Articles tagged with: Francis Guinan
Theaters serve up holiday stew of 3 Scrooges filled with laughs, lessons, gravy and graves
Review: Chicago’s holiday offerings include Three Scrooges — not a show, but a trio of shows all based on “A Christmas Carol.” And yes, there’s some slapstick in it, even ribaldry, depending on which flavor of Dickens you choose.
‘Goldfish’ at Route 66: As compulsive gambler, Francis Guinan lifts a loser to grace
Review: Leo lives for those bets that feel good. You’d think winning would be the high, but no. When he has placed a bet that feels really good, Leo can breathe. Never mind that his luck is seldom good, or that his college-age son has minded this financially and spiritually broken, irreducible addict since the lad was little more than a child. Such is the starting point of John Kolvenbach’s eloquent, albeit painfully plain-spoken, play “Goldfish,” a sleeper gem of the season in a sparkling production by Route 66 Theatre. ★★★★
Role Playing: Francis Guinan embraces conflict of father who fled from grim truth in ‘The Herd’
Interview: The alienated, indeed despised husband and father Francis Guinan portrays in Rory Kinnear’s marvelous first play “The Herd,” at Steppenwolf Theatre, elicits deeply ambivalent feelings, and not just from the audience. Guinan admits he also sees the guy in decidedly conflicted terms.
‘The Herd’ at Steppenwolf: It’s Dad at the door, but it could be the wolf – he’s so not welcome
Review: Ah, family values. Mom, Dad, the kids. The dysfunction, the divorce, the alienation, the animosity. All the things that make a house a home are piled into “The Herd,” a smashing first play by Rory Kinnear now fuming through its U.S. premiere at Steppenwolf Theatre. No need to equivocate. It is simply not to be missed. ★★★★★
‘The Night Alive’ at Steppenwolf: It’s three guys, girl and thug looking for answers in life’s rubble
Review: At the center of “The Night Alive,” Conor McPherson’s wry and compassionate spin on the human comedy, are three men grappling with life near its baseline. And in Steppenwolf Theatre’s unglossed, touching perspective on the play, these ordinary guys find in each other the redemptive qualities of connection, meaning and purpose. ★★★★
‘Pullman Porter Blues’ at Goodman: Rails hum song of black men’s pride and sacrifice
Review:It is redolent of Chicago, eloquent of a shadowed time that was, Cheryl L. West’s song-filled “Pullman Porter Blues” at the Goodman Theatre. It is a gritty, pulsing, sweet hymn to the generations of black men who made train-travel hum back in the day. ★★★★
Steppenwolf’s dark view of ‘Time Stands Still’ frames a close-up of war’s toll
Some wounds heal slowly. 4 stars!
