Musical Director Eugene Dizon and the small orchestra are wonderfully housed onstage in a little nook. I would like to applaud Mr. Dizon for making the music in the show so seamless and scaling down the large score to the point where it could be played by a handful of musicians.
The winner of 10 Tony’s including Best Musical, Billy Elliot arrives for an extended sit-down run at Chicago’s Oriental Theatre. There has been much hype about this show and, as is the case so often, it doesn’t quite live up to my expectations. I must say, that Billy Elliot has so much going for it that it is “critic-proof.”
In true Beckett form, hardly anything happens, yet there is so much going on. The entire action takes place in a blank interior where Hamm (William Petersen), a blind man unable to stand, and his servant Clov (Ian Barford), who is unable to sit, go through their daily rituals and await the end of everything.
Corrie ten Boom (Lia Mortensen), her sister, the saintly Betsie ten Boom (Cynthia Judge) and their father, Casper ten Boom (Dennis Kelly) have a large house/watch repair show. The ten Boom’s are devote Christians from the Dutch Reform Church. They are also fierce Dutch patriots who quickly became members of the Dutch Resistance.
There is a lot to enjoy about the play: The acting from the cast is strong, the monologues are often funny or thought provoking, and by the end of the show you will spend days interpreting the meaning of the characters, actions, and dialogue. In spite of these strengths, at the end of the night I walked away confused and am still puzzling over what I experienced.
The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas features a nice blend of adult humor, sweet country ballads and rip-roaring high energy dance tunes that make for a pleasing light-weight Broadway musical. Kevin Bellie, as usual, mounts several large ensemble dance tunes where he has his dancers moving deftly on his small stage.
The play is adapted from the original 1955 novel, rather than any of the films, but most of the story is still there. Alien “pods” drift down from space with the intention to replace human life in order for them to survive. They create exact copies of the town’s residents, the only difference being that there is a distinct lack of emotion in their eyes.
Combining Rogers’ folksy, down-home kitchen-sink humor with satire of national politics and a message of hope, the presentation plays like a 1934 live Rogers’ radio show with McKillip displaying the rope tricks as Will’s trade mark.
The amazingly honest performances, rich in nuance and depth, make Our Lady of the Underpass a most enticing and wholly engaging theatrical work. Brian Sidney Bembridge’s set and Jess Klug and Mac Vaughey’s vivid lighting give an aura that sure could be an portrait of a holy woman.
The rock opera covers a wide range of emotions, actions including violence. With the over powering music and the uneven vocals by some players, You Took Away My Flag is long on rock anthems, a cliche-ridden story and several false endings.