The website for the touring company of If/Then boasted that it was the first Broadway show to begin its tour with the principle cast intact. That claim is a thin sugar coating over the bitter reality that the only draw to this misguided musical is its principle cast—specifically Idina Menzel.
Continue reading “If/Then — Civic Center in San Diego (1/9/16)”
Million Dollar Quartet has been a gift to the Chicago Theater community for eight years. Having seen Million Dollar Quartet twice before, I needed to catch the excitement once more before it closed its doors on January 17, and indeed this ode to rock ‘n’ roll’s early years improves with each viewing.
Continue reading “Million Dollar Quartet – Apollo Theater (12/30/16)”
The disgraced politician at the center of Bruce Norris’s Domesticated believes that he is a victim—a victim of natural biological urges, a victim of an anti-male society, a victim of the laws of physics.
Following a quick multi-media presentation on sexual dimorphism (that highlights gender dominance in a series of non-human species), Domesticated begins with the resignation of an urban politician named Bill (Tom Irvin) following a scandal that involves Bill injuring a teenage prostitute in a hotel room. Regardless of whether Bill pushed her or she fell by accident, she is in a coma and Bill must leave public service. Bill’s embarrassing inability to stick to his script as he meanders between public apology and incoherent justification of his actions is highlighted by his wife Judy (Mary Beth Fisher), who stands beside him with the icy stoicism.
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