Reviews by Carol Moore

**** Highly Recommended **** The Goodman Theatre production of Lynn Nottage’s new play, "Clyde’s", which premiered on Broadway just under a year ago, is nothing short of delish!  I ended up hungry, what with all the yummy sounding sandwiches being created on the stage.  By the way, kudos to the cast for their knife work.  I know how hard that is to learn!  The story is poignant yet funny – and I found myself ticked off at Clyde, and rooting for the kitchen staff.  4 BIG Spotlights

***** Highly Recommended ****** After a long absence, "Wicked" is finally back in Chicago for a fourteen week run – and it’s about time!   I loved this show so much I hired a limo and took my three sisters and a couple of my nieces to a performance.  "Wicked" has everything a successful Broadway musical needs; colorful costumes, fantastical sets, entertaining music, clever lyrics, great choreography and two fabulous female stars.  I love "Wicked", a fantastical tale about a pair of unlikely best friends, and I think you will too.  4 BIG Spotlights

** Somewhat Recommended ** The Most Spectacularly Lamentable Trial of Miz Martha Washington felt like a 60s acid trip – with real people chanting horrible, hurtful words, morphing into nightmarish specters in vicious, swirling colors threatening sanity.  I know that slavery was evil, repugnant and a blot on our American history, but I still cringed at the level of torture portrayed on Steppenwolf’s stage.  Honestly, I’d take the acid trip over this play.  2 Spotlights

**** Recommended **** Paramount’s production of Dreamgirls was exactly what I expected to see – a big, spectacular, sparkly, sequined extravaganza.  Set in the 60s, Dreamgirls is loosely modeled on the experiences and successes of the Supremes, minus Motown.  Fans of 60s music will love this show.  People were chair dancing all over the auditorium. Unfortunately, it was also loud, so loud that I couldn’t understand what the actors were saying.  3 1.2 Spotlights