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Jonathan and Kelly review Mary-Arrchie’s production of Hellish Half-Light , half a dozen short plays by Samuel Beckett. J. places Beckett in the context of French postwar absurdism, while K. actually talks about the plays. Existential despair abounds.
But as long as life goes on, why not enliven it with an e-mail subscription to the Dueling Critics? Look to your right and slightly down and you’ll see the “Subscribe” button; punch it and you’ll never miss a minute of our badinage , repartee and other French words apropos .
The Dueling Critics get intimate with Intimate Apparel at Eclipse Theatre, and Jonathan reports news of Next Theatre and the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).
The cast of The Qualms, written by ensemble member Bruce Norris and directed by Pam MacKinnon. Casting includes ensemble member Kate Arrington with Owais Ahmed, Karen Aldridge, Diane Davis, Kirsten Fitzgerald, Keith Kupferer, David Pasquesi, Paul Oakley Stovall and Greg Stuhr. (Photo by Michael Brosilow.)
Jonathan and Kelly strongly disagree about the new Steppenwolf show: J. approves, while K. has Qualms. Also: K recommends Men Should Weep at Griffin: nothing like a 1940s Scottish melodrama to liven up your summer!
K. sez:
Door County, downstate and northwest-ish Indiana have a new competitor in the free-for-all which constitutes summer theater in the Chicago area: the Three Oaks Festival , which will set up shop in several locations around what real-estate salesmen call ‘Harbor Country’—southwest Michigan in the vicinity of New Buffalo. Its season consists of transplants from the past year in Chicago, including Blair Thomas & Co.’s A Piano with Three Tales ; Dennis Watkins’ The Magic Parlour ; a staged reading of TimeLine Theatre’s The Normal Heart ; David Lutken in Woody Sez: The Life & Music of Woody Guthrie ; Jackalope Theatre’s Exit Strategy ; and Seanachaí Theatre Company’s Hughie .
Also presenting erstwhile Chicago shows you wish you hadn’t missed, and also in peripatetic mode, is the venerable Theater on the Lake, which continues to produce even as the Park District renovates its home space. (That’s the meaning of the discouraging “See you next year!” sign in front of the Fullerton facility—presumably that’s the same next year during which the Cubs will win the pennant.) On tap: Stage Left’s A Day in the Death of Joe Egg , July 9-13 and Theo Ubique’s A Cole Porter Songbook , July 23-27, both at Berger Park, 6205 North Sheridan Road; the Neo-Futurists’ Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind , July 30-August 3 at the Washington Park Refectory, 5531 S. Russell Dr.; and Strawdog’s Great Expectations , August 6-10 back up at Berger Park.
Things may be dysfunctional in the writers’ room, as conceived by Neil Simon in Laughter on the 23rd Floor (upper photo, courtesy of Eclectic Full Contact Theatre), but the world is downright dystopian in the world premiere of Tyrant, by Kathleen Akerly (lower photo, courtesy of Sideshow Theatre). The DC saw different shows this week and offer their opinions.
Chicago’s permanent avant-garde theatre troupe celebrates 25 years with a world premiere chamber opera by Matt Test.
Kelly and Jonathan wring each other’s neck over Rung, a world premiere opera at Curious Theatre Branch, and Kelly recommends Eat Your Heart Out at Rivendell Theatre Ensemble.
Dave Belden and Stephanie Chavara in Strawdog’s production of Charles Ives Take Me Home. (Photo: Chris Ocken)
The White Snake production photo courtesy of the Goodman Theatre.
How sharper than a serpent’s tongue are Kelly and Jonathan as they discuss The White Snake at Goodman Theatre, and Jonathan also recommends Tennessee Williams’ Vieux Carre at Raven Theatre.
J. and K. take to the airwaves with host Gary Zidek of The Arts Section on WDCB, 90.9 FM, for an overview of drama under the stars and in the heat throughout the Midwest.
Fred Zimmerman, Tyler Ravelson and Elizabeth Telford in Porchlight’s production of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. Photo: Kelsey Jorissen.
Welcome to the on-line home of the Dueling Critics, Kelly Kleiman and Jonathan Abarbanel. Here you'll find the Critics' weekly conversations about Chicago theater. These verbal battles are broadcast every Sunday morning on "The Arts Section," WDCB's on-air culture magazine. Tune in to 90.9 FM to hear the Critics going at it.
On this site you'll also find written reviews by Kelly and Jonathan as well as links to their writing in other venues. Never fear, there are plenty of opinions to go around!
Please let us know what you think of the broadcasts, the written reviews and the opinions expressed therein. Thanks for listening and reading.
The best of 2016 in Chicago theater January 3, 2017
Which one of us whacks the other in the knee? We review Tonya and Nancy, The Rock Opera December 20, 2016
DC split over David Rabe world premiere at Steppenwolf October 11, 2016
K says “wunderbar” for WONDERFUL TOWN, J says “Hmmm.” October 5, 2016
The House does a dark take on Punch & Judy but it lights up J. & K. September 28, 2016
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Kelly Kleiman at the Huffington Post Jonathan Abarbanel at the Windy City Times