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Articles tagged with: Charles Dickens

Theaters serve up holiday stew of 3 Scrooges filled with laughs, lessons, gravy and graves

Dec 13, 2015 – 7:46 am
Scrooge at the Goodman for Christmas Carol 2015

Review: Chicago’s holiday offerings include Three Scrooges — not a show, but a trio of shows all based on “A Christmas Carol.” And yes, there’s some slapstick in it, even ribaldry, depending on which flavor of Dickens you choose.

Theater 2014-15: Strawdog doubles down, adds full-scale series to complement main-stage fare

Aug 10, 2014 – 10:42 pm
'The Arsonists' opens Strawdog's 2014-15 season (Jon Cole Media)

First in a series of season previews: Strawdog Theatre seriously ramps it up this season, with eight productions that will meet the criteria for Jeff Award consideration – double the number of qualifying shows last year. For the first time, all four plays offered in Hugen Hall, the company’s spacious bar venue, will meet Jeff production standards. “It is really ambitious,” says Strawdog artistic director Hank Boland with a mix of pride and apprehension.

In a compressed ‘Tale of Two Cities,’ Lifeline touches the heart of sacrifice in time of chaos

Mar 27, 2014 – 6:33 am
Dissolute attorney Sydney Carton (Josh Hambrock, left) and aristocrat Charles Darnay (Nicholas Bailey) both idealize Lucie. (Suzanne Plunkett)

Review: It’s a good trick, reducing an epic – and I might add really famous – novel like Dickens’ “A Tale of Two Cities” to two hours’ worth of narrative and dialogue, and yet preserving the psychological and dramatic dimensions that make the story compelling. Credit Lifeline Theatre with doing just that. ★★★

Goodman’s ‘Christmas Carol’ brings Yuletide treasure in magical form of Yando’s Scrooge

Dec 12, 2013 – 11:51 pm
Old Ebenezer Scrooge (Larry Yando, left) observes his younger self (Robert Hope) in a happy moment with Belle (Atra Asdou). (Liz Lauren)

Review: The sixth time is a charm for Larry Yando as that grasping, covetous old sinner Ebenezer Scrooge in the Goodman Theatre production of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol.” Or I should say, a charm again — just like Yando’s previous five outings in the part. His irascible but salvageable and very funny misanthrope remains a Scrooge for the young in heart and imagination. ★★★★

Theater 2013-14: The few, the proud (actors) will fight and fight again in Lifeline war zones

Aug 27, 2013 – 10:20 pm
The Killer Angels comes to TimeLine

Sixth in a series of season previews: Lifeline Theatre’s 2013-14 season, bannered as “War and Redemption,” will be played out on large canvases indeed – with opening salvos from the Civil War and the French Revolution. The season boasts two world premiere adaptations and a major component of staged tumult.

The New Season: ‘Sweet Bird’ lifts Goodman into a lineup feathered with 3 world premieres

Sep 4, 2012 – 7:12 pm
Playwright Tennessee Williams

13th in a series of season previews: Three world premieres punctuate an ambitious slate of nine productions at the Goodman Theatre in the coming season. Two other shows are Chicago premieres. The red-letter lineup begins with Tennessee Williams’ “Sweet Bird of Youth,” following up on last season’s high-profile account of Williams’ “Camino Real.”