<![CDATA[Barbara Lhota ~ Chicago Playwright ~ Screenwriter  - Barb's Blog - News]]>Mon, 30 Apr 2012 15:48:13 -0800Weebly<![CDATA[Warped - Come See It!! - My new play in development]]>Sat, 03 Mar 2012 08:36:30 -0800http://www.barbaralhota.com/1/post/2012/03/warped-come-see-it-my-new-play-in-development.htmlhttp://chicago.broadwayworld.com/article/Stage-Left-Theatre-Announce-WITCHES-VANISH-More-for-LeapFest-9-this-Spring-20120228 ]]><![CDATA[More on Stage Left Residency - Warped]]>Thu, 15 Sep 2011 11:57:42 -0800http://www.barbaralhota.com/1/post/2011/09/more-on-stage-left-residency-warped.htmlThis is your new blog post. Click here and start typing, or drag in elements from the top bar.
]]><![CDATA[Stage Left Theatre - Residency - Warped]]>Thu, 15 Sep 2011 11:53:26 -0800http://www.barbaralhota.com/1/post/2011/09/stage-left-theatre-residency-warped.htmlhttp://www.wbez.org/blog/onstagebackstage/2011-09-14/daily-rehearsal-fall-theater-previews-galore-91964
]]><![CDATA[The Double Reviews]]>Thu, 15 Sep 2011 11:02:14 -0800http://www.barbaralhota.com/1/post/2011/09/the-double-reviews1.html<![CDATA[The Double Reviews]]>Thu, 15 Sep 2011 11:02:09 -0800http://www.barbaralhota.com/1/post/2011/09/the-double-reviews.htmlReviews are pretty good...and they love my wife, as it should be. ;)

“The Double is a triple threat as a comedy, romance, action play.”

“Leading the laughter with an ode to Rosalind Russell is spectacular, wisecracking Lisa Herceg (Roz).  Herceg zings every single line and sets off the laugh track inside my head.” – Katy Walsh, Chicago Theater Beat – 3 and half stars – Highly Recommended

http://chicagotheaterbeat.com/2011/08/21/review-the-double-babes-with-blades-theatre/

“Lhota's dialogue for this Babes With Blades production crackles with rat-a-tat authenticity while Leigh Barrett's direction keeps the pace crisp and high-stepping.”Mary Shen Barnidge, Windy City Times, Highly Recommended, Critic’s Pick

http://www.windycitymediagroup.com/gay/lesbian/news/ARTICLE.php?AID=33548

 “It is Lisa Herceg as the grande dame Rollins, though, who makes the most of her material. Herceg kicks it, elegantly, into the highest rafters with her every carefully timed gesture and magnificent line reading.” – Brian Kirst, Sheridan Road Magazine – Highly Recommended

http://www.sheridanroadmagazine.com/blog/

"The Double, Babes With Blades latest offering, is an diverting period piece performed with enthusiasm and moments of panache.” – John Dalton, Centerstage, MUST SEE

http://www.centerstagechicago.com/theatre/shows/11303.html

 "Babes With Blade's The Double is a delightfully zany good time." – Bob Bullen, Chicago Theater Addict, Highly Recommended http://chitheatreaddict.com/2011/09/09/babes-with-blades-the-double-is-a-delightfully-zany-good-time/ “The script, the company's first foray into comedy, was crafted by Barbara Lhota, and reflects an endearment for the company, the period, and the genre. The comedy is broad but not slapstick, and clearly the actors are enjoying themselves as the plot unfolds and the mayhem begins.” – Windy City Theater, Maggid Jim, Highly Recommended

http://windycitytheater.blogspot.com/2011/08/double-highly-recommended.html

“The story is sharp and clean, and the text is laced with rapier wit. The comedy comes in broad strokes as well as sharp jabs, and the characters parry and thrust the rapid-fire dialogue. “ – Bill Barry Jr., Worth the Price of Admission, Highly Recommended 

http://wbarryjr.blogspot.com/

“The Double is a pleasant surprise; Babes With Blades give a performance that’s unpredictable and laugh-out-loud funny.” - Kaylee Holt, Chicago Theatre Review, Recommended

http://www.chicagotheatrereview.com/2011/08/babes-with-blades-premieres-the-double/

“What does stand out is the martini-dry dialogue and some delicious swordplay sequences designed by Libby Beyreis.” – Kerry Reid, Chicago Tribune

]]><![CDATA[August- Four Plays of Mine Opening: The Double, Strangers and Romance and Inheritance + a wIndie City Shootout Film]]>Mon, 01 Aug 2011 11:54:22 -0800http://www.barbaralhota.com/1/post/2011/08/three-openings-in-august-for-four-plays-the-double-strangers-and-romance-and-inheritance.htmlIn August, I have a  number of plays going up so please go see them if you can because this will probably never, ever happen again! (So much for my positive affirmations) And thank you Chicago Stage Style  And Theatrical Insider for mentioning me!

My new play, The Double, a screwball romanic comedy swashbuckler set in 1940s is going up with Babes With Blades Theatre Company. My goal is that it makes ya laugh with this one. It's has some sparkling characters, a dynamite cast, director (Leigh Barrett) and designers...And there are plenty of gay characters - Huzzah!  Plus the fight Choreography from Libby is spectacular! 

Next are my companion plays Strangers and Romance. They have been around from a good while, my stury pair, and Strangeloop is doing a brand new production with Doug Long directing!  Here's what Strangeloop has to say about them: Sweet, funny, sad and honest, Lhota’s perfectly paired stories play out across a closing train station and a seemingly empty church, on Christmas Eve in Boston.  Strangers & Romance touches on themes of love and loss, relationships gone bad, and the search for hope when love fades away.  Lhota’s comic writing and achingly human themes will make for an unforgettable night of theatre. 

Finally, I have my short play Inheritance along with 10 other amazing short plays all written by women at 20% Theatre Company's Snapshots! This year they are at Oracle and I'm told it's a show not to miss. Inheritance is a drama about a relationship between two sisters who decide to undergo genetic testing for early onset Alzheimers.

Last and not least, my co-written (w/ Janet B. Milstein) short comedy called Meredith's Magic Wand will be shooting with Ms. Milstein's newly formed production company - Bold Vision Films (A Chicago Female-Run and Focused Film Group). This film will be competiting in the Windie City Shootout the same weekend as all these openings.
]]><![CDATA[Women's Theatre Alliance - Chicago]]>Mon, 20 Jun 2011 07:20:51 -0800http://www.barbaralhota.com/1/post/2011/06/womens-theatre-alliance-chicago.htmlCome out if you can and see some excerpts of new plays. ONLY $5.00 to see several new works by female playwrights!

Wednesday, June 22, 2011 at Viaduct Theatre
Start time is 7:30PM

Women's Theater Alliance

The cast for my play, Shifted, includes:

Anne Cadigan
Alison Dornheggen
Amy Dellagiarino
Morgan Manasa

My director is Dan Foss!!

Other playwrights involved in the June 22 performance include Anna Carini (All are Welcome), Nancy Ewing (A Fool to Your King) and Jenny Sidelman (Reckoning) and Tanise Robnett (Faithfully).

For more information, please visit the Women’s Theatre Alliance at http://www.wtachicago.org/
 ]]><![CDATA[Women's Theatre Alliance Performance - Shifted]]>Tue, 14 Jun 2011 12:27:07 -0800http://www.barbaralhota.com/1/post/2011/06/womens-theatre-alliance-performance-shifted.htmlWednesday, June 22nd, 2011 - Shifted

The women's Theater Alliance is producing a collection of excerpts from several new plays written by women. Here is the line up below. Please come out to ghe Viaduct Theatre. Cast includes...

Anne Cadigan - Anne

Ali Dornheggen - Fiona

Amy Dellagiarino - Emily

Morgan Manasa - Sophia

Other playwrights whose work will appear in the June 22nd performance include Anna Carini (All are Welcome), Nancy Ewing (A Fool to Your King), Jenny Siedelman (Reckoning) and Tanise Robnett (Faithfully).

The performance will take place on Wednesday, June 22nd, 2011 at the Viaduct Theatre (3111 N. Western Ave, Chicago, IL) at 7:30 p.m. Admission is $5 or pay-what-you-can.

For more information, please visit the Women’s Theatre Alliance at http://www.wtachicago.org/ ]]><![CDATA[Pride Films and Plays ]]>Tue, 07 Jun 2011 10:34:35 -0800http://www.barbaralhota.com/1/post/2011/06/pride-films-and-plays.htmlPride Films and Plays is delighted to announce that 22 writers have been named semi-finalists in Women's Work. Nine plays and 13 screenplays with lesbian themes or characters have been selected as semi-finalists in the Sapphics on Stage and Sapphics on Screen categories.

"We were thrilled with the quality of the work submitted," said PFP's Executive Director David Zak. "And the fact that we received entries from 14 states, Washington D.C., Canada, Israel, and South Korea indicates that material like this has a far greater appeal than might be assumed."

Allison Fradkin, Literary Coordinator for the event, assembled a reading team of 25 film and theater professionals across the country who served as adjudicators for this round of judging. The readings continue with another panel of judges, and the five finalists in each category will be announced mid-June. These ten works will be performed as staged readings in the Hoover-Leppen Theater of Center on Halsted, Chicago, the week of July 25 to 31. A full performance schedule will be announced when the finalists are named.

Semi-finalists in the Sapphics on Stage category (which includes plays and performance pieces) are: Bad Dog by Jennifer Hoppe-House, Doctoring by Nastaran Ahmadi, Life on Mars by Trish Cole, Outlook by Kathleen Warnock, Patient HM by Vanda, Raising Ricci by Marilynn Barner Anselmi, Still Fighting It by Cassie Keet, The Double by Barbara Lhota, and Where There's a Will by Ro Robusto.

Semi-finalists in the Sapphics on Screen category (which includes teleplays and screenplays) are: '70s Shuffle by Diane Edington, A Cop's Guide to Good Eats in San Francisco by Sarah Dunham, Directions by E. L.P. Lundberg, Girls Out Loud by Pat Branch, I Promise Not To Tell by Diane Wilson, Leap of Faith by Alicia Lomas-Gross, Lost Dog by Mary Guzmán, Love and Kate by Tonina Kelly, Or Best Offer by Nicola Dixon and Nancy Zafris, Saint John the Divine in Iowa by Lyralen Kaye, Shelby's Vacation by Nancy Beverly, The Basement by Dawn Marie Guernsey, and Veterans Day at The Blitz by Eva Zimet.

Here is a press blurb for each work. Author bios are at the end of the release.

Semi-finalists for Sapphics on Stage are:

Bad Dog by Jennifer Hoppe-House, Los Angeles, CA
Molly has fallen off the wagon and driven her Audi through the house. When her beleaguered wife escorts her home from the hospital, Molly finds her far-flung, dysfunctional family descending to intervene.

Doctoring by Nastaran Ahmadi, Brooklyn, NY
In this comedy, a chain reaction of fiascos reveals one too many secrets when two friends learn that each of their romantic obsessions hides behind facades of different sorts.

Life on Mars by Trish Cole, St. Mary's City, MA
Life on Mars chronicles the final 10 minutes a lesbian fugitive spends on Earth while waiting to board, in shackles, the last penal transport to Mars.

Outlook by Kathleen Warnock, New York, NY
Susan's got a girlfriend with intimacy issues, a daughter who's getting ready to leave the nest, and then there's the mysterious Brown from UPS. It's not like there's such a thing as a magic wand...or is there?

Patient HM by Vanda, New York, NY
A lesbian neuroscientist is haunted by her memories of her lost lover as she treats a man who hasn't had a new memory in 55 years.

Raising Ricci by Marilynn Barner Anselmi, Rocky Mount, NC
A lesbian couple returns to their Southern roots looking for healing and acceptance after the death of their son.

Still Fighting It by Cassie Keet, Los Angeles, CA
Lack of communication is highlighted in this family dramedy, when the eldest daughter of the Harkey women returns home from college with her serious girlfriend.

The Double by Barbara Lhota, Chicago, IL
In this re-imagined 1940s screwball comedy that weaves together multiple love stories examining gender and sexual identity, a young actress, Minnie,discovers her attraction to a rising female starlet.

Where There's a Will by Ro Robusto, Scottsdale, AZ
Four women of different personalities and backgrounds must spend three weeks under the same roof in order to inherit $100,000. Of course, no one gets along. Just when you think you know the reason...think again.

Semi-finalists for Sapphics on Screen are:

'70s Shuffle by Diane Edington, Los Angeles, CA
Micki, straight, undercover FBI in '70s NYC, is pursuing a fugitive anarchist. Smitten, Gaby, dyke bartender/politico, naively guides Micki through her Mafia underworld, into her bed, and into her heart, while the Mob and FBI plot to blow them both away.

A Cop's Guide to Good Eats in San Francisco by Sarah Dunham, San Francisco, CA
A neo-noir thriller set in the foodie world of San Francisco, A Cop's Guide explores a young woman's struggle with recovery in a world defined by, and obsessed with, appetite.

Directions by E. L.P. Lundberg, Brooklyn, NY
In a story that unravels in reverse, Directions follows three 26-year-old New Yorkers as they struggle with relationships that exist outside of hetero-normativity. Is that which separates us what ultimately binds us to one another?

Girls Out Loud by Pat Branch, Los Angeles, CA
A 30-something cynic gives up on romantic love and knocks herself up just in time to meet the woman of her dreams. This bundle of joy might have three baby mamas!

I Promise Not To Tell by Diane Wilson, Gualala, CA
Despite the limits 1966 Southern culture imposes on same-sex and inter-generational relationships, 14-year-old Reed and 26-year-old Cara fall desperately in love.

Leap of Faith by Alicia Lomas-Gross, Colton, CA
A timid lesbian Catholic schoolteacher falls for a student's devout mother and must convince her that they are more than just friends.

Lost Dog by Mary Guzmán, San Francisco, CA
Cristina stumbles out of rehab with no job, no money, one friend, and a 90-day chip. When her friend is murdered, she is so devastated she vows to find the killer.

Love and Kate by Tonina Kelly, Atlanta, GA
When a rising culinary star launches the publicity tour for her cookbook, an impetuous new publicist forces her into a devastating image adjustment as a provocative lesbian chef - to rave reviews.

Or Best Offer by Nicola Dixon (Philadelphia, PA) and Nancy Zafris (Columbus, OH)
When a young American woman travels to Vancouver to win over the success-driven, India-born mother of her girlfriend, the campaign is wildly complicated by her unconventional hosts.

Saint John the Divine in Iowa by Lyralen Kaye, Boston, MA
A progressive Episcopal minister confronts the moral dilemma about whether to marry her daughter to a woman she doesn't like...when the price is the loss of her priesthood.



Read more: http://chicago.broadwayworld.com/article/Pride-Films-Plays-Announces-Writers-as-Womens-Work-Semi-Finalists-20110520#ixzz1Oc2xsaFM ]]><![CDATA["The Double" a semi-finalist - Pride Films Plays - Women's Work Semi-Finalist]]>Mon, 06 Jun 2011 16:05:32 -0800http://www.barbaralhota.com/1/post/2011/06/the-double-a-semi-finalist-pride-films-plays-womens-work-semi-finalist.htmlhttp://chicago.broadwayworld.com/article/Pride-Films-Plays-Announces-Writers-as-Womens-Work-Semi-Finalists-20110520

The Double by Barbara Lhota, Chicago, IL
In this re-imagined 1940s screwball comedy that weaves together multiple love stories examining gender and sexual identity, a young actress, Minnie,discovers her attraction to a rising female starlet.

Read more: http://chicago.broadwayworld.com/article/Pride-Films-Plays-Announces-Writers-as-Womens-Work-Semi-Finalists-20110520#ixzz1OXXnhz84
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