All stories by Hugh Iglarsh on BroadwayStars

Wednesday, April 30, 2025

Meaningful Nonsense: Chopin Theatre and Gwydion's "Theatre of the Absurd Festival" by Hugh Iglarsh

The festival promises to be as thorough and wide-ranging an introduction to absurdism as local audiences are apt to experience.

SOURCE: www.newcitystage.com at 08:00AM[SHARE]
Thursday, April 10, 2025

Rich People's Problems: A Review of "No Such Thing" at Rivendell Theatre Ensemble by Hugh Iglarsh

With its total focus on the private and the domestic, "No Such Thing" never pulls us in.

SOURCE: www.newcitystage.com at 08:00AM[SHARE]
Friday, April 4, 2025

Making Things Happen: An Interview with Theater Maker LC Bernadine by Hugh Iglarsh

Chicago-based playwright, producer and cultural activator LC Bernadine is a theater maker who thrives on the freedom and spontaneity of one-off projects. Bernadine would like nothing better …

SOURCE: www.newcitystage.com at 08:00AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, February 25, 2025

No Victim, She: A Review of The Artistic Home's "Hedda Gabler" at the Den Theatre by Hugh Iglarsh

Brookelyn Hébert's portrayal of Henrik Ibsen's celebrated femme fatale is an old-school, eyeball-grabbing star turn, one that every theater lover will relish.

SOURCE: www.newcitystage.com at 08:00AM[SHARE]
Friday, February 21, 2025

All in the Subtext: A Review of "Betrayal" at Goodman Theatre by Hugh Iglarsh

Time itself is the great betrayer, revealing who and where we really are.

SOURCE: www.newcitystage.com at 08:00AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, February 19, 2025

Still Colossal: A Review of Gwydion Theatre Company's "Ghosts" at the Greenhouse Theater Center by Hugh Iglarsh

Gwydion Theatre's pared-down, gripping production of Henrik Ibsen's "Ghosts" at the Greenhouse is a homecoming of sorts: oddly enough, the play premiered in 1882 in Chicago, in an auditorium…

SOURCE: www.newcitystage.com at 08:00AM[SHARE]
Friday, February 7, 2025

An Argument That Never Ends: A Review of TimeLine Theatre's "Debate: Baldwin vs. Buckley" at DePaul University by Hugh Iglarsh

"Debate" is pre-scripted docudrama"an outward sketch of history, rather than an inward exploration of its implications and effects.

SOURCE: www.newcitystage.com at 08:00AM[SHARE]
Friday, January 31, 2025

Revolution for Dummies: A Review of "The Mannequins' Ball" at Trap Door Theatre by Hugh Iglarsh

If you approach the play for what it is, a left-wing provocation delivered with all the nuance of a wrecking ball, it works just fine, rubbing our collective nose in the sheer monstrousness …

SOURCE: www.newcitystage.com at 08:00AM[SHARE]
Thursday, January 16, 2025

Chekhov on the Assembly Line: New Theatre Project Talks About Its Factory-Floor Production of "Uncle Vanya" by Hugh Iglarsh

"Vanya" is being put on within the bare, echoing confines of the North Side's Servi-Sure factory, a seriously real-world place that makes titanium anodizing racks for industry. The play will…

SOURCE: www.newcitystage.com at 08:00AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, December 11, 2024

Glittering Dreamworld: A Review of the Joffrey Ballet's "The Nutcracker" at the Lyric Opera House by Hugh Iglarsh

The Joffrey Ballet's annual holiday-time "Nutcracker" extravaganza, that revered tradition, offers so much"but it also raises the question, How much is too much?

SOURCE: www.newcitystage.com at 08:00AM[SHARE]
Friday, November 8, 2024

Understated Mystery: A Review of Gwydion Theatre Company's "Perfect Pie" at Greenhouse Theater Center by Hugh Iglarsh

This is a worthy debut for an accomplished playwright who clearly deserves more attention on our side of the border. It's also proof of how much the Gwydion company has matured over its two …

SOURCE: www.newcitystage.com at 08:00AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, October 22, 2024

Postmodern Tearjerker: A Review of the Joffrey Ballet's "Atonement" at the Lyric Opera House by Hugh Iglarsh

Based on a 2001 novel by Ian McEwan that was adapted for the screen in 2007, "Atonement" might be described as a sort of postmodern tearjerker: A complex, downbeat story of how a young girl'…

SOURCE: www.newcitystage.com at 08:00AM[SHARE]
Thursday, October 17, 2024

More Soapy than Spooky: A Review of Shattered Globe Theatre's "Becky Nurse of Salem" at Theater Wit by Hugh Iglarsh

It's a play that negates itself, and the feeling it leaves behind isn't catharsis, but rather frustration.

SOURCE: www.newcitystage.com at 08:00AM[SHARE]
Monday, September 16, 2024

A Man in Full: A Review of "Royko: The Toughest Man in Chicago" at Chopin Theatre by Hugh Iglarsh

"Royko: The Toughest Man in Chicago" is mainly, and justifiably, about the public issues confronted and battles fought by a very brave and public writer on an almost daily basis over four de…

SOURCE: www.newcitystage.com at 08:00AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, August 27, 2024

Still Mad as Hell: A Review of "Network" by Invictus Theatre at Windy City Playhouse by Hugh Iglarsh

This is what theater needs to be in our time: a mirror not just to nature but also to the media landscape that surrounds us. Invictus has crafted a memorable production of an important and i…

SOURCE: www.newcitystage.com at 08:00AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, August 13, 2024

Two Levels of Illusion: A Review of "Road Signs" at A Red Orchid Theatre by Hugh Iglarsh

As an illusionist, Jon Tai performs a truly impressive feat that makes the audience gasp; as a storyteller, though, the amicable and unassuming Tai comes off as less than magical.

SOURCE: www.newcitystage.com at 08:00AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, July 31, 2024

Martian Chronicles: A Review of "Wells and Welles" by Lucid Theater at City Lit by Hugh Iglarsh

The play never hits a high gear dramatically and ends on an anticlimax. But I still found "Wells and Welles" enjoyable, for the simple reason that, over the play's single act, we do get to k…

SOURCE: www.newcitystage.com at 08:00AM[SHARE]
Friday, June 14, 2024

Human, All Too Human: A Review of "Three Sisters" by Invictus Theatre Company at Windy City Playhouse by Hugh Iglarsh

For a smallish storefront theater like Invictus to do so well by a play as expansive and demanding as "Three Sisters" is no mean feat, and I wish the show a long and happy run.

SOURCE: www.newcitystage.com at 08:00AM[SHARE]
Monday, June 3, 2024

Singularly Intelligent: A Review of "The Singularity Play" by Jackalope Theatre Company by Hugh Iglarsh

New York playwright Jay Stull manages to craft an ingeniously twisty, provocative meditation on artificial intelligence that takes the form of a play within a play within a darkly mysterious…

SOURCE: www.newcitystage.com at 08:00AM[SHARE]
Thursday, May 16, 2024

This Heat: A Review of "Turret" at A Red Orchid Theatre by Hugh Iglarsh

Performative intensity is a good thing, but it's not enough to carry a play. We see this clearly in "Turret," a show with too much heat and not enough light.

SOURCE: www.newcitystage.com at 08:00AM[SHARE]
Thursday, May 9, 2024

Revenge Comedy: A Review of "The Thanksgiving Play" at Steppenwolf Theatre by Hugh Iglarsh

Under-plotted, more static than flowing, anticlimactic and sometimes over the top, "The Thanksgiving Play" is not a polished work of theater. But it is a powerful provocation, a real booby t…

SOURCE: www.newcitystage.com at 08:00AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, April 30, 2024

Secrets Not Revealed: A Review of "Joe Turner's Come and Gone" at the Goodman Theatre by Hugh Iglarsh

Veteran director Chuck Smith, our foremost August Wilson interpreter, has crafted an emotionally highly charged, exuberant, well-paced production. But even with Smith's steady hand on the he…

SOURCE: www.newcitystage.com at 08:00AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, April 23, 2024

Shamanic Shakespeare: A Review of Eddie Izzard Performing "Hamlet" at Chicago Shakespeare Theater by Hugh Iglarsh

Izzard's dazzling performance holds up a mirror not just to nature, but to ourselves.

SOURCE: www.newcitystage.com at 08:00AM[SHARE]
Monday, April 1, 2024

An Introverted Romance: A Review of "Love Song" at Remy Bumppo by Hugh Iglarsh

With its engaging characters, pointed and fast-paced dialogue, unpredictable but logical storyline and luminous poetic flourishes, "Love Song" is a show that will charm the pants off even th…

SOURCE: www.newcitystage.com at 08:00AM[SHARE]
Thursday, March 14, 2024

Apocalyptic Cuteness: A Review of "End Days" at Theatre Above the Law by Hugh Iglarsh

"End Days" reminds us that the overtones of strangeness, precariousness and disequilibrium that define reality these days began exactly at the moment when the American public lost its sense …

SOURCE: www.newcitystage.com at 08:00AM[SHARE]
Monday, February 26, 2024

The Fix Is In: A Review of "The Smuggler" at Jackalope Theatre by Hugh Iglarsh

It's solid, gripping writing, delivered with crystalline sincerity, and it hits like a sledge hammer.

SOURCE: www.newcitystage.com at 08:00AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, February 21, 2024

Modern-Day Rhapsody: A Review of the Joffrey Ballet's "Studies in Blue" at the Lyric Opera House by Hugh Iglarsh

The Joffrey Ballet's current"and spectacular"evening of dance is a modern-day rhapsody in blue, exploring with skill and sensitivity the range of moods and meanings associated with that most…

SOURCE: www.newcitystage.com at 08:00AM[SHARE]
Friday, February 16, 2024

Timely Message, Dated Play: A Review of "Waiting for Lefty" at Gwydion Theatre by Hugh Iglarsh

Its message about the need to stand and fight against a rigged system is as relevant as ever. The work itself, though, has not aged well.

SOURCE: www.newcitystage.com at 08:00AM[SHARE]
Thursday, January 25, 2024

Brecht at his Best: A Review of "Mother Courage and Her Children" at Trap Door Theatre by Hugh Iglarsh

"This is one of the finest productions of a Brecht play I've seen in Chicago, or anywhere else for that matter."

SOURCE: www.newcitystage.com at 08:00AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, December 12, 2023

Lost in Translation: A Review of "Can't Pay? Won't Pay!" at Gwydion Theatre Company by Hugh Iglarsh

The theme of budget-busting inflation is all too relevant right now in the United States. That said, it's no easy task updating and transposing Fo's almost fifty-year-old tale of the inside-…

SOURCE: www.newcitystage.com at 08:00AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, November 1, 2023

A Promising Start: A Review of "AmericanMYTH: Crossroads" at Free Street Theater by Hugh Iglarsh

Visually scintillating, musically varied and appealing, animated by the shamanic, shape-shifting energy of its griot/narrator, "AmericanMYTH: Crossroads" has a hell of a lot going for it: a …

SOURCE: www.newcitystage.com at 08:00AM[SHARE]

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