REVIEWS BY

Red Velvet

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It is the story of the first African-American actor to play Othello for two performances at the Theatre Royal in Covent Garden in London in 1833. When the famous Shakespearean actor Edmund Kean becomes ill, company manager Pierre LaPotre (Mtthew Klinger) brings on his friend and well qualified veteran actor Ira Aldridge 1807- 1867 (Brandon Greenhouse) to play Othello. This was a daring choice by LaPorte since a black man had never before played Othello on a major London theatre. 1833 was a riotous time in London with the abolition of slavery in England and various social and political reforms being enacted. Change at all levels was being challenged.

Psmith, Journalist

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As the protagonist. Psmith comes to New York in 1910 from Cambridge, edits a newspaper, fights organized crime and loses his straw hat in this wacky wordy comedy of manners. Psmith states: ““the work is not light. Sometimes the cry goes round, ‘Can Psmith get through it all? Will his strength support his unquenchable spirit?’ But I stagger on. I do not repine.” The P that begins his name is silent (“as in pshrimp,” he helpfully points out), but he himself is not. He is wittily eloquent in any situation, always confident that, as he puts it, “with the aid of the Diplomatic Smile and the Honeyed Word I may manage to pull through.”

The Last Wife

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Kate Henning’s drama focuses on the character of King Henry as Steve Pickering plays him as a tough, commanding despot who appreciates a strong woman if they are sexy and ultimately loyal. This Henry is, indeed, king who is willing to use his power however he desires. His love for Kate allows her to be more that a nurse-mate to his three children. Rather he elevates her to political power due to her loyalty and competence. She emerges as an almost equal in an age when most women spent their time knotting. Kate open the doors (literally) for Mary and Elizabeth to govern.

Hand To God

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This manically paced comedy id fueled by grief and dysfunctional family relations yet it is one of the cleverest and witty comedies in years! Alex Weisman give a tour de force performance as Jason/Tyrone, Who knew that Weisman could manipulate his hand puppet with such spot-on timing and change voices instantly between Jason and Tyrone. Add his deft physicality and we have a fabulous comic performance. Weisman can add comic performer (and puppeteer0 to his resume.

The Love Potion (Le Vin Herbe)

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Sung in English (translation by Hugh MacDonald) with a large video depicting the story with a huge English super titles, The Love Potion works well. Featuring music that sounds like film underscoring rich in piano and string sounds, The Love Potion’s singing makes the story come alive. The 12 person ensemble (a kind of Greek chorus) sounded terrific and the leads led the way.

From tenor Bernard Holcomb’s Tristan to soprano Lani Stait’s Isolde to baritone Nicholas Davis’ King Mark, these featured artists carried the opera with their expressively skilled voices

Tony n’ Tina’s Wedding

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Under the fine direction of Paul Stroili, the large Chicago cast of 23 is
terrific — capturing all the nuances of a family gathering, complete with
vulgarities and squabbles. Stroili was a member of the Original Chicago
Company. Vinnie (Brian Noonan) is a very believable restaurateur, hosting
the gathering, touting its virtues as he tries to promote future business,
and emceeing the various entertainers. A good time was had by all.

Bobbie Clearly

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This play is so unbelievable, under developed and misguided that I’m thinking that it is really a parody of small town murder mysteries? With so many preposterous plot twists and so many wacky characters (more than I have mentioned here.), What else could it be? As a world premiere, Playwright Alex Lubischer needs to refocus what his play is actually about. As presented, my conclusions could be valid? If he wants to leave audiences with another impression than he needs to make that clearer. As it plays now Bobbie Clearly is confusing.

“The Bardy Bunch”

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I think this show may have a cult following that will find it to be “out of sight”! Me? Not so much. The show is 1 hour and 45 minutes without an intermission and perhaps if there were less dancing spirits and blood soaked costumes it could be shaved down to 80 minutes. I do not recommend that you bring children to this show unless you want to pay for therapy later in life (there should be a minimum age requirement).

Visiting Edna

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Slowly, with many long speeches by Edna reminiscing about past events particularly those involving Andrew, we get hints as to what is the angst Andrew feels toward Edna and his dead father. Communicating, searching for relevant connections and struggling to make peace as time depletes Edna’s life is the play’s focus. The early scenes quickly become tedious as we hear Edna ramble on and on.

Tug of War: Civil Strife

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… on September 25 from 1 pm to 7 pm at Navy Pier with Gaines’ second installment of her ode to The Bard’s histories: Tug of War: Civil Strife. I enjoyed this show more than the first one. Maybe because of the music seemed to be more a tad softer, more melancholy or maybe because my three favorite classical actors had major roles : Larry Yando, Kevin Gudahl and Timothy Edward Kane? Whatever the reason, Tug of War: Civil Strife was a thrilling event that I’m glad I was able to cover this. Kudos to Chicago Shakespeare for having the chutzpah to mount two historical marathon dramas in the same season!

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