It’s been a minute since I’ve visited the Kingdom of Other: 13 years, to be precise. The last time I saw Jackie Taylor’s The Other Cinderella was in 2010, before Black Ensemble Theater moved to their spacious Clark Street home. (And it was certainly long before BET planned an expansion across the street that will […]
Tag: Jackie Taylor
Posted inTheater Review
New generation, old family stories
Change is afoot at Black Ensemble Theater as it prepares to embark on a new era, leveraging a $5 million grant to implement founder and CEO Jackie Taylor’s longtime vision of a Free To Be corridor, which would expand the footprint of the theater campus and provide housing and support opportunities for artists and community. […]
Posted inTheater Review
Spiritual healing
Black Ensemble Theater’s first play back since the pandemic, an original from founder Jackie Taylor (she wrote, produced, directed, and choreographed), is exactly what the title states—an out-of-body, communal experience that creates the physical “togetherness” we’ve missed for so long. It’s an energizing and participatory homage to the Black church experience, which as the cast […]
Posted inPerforming Arts Feature
The Saints are marching in to fall performances
Tearing Lady Gaga’s ticket. Seeing a tenor dropped in Tosca. Grooving to Mavis Staples from the rafters. These are the magical moments that happen with live performance. They are also just another Tuesday night for The Saints, the quiet backbone of Chicago theater that’s never stopped working, lockdown be damned. The Saints is the only […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Black Ensemble Theater scores big with MacKenzie Scott grant; Victory Gardens announces new playwrights ensemble
$5 million helps BET regain lost ground from COVID, while Ken-Matt Martin reignites a VG tradition.
Posted inArts & Culture
Black Ensemble Theater’s The Healing is saved by the audience
Jackie Taylor mixes history, personal essay, racial justice, and music to mixed effect.
Posted inArts & Culture
The Other Cinderella turns Black Ensemble Theater into a magic kingdom
Forty-three years after its first production, Jackie Taylor’s African American adaptation still enchants and empowers.
Posted inArts & Culture
Mahalia Jackson: Moving Thru the Light sticks to the Black Ensemble Theatre formula
The music’s fabulous, but the story’s thin.
Posted inBlogs
In the Jackie Taylor Drama Series, the Black Ensemble Theater highlights work by three young playwrights
The new series is a preview of what to expect when the company opens its studio theater next year.
Posted inArts & Culture
Arnie the Doughnut, Tangles and Plaques, and 11 more new stage shows to see
A delightful kids’ show and a Neo-Futurist’s look at dementia are among this week’s best bets.
Posted inArts & Culture
Ayn Rand in Love, Thrones! A Musical Parody, and eight more new stage shows
An incongruous musical and a Game of Thrones spoof are among this week’s highlights.
Posted inArts & Culture
Congo Square’s A Small Oak Tree Runs Red, Black Ensemble’s The Marvin Gaye Story, and ten more new theater reviews
Two African-American companies present revelatory dramas.
Posted inArts & Culture
Dreamgirls, Dead Man Walking, The Few, and ten more new theater reviews
Porchlight’s Dreamgirls, Piven Theatre’s Dead Man Walking, and Steep Theatre’s The Few are among this week’s theater highlights.
Posted inArts & Culture
Black Ensemble’s Doo Wop Shoo Bop, Quest Theatre’s All the World’s a Stage, and eight more stage shows to see now
Revivals are back—even Sister Act.