drained

$

0

0

Review: Playwright Charles Smith’s “Objects in the Mirror” is a gritty, honest and provocatively open-ended story about coming of age. Mesmerizing, if no less exasperating, it is served with resonant conviction in a world premiere production at Goodman Theatre. ★★★★

‘Ah, Wilderness!’ at Goodman: Young lovers, plotting a path through life’s tangled comedy

June 28, 2017, 9:14 pm

≫ Next: Theater as crucible: Two Arthur Miller classics bridge high peaks of Goodman, Steppenwolf

≪ Previous: ‘Objects in the Mirror’ at Goodman: Escaping calamity in Africa, surviving the folly of youth

$

0

0

Review: Fairly late in his career, Eugene O’Neill, that great purveyor of tragedy, penned a romantic comedy worthy of his darker plays. “Ah, Wilderness!” is that now-classic lark, and it once again bursts onto the stage at Goodman Theatre in a funny and affecting production that is arguably the crown jewel of Chicago’s theater season. ★★★★★

Theater as crucible: Two Arthur Miller classics bridge high peaks of Goodman, Steppenwolf

October 19, 2017, 9:16 am

≫ Next: Wrapped in tradition or rapped in new beats, ‘Christmas Carol’ sparkles at Goodman, CST

≪ Previous: ‘Ah, Wilderness!’ at Goodman: Young lovers, plotting a path through life’s tangled comedy

$

0

0

Review: If you have not yet seen both “A View from the Bridge” at Goodman Theatre and “The Crucible” at Steppenwolf Theatre – well, it’s Miller time. These are mesmerizing productions of two of Arthur Miller’s finest plays, and impressive reminders of why Goodman and Steppenwolf hold such eminent places on Chicago’s – indeed, the nation’s – theater scene. Each of these parallel runs has only a handful of performances remaining. Together, they make for a stunning one-two theatrical punch. Both ★★★★★

Wrapped in tradition or rapped in new beats, ‘Christmas Carol’ sparkles at Goodman, CST

December 5, 2017, 9:17 am

≫ Next: ‘An Enemy of the People’ at the Goodman: Idealism confronts the (deplorable) populace

≪ Previous: Theater as crucible: Two Arthur Miller classics bridge high peaks of Goodman, Steppenwolf

$

0

0

Review: While Larry Yando’s indelible Ebeneezer Scrooge is once again delighting children and tapping into adult truths in Goodman Theatre’s indispensable staging of “A Christmas Carol” (★★★★), the Q Brothers are back at Chicago Shakespeare rapping Dickens’ parable on greed and misanthropy to a reggae beat (★★★). The Spirit of Christmas Present walks among us anew.

‘An Enemy of the People’ at the Goodman: Idealism confronts the (deplorable) populace

March 27, 2018, 9:03 am

≫ Next: ‘Father Comes Home From Wars’ at Goodman: Adapting Homer (et al.) to epic of moral siege

≪ Previous: Wrapped in tradition or rapped in new beats, ‘Christmas Carol’ sparkles at Goodman, CST

$

0

0

Review: When Henrik Ibsen completed his play “An Enemy of the People” in 1882, he couldn’t decide whether to declare his moralizing screed a  drama or a comedy. Indeed, in the mirror it holds up to human self-interest and moral hypocrisy, “An Enemy of the People” displays a deep strain of dark absurdist comedy. That is pointedly the case in a new adaptation by Robert Falls for Goodman Theatre that hews close to Ibsen's cynical work. ★★★★

---

‘Father Comes Home From Wars’ at Goodman: Adapting Homer (et al.) to epic of moral siege

June 18, 2018, 7:07 pm

≫ Next: ‘Support Group for Men’ at Goodman: 4 guys, make it 5, couple of cops and a ‘talking stick’

≪ Previous: ‘An Enemy of the People’ at the Goodman: Idealism confronts the (deplorable) populace

$

0

0

Review: Hero is strong young slave in the 1860s South who finds himself agonizing over an option: Accept his owner’s proposition to accompany him into the war against the Yankees, in exchange for his subsequent freedom, or remain behind as a slave for the rest of his life. That’s the setup of Suzan-Lori Parks’ epic and very human play “Father Comes Home From the Wars,” now on smart, provocative and impassioned display at Goodman Theatre under the direction of Niegel Smith. ★★★★

‘Support Group for Men’ at Goodman: 4 guys, make it 5, couple of cops and a ‘talking stick’

July 10, 2018, 5:58 am

≫ Next: ‘Pamplona’ at Goodman: Gray lion Hemingway contemplates life, mischance and le mot juste

≪ Previous: ‘Father Comes Home From Wars’ at Goodman: Adapting Homer (et al.) to epic of moral siege

$

0

0

Review: The first flourish of Ellen Fairey’s play “Support Group for Men,” now on display at Goodman Theatre, works twofold narrative magic: It creates a deceptively rich context, and it’s just plain deceptive. We think we’re in for a night with the boys as sitcom when the truth is we’re in for a theatrical ride as clever as it is gentle and poignant and authentic. ★★★★

‘Pamplona’ at Goodman: Gray lion Hemingway contemplates life, mischance and le mot juste

August 5, 2018, 6:51 pm

≪ Previous: ‘Support Group for Men’ at Goodman: 4 guys, make it 5, couple of cops and a ‘talking stick’

$

0

0

Review: Ernest Hemingway was, in flesh and blood, a man’s man, the willful and danger-defiant sort we associate with the fantastical, celluloid John Wayne. He also shared a trait in common with many another towering artist: For all his exterior magnificence, he was troubled, depressive, vulnerable. It’s the compleat Hemingway, fierce and brilliant, tormented and alcoholic, that playwright Jim McGrath attempts to sketch and actor Stacy Keach embodies in “Pamplona,” now on display at Goodman Theatre. ★★