Siskel & Ebert Play

Matt Fagerholm

Tonight, I got about as close as I ever could to watching Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert debate the merits of cinematic works in person. Katlin Schneider's new play, “Siskel/Ebert,” at the Bughouse Theater features Stephen Winchell and Zack Mast as the iconic critic duo, and they deserve two very enthusiastic thumbs way up. Winchell is superb and very funny as Siskel, while Mast captures Ebert’s look, mannerisms and cadence so impeccably, it is downright eerie. The episode they lovingly and ingeniously reenact is from June 1987, where the sparring colleagues famously argued about “Full Metal Jacket” and “Benji the Hunted,” complete with hysterical recreations of the selected movie clips. Siskel’s widow, Marlene Iglitzen, was in attendance, and the show got her seal of approval as well. If you love "Siskel & Ebert," you are going to want to see this show.