Theatre reviews

MUST SEE

These are Chicago Critics Must See shows. If you are only going to see one show let us recommend one of these great pieces of true Art!

MUST SEEREVIEWSSally Jo OsborneTheatre Reviews
Tom Williams

42nd Street at Fremont Street Theater Company

Come and see these dancing feet for yourself! This high energy, passionate performance will have you dusting off your old tap shoes and hoofing around the house. A timeless classic performed with such style and enthusiasm is beyond impressive-just fabulous.

I knew I was in for a treat when the live orchestra directed by Kenneth McMullen, got the theatregoers tapping our feet and humming along with the beautifully played prologue. The cast of 32 performers lit up the stage from the get go leaving you yearning for more.

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MUST SEEREVIEWSTheatre ReviewsTom Williams
Tom Williams

A Comedical Tragedy For Mister Punch

In their 15th season, The House Theatre of Chicago has a wildly ambitious puppet-filled portrait of a prodigy in peril. This is a hauntingly dark tale of the creation of the legendary Puppets Punch and Judy. Featuring terrific puppet and mask design by Jesse Mooney-Bullock, A Comedical Tragedy For Mister Punch unfolds as a humorous very dark tale of the establishment of puppet shows in 18th Century London. Utilizing The House Theatre of Chicago’s storytelling aesthetic, director Shade Murry and playwright Kara Davidson weave the efforts of Italian puppeteer Pietro (nice work by Adrian Danzig) to bring his street puppet show to London.

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Beverly FriendMUST SEEREVIEWSTheatre Reviews
Tom Williams

Scarcity

The solid cast handles all the complications brilliantly. Special kudos to
Grant and young Grey in portraying the volatile mother/daughter
complexities. Throughout, the family members come together and separate in
violent, angry combinations, achieving a certain amount of sympathy as
well as dismay. Sometimes close to being two-dimensional, they manage to
avoid becoming mere caricatures. The whole, compelling experience is
heightened by the physical arrangements of a stage which intersects the
audience. Twenty-four seats in tiered rows flank either side of the set.
This combination of dining room, living room, and kitchen is merely a
handbreadth away, drawing the audience into the action.

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Beverly FriendMUST SEEREVIEWSTheatre Reviews
Tom Williams

FUNNY GIRL

The star, Sally Staats, is not Fanny Brice. Neither is she Barbara Streisand. It doesn’t matter because Staats has made this stage her own with a winsome, touching performance. She and Rob Ibanez, as the gorgeous, gambler Nick Arnstein share a magical chemistry. Even those who may think the 1968 movie version with Streisand and Omar Sharif can’t be topped will be surprised by what the immediacy of a well-done stage production can achieve. Staats and Ibanez are surrounded by a talented ensemble of actors, singers and dancers. Fanny’s long suffering mother is played with verve by Meagan Piccochi, who is especially delightful in interactions with her comedic poker-playing girlfriends. Jessica Noelle Evans nearly steals the show as noisy neighbor Mrs. Strakosh, and stately Bob Sanders is perfect as the often-thwarted showman, Florenz Ziegfield.

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Music ReviewsMUST SEEPop/Rock/FolkREVIEWSTom Williams
Tom Williams

Smokey Joe’s Cafe at Drury Lane Theatre

This fast-paced two hour revue is a non-stop songfest that has enough well performed classic rock, pop and R & B to please. . Director/choreographer Dodge has the cast doing movement and dance routines that work effectively on stage. The harmonies and the blended vocal arrangements together with the outstanding musical arrangements by Roberta Duchak sounded terrific. These nine performers demonstrate their talents and we get to hear the songbook of two relatively unheralded composers. Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller’s tunes come alive in this fun revue. Smokey Joe’s Cafe ranks as one of the longest running reviews on Broadway (2,036 performances) and it has had a long run in the city by Theo Ubique a few years ago.

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MUST SEEREVIEWSTom Williams
Tom Williams

Dutchman and TRANSit

These two companion one-acts are riveting, explosive and truthful as simmering racial (and gender) rage explode today as it did in the 1960’s. Both works will upset and get audiences aware of the cancer of racism and gender hatred that eats away at our society. Dramatizing can be the first step toward a solution – hopefully. See these two powerful one-acts.

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MUST SEEREVIEWSTheatre ReviewsTom Williams
Tom Williams

Bakersfield Mist

Maude is a working-class ‘every women’ played here by Janet Ulrich Brooks, one of the finest actress’s working in Chicago theatre today. She uses every female tactic from friendliness, to booze, to sex, to terror to assure that her elitist sophisticated art expert rates her painting a genuine Pollack. To Maude, her quest is about more than money.

92 year-old Mike Nussbaum magnificently delivers a complex performance as Lionel Percy, the New Yank art expert. He deftly explains the essence of art; how he uses “The Blink” to instantly discover if a an art work is authentic. These feelings together with years of examining thousands of art pieces makes his intuitive method of judging art to be accurate.

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MUST SEEREVIEWSTheatre ReviewsTom Williams
Tom Williams

Rose

Linda Reiter grabs us and hold us throughout her 90 minute sole performance. My generation can still tell you where they were when John Kennedy was shot, so we still have a fascination with all things ‘Kennedy.’ Reiter channels Rose as she unflinchingly speaks of the triumphs and tragedies of the Kennedy clan. Along the way, we gain insights into Rose’s character, her subtle strength and her devotion to her family, especially her boys. We also become aware of the extreme influence of Joe Kennedy on the family.

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MUST SEEREVIEWSTheatre ReviewsTom Williams
Tom Williams

MAME at Light Opera Works

The creatives at Light Opera Works, under the determined direction from Rudy Hogenmiller, have mounted a fabulous production of the1966 Broadway musical Mame, the show that necessitates a lady who can do comedy, act, sing and dance- a rarity in a middle aged performer. Rosalind Russell in 1957 in the comedy Auntie Mame , Angela Lansbury in 1966 Broadway musical, Lucille Ball in 1974 in the movie version of Mame. That character is one of the most charmingly lovable, vivid and endearing characters to grace the stage. Finding all the attributes in one person is difficult leading to few productions of Mame onstage.. My best guess is that Mame was last mounted in Chicago at Marriott Theatre in 2001.

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