Writing in 1921, Janáček benefits from early explorations of human psychology and creates a moving drama devoid of excess. Katya may be of the same lineage as Madama Butterfly, but Janáček trims the fat to make his opera just over 2 hours with intermission. Lyric’s production mirrors the sparseness, affording the drama more psychological space in which to explore.
Florence Foster Jenkins (1868-1944) has been called “The First Lady of the Sliding Scale,” “The Terror of the High C’s,” and the “The Tone-deaf Diva.” She sure was all of those yet she was a devoted musician with a deep passion for music despite not having a shred of musical ability
The Pillowman is filled with a series of wonderfully presented storytelling (mostly presented by Andrew Jessop as Kuturian) that were creatively staged in this production. The terror builds once we learn that three murders actually happened almost exactly like those in Katurian’s stories. Once we meet Katurian’s simple-minded brother Michal (Peter Oyloe in a winningly eerie performance) we experience how effective stories can influence behavior.
the guys at The House went out to find some new blood and indeed they have found journalist/playwright Mark Guarino and the excellent music from legend Jon Langford. Under the smart and clever direction of Tommy Rapley and with the everyman qualities of Nathan Allen as Lofty Deeds–the elements of a memorable show are present.
Julie Shannon’s folksy score sounds terrific with more instruments including a cello, percussion, reeds, harp and keyboards. Her vocals, especially the choral harmonies, sounded with more depth. Her anthems: “We All Have Songs” and “What is It About The Water” haunt us and set the mood nicely.
Theatre Seven of Chicago offers another enchanting world premiere with Brian Golden’s Cooperstown. With hints of Lanford Wilson and an ode to William Inge’s Bus Stop, playwright Brian Golden’s Cooperstown is an ambitious 95 minute one-act that tightly covers several stories.
Democracy tries hard to work as a farce-within-a-farce moving from satire to high drama. Basically, Democracy delivers the troubled style from Linney due to the skills of the cast
Veteran Chicago comic Will Clinger’s promising new one man show–Dr. Harlon’s Key to Better Living, now in an entertaining world premiere at the Royal George Theatre, is a clever, funny spoof of those late night TV self-help guru/infomercial celebrity Dr. Harlon Stewar
With whimsical staging by director Richard Cotovsky and a cast of players sporting mostly authentic middle class contemporary British accents, How to Disappear Completely and Never be Found unfolds as a searing indictment of the foibles of modern society so filled with dehumanizing rituals, long working hours and electronic devices that render personal communication obsolete.
This script reaches a bit towards the comic sense of Orwell’s “1984” Orwell called Serious sport ,war without the shooting as it is filled with hate ( we hate the other team) jealousy ( how did they get him to play that well?), bragging ( just think of the Sox World Series several years ago and the taunting those fans gave our Cub fans) and the pleasure of beating the snot out of the other guys.