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Betty Mohr
Betty Mohr, a Chicago-based theater and opera critic, has been working with the SouthtownStar since 1994 when she began doing theater reviews for what was …
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Review: Mamet’s ‘Race’ a breath of fresh air
With its in-your-face, politically incorrect ideas, “Race” plays out like a suspenseful mystery that will haunt one for days. The drama is so provocative that one wonders if the Goodman Theatre would have had the guts to mount the Chicago premiere of the work it …Read More
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Gary Griffin stages ‘The Color Purple’ in Southland
It was a popular yet controversial film when Steven Spielberg directed it in 1985. But “The Color Purple” became an even bigger hit when director Gary Griffin turned the Alice Walker epic into a stage musical. Opening in 2005 on Broadway in New York, where …Read More
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Review: ITC’s ‘Broke-ology’ a profound, poignant revival
“Broke-ology” is about a black family trying to stay together and struggling against poverty. But the play, in a poignant revival at Illinois Theatre Center in Park Forest, could be about any American family. Written by Nathan Louis Jackson, the emotionally searing drama is set …Read More
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Southland native leads cast of Steppenwolf’s ‘Time Stands Still’
When she first began singing and acting at Illinois Theatre Center in Park Forest, Sally Murphy never expected that one day she would reach towering heights. She has performed at Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago, on Broadway, on the London stage and in television and in …
Southlander works behind the scenes on ‘Unnecessary Farce’
She has designed many theater sets before but Angela Weber Miller said nothing has been as challenging as creating the set for the Chicago-area premiere of “Unnecessary Farce.” That’s because the wacky comedy presented by First Folio Theatre provides for duplicate hotel rooms, fast-paced entrances …
Traveling Southlander lands local role in ‘Gypsy’
She has performed on stages in New York, Massachusetts and Wisconsin, but now Andrea Collier will be acting, singing and dancing near her hometown. “This is the first time that I’m going to be in a Chicago-area show. Up until now, I’ve been working in …
Steppenwolf’s ‘Penelope’ not such an appealing sight
Four middle-aged men strut their stuff with their guts hanging over tight-fitting Speedo swimwear in “Penelope” at Steppenwolf Theatre. For the most part, it’s not an appealing sight. One feels for the actors who bare their bodies in an effort to save the new drama …
A feel-good ‘Mark Twain and the Laughing River’
“Mark Twain and the Laughing River” was a big hit when it first opened in the mid-1990s at the Northlight Theatre in Evanston. It was a glorious show then, and now it’s aged like a fine wine, soaring in a delicious revival at Theatre at …
Hysterically funny scenes in ‘La Cage aux Folles’
It starts out slowly but by the second act, “La Cage aux Folles” picks up speed, soaring with laughs, characters we love and touching emotional moments. This joyful musical has a book by Harvey Fierstein, is based on the French play of the same name …
Lyric Opera’s ‘Magic Flute’ is a family fable
It has a fire-breathing dragon, a dancing monkey, a giant black crow, fierce lions and other playful creatures. It’s all part of the Lyric Opera of Chicago’s revival of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s “The Magic Flute,” which arrives in time to help shake off the winter …
Illinois Theatre Center’s ‘Greetings!’ is heartwarming
Andy Gorski is bringing his fiancee, Randi Stein, to meet his folks in Pittsburgh on Christmas Eve. He’s a bit nervous as to what to expect when he introduces his intended to his seriously committed Catholic family. It turns out that Andy was right to …
Lyric’s ‘Ariadne auf Naxos’ soars in grand triumph
Audiences held their breath when the curtain rose on “Ariadne auf Naxos” at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. That’s because Deborah Voight, who was supposed to star in the title role, pulled out of the show in summer. How could the show go on without …
Southlander makes professional debut in ‘A Christmas Carol’
She was disappointed when she auditioned for “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang,” a new musical headed for Broadway, and didn’t get the part. But Shanequa Beal didn’t give up her desire to be an actress. It’s a good thing she didn’t because the Blue Island native …
‘Babes in Toyland’ an optimistic holiday show
It’s not every actor who can play the kind of fairy tale character featured in “Babes in Toyland.” The actors in the show — which opens Nov. 28 at Theatre at the Center in Munster, Ind. — have to have a certain something that makes …
An engaging 'Another Night Before Christmas'
A divorced social worker with a chip on her shoulder, nothing to look forward to and no reason to live meets a homeless bum on Christmas Eve. She offers him some food and goes home prepared to spend the holiday eve on her own. She’s …
Review: Lyric Opera of Chicago’s ‘Boris Godunov’
It’s well-known that those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Indeed, from the beginning of time, man has repeated the ongoing mistake in which power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. That’s why “Boris Godunov,” an opera about Russian power politics, …
GSU launches One More Night series with ‘Flow’
Powerful stories, rhyming words and explosive poetry are part and parcel of “Flow,” the hip-hop show kicking off One More Night at Governors State University’s Center for Performing Arts. The show, which debuted in 2003 at the Hip Hop Theater Festival in New York City, …
Mesmerizing comic timing in Illinois Theatre Center’s ‘Heroes’
It’s an absurdist comedy, but there’s no slamming of doors, no fisticuffs and no screaming in the enchanting revival of “Heroes” now playing at Illinois Theatre Center.
Lyric’s ‘Lucia di Lammermoor’ is magnificent
“Lucia di Lammermoor” has been given a stunning revival by the Lyric Opera of Chicago. Aficionados of bel canto and fans of William Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” will fall in love with this Gaetano Donizetti classic of star-crossed lovers. The opera, which debuted in 1835, …
Southlander’s ‘The Game Show Show...’
Growing up in Oak Lawn, James Anthony Zoccoli escaped tough times by watching television. But he wasn’t interested in just anything on television. He said it was the game shows that had him glued to the pulsing TV screen. Now Zoccoli revisits those escapist TV …
