Articles by Patricia Simms

Scottish Festival Preview – You Take the High Road. I’ll Take I-290!

We’re vacationing in Scotland this summer, so we’re looking forward to the opportunity to sample the culture while we’re still at home. Thought you, too, might want to enjoy some Scottish Culture this summer

THE EXONERATED Review –Liberty and Justice for All?

This is an example of theater at its finest. Powered by righteous indignation, there’s no room for melodrama. This award-winning play drives home a profound emotional and moral message

Roger Ebert - A Celebration of Life with Love from Chaz

Everything about this Celebration of Life reminded us of the remarkable man Roger was (and will continue to be in our hearts and minds)

INSPIRING BEAUTY Review – Chicago History Museum and Ebony Fashion Fair Strut Their Stuff!

Don’t even think about missing this fabulous, historic exhibit. It will only be at the Chicago History Museum until January 5! This is a story—not a fairy tale!—about a vision WAY before its time

INSPIRING BEAUTY Review–Chicago History Museum and Ebony Fashion Fair Strut Their Stuff!

Bold, sexy, proud, deliciously daring. Looks so fashion forward you can’t fully appreciate them without looking back--all the way back to 1958. Before Martin Luther King. Before Women’s Liberation. Before Black Pride. Before Michelle Obama

A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE Review – Musical Magic Transforms Tragic

What an unforgettable experience it was to be in the audience for this opera! Lyric’s production of Streetcar succeeds on every level, starting, of course, with that outstanding music

BLITHE SPIRIT Review– Piccolo Theatre Sure Can Pick ‘Em!

Noel Coward’s Blithe Spirit is the perfect match for the quirky comedic sense at Evanston’s Piccolo Theatre which boasts (truthfully!) “small theatre, big laughs”

EVERYTHING IS ILLUMINATED Review – Next Theatre’s Production Rings with Irony, Discovery and Pathos

Plays like Everything is Illuminated are so multi-layered, it’s very difficult to separate the layers, see how (if!) they relate to one another and what that all means as part of a cohesive whole

SILENT WITNESS – A Ray of Hope for Crime Victims

Silent Witness is a non-profit program to help citizens assist law enforcement in solving crimes. Citizens remain completely anonymous and are paid cash rewards up to $1,000 when information they provide leads to an arrest or indictment

North Shore Village Celebrates 3 Years – Self-Reliant Seniors Have Plenty to Celebrate

If it takes a village to raise children, doesn’t it make sense that it takes a village to serve our aging adults

THE BIRTHDAY PARTY Review – Many Unhappy Returns

Although this seems like it should be a simple, straightforward tale—it’s just a birthday party, after all—after a while everyone seems to be at least a hypocrite, delusional or a flat-out liar. It is so clearly unclear

Lyric’s LA BOHÈME Review – Captivating Music, Heart-Breaking Romance and, of course, Passion

I can’t imagine anyone seeing any performance of La Bohème anywhere and not be transported by it. Those of us who experienced Lyric’s La Bohème, had all that and even more

A GRAND NIGHT FOR SINGING Review – One Enchanted Evening!

The chic, exhilarating, soul-satisfying Chicago production, now at the freshly renovated Mercury Theater in Wrigleyville showcases 30 captivating songs from Oklahoma!, South Pacific, Flower Drum Song—the list goes on

Side Effects May Include Review – Dark Comedy Illuminates Difficult Choices, Heartwarming Devotion

Since Side Effects May Include was written by Seinfeld writer Marc Jaffe and Emmy nominee Eric Coble, we had good reason to expect that this sensitive subject—Parkinson’s disease—will be handled with just the right touch

We Three Lizas Review – Don We Now Our Gay Apparel, Tra La La La La La La!

It’s time for a new Christmas tradition! Instead of dragging out those tired reindeer, let’s get out the glitter machine and sparkle! Enter We Three Lizas: they don’t mean a thing if they ain’t got that bling

The Letters Review – Writers’ Theatre’s edge-of-your-seat thriller

John W. Lowell (Playwright) has written a taut, tight, tough-minded play that resonates beyond the confines of its historical context

Wanting Miss Julie Review - A Concert Reading of an Edgy Contemporary New Musical

Wanting Miss Julie is an edgy, contemporary musical set in the super-sophisticated, moneyed, political world of the Hamptons

The Odd Couple Review – Northlight’s Rollicking Reprise of Neil Simon’s Classic

The Odd Couple opened in 1965, just as the Women’s Liberation Movement was gathering momentum. Neil Simon saw and capitalized on its comic potential. So did director BJ Jones, Artistic Director of Northlight Theatre

Superior Donuts Review – Outstanding Remount of Critically-Acclaimed Production at Royal George Cabaret Theatre

I saw Superior Donuts twice in three days. It was that good. Both times, I was fascinated by the power and presence of Superior Donuts

Billy Strayhorn Festival at Music Institute of Chicago Review – Celebrating 10 Years at Nichols Concert Hall

On Saturday night, October 27, the Terrell Stafford Quintet treated the audience at the Music Institute of Chicago in Nichols Concert Hall in Evanston to a live rendition of Stafford’s CD “This Side of Strayhorn”

Freshly Fallen Snow Review - Chicago Dramatists’ Don’t-Miss Season Opener

Freshly Fallen Snow asks the question: “If it were possible to cure post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), would it be a wonderful breakthrough?” Why wouldn't you want to lose those tortured memories

Michael Feinstein and CJO Review - A Magnificent Start of Auditorium Theatre’s Season

S Wonderful! ‘S marvelous! that we could hear, see, laugh with, swoon and sway, snap and tap the evening away with not only the incomparable Michael Feinstein but also with Jeff Lindberg’s world-renowned Chicago Jazz Orchestra

Piven's TUSK TUSK Review - Gripping Drama of Children Trying to Cope

THIS is what theater is about. Engagement at this level is as rare as it is riveting. Don’t miss it. You’ve got until October 7, 2012 to get there

Palmer House Review - Restored and Resplendent

Everything about the Palmer House Hilton makes her a Grande Dame

Lyric’s Show Boat Review: All Aboard the Cotton Blossom!

Lyric Opera of Chicago created a unique work melding the best of theater and opera performance: a richly textured evening on the Cotton Blossom

Magic Flute Review – Lyric’s Musical Gift to Whole Family

This opera is the perfect introduction to the opera for young children, and the perfect Holiday entertainment for the entire family

JUBALEE Review - Global Rhythms Continues the Celebration

The Chicago Human Rhythm Project (CHRP) opens its 22nd season with Global Rhythms. This year’s performances spotlight national and international artists.Performances are November 26 and 27

Poe in Octo Review - Trek or Treat? Both!

What a fantastic, OK, phantasmagorical way to reframe Poe’s familiar stories just in time for Halloween and the most wonderful autumn weather ever

Orion Ensemble Review – A Season Opener with Flair, Care and Music from Everywhere

You still have two opportunities to enjoy Orion Ensemble’s first concert of its new season without having to shout “Encore!” once

Back the Bid Chicago Architecture Foundation Tour Review– Don’t Miss the Bus!

On Sunday, September 13, 2009 at 9:30am, Back the Bid Day, the Chicago Architecture Foundation (CAF) will give you a chance to visualize the 2016 Olympics and Paralympics here in our home town, Chicago

Saturday May 25th: 12:00 AM | WHICH WAY IS OUT?; 11:30 AM | Spring & Summer Cooking Class with Chef Zov and Pastry Chef Michelle Bracken; 2:00 PM | Steel Magnolias---The Laguna Playhouse; 2:30 PM | The Fantastics---South Coast Repertory; 6:30 PM | Rachid Bouhamidi Art Show at ZJU Theater; 8:00 PM | CRUMBLE (Lay Me Down, Justin Timberlake); 8:00 PM | Steel Magnolias---The Laguna Playhouse; 8:00 PM |; 8:00 PM | STEEL MAGNOLIAS; 8:00 PM | The Fantastics---South Coast Repertory; 11:00 PM | URBAN DEATH at ZJU Theatre

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