Donizetti’s delightful Don Pasquale (1842), which opened today at Chicago’s Lyric Opera, is an embarrassment of bel canto riches, with a seemingly endless stream of glorious Italian melodies wedded to a lighthearted yet often witty comedic plot about an elderly man who gets more trouble than he bargained for when he decides in his 70s to finally get married.
Read MoreAnnie, played by Caroline Heffernan, seems slightly more modern than the era, slightly older than eleven, and sings some of her songs in a more modern pop style; but her acting fills the role very well. The other orphans, as well as butlers, maids and other adults do a superb job vocally.
Read MoreThis year I admired The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey more than last year. Maybe, it was because of the message or that this year’s production was tighter? What ever the reason, this wonderful show reached me better than most holidays shows. It is a family friendly affair.
Read MoreFred Anzevino and Jeremy Ramey have created a fine Christmas revue that is just the right thing for Saturday and Sunday matinee lovers who get-stressed by shopping. All they have to do is get to the No Exit Cafe in Rogers Park to hear four delightful singers and a fabulous piano and bass produce classic holiday tunes.
Read MoreSometimes classic short stories simply don’t “sing,” that is, they don’t work as a musical. That surely is the case with The Gifts of the Magi now playing at Stage 773 produced by Porchlight Musical Theatre.
Read MoreWhen Marine warrior Jenny Sutter (Lily Mojekwu) returns home from Afghanistan to a dirty bus station in LA, she seems listless as she simply sits staring into space. She is befriended by the quirky, always-traveling Lou (Jenny Avery), a recovering addict with many issues. Lou senses Jenny’s melancholy as she befriends her and coaxes her to travel to their California desert hideaway – Slab City.
Read MoreThe kind of warm, witty production that shames most other holiday fare, this is a must see for the whole family this holiday season!
Read MoreGriffin Theatre has found another little gem of a show with The Burnt Part Boys. It is a bluegrass folk operetta set in coal mining country in 1962 in West Virginia ten years after a devastating mine explosion and fire killed five miners. We meet the two surviving teenage sons of one of the killed miners – Peter (Charlie Fox) and Jake (Mike Tepeli).
Read MoreCourt Theatre returns after nearly ten years to remount their successful holiday show based on a James Joyce short story- The Dead. As conceived and written by Richard Nelson with music by Shaun Davey, The Dead is a special, gentle and wholesome holiday musical. This time around, director Charles Newell and music director have a new cast that features an array of actors who can sing with several actor/musician to give the production an intimate realistic flavor.
Read MoreUnder director/choreographer Tammy Mader, dancing and tongue-in-cheek humor fuels the fun-filled romp back to the 20’s where the girls wore short hair and skimpy dress and the guys donned stripped pants and loud jackets. It was the era of fun times, especially at speakeasies and dance clubs.
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