THAT ONE'LL NEVER WIN A TONY:

Riotous 'Tremain' captures colonial spirit (HEDY WEISS , 2/14/06, Chicago Sun-Times)

And now, from the theater company that not so long ago brought you that sensational Civil War drama "The Killer Angels," comes "Johnny Tremain," an equally terrific, exuberantly told tale of the American Revolution.

There they all are on the Lifeline Theatre stage -- Samuel Adams, the great organizer; Paul Revere, the master craftsman; John Hancock, the man of wealth, along with the rest of those underground radicals who called themselves the Sons of Liberty, and who faced down King George III's army of redcoats to fight for the rights of man. It's enough to inspire a cry of "no taxation without representation" and to set you singing a chorus of "Yankee Doodle."

The gifted adapter John Hildreth has turned to Esther Forbes' 1944 Newbery Medal-winning book -- for decades a young adult classic, and a story written just a couple of years after Forbes' adult work of history about Paul Revere won her a 1942 Pulitzer Prize. And in conjunction with the hugely resourceful director Katie McLean and an ingenious team of designers, he has devised a show with surefire appeal for audiences of all ages. That label may make some wary, but be advised, this is a great yarn, steeped in delicious language and humor, and brought to life by a group of hugely engaging, high-energy actors.