LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE, now in a regional premiere production at Chicago Theatre Workshop, heartily captures the quirky personality of the 2006 Academy Award winning film upon which it’s based. Writing team William Finn and James Lapine (known for their previous collaborations on FALSETTOS and A NEW BRAIN) have keenly musicalized some of the film’s most oddball moments. In that great tradition of musical theater, Finn has cleverly located all the song buttons in LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE, and all the numbers fall neatly in service of the narrative. Under Maggie Portman’s direction (she also choreographed), this production moves along at a brisk and hilarious pace. Nick Sula provides musical direction that makes nice use of few musicians.

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In putting together American Theater Company’s current production of William Inge’s classic play PICNIC, Artistic Director Will Davis said he wanted his cast “to reflect the playwright and the powerful forces in his own psyche that kept him from happiness and fulfillment.” Indeed, the actors Davis has cast certainly unlock a great deal of humanity in PICNIC’s characters. As outsider Hal, Molly Brennan delivers a particularly inspired performance and bestows an immense depth of feeling into her role. While this is the first time I’ve seen a staging of PICNIC, I imagine that Hal is often played more broadly and more stereotypically typecast as a “macho” man—aggressive and assertive. In Brennan’s Hal, however, there is a beautiful earnestness and genuine desire for acceptance and belonging. This also makes Hal’s desire for Madge (Malic White) a more powerful longing for human connection. Alongside Brennan, White’s Madge also has a similar desire for understanding—though the role could be played more desperate still. White’s self-assured take on the character does not allow Madge to emit as much desperation as she might.

Continue reading “Will Davis Casts An Imaginative, Modern Lens on William Inge’s PICNIC” →

Theater Wit’s Chicago premiere production of Anne Washburn’s 10 OUT OF 12 presents a novel concept: audience members don headsets as they dive into tech rehearsal for a fictional theatrical production. As the play unfolds, so does tech—warts and all. Under the guidance of the Stage Manager (Dado), we are invited to observe a 10-hour day (though the actual run-time is 2 hours and 40 minutes) in the theater as the company painstakingly works to integrate the design elements into the final staged production. Because this involves some pre-recorded bits literally in the audience’s ears, director Jeremy Wechsler has incorporated some fun cameos for Chicago audiences: Martha Lavey as Lights, John Mahoney as Electrics, and Peter Sagal as Sound, among others.

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Under the direction of Lili-Anne Brown, Kokandy Productions’ staging of THE WIZ radiates joy, and at the performance I saw Saturday night, the audience was soaking up every single joyful moment. From my vantage point, I can say that the audience reaction comes from the satisfaction of watching a solid musical theater production that leans into the musical numbers and embraces this all-black version of the classic THE WIZARD OF OZ to milk it for every possible ounce of delight and vibrancy. All of the ensemble members onstage seem to be truly enjoying themselves, and that energy is undeniably infectious.

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In Kurtis Boetcher’s set design for Marcus Gardley’s world premiere A WONDER IN MY SOUL, the backdrop for the South Side beauty shop where the play is set prominently displays the photographs of black female icons ranging from Diana Ross to Beyonce—and all of course have fabulous hair in the photos. And as we learn in the play, Aberdeen “Birdie” Calumet (Greta Oglesby) and Bell Grand Lake’s (Jacqueline Williams) fictional beauty shop has played host to a number of these famous black women over the years. But what Gardley’s play does so beautifully is take the story of these specific, everyday characters and lend a universality to them. The play takes place primarily in 2008 but shows us flashbacks of young Birdie (Camille Robinson) and young Bell (Donica Lynn) as they make their way from Mississippi to settle in Chicago and start their business. Along the way, Gardley weaves a narrative that is warm and sometimes funny but also ultimately serious and touching. And as one would expect, Johnny Jamison’s hair and wig design is just superb.

Continue reading “Victory Gardens’ World Premiere A WONDER IN MY SOUL Pays Loving Homage to Chicago’s South Side and Female Friendship” →