(Chris Jones’s article appeared 10/26 in the Chicago Tribune.)
When several shows open on the same night — a frequent occurrence in Chicago — we critics have to see some productions a little later. So that was how I came to roll up at the Signal Ensemble Theatre on Thursday of last week. It was a last-minute change of plan; I gave the theater almost no notice and received an abject lesson in how much some small Chicago theater companies without seasonal subscribers risk when they produce an unknown new play.
In the audience were the director, Ronan Marra, a couple of Saints (the volunteer usher corps), a guy by himself and maybe two couples. And me. Yet we shared one of the more gripping shows of the season so far: "East of Berlin" by a remarkable young Canadian playwright named Hannah Moscovitch.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/ct-ott-1028-jones-loop-20111026,0,6107438.story