Jessie Bond – Splash Magazines

A Christmas Carol Review – An Enduring Classic

December 4, 2022 Jessie Bond 0

I’ve never been a big proponent of the classics. As a children’s librarian, rarely do I find myself recommending hundred-plus-year-old titles when so many new and exciting books have been published in the last decade. […]

Three cast members pose in front of mismatched tables

The Twenty-Sided Tavern Review – A Magical Experience

November 5, 2022 Jessie Bond 0

The quality of a Dungeons and Dragons game is often determined by the quality of the DM, or Dungeon Master. The DM guides the game, playing all the non-player characters, narrating the events of the […]

Wicked Review – Good News, She’s Back

September 30, 2022 Jessie Bond 0

I couldn’t tell you what gifts I received for most of my childhood birthdays, but my thirteenth birthday gift is forever burned into my memory. That’s because I received tickets to see Wicked when it […]

Good Night, Oscar Review – An Uninspired Script

March 22, 2022 Jessie Bond 4

Two questions I’ve carried with me from my days as an undergraduate theatre major to my current career as a theatre critic are “why now?” and “why this play?” They encourage me to think about […]

Wife of a Salesman Review – Cutting Feminist Commentary

March 15, 2022 Jessie Bond 0

Strangely enough, despite my undergraduate degree in theatre, I never had to read Death of a Salesman for school and instead sought it out on my own as a “classic” I needed to read to […]

The Play That Goes Wrong Review – Absolute Hilarity

December 19, 2021 Jessie Bond 0

The Play That Goes Wrong does exactly what it says on the tin: it goes very, very wrong. Everyone has a story or two about something going wrong in a live performance, whether it’s a […]

Q Brothers Christmas Carol Review – A Madcap Makeover

December 15, 2021 Jessie Bond 0

It’s December, which means countless stage adaptations of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol are being produced all over the country. None of them, however, is quite like A Q Brothers Christmas Carol, currently in production, […]

Knuffle Bunny Review – Energetic, Colorful, and Hilarious

December 6, 2021 Jessie Bond 0

The Young People’s Theatre of Chicago makes its debut with Knuffle Bunny, a stage adaptation by Mo Willems of his beloved picture book. This vivacious musical follows the young Trixie and her Dad as they […]

A Christmas Carol Review – Fresh and Evergreen

November 29, 2021 Jessie Bond 0

It’s been a long, difficult two years since the Goodman Theatre last presented its annual stage adaptation of A Christmas Carol and, like all of us, the show has changed in that time. Most notably, […]

Fannie Review – Truth Preached in Speech and Song

October 28, 2021 Jessie Bond 0

Fannie Lou Hamer was an activist whose work in the fields of civil, voting, and women’s rights had an enormous impact, yet her story is far too rarely told. In Fannie: The Life and Music […]