U.S. premiere production of Jack Godfrey’s new musical about “Lawn Chair Larry” plays through June 29 

“What makes a man try to fly in a lawn chair?” is 42 BALLOONS most repeated lyric. It’s on the nose — and it’s repeated across six interludes in Jack Godfrey’s new musical. Based on the real-life story of Larry Walters, who in 1982 reached a height of 16,000 feet flying a lawn chair accompanied by 42 leather balloons, the musical is squarely focused on that answer. It’s ambitious and charming to make a musical about one plotline (there’s no “B” storyline). The musical endears audiences to Larry (played as a true charming nerd by Charlie McCullagh). 

Continue reading “Review: 42 BALLOONS at Chicago Shakespeare Theater” →

DIANA, the titular musical about the beloved late princess now in its Chicago premiere at Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre, has three songs dedicated to her wardrobe. This seems only fitting for the style icon. I was most eager to hear a particular lyric from her 11 o’clock number “The Dress,” in which Diana takes dressing for revenge to new heights. The lyric may have been mocked on Broadway, but let me tell you, Diana’s assistant and royal advisor Burrell (here played by Jon Parker Jackson) milks the lyric about her “f*ckity f*ckity f*ck you dress” for all its worth. (I think it helps that surely Jackson was aware of the lore around this lyric by the time this production was staged). It’s not subtle, but it works.

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This co-production with Playwrights Horizons and Vineyard Theatre of Jordan Harrison’s new play r runs through June 1

Jordan Harrison’s new play THE ANTIQUITIES asks the question, “What does it mean to be human?” It opens with two museum curators inviting the audience to tour a museum displaying relics from the late human era…with the implication that said place exists in a post-human one. This is the first play I’ve seen that specifically tackles A.I. and technology…and the potential ramifications of letting that go unchecked. 

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The co-production with Atlanta’s Alliance Theatre runs through May 18, 2025

Zora Howard’s BUST: AN AFROCURRENTIST PLAY opens with a mystery. In Huntsville, Alabama, Retta (Caroline Stefanie Clay) and Reggie (Ray Anthony Thomas) witness an all too familiar interaction between their friend Randy (Keith Randolph Smith) and two police officers — Tomlin (Mark Bedard) and Ramirez (Jorge Luna). But in the wake of Randy’s rage at the officers, something mysterious and surprising happens…keeping him safe from harm. It’s tough to write about the specifics of BUST because to reveal some of the play’s secrets is to ruin the mystery for audiences. But Howard’s set-up essentially asks the question: What happens when Black rage is repackaged into a magical force and potentially one to keep the person experiencing it safe? 

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The Chicago-area premiere of Joshua Harmon’s 2024 Tony-nominated play runs through May 25 at Northlight Theatre 

Joshua Harmon’s sprawling and ambitious PRAYER FOR THE FRENCH REPUBLIC is a searing and inquisitive look at contemporary Judaism and anti-Semitism. Harmon’s play spans multiple generations of the Salomon family, French Jews grappling with questions of safety and Jewish identity. The action alternates between the mid-2010s and the 1940s. 

Continue reading “Review: PRAYER FOR THE FRENCH REPUBLIC Chicago-Area Premiere Co-Produced by Northlight Theatre and Theater Wit” →

The Chicago premiere of Suzan-Lori Parks’s play runs through May 18, 2025 

I usually appreciate when plays show and don’t tell, but THE BOOK OF GRACE really needs more exposition. Directed by Steve H. Broadnax III. Steppenwolf’s production is a new version of Parks’s 2010 play, expanded from its original 100-minute run-time to two and a half hours. Even with the extra run time, playwright Suzan-Lori Parks relies far too heavily on subtext that isn’t revealed to the audience.

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The TITANIC parody musical featuring an all-Chicago cast runs through July 13, 2025

Near, far, wherever you are…you need to see TITANIQUE if you love musicals and parody. Porchlight Music Theatre’s production, presented in partnership with Broadway In Chicago, easily passes the Marie Kondo test: This show sparks immense joy. I haven’t had this much fun or laughed this hard at the theater in awhile. With book by Marla Mindelle, Constantine Rousoli and Tye Blue, TITANIQUE tells the story of James Cameron’s TITANIC movie. But this time none other than Celine Dion narrates the events. With direction from Blue and resident direction from Porchlight Music Theatre Artistic Director Michael Weber, the all-Chicago company keeps the laughs coming a mile a minute (or, I guess I should say, a knot a minute, this being a TITANIC parody). 

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The U.S. premiere of The Kinks jukebox musical runs through April 27, 2025

If you enjoy the music of The Kinks, you’ll enjoy SUNNY AFTERNOON — especially if you want to hear the songs sung well. British actors Danny Horn and Oliver Hoare reprise their roles from the West End as Ray and Dave Davies, respectively, who along with Mick Avory (Kieran McCabe) and Pete Quaife (Michael Lepore) comprised the band’s four founding members. The show features music and lyrics by Ray Davies, with a book from Joe Penhall based on an original story by Ray Davies. I think that’s telling because while it’s a blast to hear The Kinks’ iconic songs performed by great talent, the storytelling isn’t as taut. 

Continue reading ” Review: SUNNY AFTERNOON, The Kinks Musical, at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre” →

The production of Sam Shepard’s Pulitzer Prize finalist one-act runs through March 23, 2025

FOOL FOR LOVE has peak Steppenwolf energy. I’ve long associated Steppenwolf Theatre Company with gritty, messy, feral family and relationship dramas — Sam Shepard’s one-act fits the bill. It’s also only 65 minutes — that run-time is short, but it’s a logical choice in the TikTok era when attention spans are, too. An hour is still plenty of time for genius Steppenwolf ensemble member Caroline Neff to go toe-to-toe with Nick Gehlfuss (who audiences might recognize from CHICAGO MED) as toxic couple May and Eddie. While the 1980s time period is deeply felt (no cell phones here) and the run-down motel room somewhere in the Mojave desert setting is classic Shepard, the way May and Eddie fight seems entirely modern. The couple’s crazy mood swings and spats have been replicated by many Netflix series since. 

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James Ijames’s 2022 Pulitzer Prize-winning FAT HAM is an uproariously funny reinvention of HAMLET. In Ijames’s version, the Prince of Denmark becomes Juicy, an early twenties queer Black man living somewhere in the American South (the script notes “a house in North Carolina” or that it could be Maryland, Tennessee, or Virginia, but that it’s definitely not Alabama, Florida, or Mississippi — “That’s a different thing altogether.”) Juicy (Trumane Alston) wants to be left in peace so he can come to terms with his father’s untimely death and earn an online degree in Human Resources from the University of Phoenix. But no such luck — the play finds Juicy forced to throw together a wedding celebration for his mother Tedra (Anji White) and his uncle/brand-new stepfather Rev (who looks a lot like Juicy’s father, Pap, both hilariously played by Ronald L. Conner).

Continue reading “Review: FAT HAM Goodman Theatre” →