Steadstyle Chicago
	February 2008 Theatre Review by Joe Stead
	Looking for a Ticket Broker? Check out the hottest broadway tickets from Gotickets.com The Dirty Cowboy Critical Evaluation: *** out of **** (Pictured Right) Zeke Sulkes is "The Dirty Cowboy" at Lifeline Theatre. "Is it messy dirty or bad dirty?" the young theatregoer inquired at the opening of "The Dirty Cowboy".  Fear not parents, this is after all a Lifeline Theatre Kid Series presentation free of all obscenity or innuendo.  In fact, there's not a whole lot to the show other than a slim tale of friendship between a dirty cowboy and his faithful four-legged canine pal Eustace.  But combined with an original, toe-tapping country-flavored score by Victoria DeIorio and Jane Baxter Miller and lots of kiddie friendly audience participation, Lifeline has still come up with a pleasant and delightful afternoon family excursion.  We're greeted right from the top by a storytelling, guitar pickin' Cowgirl (Jacquie Krupka) who sets the scene for a lighthearted yarn down on the range.  Accustomed to the predictable patterns of the cattle and the simplicity of the wide outdoors, our Cowboy hero (Zeke Sulkes) rarely ventures into the uncertainty of civilized human society.  His closest companion is his dog Eustace (Christina Hall), whose highly developed sense of smell is more trustworthy to her than all her other senses.  On a rare jaunt into town, Cowboy finds that "everybody acts so durn odd," and the reason's pretty clear.  Cowboy hasn't bathed in ages, has a pungent odor, has itches in his britches and buzzing in his ears from an assortment of fleas, tumbleweeds, spiders and doodle bugs.  So he'd better hightail it to the river for a badly needed bath.  The problem is once he's all scrubbed and polished, Eustace no longer recognizes him and refuses to surrender the clothes she has been guarding.  So he has to choose between cleanliness verses friendship.  There's not a whole lot to chew on here, but in Lifeline's charming tradition as one of Chicago's best kid friendly theatres, it's enough to keep the little tykes involved and diverted. "The Dirty Cowboy" continues through April 13, 2008 at Lifeline Theatre, 6912 North Glenwood Avenue in Chicago.  The show runs 1 hour with no intermission.  Performances are Saturdays at 1:00 p.m. and Sundays at 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m.  Tickets are $10 for both children and adults for all shows (an unbeatable bargain).  Pay-what-you-can tickets are also available half-hour before the show, subject to availability.  Group rates and other discounts are available on request, and a party room is available for full-service birthday and special event parties.  Call (773) 761-4477 or visit www.lifelinetheatre.com.