Violet—Griffin (1/15/18)

January 24, 2018March 20, 2018 theaterinchicagoreviews2 Comments

I remember the first time I saw Shrek: the Musical back in 2010. My expectations were low, having tired of the concept of putting cartoons on stage. Then the music started, and within a week I had taken another trip to the Cadillac Palace to see Shrek again. The songs (“I Know It’s Today,” “Who I’d Be,” “The Ballad Farquaad,” to name a few) were just that good.

Yet, I never made an important connection between many of my all-time favorite musicals: composer Jeanine Tesori. Paging through the program of Griffin Theater’s production of Violet, I discovered that the composer for this small musical, which I had never heard of despite a 2014 revival on Broadway starring Sutton Foster, had also written the music for Caroline, or Change, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Shrek, and Fun Home. In fact, Tesori is one of a small number of women to earn a Tony for Best Original Score (along with Lisa Kron for Fun Home).

Violet 2 — Will Lidke, Stephen Allen and Nicole Laurenzi

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Year in Review – 2017’s Best Musicals

January 5, 2018January 24, 2018 theaterinchicagoreviews3 Comments

Chicago provides such extensive theater offerings that I try to choose shows from as many theaters as possible when creating my end-of-the-year lists. In 2017, however, Writer’s Theater and the Paramount (along with Hamilton) stole the spotlight for their edgy musical productions.

#1. Jesus Christ Superstar – Paramount Theater

Every song in this production (directed by Ron Kellum) brought to life the struggle of a man exhausted by the expectation that he should be everything for everyone. The 26-member, astonishing cast was led by Mykal Kilgore (Judas), Felicia Boswell (Mary Magdelene), and Evan Tyrone Martin (Jesus)—each supplying an emotionally draining performance along with superlative vocals.

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Fun Home—Victory Gardens (11/1/17)

December 29, 2017 theaterinchicagoreviewsLeave a comment

“Welcome to the Fun Home” is one of those songs that stays in my head long after the show has ended. The three Bechdel children, standing in front of an open coffin, perform a joyous advertisement, which they wrote and choreographed, for their father’s funeral parlor. Every line from lyricist Lisa Kron masterfully captures the voice of childhood starting with… “Your uncle died / You’re feeling low / You’ve got to bury your mama / But you don’t know where to go.”

Fun Home 2 — Stella Rose Hoyt, Leo Gonzalez and Preetish Chakraborty

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Hamilton—CIBC Theater (10/4/2017)

October 23, 2017January 5, 2018 theaterinchicagoreviews2 Comments

Before I reveal my reactions to Hamilton, I’ll share a quick anecdote. I bought my ticket in July, and the best I could manage three months in advance was a restricted-view box seat for full price. Meanwhile, a group from my school coincidentally chose the same night to attend with students. Work generally seeps into every aspect of my life, so I hold theater as my one mecca for separation. Knowing 75 students would be in the theater filled me with a bit of anxiety—but since I could not ask the students to go another day, I decided to keep a low profile. Keep my head down; arrive just a minute before the curtain. That failed! Within seconds I was spotted. I received a text which indicated, to my surprise, that the students mistook the “Lincoln seats” as being a place for minor celebrities, and their excitement in seeing me in one was “palpable.”

Hamilton 1 — Miguel Cervantes as Alexander Hamilton (with cast).

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Hedwig and the Angry Inch—Oriental (3/16/17)

March 30, 2017 theaterinchicagoreviews3 Comments

The fall of the Berlin Wall inspires one of the most striking images from Hedwig and the Angry Inch. The stage goes black following the searing, heavy metal song “Angry Inch,” and when the lights fade in, Hedwig stares straight into space. And the audience laughs—not out of cruelty, but because, as Hedwig says, “I laugh, because I would cry if I don’t.”

Hedwig 2_resize — Euan Morton performs “Tear Me Down.”

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Year in Review — 2016’s Best Musicals

December 30, 2016January 17, 2017 theaterinchicagoreviews2 Comments

With so many phenomenal theater offerings in 2016, I took the easy road and split my “Year’s Best” list into Musicals and Non-musicals.

First, my picks for the top five musicals (check back tomorrow for the non-musicals):

#1. West Side Story — Paramount Theater

Yes, the leads were fantastic. And, yes, this Leonard Bernstein/Stephen Sondheim collaboration delivers one classic number after the next. However, director Jim Conti’s vision for a grittier, more modern West Side Story was the true star of this production. From beginning to end, the actors sizzled with rage, channeling deeply rooted perceptions of injustice into their singing, their choreography, and their fighting with the rival gang. A much needed reboot for a show that has clung stubbornly to the daintier interpretation immortalized 55 years ago by the film version.

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Finding Neverland—Cadillac Palace (11/25/16)

November 28, 2016 theaterinchicagoreviews1 Comment

One of the first shows I saw on Broadway was Beauty and the Beast*. Even at 15 years old, I remember feeling perplexed by a subplot that did not exist in the movie. Evidently, the Beast never learned to read, and Belle needs to teach him how to read, and when he is learning to read he transforms into a bratty child. “Told ‘ya!” is his response to Belle when he correctly predicts a plot twist in the book she is reading to him… a line that always elicits giggles from children in the audience.

Unlike Beauty and the Beast, which forces adults to cringe through that condescending subplot for only two minutes, Finding Neverland is a two-and-a-half hour extension of that legacy started by Beast’s illiteracy. In short: Broadway musicals marketed toward children are allowed to stunt character development and sacrifice plausibility by creating adult characters that transgress in maturity for the sake of “comedy.”

finding-neverland2 — Kevin Kern and Tom Hewitt

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Thrones! The Musical Parody—Apollo Theater (11/21/16)

November 22, 2016 theaterinchicagoreviews1 Comment

Midway through Thrones! The Musical Parody, I came to a realization. I have spent more time in Westeros than in any other literary kingdom.

As an audiobook reader, I am through book four (of five). I have listened to 121 CD’s regaling every strategic move, sexual relation, and torturous murder in George R.R. Martin’s series. That’s roughly 141 hours, which we can easily round up to 150 hours with the additional time spent on Wikipedia, where I have outsourced my memory of minor characters that disappear for thousands of pages and then reappear as critical players.

Even with 150 hours under my belt, I only caught about 70% of the jokes in Thrones! The Musical Parody, but my ignorance did not reduce my enjoyment of this Scottish import currently extended at the Apollo Theater through January 15. The jokes that flew over my head reinforced that the fan worship of Game of Thrones is just as ripe for mockery as the series itself.

thrones-1 — Nick Druzbanski, Madeline Lauzon, Caitlyn Cerza and Beau Nolen

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Man of La Mancha — Marriott (7/16/16)

July 17, 2016July 17, 2016 theaterinchicagoreviews1 Comment

With his unique staging of Man of La Mancha, director Nick Bowling appears to be on a quest of his own—whether that quest ends honorably or deteriorates into a fool’s errand is up to the individual theatergoer.

Man of La Mancha 2 — Nathaniel Stampley with the quartet performing “Little Bird, Little Bird”–(from top) Brandon Springman, Jonathon Butler-Duplessis, Bobby Daye, and Andrew Mueller.

Be aware that my reactions were distinctly out of sync with many in the audience, a majority of whom rushed to their feet during the standing ovation. Other theatergoers on the way out gushed about this new interpretation of a beloved classic. Bowling appears to have created a crowd pleaser.

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The SpongeBob Musical — Oriental Theater (6/9/16)

June 13, 2016June 22, 2016 theaterinchicagoreviewsLeave a comment

For those who have not spent any time watching SpongeBob Squarepants on Nickelodeon since its premier 17 years ago, the opening number of The SpongeBob Musical (“Bikini Bottom Day” written by Jonathan Coulton) provides a brief introduction of all of the major characters. For those that have watched the show, “Bikini Bottom Day” is a spectacle of creative yet simplified costuming. Mr. Krabs (Carlos Lopez) emerges wearing giant red boxing gloves to simulate his claws, Patrick Star (Danny Skinner) has a pointy pink haircut, and Squidward (Gavin Lee) wears a pair of pants with two false legs attached. With each character introduction, the audience laughs and sometimes even applauds… this is a show that knows thy audience.

SpongeBob 1

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