Truly joyful yet weary from the experience of raising two toddlers close in age, Chicago actress and acclaimed cabaret performer Alanda Coon states one warm Monday afternoon, “I’m just trying to enjoy this time as much as I can. I know I am going to miss it when they’re older.” This fairly universal mother’s statement, of course, implies that young ones will eventually mature and blossom into adulthood. Meanwhile, miles away from Coon’s far north side home, everyone’s favorite eternal child, Peter Pan, is being given vibrant life by threesixty entertainment via an opulent CGI laden tent in the Chicago Tribune Freedom Center North on Chicago Avenue.

Taking its focus from the classic J M Barrie original, as opposed to the slightly sanitized 1954 musical version with its ecstatic Betty Comden songs, Tanya Ronder’s probing adaptation features the anticipated atmospherics: the chattering antics of Tinker Bell, the boisterous activities of the Lost Boys and the comical villainy of Captain Hook. Yet, Ronder’s vision also includes a determined sexuality highlighted by heroine Wendy Darling’s desire to make a boyfriend out of the confused Peter. Rescued maiden Tiger Lily’s aggressive dance of thanks for Pan is, also, fraught with unacknowledged desires and Pan, himself, ultimately comes off as more angry than puckish, an authority forsaking rebel in green tights as opposed to leather.

Still, with its multiple scenes involving hydraulic flights of fancy, an amazing puppeteer operated crocodile and a deliciously outrageous Hook (played with zeal by Steven Pacey), there is much for both parents and children to enjoy here. Yet, Emily Yetter’s joyous athleticism as Tinker Bell, Ciaran Joyce’s pouting dynamism as Peter and the happy grace Evelyn Hoskin displays as Wendy can’t completely hide this show’s slightly haunting message. Here we are reminded that being forever young at heart is an attribute, but being forever a child is a frighteningly lonely experience, after all.

Peter Pan runs at the Chicago Tribune Freedom Center North, 650 W. Chicago Avenue, through July 19. Tickets run from $25 – $75 and can be purchased at www.broadwayinchicago.com, www.peterpantheshow.com or by calling 888-PPANTIX.”

Since he abandoned farce in the mid-70s, Woody Allen movies fall into three sub-categories:

1—Everyone has affairs. How does it affect discourse?

2—Here’s how to get away with murder. Now you’ll be tortured by the meaninglessness of the universe.

3—I have a fairly literary existential crisis. I will explore it through a magical deus ex machina.

Midnight in Paris falls into the third sub-category and it results in the most entertaining and substantial Woody Allen film since Match Point, with the benefit of being fun instead of dark.

Gil (Owen Wilson, Wedding Crashers) is a very successful, creatively unfulfilled screenwriter vacationing in Paris with his fiancé (Rachel McAdams, Sherlock Holmes) and her parents, all of whom seem to barely disguise their contempt for him.  Entranced by the beauty of Paris, he speculates that the best place and time in history was Paris in the 1920’s. By chance he discovers a vintage car that appears every night when the clock tolls midnight and whisks him back into the 20s to rub elbows with all the prominent artists of the day, he parties with Scott Fitzgerald and drinks with Hemingway. Gertrude Stein (Kathy Bates, Harry’s Law) helps him with his first novel while he falls for Picasso’s Mistress (Marion Cotillard, Inception) and grows increasingly dissatisfied with his place in the present. But his doorway to the past soon proves that even those who inspire were inspired by the past, and the best we can hope for is try to create a present that will someday inspire.

The opening of the film harkens back to the opening of Allen’s Manhattan, showing a series of picturesque views of Paris. It’s enough to make you walk straight out of the theater and into a travel agency. The entire cast is charming. Wilson makes Gil the most likeable protagonist Woody Allen has had in years, while the supporting cast revels in their portrayals of some of the greatest artists of the early 20^th century. Corey Stoll’s (Salt) version of Hemingway is particularly enjoyable to watch as he dead pan’s rhetoric about bravery, courage, and writing while basking in the glory of his own words. Only Adrian Brody (King Kong) takes it a little too far into “camp” territory with his painted on version of surreal egotist Salvador Dalí.

The film is very nice to look at, mostly thanks to the locations and the set decoration of the period sequences. Frankly, it should be a little prettier, given that it was lensed by Darius Khondji (The City of Lost Children), probably the most gifted Director of Photography currently working. But Khondji is a master of dark imagery, and the film is pretty light, plus the camera work in Allen’s films has felt a little less precise ever since he started relying heavily on steadicam.

My personal opinion: Superb writing, enjoyable characters, and a love letter to Paris make this a wonderful time at the theater. The three Woody Allen sub-categories from above belong in yet another three categories:

1–Self involved and pretentious.

2—Superbly written and pretentious, but worth it.

3—Must-see filmmaking by one of the masters of the medium.

Midnight in Paris belongs in the third category. I mean, the guy is currently directing his 43^rd film and he has 68 writing credits. The fact that he still has something interesting to say is remarkable.—Jake Jarvi

Consider Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton or Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie and what comes to mind? True, betrayed spouses and media oversaturation may immediately spring to your consciousness, but they are also two of the most famous couples caught up in an on set romance, the primary domain of playwright Sarah Ruhl’s consistently funny Stage Kiss, being given its premiere at the lauded Goodman Theatre in downtown Chicago.

Cast in an over-the-top revival of a 30’s melodrama, an actress (known only as She) discovers her co-star (consequently referred to as He) is an old flame. Soon, despite the lackluster material and inept collaborators, the two are forsaking their current relationships for a passionate affair. But, when they are cast in another creatively fraudulent production, all the creaky springs in their relationship start to explode in a cacophony of noisy misunderstandings.

Perhaps, most enjoyed by true fans of the theater, Stage Kiss finds Ruhl creating continually enjoyable scenarios revolving around the egos and the common frustrations of working actors. Whether mocking the eager antics of an unschooled co-star or the comical enthusiasms of a cluelessly passionate director, she hits all the right notes. Unfortunately, with so many shows within shows wrapped within the plotline, a consistent tone is hard to achieve and it is almost impossible to grasp whether She and He are truly talented let alone truly in love, by the show’s end.

Director Jessica Thebus, meanwhile, truly excels at bringing out the script’s zaniness but is unable to bring a complete emotional clarity to Ruhl’s vision. This, ultimately, does little to mar the evening’s immediate pleasures but does strike a necessary chord for future revisions on Ruhl’s end.

The cast, meanwhile, is close to perfection with Erica Elam, Jeffrey Carlson, Scott Jaeck and Sarah Tolan-Mee playing multiple roles with vivacious aplomb. Jenny Bacon, as She, also truly shines and helps makes Stage Kiss a notable production for the fact that all of its main creative entities are talented, powerful women.

Stage Kiss runs through June 5 at The Goodman Theatre, 170 North Dearborn. Tickets are $25 – $78 and can be purchased at www.goodmantheatre.org or by calling 312-443-3800. —Brian Kirst

Though practically two and a half hours long, The Princess of Montpensier flies by thanks to its immersion in the fascinating lifestyles and antiquated rituals of 16^th century France, its flawless locations and costuming, a very dense and winding storyline, and the direction of Bertrand Tavernier, one of the infallible directors as far as the Cannes set is concerned. It came out into limited release a few weeks ago, but I thought it deserved some attention before it disappeared from every theater.

Marie (Mélanie Thierry, Babylon A.D.) is forced to marry the Prince of Montpensier, even though her heart belongs to her dashing and courageous cousin, Henri de Guise (Gaspard Ulliel, A Very Long Engagement). She tries to make the best of it, burying her feelings for Henri, and endeavoring to educate herself as best she can in her new regal responsibilities through the instruction of her husband’s trusted master, the Comte de Chabannes (Lambert Wilson, The Matrix Revolutions). As circumstance keeps pushing Henri into their company, the prince grows increasingly jealous, and soon Marie is forced to choose between responsibility and passion. If this were an American movie, you’d already know how this was going to play out. Heads up, folks, this movie is French, so in the arena of responsibility versus passion, it’s anyone’s game.

This film is as much a love letter to filmmaking’s old guard and the craft before the era of digital manipulation as it is about the story. Even though there are very complicated battle scenes involving many extras, explosions, and swordplay on horseback, it’s clear that it was all done without the aide of any digital wizardry. I’m pretty sure I even spotted at least one example of a guy getting stabbed by tucking a sword under his arm. Those sequences are extremely complex, very chaotic, and meticulously choreographed to wonderful effect. It’s nice to see something executed in such a REAL way given that every modern film is run through at least three different computer systems before ending up on film again. Nothing about this picture is haphazard. Tavernier is clearly a very premeditated director, and the film unfolds at a break neck pace from the very beginning.

The real gems of the film, as far as I’m concerned, come whenever it takes the time to marvel at an old custom that’s so far removed from the modern world as to seem shocking. Arranged marriages are no surprise, but the very slow and deliberate scene in which Marie is prepared for the wedding night in front of her father’s eyes, before he goes to play chess in the next room, and a GROUP OF PEOPLE observe the consummation of the marriage to insure that she was a virgin came as a bit of an eye opener to me. It was as tastefully done as possible, but before you head into the theater you should know that this film is NR for Not Rated. All of the sex scenes are very discrete, but there is nudity, and in one instance the very graphic dismemberment of what I believe is a real boar.

I never could really buy into Henri’s love for Marie though. That was one of the only things that bothered me about the film. How can she think this guy is really in love with her when he can’t have one conversation with her without his hand on her breast? For real. Any time they’re alone, he’s keeps one hand free for gesturing in conversation and the other one has a firm grip on the front of her dress. Maybe this is like a French handshake? I’m not sure, I took Spanish in high school.

My personal opinion: Excellent filmmaking about a very different time. They could have used a slightly more adept focus puller on occasion, but all in all a very transportive experience.

– Jake Jarvi