we learn about the Chicago Police Chief Francis O ‘Neill with a fine assortment of Irish tunes from those he chronicled. Presented as a fresh, more tuneful 1 hour 15 minute show, each Sunday at 4 pm, folks can enjoy the amazing story of a “music mad” man whose obsession led him to preserve Irish music for all-time. This show needs to become a staple of Chicago theatre.
Read MoreIn keeping with their tradition of producing “in-your-face, gritty Chicago-style theatre,” Profiles Theatre has mounted the Midwest premiere of Rhett Rossi’s In God’s Hat. This is a 90 minute, heart-stopping drama filled with dark humor, reflections on family values, as well as unique perspectives on God and the Bible. We experience the extremes of humanity played out by a group of low-life fringe folks in a flea-back grungy motel somehow in rural New York State.
Read MoreConversations on a Homecoming. Set in a dingy pub outside of Galway, Ireland (realistic set design by Mike Mroch), Conversations on a Homecoming is a wordy, often witty, group of conversations among four 30-somethings Irishmen upon the return from New York of Michael (Adam Soule). He left Galway in search of his dream to be an actor in film and stage in America.
Read MoreWritten about a Chicago family trapped in a two-bedroom apartment on the South Side of Chicago, A Raisin in the Sun is one of the finest plays of the 20th Century (it is Number 9 on my list). Based loosely on Hansberry’s own family experience integrating a white Chicago neighborhood, A Raisin in the Sun follows the events of the Younger family as they struggle to get their part of the American dream. This family believes that a better life is just around the corner.
Read MoreThe Color Purple – The Musical is a smart adaptation of Alice Walker’s novel and Stephen Spielberg’s film. The musical found a seamless way to bridge the 40 year span cover here (1909-1949). Filled with powerful voices and musical styles ranging from work songs, blues, gospel, R & B to honky tonk, jazz, be-bop and swing, The Color Purple – The Musical is a toe-tapping sophisticated gem. Eugene Dizon’s reductions worked to give the score a rich flavor despite only eight musicians in the pit.
Read MoreIscariot is a passion play wherein Guirgis has done his research as he tackles Catholic religious doctrine about the conflict between divine mercy and the personal choices due to human free will. Guirgis wonders why Judas Iscariot was condemned to hell for eternity when other apostles were give forgiveness by Jesus? Judas is on trial to determine if he is eligible for redemption.
Read MoreThe musical plays out as a series of sketches with over-blown incomprehensible production numbers sung badly in that irritating Broadway pop-rock style to a collection of the worse choreography danced by a cast that can neither sing, act or dance. The labor dispute at the heart of the piece is trivialized to the point that both the players and the owners come off as idiots being traumatized by a directorial commissioner.
Read MoreIt isn’t clear what Annie is looking for. Act one sets up an interesting agenda but unfortunately the play fizzles in act two. Anne Bosh is Missing wonders adrift and ends up with a series of melodramatic resolutions. While it is fine not to tie up all lose ends in a play. a playwright must not leave major items unresolved or resolved in a preposterous or cliched manner.
Read MoreWithout giving away too much, let me state that Edith Freni’s plotting and her rich characters expertly play by the cast are engaging and real. From Vaccaro’s bittersweet mother to Tom’s stoic father to Monica’s hot-cold emotional swings to Noah’s character contradictions, Buena Vista tackles the diluted family dynamic into a bizarre nightmare played out in a snow storm.
Read MoreI sure do applaud the efforts of a new ensemble, Underscore Theatre Company, as the have mounted a promising new musical -PrOne -The Casting Couch Musical Comedy. Unfortunately, their collective efforts were more ambitious than their theatrical skills. By far the best element of PrOne is the music. It contains a pastiche of styles ranging from classic Broadway to patter songs to gospel to Broadway pop-rock. There are ballads, comic tunes and strong anthems
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