Review: THE MAGIC TREE HO– USE – SHOWTIME WITH SHAKESPEARE at Emerald City
Emerald City Theatre is a necessary component in the Chicago theatrical community, where, in addition to providing energetic children’s productions, they also give back to the community and provide accessible shows for underserved communities.
NO MATTER HOW HARD WE TRY Bubbles over with Ideas
NO MATTER HOW HARD WE TRY is staged exactly where it should be. Wedged behind a tiny door at the end of a dark alleyway, Trap Door Theatre’s space perfectly suits this absurd portrait of drab and depressing life in Poland after World War II. Joanna Iwanicka’s set, a single dull, monochromatic room flanked by electric blue refuse (think Sin City, but five feet away from you) spills ever so slightly into the audience. You’re simultaneously in the room and observing it. A tiny, glowing TV screen sitting downstage center faces the stage, muddling the notion of who is watching whom.