Chicago Broadcasting Network

Reno Lovison of ChicagoBroadcastingNetwork.com and Jodie Jacobs of ChicagoTheaterandArts.com discuss their 2018 Chicago theater experiences.

Reno Lovison of ChicagoBroadcastingNetwork.com and Jodie Jacobs of ChicagoTheaterandArts.com have a year-end review of the 2018 Chicago theater scene including what they found to be intelligent and thought-provoking as well as simply entertaining.

The world premiere of “La Ruta” at the Steppenwolf Theater, Chicago by playwright Isaac Gomez who has figuratively commandeered a bus transporting “maquila” workers to and from their jobs in Juarez, then pointed its headlights into the vast darkness exposing the despair and anguish of the mothers and sisters of hundreds of young women kidnapped, used as sex slaves, murdered and disposed of in the Mexican desert.

Music Theater Works in Evanston, IL (just outside Chicago) has put together a visually stunning production of Stephen Sondheim’s fairytale musical mashup “Into the Woods.”

“A Midsummer Night’s Dream” at the Shakespeare Theatre on Chicago’s Navy Pier puts a slightly modern twist to an old favorite.

Review by Reno Lovison Executive Producer at ChicagoBroadcastingNetwork.com and theater reviewer for Chicagotheaterandarts.com

This popular play by Will Kern is comprised of a number of vignettes all taking place within the confines of a cab trolling the streets of Chicago during an evening leading up to the Christmas holiday.

There are highs and lows, happiness and sadness, violence and love. Some people are in good cheer, others not so much. Through each experience, the stoic cabbie (in this case played by Regina Linn) absorbs the emotional impact of each encounter.

Review by Reno Lovison.
To read more reviews visit http://chicagotheaterandarts.com
To listen to reviews and find more podcasts and videos related to Chicago visit http://chicagobroadcastingnetwork.com

If you are ready to get into the Christmas spirit you can’t do much better than the American Blues Theater’s staged radio show version of Frank Capra’s classic “It’s a Wonderful Life.”

In this production, the theater is set up to give the illusion that you are part of the studio audience for a live radio broadcast in 1944 at WABT Studio on Belmont Avenue in Chicago.

This is indeed a bon a fide radio-style performance with each person playing several characters in different voices, aided by requisite sound effects to augment the dialog in lieu of visual cues.

Playing at Stage 773, 1225 W Belmont, Chicago through January 5, 2019. For information visit http://stage773.com

To read more reviews visit http://chicagotheaterandarts.com
To listen to reviews and find more media related to Chicago visit http://chicagobroadcastingnetwork.com

This world premiere slice of life drama is sure to strike close to home.
For many, the place they have lived and raised a family is more than an assembly of bricks and wood, it is a repository of memories and the physical manifestation of a life’s work. When it comes time to consider leaving it behind there are more considerations than a change of address.

Review by Reno Lovison Executive Producer at ChicagoBroadcastingNetwork.com for ChicagoTheaterandArts.com.

At its core, this is a comedic drawing room mystery, but it is also a thought-provoking exploration of humanity through concepts of truth, chaos versus order, discovery and rediscovery, the meaning of time, and our desire to improve on an already perfect universe.

Performances at Greenhouse Theater Center, 2257 N. Lincoln Avenue, Chicago runs through December 16, 2018.

Review by Reno Lovison for ChicagoTheaterandArts.com and ChicagoBroadcastingNetwork.com

Manual Cinema’s homage to the 100th anniversary of Mary Shelley's gothic classic “Frankenstein” is a singular theatrical experience that mixes live action, silhouettes, puppets, shadow puppetry, masks, video, slide projection and all manner of theatrical techniques, ancient and modern to create a captivating monochromatic video mash-up.

At the Court Theater on the campus of the University of Chicago through December 2, 2018.

Review by Reno Lovison for ChicagoTheaterandArts.com and ChicagoBroadcastingNetwork.com