Chicago Reader Review

One of the more nerve-wracking aspects of the show was anticipating the review (my first ever!). Granted, it's super cool that there even was a review, but that doesn't change the fact that while I was waiting, and rationalizing every mean-spirited, spirit-breaking, just-plain-shitty thing I imagined the reviewer would write, I was a little anxious. Yeah, yeah, I know it's just one person's opinion. But I comforted myself with a million little reassurances about how well structured, funny, and most of all, well acted the show was.

It turns out, that for the most part, my fears were unfounded.

Holding Court

Clocking in at a little less than an hour, Courtney Arnett's solo piece about her many trials as a single woman looking for a decent date feels at once too short and too long. Although the show is packed with examples of awful dates, many of her tales consist of little more than a quick costume change (into a prom dress or a bridesmaid outfit) and a few brief, if funny reminiscences before she moves on to the next loser or asshole who hurt her or didn't quite measure up. The show just doesn't build dramatically, and Arnett never seems to learn. Still, Arnett does have a strong, likable stage presence, and most of her material avoids being too self-indulgent--the result, perhaps, of its having been edited and shaped by local writer Pablo Rajczyk and director Joe Lewis. --Jack Helbig Through 3/30: Thu-Sat 8 PM, Sun 7 PM, La Costa Theatre Company, 3931 N. Elston, 773-866-0200, $10-$15.