All stories by Laura Molzahn on BroadwayStars

Sunday, January 31, 2016

Review: Older dancers of aMID Festival more individual than ever by Laura Molzahn

Dancers, like other living creatures, get old. So what? As the aMID Festival begins its final week at Links Hall, it's clear that talented people remain talented, though they might approach …

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 04:50PM
Friday, January 29, 2016

Review: Older dancers of aMID Festival more individual than ever by Laura Molzahn

Dancers, like other living creatures, get old. So what? As the aMID Festival begins its final week at Links Hall, it's clear that talented people remain talented, though they might approach …

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 01:12PM
Saturday, January 23, 2016

Older dancers having serious fun at aMID Festival by Laura Molzahn

The older dancer-choreographers on the aMID Festival's first program were clearly there to have fun. Serious fun. One performer appeared completely nude; another set the audience seats rando…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 03:22PM
Wednesday, January 20, 2016

Older dancers take back the stage for upcoming aMID Festival by Laura Molzahn

"Who Wants to See That?" — "that" being old people dancing — is an actual song in the new "Gotta Dance," a Broadway-bound musical which wrapped up its Chicago tryout Jan. 17 at the Bank …

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 04:34PM
Monday, January 18, 2016

Older dancers take back the stage for upcoming aMID Festival by Laura Molzahn

"Who Wants to See That?" — "that" being old people dancing — is an actual song in the new "Gotta Dance," a Broadway-bound musical completing its Chicago tryout Jan. 17 at the Bank of Ame…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 03:03PM
Tuesday, January 5, 2016

Dancer Sono Osato inspires Thodos' new 'Journey' by Laura Molzahn

Japanese-American dancer Sono Osato, 96, has led a complicated life. And Melissa Thodos' one-act about her had a complicated start, with a chance meeting years ago between Thodos Dance Chica…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 12:54PM
Thursday, December 31, 2015

Winter Guide 2016: Dance shows off its eclectic side by Laura Molzahn

January is looking good for hibernation, with just a few performances to tempt folks out. But both locally sourced and international dance jumps up big-time in February and remains strong th…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 10:22AM

Winter Guide 2016: Dance shows off its eclectic side by Laura Molzahn

January is looking good for hibernation, with just a few performances to tempt folks out. But both locally sourced and international dance jumps up big-time in February and remains strong th…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 08:33AM
Wednesday, December 23, 2015

Chicagoan of the Year in Dance: The Seldoms' Carrie Hanson by Laura Molzahn

Politics and dance make strange bedfellows. Issue-oriented dance is generally either too oblique, burying the politics, or too overt, becoming preachy and unconvincing, except to the choir. …

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 06:31PM

Chicagoan of the Year in Dance: The Seldoms' Carrie Hanson by Laura Molzahn

Politics and dance make strange bedfellows. Issue-oriented dance is generally either too oblique, burying the politics, or too overt, becoming preachy and unconvincing, except to the choir. …

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 11:15AM
Saturday, December 19, 2015

Review: Khecari and Blind Tiger's 'Ring Sour' about improvising vs. order by Laura Molzahn

A "ring sour" horse is spoiled for performance in the ring, refusing to go through its paces whether the drill is rodeo tricks or — more to the point in a dance review — dressage: ballet…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 03:09PM

Review: Khecari and Blind Tiger's 'Ring Sour' about improvising vs. order by Laura Molzahn

A "ring sour" horse is spoiled for performance in the ring, refusing to go through its paces whether the drill is rodeo tricks or — more to the point in a dance review — dressage: ballet…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 01:42PM
Friday, December 11, 2015

Old and new meet in Hubbard Street's winter series by Laura Molzahn

The life of a repertory company is never easy: all those new dances to learn all the time. But in Hubbard Street's winter lineup of four wholehearted pieces, through Sunday at the Harris, th…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 05:51PM
Thursday, December 10, 2015

Dance Top 10 for 2015: Women had an outsized role on this year's list by Laura Molzahn

With shows by Wendy Whelan in January, Carrie Hanson in March, Onye Ozuzu in August, Twyla Tharp in November, and the female choreographers of Hubbard Street's winter program this weekend �…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 04:21PM
Wednesday, December 9, 2015

Molly Shanahan/Mad Shak: Release the core! by Laura Molzahn

Both patient and adventurous, Molly Shanahan likes to go deep, sometimes examining one issue in multiple works over as many as seven years. The payoff is a unique, gutsy contemplation of per…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 04:32PM
Tuesday, December 8, 2015

Molly Shanahan/Mad Shak: Release the core! by Laura Molzahn

Both patient and adventurous, Molly Shanahan likes to go deep, sometimes examining one issue in multiple works over as many as seven years. The payoff is a unique, gutsy contemplation of per…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 04:13PM
Sunday, December 6, 2015

Chicago Dance Crash moves to rhythms of disaster in 'New Alaska' by Laura Molzahn

What is it about disaster that excites our imaginations? For years, Chicago Dance Crash has produced apocalyptic narratives — "Tribulation and the Demolition Squad" in 2005, "Gotham City" …

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 05:58PM
Saturday, December 5, 2015

Review: Farewell to Robert Joffrey's 'Nutcracker' by Laura Molzahn

Saying goodbye is hard. And Robert Joffrey's towering, opulently appointed 1860s American living room, laden with Christmas gifts, has been Chicago's most welcoming "Nutcracker" home for 20 …

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 12:54PM

Farewell to Robert Joffrey's 'Nutcracker' by Laura Molzahn

Saying goodbye is hard. And Robert Joffrey's towering, opulently appointed 1860s American living room, laden with Christmas gifts, has been Chicago's most welcoming "Nutcracker" home for 20 …

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 12:43PM
Wednesday, December 2, 2015

'Nutcracker' a tradition made new: Our top 4 productions by Laura Molzahn

Tradition is a strange animal. Though we might think that hewing strictly to the old ways will maintain our traditions, truthfully it's innovation that keeps them alive, at least in any viab…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 12:57PM
Tuesday, December 1, 2015

Foundation claims it went unpaid by Joffrey Ballet by Laura Molzahn

In a startling move Tuesday, four days before the Joffrey Ballet opens its final run of Robert Joffrey's "Nutcracker" on Friday, the Gerald Arpino and Robert Joffrey Foundation announced tha…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 06:22PM
Monday, November 23, 2015

'SYTYCD' is coming to Chicago; what does TV dance mean for the dance world? by Laura Molzahn

Holding to the theory that a rising tide lifts all boats, there are some in the concert-dance world who believe TV shows like "So You Think You Can Dance" will enhance the appeal of dance on…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 04:54PM
Friday, November 20, 2015

'SYTYCD' is coming to Chicago; what does TV dance mean for the dance world? by Laura Molzahn

Holding to the theory that a rising tide lifts all boats, there are some in the concert-dance world who believe TV shows like "So You Think You Can Dance" will enhance the appeal of dance on…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 02:51PM
Tuesday, November 17, 2015

Moon magic and jazz ballet in RPM's family-friendly 'Day of the Gypsy' by Laura Molzahn

Interested in some family-friendly dance before the hurricane of the holidays starts? You might consider RPM Productions' two-act ballet, "Day of the Gypsy," Saturday and Sunday at the Harri…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 03:56PM

Moon magic and jazz in RPM's family-friendly 'Day of the Gypsy' by Laura Molzahn

Interested in some family-friendly dance before the hurricane of the holidays starts? You might consider RPM Productions' two-act ballet, "Day of the Gypsy," Saturday and Sunday at the Harri…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 01:15PM
Thursday, November 12, 2015

Chicago Human Rhythm's tap tribute to Billy Strayhorn is spirited, sublime by Laura Molzahn

A warm room, convivial company, everyone clearly an individual but sharing a history, a tradition, in the pointed manner of jazz music and tap dance: Like the best Thanksgiving ever, Chicago…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 07:32PM
Saturday, November 7, 2015

'Tesseracts': World premiere is vivid blend of dance, space by Laura Molzahn

Architecture and design work hand in glove, right? For laypeople, architecture might reside in a glossy magazine cover or a building glimpsed from the street. But another way to think about …

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 03:08PM

'Tesseracts': World premiere is vivid blend of dance, space by Laura Molzahn

Architecture and design work hand in glove, right? For laypeople, architecture might reside in a glossy magazine cover or a building glimpsed from the street. But another way to think about …

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 01:33PM
Friday, November 6, 2015

Twyla Tharp 50th Anniversary Tour: Troubled couples and sexual politics by Laura Molzahn

Twyla Tharp has become a legend by ignoring expectations, undercutting the enshrined and forging unholy unions of disparate forms: the Beach Boys and ballet ("Deuce Coupe"), boxing and vaude…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 02:45PM

Twyla Tharp 50th Anniversary Tour: Troubled couples and sexual politics by Laura Molzahn

Twyla Tharp has become a legend by ignoring expectations, undercutting the enshrined and forging unholy unions of disparate forms: the Beach Boys and ballet ("Deuce Coupe"), boxing and vaude…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 02:00PM
Sunday, November 1, 2015

Twyla Tharp reflects on 50 years: Can't stop, won't stop by Laura Molzahn

Twyla Tharp has been on the road, off and on, for more than a month when I speak with her by phone. She has the sniffles. It's dinnertime and she hasn't eaten. But inevitably, maybe, she war…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 01:46PM

All that Chat

2024-2025 BROADWAY SEASON
Jun 05, 2024: Home - Todd Haimes Theatre
Jul 30, 2024: Job - Hayes Theater
Sep 12, 2024: The Roommate - Booth Theatre
Nov 14, 2024: Tammy Faye - Palace Theatre
Nov 17, 2024: Elf - Marquis Theatre
Dec 12, 2024: Cult of Love - Hayes Theater
Dec 19, 2024: Gypsy - Majestic Theatre
Mar 17, 2025: Purpose - Hayes Theater
Apr 10, 2025: Smash - Imperial Theatre