Chimerica is about an hour too long as it tries to cover too much mystery and too much backstory. While I was engaged throughout, eventually the work wore me out. Better motivation for Joe’s relentless search and more details why Lin finally resolved the mystery the way he did–why now? Coburn Goss and Norman Yap anchor a cast invested in the story.
Read MoreBest non-Equity Chicago Theatre
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The newest play from Chicago Dramatists resident playwright Dana Lynn Formby is the story of working women struggling to get by in a small Colorado town following the 2008 financial meltdown. American Beauty Shop is a story of our times, but doesn’t contribute very much to our understanding of financial stress, and the reasons for the central conflict in the play are downright bizarre.
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If you want to see an expert Broadway musical, this production of Chicago sure qualifies. If you’ve never seen Chicago and/or you’ve only seen the film, then do get to the Cadillac Palace to witness the “real” Chicago. There is nothing like a Bob Fosse dance show. Chicago is Fosse’s best. It is thrilling and so polished. Kudos to Broadway In Chicago for bringing back this classic. Hurry, it is only here through Sunday.
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This madcap musical comedy is written and presented in the style of those wacky 20-30’s style light-weight comedies that were an excuse to present dazzling songs. But here, Joe DiPietro has concocted a deliciously wild book filled with hilarious situations. This show is both fun and a terrific dance show to many fine Gershwin numbers. In its Chicagoland premiere, Nice Work If You Can Get It is a surprise hit.
Read MoreWhile I personally never cared much for Little Shop Of Horrors, I must report that the creatives at American Blues Theatre, under the smart leadership of director Jonathan Berry, have mounted a slick, funny and musically interesting production of the campy classic.
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After director Michael Weber narrated the history of Chess The Musical, I realized that this production was special: it was the first London rendition to grace an American stage. This 2 hour, 45 minute production is a mixture of modern operatic motifs with classic pop/rock music and rock-sung recitative.
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In an attempt to restore the emotional power of the 1900 play Three Sisters, three adapters, Earl H.E. Hill, Dan Christmann, and Andrej Visky have rewritten it for Theatre Y with just the title characters. For the first half of the play, director Visky employs a wide array of non-naturalistic staging choices to bring out the emotional core of each character, as they navigate the place where experience becomes memory, which becomes pining for Moscow. It contains all the unexpected, original, and striking visuals audiences appreciate in Eastern European-influenced companies. Then, halfway through, the staging stops, and the sisters just monologue to the audience until the lights go down.
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This spectacular, colorful, exquisitely sung production is a treat. You’d be hard pressed to see a finer production of this beloved classic. The casting was fine but I could see an older and more charismatic King yet Montalban sure had his moments. I was most impressed with production. You’ll be entertained and you’ll live humming the fabulous R & H tunes. “Shall We Dance” is still stuck in my head – it makes me want to polka!
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