The early chill of pre-winter was just the perfect shade of bitter for an opening night of a Chekov play. It was to be the first of four shows on an excessively busy weekend, which might’ve been perfect for Chekov as well. The Helfaer Theatre on the

The Daly News, Jonathan Gillard Daly’s tribute to a family’s survival through wartime continues rolls into its second weekend in the days to come. Based on newsletters written by his grandfather over the course of World War II, it’s a

The last weekend before Thanksgiving offers a few opportunities for some fresh theatre. In addition to that which has already opened, there are a couple of one performance shows tomorrow night: At 7pm on the appropriately-named Erie Avenue in glamorous Sh

The Producers has a strange history in my memory. I vaguely seem to remember being in second or third grade when I first saw Mel Brooks’ original 1968 film on television. It was an independant station that played it quite often, so I saw a number o

Patrick Schmitz has reached a rare kind of commercial success as a director, playwright and marketing department for his holiday show. Schmitz’s Rankin and Bass TV special parody: Rudolph the Pissed-Off Reindeer doesn’t open until this comi

When last we left the conversation with comic actor/director/producer Patrick Schmitz, he was discussing the possible misconceptions involved in the title of his preternaturally successful holiday show Rudolph the Pissed-Off Reindeer. He is concerned that

Playwright/musician Peter J. Woods’ October email mentioned something about being interested in the nature of storytelling. To this end, he has organized an evening of storytelling tomorrow night at 6pm at the Borg Ward Collective on 823 West Nat

In this, the final part of of my interview transcripts with the writer/director/promoter/producer of Rudolph the Pissed-Off Reindeer, Patrick Schmitz talks about working with child actors, expectations and the importance of confidence when jumping off a c

Prior to the opening of Rudolph the Pissed-Off Reindeer, the show's writer/director/co-producer Patrick Schmitz had voiced the thought that he may be a “one trick pony.” With no other plans to work on another feature-length play at any point i

Once again, In Tandem’s long-lived local holiday comedy A Cudahy Caroler Christmas comes to the Marcus Center’s Vogel Hall. Born on a much smaller stage to a much smaller audience, it’s interesting to think of Chris Flieller in the role