Jack helps rescue children lost in the woods, escapes from bully goats, and aids the three bears among other adventures Jack encounters on his fast-paced 55 minute journey toward finding his way and helping his parents become “normal” again. Jack restores the traditional ending that becomes “Happily Ever After” for his parents, himself and everyone.
You’ll need to stretch your imagination and exude much empathy to fully appreciate this strange work. The multilayer performances by Goeden and Keberlein make seeing this show worth the time. The folks at Oracle Productions don’t charge for tickets depending on donations from audiences after the performance. They bank on you enjoying their shows. Ironmistress’ acting makes this show jell. If you’re an adventurous theatre patron and want to see something different-catch Ironmistress and then make a suitable donation.
I have an extra ticket for the following show that I’ll be reviewing:
These are the ten top plays of 2011 in Chicago that reflect excellent stage craft and flawless production values according to us at Chicagocritic.com.
Written by Neil Simon Directed by W. F.Wilson Prisoner captures audience There is nothing like a Neil Simon play for rounding out the old year and ringing in the new. This is dark comedy rendered with a light hand. Clever banter undercuts family angst as fast-paced repartee unfolds the story of a married couple struggling … Read more
The Addams Family features a marvelous score and witty/funny lyrics by Andrew Lippa whose score has everything from vaudeville, to power ballads, to tango/fandango, to patter songs, to a pop/rock pastiches that deftly tell the story and enrich the characters. Lippa score is the vehicle that drives this show–it has humor, panache and loads of heart. There are hummable take-home songs here such as the opening “When You’re an Addams” and dance tune “Just Around the Corner.”
It is wonderful that the management at Light Opera Works keeps producing authentic productions of classic operettas and Broadway musicals using the full orchestrations from the originals with a full 28 piece orchestra. The lush score filled with haunting operetta style ballads and English folk melodies, The Secret Garden is a beautiful heart-warming musical filled with charm and wholesomeness.
From the opening number that was changed and poorly danced by the six boys (instead of the mixed gender 13 from the 1983 original), we quickly realize that this crude production is a mere parody of the lush heart-felt original that was ground-braking in 1983-84 since it featured a male-male relationship. In this production, no one will ever believe that George Hamilton and Chris Sieber have been lovers for more that 20 years
This is all by means of saying that this play bears incredible intellectual fruit. It is, like Beckett, like Brecht, deep in meaning and rich in metaphor. But, also like Beckett and Brecht, it is incredibly hard to stage successfully. And Steppenwolf falls short…And the play itself, I say again, I find fascinating and highly worthy of both praise and production. But, sadly, this particular one falls short. Perhaps in a few years – maybe with some Irish help – the right people will come together and create magic with this piece.
Led by the steady work from Gene Weygandt as Shepherd and by golden-voiced youngster Clarke Hallum as Ralphie, A Christmas Story The Musical is a most winning full-blown Broadway musical true to its source material and marvelously acted, sung, and danced by a 30 person cast consisting of a mixture of Chicago Equity talents and a polished troupe of kid talents. Adam Petly, George Andrew Wolff and Karen Mason are a few of the Chicago players featured in this family friendly new show.