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!
Most of the songs performed are, of course, hits by The Marvelettes. It begins with the aforementioned “Please Mr. Postman” and then continues on with others such as “Playboy” and “Beachwood 4-5789.” But the show ventures out and brings in a few other Motown hits to join the fun. Among these Daniel Phillips, who makes a later appearance as Jimmy Ruffin, gives an exceptional performance of “What Becomes of the Broken Hearted.”
Read MorePlaywright Lynn Nottage has emerged as a master story teller with a keen instinct for developing characters. Her six characters in Intimate Apparel each warrant a play of their own but only Esther (the empathetic Kelly Owens) gets Nottage’s focus. We quickly love Esther. We become fully engaged as we meet Esther who is a thirty-five year old single African-American women living in lower Manhattan in 1905 in Mrs. Dickson’s (Frances Wilkerson’s) boarding house.
Read MoreShakespeare’s very funny comedy begins with the conniving ways of a roly-poly Sir John Falstaff (Brian McCartney) to seduce not one but two wives (Mistress Ford-Lydia Berger Gray; and Mistress Page-Patrice Egleston). The wives conspire on creative antics to see that Falstaff gets his comeuppance which offer hysterical situations. The play raises the concerns of trust, greed, deception, chaos, and love.
Read MoreAlmost unknown in America, Paul Abraham was the toast of Berlin in the late 1920’s – 30’s with his jazz-infused, sexy dancing operettas. He combined the classical German-styled operettas in the tradition of Franz Lehar with the contemporary jazz style popular in Weimar Germany. His whimsical musical style included rich ballads, tantalizing ‘show-stoppers,’ snappy dance numbers, tangos, as well as haunting lover songs such as the haunting love song: “Toujours l’amour.”
Read MoreThe Morrison clan lives in a cold water tiny flat in the East End of Glasgow in the 1930’s. Maggie (Lori Myers in a tour de force performance) is the care-worn burned-out matriarch who finds herself caring for her five children including two “wee-uns,” a teenaged boy Ernie (Michael Saguto), an adult daughter Jenny (Ellie Reed) and her oldest married son Alec (Curtis Jackson) plus Granny Morrison (Maggie Cain). Maggie is the glue that hold things together as the clan struggles to survive in the tiny flat with limited funds since John Morrison (Scot West) is out of work and on the dole
Read MoreWhen playwright David Rogers got permission to use any of the hundreds of TV show episodes from Paul Henning, a stage comedy emerged and when Rogers (with help from his daughter upon his death) decided to create a musical version of The Beverly Hillbillies, they turned to an expert musical composer, Chicagoan Gregg Opelka who has penned many smart, tuneful musicals including Sour Du Jour and the Singing Cowboy.
This collaboration resulted in a slick, fun, and, of course, tuneful Broadway musical. This is not a country or bluegrass musical but rather a character driven musical that does feature country-ish tunes depiciting the Ozark hillbillies – the Clampets but it also contains songs about the Beverly Hills characters. The banker, his wife, the secretary and the folks who run the private school as well as the grifters who try to extort money from the Clampett’s all get their songs.
One good reason for having children is that it gives parents and grandparents an excuse for attending great performances. However, Seussical is such an outstanding production — in staging, costumes, music, and acting — that it would be a shame to limit it to small fry. Adults should not miss it. You don’t have to be accompanied by offspring, and in fact, you don’t even have to have any prior knowledge of the works of Theodor Geisel (better known as Dr. Seuss), to thoroughly enjoy the experience.
Read MoreUntil Rachel Rockwell and the creatives at the Goodman Theatre have put their considerable skills and assists in use has there been a major remount and revised production of Brigadoon. This 1947 Broadway musical and a hit 1954 film with Gene Kelly, with fabulous Scottish influenced music by Frederick Loewe, upon the lush lyrics and fine book by Alan Jay Lerner, has emerged into a tuneful evening of magical musical theatre! This sweetly charming ethnic fable contains wonderful dances and several exquisite romantic ballads but the sheer charm and wholesomeness of the morality indeed get us to believe that anything is possible if you love hard enough. There is much to love in this fabulous production.
Read MoreMusic and Lyrics by Sting Book by John Logan and Brian Yorkey Directed by Joe Mantello Musical Direction by Ron
Read MoreThe songs range from folk, electronic jazz and piano ballad to gospel and musical theater styles with lyrics quite complicated to sing requiring a blend of pop, classical and opera singing styles that was deftly rendered by this terrific cast. During the 65 minute one-act opera, each of the cast had their moments to exhibit their strong, accurate and compelling vocal dexterity.
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