Spectacular Design and Delightful Surprises Abound in SPONGEBOB THE MUSICAL

Spectacular Design and Delightful Surprises Abound in SPONGEBOB THE MUSICAL

I was skeptical. I loathe the cartoon, but SpongeBob Squarepants the Musical just might be the surprise “feel good” musical that delights kids of all ages and gets everyone excited about Broadway musicals.

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Hypocrites Name Their First Logan Fellow

Hypocrites Name Their First Logan Fellow

As part of a multi-year fellowship program established by the Logan Foundation, The Hypocrites announced the company’s first Logan Fellow.

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Collaboraction Sets Line-Up for PEACEBOOK

Collaboraction Sets Line-Up for PEACEBOOK

Photo of past Collaboraction parks event. Collaboraction, which now bills itself as “Chicago’s social issue-driven contemporary theatre”, has announced the schedule for PEACEBOOK, a new collaborative city-wide festival of theater, dance, music, visual art, and spoken word focused on cultivating peace in Chicago as part of the Chicago Park District’s...

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DEATHTRAP: A Sharp Thriller with a Deliciously Shocking Storyline

DEATHTRAP: A Sharp Thriller with a Deliciously Shocking Storyline

Two acts, one set, five characters– a sharp thriller spun as a play-within-a-play, Ira Levin’s hit DEATHTRAP will surprise even the sharpest connoisseurs of murder mysteries.

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THE HO– USE THAT WILL NOT STAND Stands Tall

THE HO– USE THAT WILL NOT STAND Stands Tall

Jacqueline Williams, Lizan Mitchell. Photo by Michael Courie What happens when people are too White to be Black and too Black to be White?  Playwright Marcus Gardley’s THE HO– USE THAT WILL NOT STAND brings this conversation to the forefront in a dance with dialogue and history. There are advantages...

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10 Things We Learned Buying HAMILTON Chicago Tickets

10 Things We Learned Buying HAMILTON Chicago Tickets

We, like many others, stood by our computers at 10am today, prepared for the rush to buy tickets for HAMILTON in its Chicago incarnation. Lessons were learned.

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Steep Theatre’s 16/17 Season Features a Chicago Playwright

Steep Theatre’s 16/17 Season Features a Chicago Playwright

Directed by Josh Sobel Chicago Playwright Alex Lubischer’s, BOBBY CLEARLY, a play that went through workshops and public readings at Steep, will receive it’s world premiere staging and kick off the 16/17 season. In addition to BOBBLY CLEARLY 3 other shows, including a U.S. premiere and a Midwest premiere make...

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Inside WASTWATER Part 2: Dialect

Inside WASTWATER Part 2: Dialect

The principal mistake that many productions make when using dialects is that dialect becomes an add-on, a superficial layering on character rather than the mode by which a character expresses themself. Just as our respective geographic origins affect the way that we interact with other people, a theatrical character’s cultural, regional, and class background greatly reflect how an individual articulates the value system comprised of those elements. In other words, our dialect in many ways articulates us whether we love that or reject it. So, in exploring dialect work for WASTWATER—set around Heathrow airport—my goal is to mine the dialect of the region for as many tools as possible to help our team unlock that us within the ensemble of characters of this piece.

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Passion and Energy abound in Eclectic’s MAKE ME A SONG

Passion and Energy abound in Eclectic’s MAKE ME A SONG

MAKE ME A SONG: The Music of William Finn, is a fast-paced, delightful, and fun night at the theater.

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Mesmerizing HUMAN TERRAIN Is a Story That Needs to Be Told

Mesmerizing HUMAN TERRAIN Is a Story That Needs to Be Told

Shozzett Silva and Kim Boler. Photo by Matthew Freer. Review: HUMAN TERRAIN at Broken Nose Theatre By Abigail Trabue Every so often a play falls into the right company at the right time and becomes the example of what Chicago storefront theater is all about. That play is HUMAN TERRAIN and that...

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