Chicago Critic Must See recommendations.
It’s fine to have funny Halloween stories, but the most lasting experiences are those that trigger fears like loneliness and regret. The Vandal packs a lot into its short run-time, and rewards its audience for their investment. This is a good show if you want to break up the drinking and zombies for the early part of an evening sometime this fall.
Danny Casolaro Died for You is the story of how the playwright’s cousin was found with his wrists slashed in a West Virginia hotel room under suspicious circumstances. Orlando’s story could easily have slid into propaganda or a boring series of interviews with lawyers and bankers, but instead, is the sort of psychological thriller more often seen on film than onstage.
This production of Don Giovanni is particularly well sung, especially by soprano and Ryan Opera Center alumna Andriana Churchman making her role debut as Zerlina. Her natural melodic singing was a joy to hear! She should be proud of her debut performance. The other cast members were terrific also. Marina Rebeka, a soaring soprano and soprano Ana Maria Martinez as Donna Elvira complimented the scorned ladies.
The actors have all found ways to incorporate Miller’s wordiness into their characters. Spencer and Montemurro spit syllables like machine-guns, but I always understood them, and accepted this behavior as a tic of people constantly anxious over their self-delusions. Spencer captures the defiant cheeriness of a man who knows he’s controversial for things he’d rather move past. You can see how Joe Keller charms people despite their better judgment. Montemurro’s Kate scares people into humoring her as much as she demands pity. Despite living in denial, she shares her husband’s ability to alternatively brow-beat and seduce people for her pragmatic purposes.
The Night Alive is a brilliantly constructed drama that unfolds as finely directed and beautifully acted work that leaves audiences moved and satisfied that their lives and their aspirations are in a better place than Tommy, Doc and Aimee. We are glad we shared their experiences of these very human souls as only a master playwright can present them. The Night Alive is one of the finest players seen on a Chicago stage this year! Don’t miss it.
I had the joyous opportunity to sit in the splatter zone, where I as well as the next 4 rows behind me got covered in fake blood. Cherry flavored fake blood! If you don’t want to be covered in fake blood, I highly advise that you don’t sit in the Splatter Zone. Now on the other hand, if you like that sort of thing and want to experience the blood almost like he’s chopping YOU up with a chainsaw, then I highly advise that you pay the extra few bucks to become part of the show and sit in the Splatter Zone. I highly recommend this production to my fellow fans of camp and carnage who just so happen to also love singing and shotguns. It’s quite an experience!
Entering Theo Ubique’s space in the No Exit Café feels like going back in time, an illusion aided by Bill Morey’s Act I costumes. Kellie Cundiff (soprano), Christopher Logan (baritone), Jordan Phelps (tenor), Michael Reyes (bass), and Jill Sesso (mezzo) appear as gritty early twentieth century tramps. The men’s angular facial hair and makeup put a skeletal accent on their cheekbones. I felt drawn into the dissolute Berlin cabaret of the 1920’s world before the music had even started.
His home, his family, and his trappings hold him as a prisoner in life. As he struggles to find a place for himself in a world whose prejudice and racism has shut him out, Bigger suffers from such low self-esteem that when he looks in the mirror, he sees not himself, but what society wants him to be – their “native son.”
Bernie Yvon had just recently celebrated his 50th birthday when he was killed by a Semi truck driving to rehearsal. He was scheduled to play a taxi driver in the musical “Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown” at Theatre at the Center in Munster, Indiana. George Andrew Wolff will assume the role and the production will now open on September 21, with a tribute to Bernie planned following the show. Yvon was fortunate to be a working actor, and it was abundantly clear that he loved what he did as much as audiences loved watching him.
This show is wildly entertaining as Tony explains how important painting birds has been to him. He quotes Wallace Stevens’ poem “Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird, ” a meaningful poem to Tony. To visit several artists and urban personalities to get an unique view of their take on Chicago, birds and, of course, artistic mentors. Tony and Stan are folks worth getting to know. Their honesty, outspokenness and talent shines in this special show that easily makes us laugh and appreciate these characters. I guess Tony will always be a “Chicago legend” even if he leaves for the Big Easy.