Victory Gardens Biograph Theater
Chicago
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The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity is the only play I’ve ever seen that could appeal to wrestling fans and theatergoers alike, said Chris Jones in the Chicago Tribune. A two-bit wrestling villain and would-be promoter named Macedonio Guerra (aka Mace) narrates this tale of a bout between wrestling’s fictional golden boy, Chad Deity, and Guerra’s recent discovery. Guerra has taken an Indian wrestler named Vigneshwar Padujar, dressed him like Osama bin Laden, and given the character the name “Sleeper Cell.” Playwright Kristoffer Diaz pours an obvious love for the sport into “impressively credible” fight scenes, creating a memorable and highly entertaining piece of theater. Chad Deity is one part “visceral takedown” of American jingoism, one part “full-on, body-slamming theatrical wrestling match.”
“I was hooked from the word ‘go’ on Diaz’s altogether eclectic (and sure to be controversial) play,” said Hedy Weiss in the Chicago Sun-Times. My fascination began with the narrator —one of those wrestlers “whose job it is to make the high-paid, often untalented ‘star wrestlers’ look great.” Actor Desmin Borges gives a star-making, “out-of-nowhere” performance in the role, and throughout the play “has the audience eating out of his hand.” Director Edward Torres creates a convincing production that expertly serves the strengths of Diaz’s script. By brilliantly deconstructing the layers of “rage, resentment, fear, stereotyping, pop theatricality, and metaphor making” that are involved in creating the spectacle of professional wrestling, Diaz has given us a true work of “blue-collar performance art.”
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DHS preps for major ICE expansion, rankling local law enforcementIN THE SPOTLIGHT As the Trump administration positions ICE as the primary federal police force, its recruitment efforts have been met with a less-than-enthusiastic response
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The return of 'Wednesday,' an 'Alien' prequel and a dramatic retelling of the Amanda Knox trial all happening in August TVthe week recommends This month's new television releases include 'Alien: Earth,' 'The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox' and a new season of 'Wednesday'
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How does a 401(k) hardship withdrawal work and is it smart to take one?the explainer More Americans than ever are resorting to this option in a pinch
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If/Thenfeature Tony-winning Idina Menzel “looks and sounds sensational” in a role tailored to her talents.
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Rocky
feature It’s a wonder that this Rocky ever reaches the top of the steps.
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Love and Information
feature Leave it to Caryl Churchill to create a play that “so ingeniously mirrors our age of the splintered attention span.”
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The Bridges of Madison County
feature Jason Robert Brown’s “richly melodic” score is “one of Broadway’s best in the last decade.”
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Outside Mullingar
feature John Patrick Shanley’s “charmer of a play” isn’t for cynics.
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The Night Alive
feature Conor McPherson “has a singular gift for making the ordinary glow with an extra dimension.”
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No Man’s Land
feature The futility of all conversation has been, paradoxically, the subject of “some of the best dialogue ever written.”
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The Commons of Pensacola
feature Stage and screen actress Amanda Peet's playwriting debut is a “witty and affecting” domestic drama.