Year in Review–2022’s Best Musicals

January 16, 2023July 20, 2023 theaterinchicagoreviewsAddie Morales, Alex Goodrich, Anna Marie Abbate, Ashton Norris, Austin Nelson, Caleigh Pan-Kita, Chicago Lyric Opera, Chicago Shakespeare, Copley Theater, Drake Wunderlich, Drury Lane Oakbrook, Elizabeth Stenholt, Emilie Modaff, Evita, Fiddler on the Roof, Fun Home, Godspell, Goodman Theater, Heidi Kettenring, Hello Dolly, Honey West, Jeffrey Kringer, John Cordoza, Jordan Tyson, Josh Houghton, Life After, Marriott Lincolnshire, Mercury Theater, Milla Liss, Milwaukee Rep, Paul Alexander Nolan, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Rebecca Hurd, Richard Bermudez, Roosevelt University, Samantha Williams, Shaun White, Steve Pacek, Steven Skybell, The Notebook Musical, The Pajama Game, Theo Ubique, Titanic the MusicalLeave a comment

My list of the top 10 musicals of 2022 is a little belated. Note that I focused on Chicago-based productions, but this was also an outstanding year from Broadway-in-Chicago with traveling companies of Hadestown and Come From Away visiting early in the year, and Six holding a residency for several months at the CIBC.

#1 Fiddler on the Roof (Lyric Opera)

In the opening scene of director Barrie Kosky’s production (which he originated in Berlin), a modern American boy opens his bedroom closet to find not just Tevye but the entire tremendous cast stream through a set of double doors onto the crowded stage. The impact is a masterful articulation of the way that Fiddler connects the decedents of immigrants to the cultural hardships their ancestors reluctantly left behind. Steven Skybell as Tevye led an outstanding cast, and set designer Rufus Didwiszuz created the most memorable effect I can even remember viewing by covering the vast Lyric Opera stage with snow for the second act.

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Year in Review–2022’s Best Non-musicals

December 31, 2022January 16, 2023 theaterinchicagoreviewsAll's Well that Ends Well, American Blue Theater, Auditorium Theater, Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival, Chicago SHakespeare Theater, Choir Boy, Copley Theater, Drury Lane Oakbrook, Fences, Good Night Oscar, Goodman Theater, Janni Younge, National Geographic Live, Relentless, Remy Bumppo, Routes, Steel Magnolias, Steppenwolf Theater, The Bluest Eye, The Chinese Lady, Timeline Theater2 Comments

Here are my choices for the top 10 non-musical productions of the year.

#1 Good Night, Oscar (Goodman)

Sean Hayes brought in sell-out audiences for his portrayal of Oscar Levant – a man that manages to earn a laugh with every sardonic, controversial, self-deprecating statement that escapes his mouth. Doug Wright’s script, which focuses on a night when Levant took temporary leave from a mental asylum to appear on Jack Paar’s The Tonight Show, climaxes with Hayes’ jaw-dropping performance of Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue.” Hayes won the Jeff Award for his performance, and I suspect he will be a frontrunner for the Tony Award when Good Night, Oscar premiers on Broadway in April.

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Sweat—Copley Theater (4/9/22)

April 10, 2022April 19, 2022 theaterinchicagoreviewsAndrea J Diamond, Aurora, Copley Theater, Lynn Nottage, Paramount Bold Series, Sweat1 Comment

The Paramount Theater made a fitting choice for the inaugural play of their new Bold series at the Copley*, which is a small venue across the street from their much larger playhouse in downtown Aurora. Sweat won the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for its insightful examination of factors that have contributed to the polarization of America. Its characters and themes were very relevant during its Chicago premier at the Goodman in 2019, and (sadly) they feel even more relevant today.

Shariba Rivers (Cynthia), Randy Steinmeyer (Stan) & Tiffany Bedwell (Jessie)

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