Alex’s Eroica is a 75 minute morality play about secrets and hypocrisy. Victor (Felipe Carrasco) is the popular 20something basketball coach at the town’s local high school. He has a medical deferment from the draft, but he is a pro-war patriot. His wife Sally (Sara Pavlak McGuire) is a super-patriot who lost her father before she was born to WWII and now has her brother MIA in Vietnam. She laments that Victor can’t serve. Why?
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Add the wonderful, two-level apartment set (designed by Collette Pollard) based on the look and feel of playwright Guirgis’ Manhattan apartment and the set becomes a character in the play! Riverside is filled with several monologues that are full of social commentary. Quotes like this one from Lulu: “I may look how I look, but that don’t mean I am how I look” add rich insights and honest humor and some sex.
Without giving away more, Between Riverside and Crazy is a master work, a terrific night of theatre as well as a timely honest look at racial issues especially dealing with cops. We see Eamonn Walker as the Battalion Chief on the TV series Chicago Fire-now see Walker in a fabulous live turn as the flawed ex-cop. Between Riverside and Crazy is one of the best plays of 2016, don’t miss it.
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Last February, as I sat reviewing a one-man play in a Florida theater, an immediate thought hit me: “This is a perfect show for Skokie!”
I was right! Brad Zimmerman’s My Son the Waiter: A Jewish Tragedy just opened at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts for a 4- week run, and it is a perfect match — just as funny and delightful the second time around as it was originally.
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One of the joys at this operetta is in the fabulous 22 member orchestra, conducted by Anthony Barrese that sounded magnificent! The cast of classically trained singers projected and enunciate expertly despite no amplification. The cast has professional singers from both the Lyric Opera of Chicago and the Chicago Symphony Choruses. I was particularly impressed by the skilled comic chops from Nicholas Pulikowski who carried the lead with immense empathy. He gave one of the strongest performances seen on a Chicago stage this year!
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The dignified gentleman, Miguel de Cervantes, played with honest and geniuse charm by Natheniel Stampley, gradually yet unflinchingly wins the souls of his cellmates as he effectively weaves the story of Don Quixote. From Stampley’s powerful opening number “I, Don Quixote” we know we’re on an amazing journey. When Stampley nails the memorable anthem “The Quest (The Impossible Dream),” the show penetrates directly into our hearts.
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This cast creates a spell both with their acting/singing skill making this 80 minute show into a polished art piece that Beckett would enjoy as well as Newley and Brisusse. An Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse Songbook is a most entertaining revue with energetic singers covering a sophisticated songbook of almost forgotten composers. This review is a showcase for a fresh, youthful and amazingly talented newbie – Graham Thomas Heacock.
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Company rests on the shoulders of Bobby and I must state that Thom Miller played him with a proper detached and enigmatic turn just as the script necessitated. Miller has the good looks and the reserved smile that women find alluring. Miller’s strong vocals made “Someone is Waiting” and the pivotal “Mary Me a Little” his benchmark. Miller’s Bobby contains charm, comic aplomb and a controlled distance from his married counterparts. “Being Alive” demonstrated Miller’s vocal acumen. This anthem made Company truly Bobby’s show!
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So what would you do if there was only one day left to live and the world was going to be taken over by an unpredictable overflowing volcano? This is the premise of the show. There are scammers like Plankton (Nick Blaemire) who claims to want to save the world in order to make money. The hoarders of money like Mr. Krabs (Carlos Lopez) who thinks money is more important than family and tries to claw his way to the top (no pun intended-no yes it was). His daughter Pearl (Emmy Raver-Lampman) is always trying to get his attention without much success. However, when in sync, the two of them together can really belt out a tune Daddy Knows Best (Alex Ebert of Edward Share and the Magnetic Zeros).
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The Ben Hecht Show is filled with fine examples of Hecht’s brilliant writing that was expertly delivered by James Sherman. This is an important solo show that contains the wit, wisdom, and commitment of a major public figure to a worthy cause. Hecht’s story is in good hands with Sherman.
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I thought it might be challenging to bring my 9 year old daughter since this is so different from the other shows she is accustomed to seeing. She absolutely loved it and really understood it even pointing out some very valid observations to me. You are truly going to be thrilled once you attend this brand new beautiful Lake Forest theatre and performance of The Secret Garden.
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