Tom Williams This wacky comedy is a near-farce with over-the-top characters that are lovable and unpredictable. Once many of the players slow down and speak a tad slower with stronger articulation, this smart comedy would garner even more laughs. Kingsley Day, Cameron Feagin and David Fink lead a ‘game’ cast of players totally committed to Boucicaust’s ambitious play!
Moby Dick is a harrowing and intoxicating adventure that explores revenge, obession, sea adventure and destiny. This Lookingglass production is, in my view, the finest show that Lookingglass has ever mounted! Seeing this physically challenging production will give you a glimpse into the depths that live staging to tell stories can achieve!. Hey, after seeing it, I could almost smell the salt air! Take those who never go to live shows to experience the grandure of the stage. They’ll be amazed!
Rodgers and Hammerstein’s first production based on a true story opened on Broadway in March, 1951 with Gertrude Lawrence and Yul Brynner, racked up 1,246 performances in the initial run and Brynner did 4,625 performances over 34 years as the King plus the 1956 movie with Deborah Kerr. Full of timeless songs like “I Whistle a Happy Tune,” “Hello, Young Lovers,” “Getting to Know You” and “Shall We Dance,” The King and I is a Broadway classic that is the ultimate ‘feel good” show considered as the first true ‘theatre spectacle,’ The King and I opened the door for later scenically opulent shows.
While much of the general arguments and insults sure make the older Butley’s look (and act immature), the young liberals come off as semi-heros as the battle over the yard emerges. It is well known that many neighborhood land disputes end up in ugly violence, Native Gardens has an unsatisfying ‘happy ending.’ This play is quite funny mostly, the coceit is plausible yet quickly moves from funny, problemic to silly farce. The undertow here is that the older folks are cliches and the young liberals should rule making an uneven age bias obvious.
Tony award winning score by Stephan Flaherty has a fine mixture of ragtime, vaudeville and early jazz together with lofty ballads, a touch of gospel, Eastern European Jewish flavors, a hint of Joplin and stirring anthems aptly moving the story along. Lynn Ahrens’ lyrics are meaningful and resonating.
“At the Table”, Michael Perlman’s drama of scintillating conversation between diverse friends during a weekend in the country, took home the most honors on Monday, June 5, during the 44th Annual Non-Equity Jeff Awards ceremony recognizing excellence in non-union Chicago theatre. The awards show was held at the Athenaeum Theatre for the first time, a fitting venue since it is home to several non-Equity theater companies.
Candide is an art piece that isproduced due to its stunning music and terrific singing. Opera houses and schools love this show. The present froduction at Cahn Audirotiumis fabulous! True, it is almost 3 hours long but the quality of the music, singing and fine staging make for a wonderful evening.
This memory play starts out in time order as we see how and when Erica and Vicky meet, become an item, move in together, adopt children and eventually marriage. This multilevel play is told in flashbacks, flashforwards, dreams and fantasies. This play grabs us and makes us follow the disjointed memories because we like and care about both characters. We learn about their foibles, wants and desires as, in most relationships, one or the other holds the power, as the stakes shift as the power shifts. Early on Erica is tha aggresive one yet once thwy are committed, Vicky becomes incharge of most events.
This funny show is pure whimsical fantasy played out with innate sweetness with a pleasant lighthearted touch. Elwood is a lovable guy who was smart and now wants to be pleasant. His simple credo is infectious. It is so refreshing to see strong dramatic actors like Timothy Edward Kane, Karen Janes Woditsch, Jacqueline Williams, and A.C. Smith perform comedy. Their timing rendered many laughs.
At she bonds with Einstein, Harding segways from Einstein’s work to his personal life. She speaks about a child he had in 1902 who was never spoken again after 1904. Here playwright St. Germain fictionalizes about what happened to the baby and what Harding’s connection is to that happening. Einstein’s reaction to that baby, now a grown women, and to that women’s child, a genius savant makes for a compelling story.