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Orlando
Or: Wild Goose Sarah Ruhl and Virgina Woolf make a marvelous couple. Like oranges and chocolate, they make a surprising blend: Woolfs...
Ben Kemper
May 5, 20251 min read
Cinderella at the Theater of Potatoes
Or: Tiny feet can fill great shoes. With the state of the world as it is and winter on wing, it would be such a nice thing to have a...
Ben Kemper
May 5, 20253 min read
Cosmic Events are upon Us: The Romanov Play
The Waltzing Mechanicals present a theatrical epic by Keely Leonard Or: “All Happy Families Are Alike” Or, yet: Tzar-Power. This is a...
Ben Kemper
May 5, 20253 min read
Miss Holmes
Or: My Sister’s Keeper A new play by Christopher M. Walsh. London, 1881. A mysterious man arrives at Betham Royal Hospital, more commonly...
Ben Kemper
May 5, 20253 min read
The Intern
Or: A Gentlewoman’s Gentleman Over the past few days I’ve seen a lot of “heavy” films. Stories with avant guard styles, tortured...
Ben Kemper
May 5, 20252 min read
The Revenant
(Described as: a person who has returned from the dead with their soul and body intact) Or: Why don’t you just shoot ‘im? There are two...
Ben Kemper
May 5, 20253 min read
A Nighttime Survival Guide
Or: “Still Turning” We defeat our monsters by naming them. We classify that terrible thing in the dark and give it a weakness: Vampire,...
Ben Kemper
May 5, 20252 min read
Bridget Bishop Presents the Salem B*tch Trials
A new work by Jared Rubin Sprowls Or: “Fabulous Witches” Not being a regular frequenter of drag shows myself, I fear I have no reference...
Ben Kemper
May 5, 20252 min read
The Burials
A new play by Caitlin Parrish Or: Loaded Question The daughter of an Illinois Congressman, Sophie Martin (Olivia Cygan) has her hands...
Ben Kemper
May 5, 20254 min read
Where the Wild Things Are
An Immersive Rumpus by Shara Feit Or: There and Back Again. It’s tough to squeeze an hour long entertainment from a twelve page book....
Ben Kemper
May 5, 20252 min read
The Tempest at Northwestern University
Or: Tempest Fugit You enter into a world alive. While Prospero (David Catlin) pours over his magic books beneath a canopy of ropes and...
Ben Kemper
May 5, 20254 min read
Constellations
Or: “O no, it is an ever fixéd mark.” In the time it takes for you to read this, the universe will have been destroyed and restored a...
Ben Kemper
May 5, 20254 min read
Support Group for Men
A new play by Ellen Fairey Or: They Dance I must confess, Dear Reader, I was not looking forward to Fairey’s Support Group for Men when I...
Ben Kemper
May 5, 20252 min read
The Van Gogh Cafe
Or: Community The Community Tavern of Portage Park is a capable place. White walls, wooden seats and tables, delicate chandeliers;...
Ben Kemper
May 5, 20252 min read
You on the Moors Now
Or: The War for Independence You find yourself in the Pemberly Museum, a handsome space laid with portraits, perceived articles and lists...
Ben Kemper
May 5, 20253 min read
Twelfth Night ISF 2016
Or: The Snapping String Something is rotten in the state of Illyria. Wind whistles through the broken pains of palaces (hauntingly...
Ben Kemper
May 5, 20253 min read
Selma
Or: Going to Meet the Man There are few things more beautiful that a work of art that is both well crafted and timely. Just as we needed...
Ben Kemper
May 5, 20253 min read
Gold
Or: Tomorrow Belongs to Me The 1936 Berlin olympics, high-note of the “Roaring Forties” (as some dub the storm of troubles that raged...
Ben Kemper
May 5, 20255 min read
Season on the Line
Or: Loomings. Despite what you may have heard dear reader, Moby Dick is a strong and vibrant novel. Funny, touching, reflective, and...
Ben Kemper
May 16, 20235 min read
The Hundred Foot Journey
Or: Flavorful fusion The best advice I can offer for seeing the Hundred Foot Journey is not to come hungry. Lasse Hallstrom’s direction...
Ben Kemper
May 16, 20232 min read
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