Escapist comedy ‘Girl in My Soup’ order of the day

Terence Frisby’s comedy, “There’s a Girl in My Soup,” had a record-setting run on London’s West End, where it played from 1966 to 1972. It also scored on Broadway and was turned into a popular movie in 1970.

Bad behavior good for laughs in ‘God of Carnage’

There’s a simple reason why Wayne Mell wanted to direct “God of Carnage for Citadel Theatre Company. “It’s all about parents being children,” he said. Yasmina Reza’s hilarious comedy focuses on two sets of parents who are meeting to discuss a playground disagreement between their sons.

‘Yo Gabba Gabba!’ pays a visit

Californian Christian Jacobs had nothing against the purple dinosaur. It was a harmless character his oldest daughter was watching on television ten years ago… and it kept her happy.

Metropolis celebrates play fest winners

Three judges reviewed 52 plays to select the winners in Metropolis Performing Arts Centre’s New Play Festival. The five winning plays — three by adult playwrights and two by teenage authors — will receive staged readings by professional actors on Sundays, Jan. 20-Feb. 17.

Acting is real thrill of ‘The Letters’

“The Letters” is an example of truly exceptional performances in the service of a script that’s not always on the level of the acting.

Directed by Kimberly Senior at Glencoe’s Writers’ Theatre, the two-person piece is something of a political thriller. The trouble is, playwright …

Smiles on tap in Marriott’s ‘My One and Only’

Can a musical tap its way to happiness?

Certainly! Especially if it is packed with songs by those great Gershwin guys.

“My One and Only” is running at the Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire through Jan. 6 and from the opening number by the three New …

‘One and Only’ upbeat romance set to great Gershwin

Can an ambitious aviator and a former English Channel swimmer find true happiness? Given enough great Gershwin songs it could happen in “My One and Only” at the Marriott Theatre.

Catch a special version of ‘The Things They Carried’

Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried has been hailed as one of the best and most important pieces of literature about the Vietnam War, and audiences will have the opportunity to experience it in a unique way on Sept. 29 at the Elgin Community College …

Sweet memories from ‘The Marvelous Wonderettes’ at Metropolis

The sweet sounds of ’50s and ’60s pop tunes hold a special place in the hearts of those who grew up hearing them, but the music has an even broader reach.

A bad business at Citadel

Lawrence Garfinkle knows a good deal when he sees it. And the New York corporate raider sees a great one in the undervalued stock of a small town company called New England Wire & Cable. If the stockholders agree, they will profit handsomely, too.

Bold decisions make ‘Hamlet’ strikingly dark

“Hamlet” has a lean and hungry look. And that’s as it should be in Writers’ Theatre’s stark and accessible production of Shakespeare’s seminal tragedy. This is, after all, a ghost story that’s all to do with death, starting in the aftermath of one murder and ending with bodies piled up like cordwood on the stage.

North Barrington native plays angry Jesus in ‘Under 1%’

Ryan Archibald grew up in North Barrington loving baseball, football, singing and comedy pretty much equally well.

He played football in the fall, baseball in the summer and sang in choirs the rest of the year. Comedy was strictly a spectator sport for him in …

Magic meets modern in ‘Enfrascada’

Magic, says playwright Tanya Saracho, isn’t as spectacular a practice as people have come to expect, with wizards and wands and flashing lightning and all manner of special effects — but that doesn’t mean it’s not a potent force. Especially when women and love are …