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Rob Onorato

Rob Onorato is a gay artist and writer. Originally from Connecticut/NYC, he lived in Boston for four years while studying for a theatre degree from Emerson College. Now, Rob lives happily in Chicago with his boyfriend and their cat. He's made performance in the past, and might again, but right now, he's more interested in film, opera, gardening, and painting. He's working on a play in verse called The Lizards, about a pair of daddy bears from exurban Boston. His favorite movie is The Rose, with Bette Midler, and his favorite place on earth is Provincetown, Massachusetts. 

a man holding a TV frame on his head
Against the New Play
Essay

Against the New Play

(or, What Is Theatre For?)

3 December 2018

Rob Onorato talks about boredom as an audience member, the uninspired play, what film has going for it that theatre does not, and more.

a group of people
On Neo-Futurism
Essay

On Neo-Futurism

15 August 2018

Writer and performer Rob Onorato explores what makes the Chicago Neo-Futurists so special.

One Queen’s Highly Personal/Subjective Reaction to Taylor Mac’s A 24-Decade History of Popular Music
Essay

One Queen’s Highly Personal/Subjective Reaction to Taylor Mac’s A 24-Decade History of Popular Music

15 December 2016

CJ Byrd on Taylor Mac’s A 24-Decade History of Popular Music, a “communal, intelligent, erotic, participatory, spectacular performance art concert; a marathon survey dedicated to destroying through exposure the racism, patriarchy, supremacy, and fascism suppressing the fabulosity of all our country’s different beleaguered Others over the years.”

Bored with the Well-Made Play
Essay

Bored with the Well-Made Play

Jordan Tannahill’s Theatre of the Unimpressed

22 August 2016

Sam Weisberg and Rob Onorato review Jordan Tannahill’s book Theatre of the Unimpressed, which discusses the well-made play and the idea of failing in theatre.

Shot, Shocked, Saved
Essay

Shot, Shocked, Saved

9 December 2015

Rob Onorato considers the differences between shock and surprise on stage, and the effects of violence and traumatic theatre in columbinus and Gloria.

The Brain in the Crown
Essay

The Brain in the Crown

David Adjmi’s Marie Antoinette and Smart Entertainment

17 May 2015

Rob Onorato on Steppenwolf Theatre’s production of Marie Antoinette by David Adjmi.

The cover of Fun Home.
Anyone Can Whistle
Essay

Anyone Can Whistle

Fun Home and New Musical Theatre

14 January 2014

Rob Onorato discusses Alison Bechdel's Fun Home, its musical adaptation, how both inspire him and advance the form of musical theatre.