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‘On Clover Road’ at American Blues: Missing girl, frantic mom; only this stranger can help

Feb 13, 2019 – 9:54 pm
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Review: Kate Hunter is terrified, desperate, hanging on by her fingernails. Her adolescent daughter ran away three years ago, and finally Kate has a lead to the girl’s seclusion in a cult – even a glimmer of hope that on this day, all may end well. That’s why, in Steven Dietz’s thriller “On Clover Road,” we find Kate holed up in a dilapidated motel room with a brusque, imperious de-programmer who claims he’s experienced at reeling kids back from the abyss. It’s a heart-stopping encounter at American Blues Theater. ★★★★

‘Six Corners’ at American Blues Theater: Murder at a train stop, seen in shifting lights

Mar 21, 2018 – 1:01 pm
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Review: Nick Moroni and Bernadette Perez are married (not to each other) mid-career Chicago cops burning late oil at the precinct shop, bantering, shuffling papers, watching the clock, waiting to check out so they can check into a motel together. This little slice of their lives provides the frame for Keith Huff’s “Six Corners,” a pulp-fiction drama at American Blues Theater that modulates from sad to sadder before it ends in the precincts of nobility. ★★★

‘Side Man’ at American Blues Theater: Honey pours from a trumpet, bile from a bitter wife

May 18, 2015 – 10:36 pm
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Review: Everything that is so remarkable, so rich and treasurable, about Chicago’s far-flung storefront theater scene is embodied in American Blues Theater’s resonant and poignant production of Warren Leight’s “Side Man.” Eloquently directed by Jonathan Berry, this model of tight, smart ensemble acting is well worth adjusting the calendar to catch, but it runs only until May 24 and will not be extended. ★★★★★

‘Yankee Tavern’ at American Blues Theater: Conspiracy theory slips under cloak of reality

Mar 10, 2015 – 10:18 pm
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Review: Ray is a dot-connector with a conspiracy theory about everything from 9/11 to Disneyland. His hypotheses range from intriguing to idiotic, but taken together they make for an interlude as provocative as it is wild in Steven Dietz’s “Yankee Tavern” at American Blues Theater. ★★★

Theater 2014-15: American Blues parlays pluck and alliance to create new take on ‘Native Son’

Sep 6, 2014 – 3:06 pm
At American Blues Theater, 'Side Man' by Warren Leight is set for 2015.

13th in a series of season previews: Season themes can sometimes seem like a loose fit, but American Blues Theater’s 2014-15 overarching concept of “Lost and Found” looks well-tailored from a world-premiere adaptation of Richard Wright’s tragic “Native Son” to Warren Leight’s “Side Man,” a dark riff on family alienation that infects the life of a jazz trumpeter. But artistic director Gwendolyn Whiteside also offers a larger label that sums up American Blues’ 29-year history: “We’ve got pluck. We don’t have a lot of money, but we go for the stars.”

‘Grounded’ at American Blues Theater: Boom! goes the rocket blast, and pilot’s life implodes

Jun 23, 2014 – 1:29 am
Gwendolyn Whiteside portrays the Pilot in the American Blues Theater production of George Brant's 'Grounded.' (Johnny Knight)

Review: The pilot, a U.S. Air Force fighter pilot, is a proud lone wolf, happiest up there in the wild blue yonder, at the controls of an F-16 homing in on targets in the midst of a Middle East war. Yet there’s a mentionable wrinkle. The Pilot in playwright George Brant’s monodrama “Grounded” is a woman. Gwendolyn Whiteside, the producing artistic director of American Blues Theater, suits up and steps out front to portray a human being who thinks she knows herself – only to discover her true humanity in both the sweetest and the most devastating terms. ★★★★

Theater 2013-14: Hank Williams’ life in song and world premiere on American Blues slate

Aug 14, 2013 – 11:48 am
Matthew Brumlow as Hank Williams in 'Lost Highway' at American Blues Theater (Johnny Knight)

Third in a series of season previews: The spirit and legend of Americana buoys the 2013-14 season at American Blues Theater, from a musical biography of country star Hank Williams to the world premiere of Christina Gorman’s “American Myth,” about a professor of history who has perhaps fudged the details of his own past. The new season also sees storefront American Blues taking up residence at the Greenhouse Theater Center on North Lincoln Avenue.

Bows of Holly: In Chicago theaters, abundance rejoices in lavish spread of holiday shows

Dec 5, 2012 – 12:20 am
Larry Yando as Scrooge in A Christmas Carol Goodman Theatre 2012 credit Liz Lauren

Shows of the season: A roundup

The New Season: Re-energized and refocused, American Blues Theater opens with a premiere

Aug 6, 2012 – 12:05 am
Illegal Use of Hands with Dennis Zacek Steve Key Howie Johnson credit Johnny Knight

Fourth in a series of season previews: The world premiere of James Still’s “Illegal Use of Hands” kicks off American Blues Theater’s 2012-13 season, which marks both the company’s 27th year on the Chicago scene and, in its reconstituted form, its fourth.