Must See Archives - Page 12 of 92

Chops

October 22, 2022July 17, 2016 by Tom Williams

Chops is a winner on many levels. It is a nostalgic remembrance of the Rush Street night club era as well as a clever con plot to gain cash. The Randy Steinmeyer and Daniel Patrick Sullivan have terrific stage rivalry with Larry Neumann, Jr. contributing passive stability. These outstanding actors under Richard Shavzin’s tight direction make this 88 minute one-act zing along. You’ll be engrossed into the world of jazz and conmen as the glimpse into a lost era finds these guys trapped into to who they are. This show is a treat.

Catch Me if You Can

October 23, 2022July 16, 2016 by Tom Williams

“Catch Me if You Can” is quite simply the classiest and splashiest community theatre production I have enjoyed in ages. Don’t be fooled by the venue. You may be walking into the Buffalo Grove Park District, but Big Deal Productions’ 2016 summer extravaganza matches and occasionally exceeds some Chicago Equity productions with ambition and the kind of scale rarely seen on any stage these days. Producer Lindsay Grandt and Director Ken Preuss have marshaled together an extraordinary company of volunteers who have committed themselves heart and soul to exploring a classic cat and mouse game in which the traditional roles of good guy and bad guy get turned upside down.

Operetta In Exile 2016

October 22, 2022July 13, 2016 by Tom Williams

Operetta in Exile begins with six songs from Die Blume von Hawaii, a 1931 collaboration between three Jewish artists, Paul Abraham, Alfred Grunwald, and Fritz Lohner-Beda. The story is typical of what defines an operetta: it is light-hearted, uses stock characters, and a formulaic plot. However, between the songs we learn about Abraham’s persecution at the hands of the Nazis.

David Carl’s Celebrity One-Man Hamlet

October 23, 2022July 13, 2016 by Tom Williams

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.

Between Riverside and Crazy

October 22, 2022July 11, 2016 by Tom Williams

Add the wonderful, two-level apartment set (designed by Collette Pollard) based on the look and feel of playwright Guirgis’ Manhattan apartment and the set becomes a character in the play! Riverside is filled with several monologues that are full of social commentary. Quotes like this one from Lulu: “I may look how I look, but that don’t mean I am how I look” add rich insights and honest humor and some sex.

Without giving away more, Between Riverside and Crazy is a master work, a terrific night of theatre as well as a timely honest look at racial issues especially dealing with cops. We see Eamonn Walker as the Battalion Chief on the TV series Chicago Fire-now see Walker in a fabulous live turn as the flawed ex-cop. Between Riverside and Crazy is one of the best plays of 2016, don’t miss it.

My Son the Waiter: A Jewish Tragedy

October 22, 2022July 11, 2016 by Tom Williams

Last February, as I sat reviewing a one-man play in a Florida theater, an immediate thought hit me: “This is a perfect show for Skokie!”

I was right! Brad Zimmerman’s My Son the Waiter: A Jewish Tragedy just opened at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts for a 4- week run, and it is a perfect match — just as funny and delightful the second time around as it was originally.

The Cousin from Nowhere 2016

October 22, 2022July 9, 2016 by Tom Williams

One of the joys at this operetta is in the fabulous 22 member orchestra, conducted by Anthony Barrese that sounded magnificent! The cast of classically trained singers projected and enunciate expertly despite no amplification. The cast has professional singers from both the Lyric Opera of Chicago and the Chicago Symphony Choruses. I was particularly impressed by the skilled comic chops from Nicholas Pulikowski who carried the lead with immense empathy. He gave one of the strongest performances seen on a Chicago stage this year!

The Book of Mormon (2016)

July 24, 2016July 3, 2016 by Tom Williams

Book, Music, and Lyrics by Trey Parker, Robert Lopez, and Matt Stone

Directed by Casey Nicholaw and Trey Parker

Choreographed by Casey Nicholaw

Musical Supervision by Stephen Oremus

Produced by Broadway in Chicago

Profanity and Scatology Make a Feel-Good Story

Before Hamilton arrives at The PrivateBank Theatre this fall, the last new musical to cause a sensation on Broadway, The Book of Mormon, is playing through the summer. Fans of Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s long-running adult cartoon South Park will be familiar with the two’s delight in filling their show with musical and dance numbers, as well as ripping authoritarian religions, and know that Mormonism has a weird, special place in the comic duos’ hearts.

Man of La Mancha at Marriott Theatre

September 6, 2017July 1, 2016 by Tom Williams

The dignified gentleman, Miguel de Cervantes, played with honest and geniuse charm by Natheniel Stampley, gradually yet unflinchingly wins the souls of his cellmates as he effectively weaves the story of Don Quixote. From Stampley’s powerful opening number “I, Don Quixote” we know we’re on an amazing journey. When Stampley nails the memorable anthem “The Quest (The Impossible Dream),” the show penetrates directly into our hearts.

The Grapes of Wrath

September 23, 2026July 1, 2016 by Tom Williams

Based on the Novel by John Steinbeck

Adapted by Frank Galati

Directed by Erica Weiss

Produced by The Gift Theatre, Chicago

Route 66 as a Place of Myth

In a production in Jefferson Park’s storefront Gift Theatre, Frank Galati’s adaptation of John Steinbeck’s renowned novel is zoomed in on more closely than ever, with the tiny playing space leaving room for little more than an intense examination of the characters played by a nineteen-member cast.