Tom Williams

Maude is a working-class ‘every women’ played here by Janet Ulrich Brooks, one of the finest actress’s working in Chicago theatre today. She uses every female tactic from friendliness, to booze, to sex, to terror to assure that her elitist sophisticated art expert rates her painting a genuine Pollack. To Maude, her quest is about more than money.

92 year-old Mike Nussbaum magnificently delivers a complex performance as Lionel Percy, the New Yank art expert. He deftly explains the essence of art; how he uses “The Blink” to instantly discover if a an art work is authentic. These feelings together with years of examining thousands of art pieces makes his intuitive method of judging art to be accurate.

Linda Reiter grabs us and hold us throughout her 90 minute sole performance. My generation can still tell you where they were when John Kennedy was shot, so we still have a fascination with all things ‘Kennedy.’ Reiter channels Rose as she unflinchingly speaks of the triumphs and tragedies of the Kennedy clan. Along the way, we gain insights into Rose’s character, her subtle strength and her devotion to her family, especially her boys. We also become aware of the extreme influence of Joe Kennedy on the family.

The creatives at Light Opera Works, under the determined direction from Rudy Hogenmiller, have mounted a fabulous production of the1966 Broadway musical Mame, the show that necessitates a lady who can do comedy, act, sing and dance- a rarity in a middle aged performer. Rosalind Russell in 1957 in the comedy Auntie Mame , Angela Lansbury in 1966 Broadway musical, Lucille Ball in 1974 in the movie version of Mame. That character is one of the most charmingly lovable, vivid and endearing characters to grace the stage. Finding all the attributes in one person is difficult leading to few productions of Mame onstage.. My best guess is that Mame was last mounted in Chicago at Marriott Theatre in 2001.

Newsies delivers enough sheer energy with an adventurous story that depicts a worthy moral. This exciting show is filled with heart, empathetic characters as the boys win a round in quest of their place in the scheme of life in turn-of-the-Century New York. Newsies is a fine show filled with enough joy and energy to light up our holidays. It is much better than the film. Hurry, you have only until August 7th to see this fun show.