Patrick McDonald

CHICAGO – Like the awesome Engine Who Could, the mighty Nothing Without a Company stage crafters have constructed another triumph at their new home in Berger Mansion on Chicago’s north side. “The Kid Thing” – written by Sarah Gubbins – is a terse, convincing and emotional play about fear, identity and breeding, and it is performed by its cast of five with utter authenticity. The show has a Thursday-Sunday run at the Berger North Mansion through April 15th, 2017. Click here for more details, including ticket information.

CHICAGO – “The Sense of an Ending” is a highfalutin title, automatically putting most folks into book club mode. It is adapted from a novel, and the narrative has the same page turning-type rhythm. An old man, portrayed by Jim Broadbent, is encountering his past, while his current situation remains untenable.

CHICAGO – Do not doubt the power of live action to create a new atmosphere of joy and…dare I say it…beauty. The re-imagining of the animated classic “Beauty and the Beast” is everything that the previous was and much more. It packs a true and emotional wallop that follows through to the end.

CHICAGO – When interviewing the Chicago monologist John Michael, it’s best to hear it straight from the source. HollywoodChicago.com presents a podcast interview with John Michael, whose current one-man show is “Meatball Seance.” The show has a Thursday night slot at Mary’s Attic in Chicago’s Andersonville neighborhood through April 6, 2017. Details are below.

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REUNION: Priscilla Barnes, Joyce DeWitt, Richard Kline and Jenilee Harrison of ‘Three’s Company.’

CHICAGO – The first invitation to “c’mon knock on our door…” happened 40 years ago TODAY as “Three’s Company” premiered on ABC-TV on March 15th, 1977. The misadventures of three roommates – two girls and a guy – featured John Ritter as Jack Tripper, Joyce DeWitt as Janet Wood and Suzanne Somers as Chrissy Snow. Joining them was wacky best friend Richard Kline as Larry Dallas, and when Suzanne Somers left the show after Season 5, her role in the threesome was taken by Jenilee Harrison as Cindy Snow and then Priscilla Barnes as Terri Alden. DeWitt, Kline, Harrison and Barnes reunited last September at “The Hollywood Show,” and photographer Joe Arce captured their reunion EXCLUSIVELY for HollywoodChicago.com.

CHICAGO – When stage theater can cause outbreaks of elation, celebration and joy, then it must be due to Kokandy Productions’ revival of “The Wiz.” The urban reinterpretation of “The Wizard of Oz” story – told through tuneful euphoria and jubilant dance – is ecstatically produced, in every morsel of its stagecraft.

CHICAGO – Leave it to the Europeans to inject some realistic drama into the art of animation. The recently Oscar nominated “My Life as a Zucchini” is opening in Chicago this weekend, and tells the story of parental abandonment, orphanages and finding family. Co-produced by France and Switzerland, it uses a familiar claymation stop-motion style for more emotional resonance.

CHICAGO – King Kong is a wholly generated creature of the movies. Ever since the gorilla legend came to life on screen way back in 1933, he has appeared in countless official remakes, cheap exploitation flicks and now as a symbol of American overreach. He still rules in “Kong: Skull Island.”

CHICAGO – How can the innocence of an entire nation be looked upon with nostalgia and tribute? When in 1970, a small village on the island country of Cyprus was the setting for a film company and a major movie star (Raquel Welch).

NEW YORK CITY – Robert Osborne, one of the great film advocates and historians of our era, who hosted on Turner Classic Movies (TCM) with passionate skill from 1994 until recently, has passed away on March 6th, 2017, in New York City. The way that Mr. Osborne inspired film lovers everywhere was deep and influential. He was 84.