Must See

It is always a special treat (and a throw-back to the Golden Age of Broadway musicals) when the creatives at Light Opera Works mount a show. Using a full (29 piece) orchestra, the full original orchestrations without cutting essential elements, Light Opera Works offers Broadway musical and operetta lovers a rare treat – original styled productions.

“Change the World” follows John Chapman (empathetic work by Nicholas Harazin), who as a child, in writing, wrote his life goals on a paper as a constant reminder and motivator. Among the items John strives for: being first in both his high school and college class, working, then owning Goldman Sachs and becoming a billionaire by age 35. With this ‘wiz’-kid’ all these are possible as John has a razor focus about his goals. But something happens during his initial interview with Goldman Sachs, actually before the interview when his alarm fails to go off and his life plans change dramatically. He awakes to a life he never imagined.

We find out the story as the seven characters weave facts with opinions clouded in personal bias. Deborah Staples is so convincing as each character that we easily “see” each. From the vengeful redhead to the manipulative neighbor to the slob husband to the innocent four-year old boy and onward to the butch doctor to the old lady, Deborah Staples quickly, before our eyes, becomes each in a remarkable truthful transformation. This is tour de force acting if there ever was any!

We learn the earth’s population at key times as well as markings of key scientific breakthroughs such as the invention of agriculture, fire and/nor crude implements that allowed man to manipulate his environment. As time goes backward, we see how insignificant man real is in the scope of hundreds of million years the earth and ultimately the universe have existed.

We see how such news and the guys inability to help Pearson gets them focused less on themselves and more on common goals. Loyalty and true friendship leads to Bruce Pearson having his last days spent in total acceptance and some glory from his teammates. Devoids of sentimentality, Bang The Drum Slowly, plays out as an uplifting story of how friendship and loyalty can make life worth living and acceptance of one’s fate can liberate the soul. This is a heartwarming story that covers much more than baseball – it’s about how awkwardly we deal with death and how the basic goodness of an individual can inspire at team.

The characters here are colorful, eccentric and so Irish. From Mammy (Kathleen Ruhl) Johnnypateenmike’s 90 year old drunken mother – to Kate who talks to a stone -to cruel Helen who enjoys breaking eggs over her brother’s head -to Billy who has to endure the savage jokes and nasty name calling–all are struggling to escape the boredom of rural life. Josh Salt’s empathetic Cripple Billy and Brian Parry’s hilarious turn as the town gossip are the featured performances among the fine ensemble work contained here.

Writers’ Theatre creative prowess and strong attention to production values gives their production of A Little Night Music the elegance and presence that exudes enough charm to warm the soul. Writers’ A Little Night Music is a major tour de force not only for Jonathan Weir but for the production itself. This may be the finest production of Sondheim’s chamber operetta yet to be mounted on a Chicago stage! This gorgeous work begs to be seen. You’ll not hear finer singing anywhere.