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!
Playwright David Ives sure knows how to take the 17th Century classic French farce, The Misanthrope, and bring it up to date from 1666 to modern times by using a mixture of rhyming couplets. Ives blends Moliere’s wordy comedy of manners style with contemporary colloquialisms with casual vulgarity and scatological humor that could offend some. Yet, the zaniness of the classic characters together with the witty couplets played for extreme comic effect, makes for a belly laughing theatrical feast.
Read MoreShannon is probably the finest relatively unknown composer and lyricist you could find. I was stunned at the versatility, the number of soaring anthems, the terrific lyrics that sit upon the music so effectively. Seldom will you find a more talented composer and lyricist in one person that Julie Shannon!
Read MoreHansel und Gretel is filled with charming melodic music that contains gentleness, sweetness, as well as dark motifs. Humperdinck used German folk elements together with original folk tunes to flavor his opera. The score demand much vocal dexterity and Kanyotova and DeShong delightfully have that element in their fine performance. I was thrilled by the darkly comic work by Jill Grove as the manic witch. Brian Williams’ father was also appreciated.
Read MoreContinuing its perennial holiday tradition, American Blues Theater brings a classic to wondrous life that transports you to a simpler time for a retelling of one of our most beloved inspirational tales.
Read MoreWe observe Anna (powerful subtle performance by Kate Fry) move from frighten to submissive to attacker as she deftly reverses the roles of hunted and hunter. Seeing who will claim the upper hand: those who want to suppress the truth or those who’ll risk everything to liberate it is at the core of this two-hander.
Read MoreThe Other Cinderella is a family-friendly musical with loads of humor as well as toe-tapping original tunes and strong anthems. I can see why this show has become the most successful show in the history of the Black Ensemble
Read MoreAfter the original lead Sean Palmer got injured, Tony Yazbeck stepped in to play Don Lockwood (the Gene Kelly role). Together with an all-star cast of local Chicago talents, director Bill Jenkins’ Singin’ In the Rain unfolds as a dazzling production. True to the film, the Drury Lane Production is glitzy, glorious, and glamorous featuring one of the most memorable scores …
Read MoreNow the annual production of The Christmas Schooner has found a home at the Mercury Theater under the artistic direction of L. Walter Stearns and Eugene Dizon. This wonderful show is musically rich with memorable songs, rich harmonies and a truthful story of the brave sailors who sailed in the late 19th Century from Upper Michigan to Chicago from 1882 until 1912.
Read MoreThe cast is filled with fine performances. Gregg Matthew Anderson and Eliza Stoughton square off in a searing battle of the sexes while Dale Benson is the calming voice of wisdom as the waiter. Benson, always a Chicago treasure, is hilarious as usual in a larger role that he delivers with verve and class. Elaine Rivkin is the strong-will mother and Alex Weisman and C. Jay Miller are precious as the young siblings.
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