After the original lead Sean Palmer got injured, Tony Yazbeck stepped in to play Don Lockwood (the Gene Kelly role). Together with an all-star cast of local Chicago talents, director Bill Jenkins’ Singin’ In the Rain unfolds as a dazzling production. True to the film, the Drury Lane Production is glitzy, glorious, and glamorous featuring one of the most memorable scores …
Sir Mark Elder led the Chicago Symphony Orchestra this evening in a generally very enjoyable selection of somewhat lesser-known works by prominent composers from outside the standard Germanic tradition.
Now the annual production of The Christmas Schooner has found a home at the Mercury Theater under the artistic direction of L. Walter Stearns and Eugene Dizon. This wonderful show is musically rich with memorable songs, rich harmonies and a truthful story of the brave sailors who sailed in the late 19th Century from Upper Michigan to Chicago from 1882 until 1912.
Featuring a heartfelt performance as George Bailey by Cliff Chamberlain with the versatile veteran actor Mike Nussbaum as Clarence the angel and Mr. Potter, American Theatre Company’s annual production of the radio play version of Frank Capra’s It’s A Wonderful Life is in terrific hands.
The cast is filled with fine performances. Gregg Matthew Anderson and Eliza Stoughton square off in a searing battle of the sexes while Dale Benson is the calming voice of wisdom as the waiter. Benson, always a Chicago treasure, is hilarious as usual in a larger role that he delivers with verve and class. Elaine Rivkin is the strong-will mother and Alex Weisman and C. Jay Miller are precious as the young siblings.
I must say that Larry Yando is the ultimate Scrooge. He moves from scary to pathetic to glowing kindness as he comes to grips with his folly. With a blend of terror and humor, Yando get us to first hate then love the money-hording old man.
Donizetti’s delightful Don Pasquale (1842), which opened today at Chicago’s Lyric Opera, is an embarrassment of bel canto riches, with a seemingly endless stream of glorious Italian melodies wedded to a lighthearted yet often witty comedic plot about an elderly man who gets more trouble than he bargained for when he decides in his 70s to finally get married.
Annie, played by Caroline Heffernan, seems slightly more modern than the era, slightly older than eleven, and sings some of her songs in a more modern pop style; but her acting fills the role very well. The other orphans, as well as butlers, maids and other adults do a superb job vocally.
This year I admired The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey more than last year. Maybe, it was because of the message or that this year’s production was tighter? What ever the reason, this wonderful show reached me better than most holidays shows. It is a family friendly affair.
Fred Anzevino and Jeremy Ramey have created a fine Christmas revue that is just the right thing for Saturday and Sunday matinee lovers who get-stressed by shopping. All they have to do is get to the No Exit Cafe in Rogers Park to hear four delightful singers and a fabulous piano and bass produce classic holiday tunes.