Although Goodman Theatre is now producing A CHRISTMAS CAROL for the 42nd year, and although I have seen the production four times myself, it still has an immense capacity to tug at the heartstrings. While the Goodman’s production has few surprises to reveal for repeat viewers at this point, the emotions of delight and humor I experienced on opening night reminded me why this production feels magical for so many. And because I attended the show with a first-time viewer, it was particularly special to share the Goodman’s brand of holiday joy. 

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Steppenwolf’s world premiere production of LINDIWE, a collaboration between ensemble member Eric Simonson and acclaimed South African music group Ladysmith Black Mambazo, finds the most success in its musical moments. The production, co-directed by Simonson and Jonathan Berry, features new music from Ladysmith Black Mambazo to tell the love story of the titular Lindiwe and her boyfriend Adam. It helps that the narrative focuses on Lindiwe’s experience as a singer touring with Ladysmith Black Mambazo—and, indeed, the group literally accompanies her at several moments throughout the production. Lindiwe explains that she never goes anywhere without her “guys,” as she affectionately refers to them. Thus, Ladysmith Black Mambazo functions as a kind of Greek chorus underscoring the romantic storyline at the play’s center. The conceit also allows for the play to utilize the group’s original music. 

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There’s nothing subtle about Lyric Opera’s staging of Jake Heggie and Terrence McNally’s contemporary opera DEAD MAN WALKING. Based upon the novel of the same name by Sister Helen Prejean, DEAD MAN WALKING focuses on Sister Helen’s relationship with 29-year-old Joseph De Rocher, a prisoner on death row in Angola, Louisiana convicted of the murder of a young couple (and the sexual assault of a young woman). While DEAD MAN WALKING clearly aims to be morally complex in its exploration of capital punishment and the notion of whether or not we should also treat criminals as human beings, the piece feels overwrought. The debate at the opera’s center is painted with broad strokes; at one point, we literally see protestors outside the prison holding picket signs depicting both sides of the argument.

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The Passage Theatre’s production of Preston Choi’s HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARS ROVER simultaneously centers on the immensity of the universe and the intimate, everyday moments that make up our human lives. Choi’s play, presented as 43 distinct but related vignettes,  reflects the human desire to search for familiarity and meaning in all that we come across. As embodied by the play’s title, that includes the human need to explore and find answers to the unknown: Is there life on Mars? And what is the meaning of our existence here on Earth relative to the rest of the universe?

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With direction by Michael Weber, Porchlight Music Theatre’s production of Andrew Lloyd Weber’s SUNSET BOULEVARD provides one wild ride of a musical evening. The musical’s storyline itself vacillates between the predictable and the shockingly dark and twisted. It chronicles the story of former silent movie star Norma Desmond as she descends further and further into madness. Based upon the film of the same name, Don Black and Christopher Hampton’s book paints a portrait of Norma as she continues to lose her grasp on reality (which was not all that firm to begin with) and as she plots an unrealistic comeback into the Hollywood spotlight. Hollis Resnik conveys all of Norma’s mania and desperation in a star-worthy performance. Though Norma has long faded from the limelight by the time audiences meet her in SUNSET BOULEVARD, Resnik commands the stage with ease. 

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The first Steppenwolf for Young Adults production of the season marks the return of Tarrell Alvin McCraney’s THE BROTHERS SIZE to the theater’s stage. McCraney wrote the play in 2007 and it had its Steppenwolf debut in 2010. In this new production with direction from Monty Cole, the piece’s exploration of brotherhood and the ties that bind remains no less relevant. 

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Isango Ensemble’s A MAN OF GOOD HOPE, now at Chicago Shakespeare Theater for a limited engagement as part of the theater’s WorldStage programming, pays homage to human resilience. Directed by Mark Dornford-May, the production incorporates the South African Isango Ensemble’s signature use of music and dance to tell the story of young Somali refugee Asad Abdullahi. After witnessing the death of his mother at the hands of the Somali militia, Asad travels across the continent in the hopes that he will survive and make a better life for himself. The play’s title comes from Jonny Steinberg’s book of the same name, but it is particularly poignant to watch the story unfold onstage. 

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Theresa Rebeck’s BERNHARDT/HAMLET, now in its Chicago debut at the Goodman with direction from Donna Feore, is a comedic takedown of gender politics in the theater—and, as an extension, in society at large. Set in 1899, the play is Rebeck’s fictional reimagining of famed French actor Sarah Bernhardt’s experience portraying one of the most canonical roles in the theater: Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Rebeck’s play is often amusing, and her script is full of witty dialogue and one-offs. While the play’s themes surrounding gender roles and how so often women in power are questioned are undoubtedly timely, some of the ways in which those themes manifest in BERNHARDT/HAMLET are rather too pointed. 

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Chicago Shakespeare Theater’s North American premiere of THE KING’S SPEECH is a wholly delightful theatrical affair, rife with British charm. While the Holocaust and World War II certainly loom as reluctant monarch Prince Albert, Duke of York (aka “Bertie”) ascends the throne after his older brother David voluntarily abdicates so he can marry the American divorcee Wallis Simpson, David Seidler’s play itself maintains a cheerful tone. The play focuses on Bertie’s journey to find his voice, both by committing himself to his service as the newly minted king of England but also as he works to overcome his stuttering with the help of eccentric speech therapist Lionel Logue. Seidler’s script suggests, of course, that Bertie wants to do this work so he can become an authoritative and effective leader worthy of England’s citizens. 

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