A Grand Night For Singing is the perfect choice to launch a run of originally produced Broadway musicals at the Mercury Theater. It is a stylish revue of the amazing songbook of Rodgers and Hammerstein conceived by Walter Bobbie in 1993. It is a romantic songfest that presents the R & H select songs in a new context that highlights romantic relationships.
Read MoreThis is an idea play that will have you debating it long after leaving the theatre. David Hare effectively argues both Tom’s and Kyra’s point of views. Each character’s point of view convinces us until we hear the other’s rebuttal. Ultimately trust decides things but only after a riveting evening of conflicted desires, aspirations, and ideologies. Hare’s brilliant writing is equalized by the expert work by Matt Farabe, Laura Rook, and especially Philip Earl Johnson.
Read MoreHow can a play begin with someone dropping her underpants? Well Carl Sternheim conceived the idea back in 1910 before the days of reliable elastic, and Steve Martin adapted Sternheim’s idea for modern audiences. As a farce, Underpants contains no slap stick or slamming doors, but does give a refreshing change of pace through many naughty double entendres. The characters begin as solid stereotypes, before the days of political correctness, but change and offer surprises as they interact with each other. The creative dialogue from two playwrights results in a very clever sparkling comedy with some universal themes.
Read MoreThe conceit is that a young pianist (James F.Giles) is having trouble realizing an early Beethoven Piano Sonata in C minor, when a bust of the composer which he had ordered arrives. Placed on a table beside the piano, the bust magically becomes a real-life, and, if I may say so, utterly convincing, Ludwig Van Beethoven (Bruce Adolphe), who, on hearing the pianist, bursts into a rhapsodic remonstration on how to realize his music with all it proper depth and subtlety.
Read MoreDirector Rachel Rockwell’s production of the 1957 classic ode to the folks of Iowa is in good hands . Featuring fabulous 1912 costumes (design by Melissa Torchia), terrific choreography and smooth dancing, The Music Man unfolds as a toe-tapping, family friendly musical comedy. At only $46.90 for the best ticket, audiences will get a full Equity acted and full orchestrated Broadsword musical- at half the price of a Loop tour. The beautiful Paramount Theatre, which seats 1880, allows theatre patrons in the Far Western suburbs to enjoy fine musicals.
Read MoreWe also see how Patricia is torn between her passion for Kyle and her duty as a wife to the vulnerable Teddy. What will she do as Kyle arrives to take her away? While all wait for the airmen to return from their bombing mission, the fear and tension permeates. Director Robin Witt has her dedicated cast fully engaged. Darci Nalepa is wonder as the conflicted soul; while Joe deBettencourt is terrific as the fun-living dashing pilot.
Read MoreOn paper, the current CSO program, led by Edo de Waart (substituting again for Riccardo Muti), looked sure-fire: Mozart’s Symphony No. 41, the Jupiter, is arguably the greatest symphony of perhaps the greatest symphonist not named Beethoven; and a case could be made that Brahms’ Symphony No. 4 represents the height of the symphony after Beethoven’s death. However, one would not necessarily register the stature of these great works, the Mozart in particular, from this evening’s often lifeless performances.
Read MoreRivendell theatre Ensemble, a troupe dedicated to producing theatre that is “women’s work” has mounted a funny and quirky comic drama about a group of souls struggling to both fine their sense of purpose and an outlet for their creativity. Filled with contemporary references to the latest fad (designed cupcakes -who knew?), this world premiere by Lisa Dillman tells the story of a middle-aged textbook editor….
Read MoreDirector Ed Rutherford’s unique story theater approach sprinkled with a spirited folk-infused music score together with a hyper-manic performance style by the cast made for a tedious uneven production. The mix of music, puppetry, physicality, and over- acting fueled the complex and confusing parable that quickly became hard to follow
Read MoreI left 16th Street Theater last night quite baffled because I witnessed a most engaging and theatrical production of a one-person show – The Agony And The Ecstasy of Steve Jobs. Lance Baker, a surefire actor who has a special talent for presenting one-man shows, was at the top of his art in this perplexing show. Baker’s performance was exquisite as he deftly navigates through Mike Daisey’s controversial polemic.
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