Ada Grey's Favorite Shows of 2019

Chicago theater has had so many amazing stories to tell this year, which is why making this list was so difficult. From an in-depth look into the future and past of the world to a competition to win a truck in Texas, so many stories have showed me new ways to think about theater and had an impact on me. I have great respect for all the shows I saw and the effort that went into them, even if they didn't make this list. Chicago theater has so much to offer and the shows I saw this year made me remember why Chicago is such a special place for theater. Here are my top productions of this year.

Top 7 Plays

Cardboard Piano (TimeLine Theatre Company)

People who would like this show are people who like analyzing religion in a creative way, adorable secret lesbians, and dueling cardboard pianos. I think this show is really beautiful, heartbreaking, and amazingly acted. All the elements in this play were beautifully done. I think that people should definitely go see this show. It moved me a lot and I think it has important insights.

Read the full review here.


Girl in the Red Corner (Broken Nose Theatre)

People who would like this show are people who like literal family conflicts, relatable wrestling, and paint-shade-obsessed mothers. I think this is a really well-done show with great actors. It added something new to the wrestling play genre and it was very enjoyable. I really liked it.

Read the full review here.


Happy Birthday Mars Rover (The Passage Theatre)

People who would like this show are people who like subjecting objects to human emotion, follicles of memory, and love-fueled extinction reports. I think this is a gorgeous show with amazing performers. It made a lot of points that made me think about my own life in ways I hadn't before. It was an absolutely transformative piece of work and I definitely recommend seeing it. I loved it.

Read the full review here.

Kentucky (The Gift Theatre)

People who would like this show are people who like good Kentucky Christians, the fear of becoming your parents, and Cheesecake Factory caskets. I think this is the perfect dark family dramedy. The relationships within the show are amazing, the play is performed wonderfully, and it is written and directed perfectly. I love it so much.

Read the full review here.


Lottery Day (Goodman Theatre)

People who would like this show are people who like complicated heroines, the Marvel Universe of Chicago Theatre, and confidently awkward people. I think this is a really great show. I was so engaged in it the entire time. It has amazing actors, is beautifully written, and has an amazing director. I loved all of it.

Read the full review here.


Red Rex (Steep Theatre)

People who would like this show are people who like holding a mirror up to the Chicago theater community, realistic plays about plays, and making fun of artsy bullcrap. I think this is an amazing show. I loved the concept and it was done so well all around. I loved it.

Read the full review here.


True West (Steppenwolf Theatre Company)

People who would like this show are people who like intriguing backstories, partly hidden comparisons, and an abundance of toasters. I think this is an amazingly done piece of work and I loved it. I'm still thinking of it weeks later.

Read the full review here.


Top 5 Musicals

The Band's Visit (Broadway in Chicago)

People who would like this show are people who like gorgeous performances, memorable movement, and romantic roller rinks. I think people should definitely, definitely go see this show. I think it is a very important show because it shows how people with a history of conflict are more similar than they may think and are capable of true connection. I loved it!

Read the full review here.


Falsettos (Broadway in Chicago)

People who would like this show are people who like important musicals that make you love every character, complex child characters, and brilliantly heartbreaking and frank laments. I absolutely loved this show. It is an amazing story. It is beautifully acted, and this is a gorgeous musical.

Read the full review here.

Hands on a Hardbody (Refuge Theater Project)

People who would like this show are people who like plays that challenge the basic structure of good vs. evil, bridge-burning tension, and Ronald-ettes. I think that people should go see this show. It is very heartfelt and fun, and it has great performances. I really liked it.

Read the full review here.


Head Over Heels (Kokandy Productions)

People who would like this show are people who like queer representation in the foreground, joyful communal musicals, and fabulous dancing sheep. I think this is a very cohesive, funny, and electric show. I really loved it.

Read the full review here.


Six (Chicago Shakespeare Theater)

People who would like this show are people who like empowering queens, Renaissance references, and group brags about female power. I think this is an amazing show. Every single artist in this show is insanely talented. It is very empowering. It is a musical that looks back on the past and shows how the situations these women were in are relevant today. It shows how even if the queens are not here now, women can take back their stories, apply them to their own lives, and re-envision and revise them. It was inspirational, and it was a blast.

Read the full review here.

Photos: Lee Miller, Claire Demos, and Nick Roth

Review of Red Tape Theatre's Queen of Sock Pairing

Once upon a time I went to a show and it was called Queen of Sock Pairing. It was by Sophie Weisskoff, and it was directed by Zach Weinberg. It was about Celia (Elena Victoria Feliz), who was at the beginning of her independent adult life as an artist. She is trying to find ways to navigate her love life, her desires, her art, and her purpose. This is made more difficult by her toxic relationship with Cai (Aaron Latterell) and her demanding work environment. She works for an intense mother, Joan (Brenda Scott Wlazlo) who is getting divorced from her slightly sympathetic husband, Jonathan (Scot West). Celia takes care of their intelligent child Walden (West) and gets along well with him. It is about sexual fantasy, dominance, and creating. This was a thought-provoking show with compelling performances.

What I deduced about Celia in this play is that she believes that sex and giving people pleasure is one of her arts. But she has this obstacle where she believes that her job is to be submissive, and her boyfriend reinforces that, making her feel like she doesn't have a choice. Her boyfriend judges her on their sex by how much she submits to him, just like people are judged on their art and told whether or not it is good based on the desires of the viewer. If you consider sex as an art form, it can neglect the needs and wants of the people involved. It makes sex a performance instead of a partnership. Art made only for an external audience, that doesn't take into account the artist's own point of view, isn't fully truthful. I find it interesting that there is a metaphor in this play that connect sex and art. It is not something I really thought of before.

The Narrator (Jalyn Greene) is not just the narrator, they are a character that may be Celia's inner voice. There is a section where the Narrator is repeating words that seem to be going through Celia's head. The words are babka and slut. She is working with language and these words seem to be haunting her. Babka is something she doesn't understand (because she misidentified the sweet bread) and slut is something she thinks about herself. It is two words about insecurities that she has: about not understanding things and about how she could be perceived. The babka and slut are two words that are very repeatable. They have a large impact because of the plosives and the meaning, the plosives are important because she seems to be an artist with words. It seems like the Narrator is a presence that switches between thinking Celia's actions are justifiable and not. The Narrator seems to be less present (or even absent) on stage when Celia is speaking her mind or standing up for herself. When she knows what she is saying or what she wants, she has less internal conflict. Having a narrator character that is a subconscious means you don't know what is just in her head and what is reality. I thought that was an interesting layer to add because it left sections to audience interpretation.

People who would like this show are people who like embodied brains, sexual discovery, and slutty babka. I think that this is a very original and compellingly-done show. I think it had a lot of great things to say.

Photos: Austin D. Oie