Gapers Block has ceased publication.

Gapers Block published from April 22, 2003 to Jan. 1, 2016. The site will remain up in archive form. Please visit Third Coast Review, a new site by several GB alumni.
 Thank you for your readership and contributions. 

TODAY

Thursday, March 28

Gapers Block
Search

Gapers Block on Facebook Gapers Block on Flickr Gapers Block on Twitter The Gapers Block Tumblr


A/C
« Review: There Is a Happiness That Morning Is @ DCA Theater Paul Klein on ChicagoArts »

Theatre Tue Apr 19 2011

ShawChicago's Arms and the Man: Bare-Bones but Beautiful

When I arrived at the DCA's Studio Theater to see ShawChicago's Arms and the Man two things struck me right away: (1) the stage was essentially bare and (2) I was by far the youngest person in the room. By, like, 30 years. But while first impressions can be lasting, they rarely tell the whole story.

This production, like the vast majority of ShawChicago's, is done in a "concert" format, complete with music stands for the scripts. Actors perform in modestly evocative costume, with minimal props, and standing in a straight line. They react and interact as if they were looking at one another, but in reality they never turn from the audience. When they're not in a particular scene, they sit down in a row of chairs at the back of the stage.

If this all sounds a little strange, well, it is. At first. But there is a certain genius to this staging strategy. The brilliance of Shaw's writing takes center stage, and one can't help but be captivated by the actors' thrilling (and increasingly hilarious) interpretation. The performers are all excellent, with a larger-than-life delivery that, combined with Shaw's masterful words, makes one breathe a sigh of relief that no scenery is involved, lest it wind up chewed.

This is by no means a typical theater-going experience, but it is definitely enjoyable. Those who are more interested in the content of a well-written play than the spectacle typically associated with a day at the theater will find themselves captivated, if gradually, by ShawChicago's latest production.

Arms and the Man is being presented in conjunction with the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events. Performances are held on Saturdays and Sundays at 2pm and on Mondays at 7pm through May 15, at the DCA's Studio Theater, located at the Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington. Tickets are $22, $20 for seniors, or $10 for students. Tickets are available via shawchicago.org or by calling 312-587-7390.

 
GB store
GB store

Architecture Tue Nov 03 2015

Paul Goldberger Describes the "Pragmatism and Poetry" of Frank Gehry's Architecture in His New Book

By Nancy Bishop

Architecture critic Paul Goldberger talks about Frank Gehry's life and work in a new book.
Read this feature »

Steve at the Movies Fri Jan 01 2016

Best Feature Films & Documentaries of 2015

By Steve Prokopy

Read this column »

Blogroll

ACRE
An Angry White Guy
Antena
AREA Chicago
ArchitectureChicago Plus
Arts Engagement Exchange
The Art Letter
Art or Idiocy?
Art Slant Chicago
Art Talk Chicago
Bad at Sports
Bite and Smile
Brian Dickie of COT
Bridgeport International
Carrie Secrist Gallery
Chainsaw Calligraphy
Chicago Art Blog
Chicago Art Department
Chicago Art Examiner
Chicago Art Journal
Chicago Artists Resource
Chicago Art Map
Chicago Art Review
Chicago Classical Music
Chicago Comedy Examiner
Chicago Cultural Center
Chicago Daily Views
Chicago Film Examiner
Chicago Film Archives
Chicago Gallery News
Chicago Uncommon
Collaboraction
Contemporary Art Space
Co-op Image Group
Co-Prosperity Sphere
Chicago Urban Art Society
Creative Control
Defibrillator
Devening Projects
Digressions
DIY Film
ebersmoore
The Exhibition Agency
The Flatiron Project
F newsmagazine
The Gallery Crawl...
Galerie F
The Gaudy God
Happy Dog Gallery
HollywoodChicago
Homeroom Chicago
I, Homunculus
Hyde Park Artcenter Blog
InCUBATE
Joyce Owens: Artist on Art
J-Pointe
Julius Caesar
Kasia Kay Gallery
Kavi Gupta Gallery
Rob Kozlowski
Lookingglass Theatre Blog
Lumpen Blog
Marquee
Mess Hall
N'DIGO
Neoteric Art
NewcityArt
NewcityFilm
NewcityStage
Not If But When
Noun and Verb
On Film
On the Make
Onstage
Peanut Gallery
Peregrine Program
Performink
The Poor Choices Show
Pop Up Art Loop
The Post Family
The Recycled Film
Reversible Eye
Rhona Hoffman Gallery
Roots & Culture Gallery
SAIC Blog
The Seen
Sharkforum
Sisterman Vintage
Site of Big Shoulders
Sixty Inches From Center
Soleil's To-Do's
Sometimes Store
Steppenwolf.blog
Stop Go Stop
Storefront Rebellion
TOC Blog
Theater for the Future
Theatre in Chicago
The Franklin
The Mission
The Theater Loop
Thomas Robertello Gallery
threewalls
Time Tells Tony Wight Gallery
Uncommon Photographers
The Unscene Chicago
The Visualist
Vocalo
Western Exhibitions
What's Going On?
What to Wear During an Orange Alert?
You, Me, Them, Everybody
Zg Gallery

GB store

 

Events


A/C on Flickr

Join the A/C Flickr Pool.



About A/C

A/C is the arts and culture section of Gapers Block, covering the many forms of expression on display in Chicago. More...
Please see our submission guidelines.

Editor: Nancy Bishop, nancy@gapersblock.com
A/C staff inbox: ac@gapersblock.com

Archives

 

A/C Flickr Pool
 Subscribe in a reader.

GB store

GB Store

GB Buttons $1.50

GB T-Shirt $12

I ✶ Chi T-Shirts $15