3C attempted to be a perky funny mock of Three’s Company with two weirdly dysfunctional girls living in Santa Monica that need a third roommate to pay expenses so they take a guy as their third. In order to appease their landlord, they have him play as a gay man. But Nick Mikula, as Brad, never convinces anyone that he could possibly be gay. His friend Terry (Steve Haddard) continues to invite him to discos to meet easy girls.
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This production comes complete with town bullies, a frozen flag pole and a very commanding school teacher (Kayla Boye). This is a larger than life production on a fairly small stage and yet the cast of 26 pulled it off seamlessly. Creative use of the staging takes us into the kitchen most of the time after all, that is where most of the action is happening. The most exciting of holiday dinners gets destroyed when disaster strikes and they end up eating out at a Chinese restaurant which the only place open in town. Who knew that little brother Randy liked noodles so much?
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Paramount Theatre led all theatres with 14 nominations, all for musicals in the Large Theatre category. “West Side Story” received seven, “Oklahoma!” four, “Hairspray” two, and “A Christmas Story, the Musical” one. Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Goodman Theatre, and Porchlight Music Theatre each had 12 nominations. Chicago Shakespeare’s nominated productions included five for “The Tempest”, four for “Ride the Cyclone”, two for “The Heir Apparent”, and one for “Othello”. Goodman’s nominations included five each for “2666” and “War Paint”, and one each for “The Matchmaker” and “The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window”. Porchlight, a mid-sized theatre, garnered six for “Dreamgirls”, four for “Sideshow”, and two for “Far from Heaven”.
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Stephen Adly Guirgis’s early work Our Lady of 121st Street is one of the most popular sources of scenes and monologues for actors in training. With a large, diverse cast of troubled and bizarre characters, it provides ample opportunity for performers to make memorable impressions in just a few minutes. The play is also a snapshot of a community, instead of a traditional story, and therefore, it’s interesting to see how a professional production handles it.
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Why do a show about a possibly brain-damaged actor interpreting every role in Hamlet with the aid of puppets, projections, facial spasms, and acronyms? The answer, “Busey” says, is to prove that he can. And for a hilarious seventy-five minutes, we can watch a slow-rolling disaster interlaced with occasional flashes of genius as Carl pars down Shakespeare’s longest play into a rapid-fire series of commentaries, deluded sidetracks, and high tragedy.
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In its short history so far, the Windy City Playhouse has become known for making its comfortable, upscale venue with its well-stocked bar an integral part of every show performed there. And though the fledgling company has staged a wide variety of work, the most common theme of its plays are the relationship problems of well-to-do East Coasters. It’s not a bad combination of atmosphere and play selection, but the company could doubtlessly do better than Melissa James Gibson’s This, a 2009 play with detestable characters and overly indulgent dialogue.
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Company rests on the shoulders of Bobby and I must state that Thom Miller played him with a proper detached and enigmatic turn just as the script necessitated. Miller has the good looks and the reserved smile that women find alluring. Miller’s strong vocals made “Someone is Waiting” and the pivotal “Mary Me a Little” his benchmark. Miller’s Bobby contains charm, comic aplomb and a controlled distance from his married counterparts. “Being Alive” demonstrated Miller’s vocal acumen. This anthem made Company truly Bobby’s show!
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Safe to say, the scope of topics played upon is wide enough that if you live in America and have Internet or cable, you’ll be heartily entertained.
This was only my second foray into Chicago’s sketch-comedy scene, but it’s not hard to see why The Second City is so highly regarded: the energy never lagged, the jokes always landed for someone (particularly the guy across the aisle from me), and the agit-prop nimbly toed the line between discomfort and comedy. I can’t imagine sketch comedy gets any better than this.
Read MoreWritten by Jackie Taylor & Jimmy Tillman Directed by Jackie Taylor At the Black Ensemble Theater, Chicago Silky smooth nostalgic
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