Ellen Beth Gill

Cast of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying

‘ How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying’ Review – Music Theater Works Succeeds

June 10, 2019 Ellen Beth Gill 0

In 1936, a brash, young, Shepherd Mead, fresh out of Washington University, started his first job in the mail room at New York advertising agency, Benton & Bowles. He rose within the ranks, becoming a […]

“Monticello” Review – It Doesn’t Work

August 16, 2017 Ellen Beth Gill 0

A young, cheerful, sober Edgar Allen Poe, a student at the University of Virginia founded by Thomas Jefferson, visits Monticello, Jefferson’s Virginia estate, on the last night of Jefferson’s life, and walks out a somber, […]

IN THE WAKE Review – Oh That Tiresome Political Talk

August 3, 2017 Ellen Beth Gill 0

For their Summer 2017 production, The Comrades present “In The Wake” at the Greenhouse Theater Center. The Comrades is a non-equity, Chicago-based theater company founded in 2006. It’s past productions, “Mary-Kate Olsen is in Love,” […]

The Bridges of Madison County Review – A Sentimental Slice of Mid-Century Rural Life

July 1, 2017 Ellen Beth Gill 0

Robert James Waller’s 1992 romance novel, “The Bridges of Madison County,” was a sensation that remained on the “New York Times” Best Seller List for 164 consecutive weeks. It was adapted into a movie, starring […]

City Lit’s London Assurance Review – A Little Bit Downton A Little Bit Wilde

June 27, 2017 Ellen Beth Gill 0

Since 1979, City Lit Theater Company has been Chicago’s go-to company for stage adaptations of literary material, and original modern plays with a literary bent. In its current season, City Lit has tackled adaptations of […]

Chicago Trolley & Double Decker Co. Review — A Hop On Hop Off Skip and a Jump around Chicago

June 25, 2017 Ellen Beth Gill 0

What is Al Capone’s connection to Holy Name Cathedral? What is inside the onion dome of the Hotel Intercontinental Chicago? Who started the Great Chicago Fire of 1871? Why was Chicago named Chicago? You can […]

Golden Girls: The Lost Episodes Review – An Earthy, Guilty Pleasure

June 23, 2017 Ellen Beth Gill 0

Picture it – Chicago, 2017 – four men, David Cerda, Ed Jones, AJ Wright, and Adrian Hadlock, play four of the most beloved senior women in American pop culture, “Dorothy Zbornak,” “Rose Nylund,” “Blanche Devereaux,” […]

Bette Davis Ain’t for Sissies Review – A One Woman Show for a One Woman Show

June 18, 2017 Ellen Beth Gill 0

She might not have “Bette Davis Eyes,” or her stinging sarcasm, but actress Jessica Sherr packed her portrayal of the legendary actress in her one-woman show, “Bette Davis Ain’t for Sissies,” with a lot of the dreams, […]

Music Theater Works Candide Review – The Musical Satire Transports its Audience to the Best of All Possible Worlds

June 6, 2017 Ellen Beth Gill 0

For an energetic opening to its 2017 season, Music Theater Works performs “Candide,” a delightful cross between a classic Broadway-style musical and a comedic operetta, based on the humorous Eighteenth Century satire, “Candide, ou L’Optimisme,” […]

“A Shout Across Time” Review – The Sun and the Moon and the Stars

May 16, 2017 Ellen Beth Gill 0

Monday night, an appreciative audience in Evanston was treated to a free multimedia exploration of space, time, gravity and astronomy set to music courtesy of the Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics (CIERA). […]