Author: Tom Williams

Dispensing with an overt critique of the American foreign policy establishment, BTBZ is about the faces on the ground and their baser instincts for blood, sex, power, and money that threaten to overwhelm them in the aftermath of anarchy. But what, the Tiger asks, might ultimately be said of God’s nature in the face of such wrath and violence? Atheism, in this case, would be the more comforting (if less convincing) position. The darker truth, as BTBZ only intimates, is that God is Himself a warrior—one who, on occasion, demands blood sacrifice.

If you’ve ever call a call center for support, you’ll be able to relate to Anupama Chandrasekhar’s Disconnect. It is a fresh look at the outsourcing of American jobs to India where speaking flawless English is considered a high status accomplishment. Disconnect is set in Chennai, India in 2009 during the American recession at a bad debt collection agency.

n Sunset Boulevard, there are few actual songs mixed with all the recitative, three true songs actually and they are terrific. Christine Sherrill, a fabulous Norma, sings two of the fine numbers: her self-designing song: “With One Look” in which we see both her delusion and her past film style plus her triumph return visit to the Paramount studio – “As If We Never Said Goodbye.” Christine Sherrill not only belts these tunes with deep emotions but she “sells’ Norma’s angst. Experiencing Sherrill delivering these two anthems is worth the trip to Oakbrook. This is a complete tour de force performance by Christine Sherrill.

The staging of a full-blown Broadway musical on the intimate thrust stage at Writers’ Theatre is a major accomplishment allowing terrific dance and movement to give the illusion of a larger production. The five member orchestra, using Doug Peck’s orchestrations, sounded fine giving the jazz-infused Coleman score a worthy sound. This entertaining show is worth seeing.