Porchlight Artistic Director’s intimate staging of Sondheim’s 1981 musical MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG vividly brings to life this piece that chronicles the lives of three close friends as they attempt to gain professional success as artists. While composer Frank Shepard strikes it big as a Hollywood film composer and producer, he leaves his closest friends—lyricist and playwright Charley Kringas and writer Mary Flynn—in the dust. Despite its sunny title, MERRILY is a rather cynical musical about friendship and the revelation that it’s quite lonely at the top. The twist—and one of the main reasons why MERRILY is rarely produced and challenging to stage—is that the musical takes place in reverse chronological order. We see these three “Old Friends” move from jaded success stories back to idealistic hopefuls just starting their careers and forging their tight-knit friendships. MERRILY makes a great deal of sense right now because we are living in mighty cynical times—and watching these central characters contend with the demands of Hollywood has an added sting in this moment.

Continue reading “Review: MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG at Porchlight Music Theatre” →

Court Theatre Artistic Director Charles Newell lends a deft hand to this stunning, newly searing production of Arthur Miller’s ALL MY SONS. Though Miller’s classic play takes place in 1946, the all-star ensemble makes the plight of the crumbling Keller family feel raw and altogether present. From the moment “thunder” comes shattering down on John Culbert’s set as the play begins (lights by Keith Parham and sound by Andre Pluess), ALL MY SONS spirals towards an inevitable tragic end. While this foreboding scene alludes to the darkness to come, Newell’s staging still has a lovely progression in which the tragic moments amount to a larger, all-encompassing gloom.

Continue reading “Review: ALL MY SONS at Court Theatre” →

Aziza Barnes’s BLKS is often funny, often vulgar, and sometimes heartbreaking. Now in a world premiere staging at Steppenwolf, BLKS chronicles 24 hours in the lives of three young black women in their early 20s living in New York City. Barnes’s playwriting is achingly real and naturalistic, while also showcasing the playwright’s poetic chops. In Octavia (Nora Carroll), Imani (Celeste Cooper), and June (Leea Ayers), Barnes has given us three unique and beautifully written characters navigating a tumultuous moment in their young lives.

Continue reading “Review: BLKS at Steppenwolf Theatre Company” →

Griffin Theatre’s stunning production of VIOLET will simultaneously make hearts ache and soar. With music by Jeanine Tesori and libretto by Brian Crawley, director Scott Weinstein’s raw, heartfelt staging has a stellar cast that finds every moment of joy and sorrow possible in the material.

Continue reading “Review: VIOLET at Griffin Theatre” →

BEAUTIFUL THE CAROLE KING MUSICAL, one of the most well-constructed and delightful jukebox musicals I’ve ever seen, has arrived back in Chicago just in time for the holiday season. This empowering musical about singer-songwriter Carole King has enough emotional impact to make your heart burst. This is my third time seeing BEAUTIFUL, and I remain struck by the emotional depth behind this show. In BEAUTIFUL, we see the title character not only learn to find her voice as an artist in a male-dominated industry but also as an independent young woman who breaks free of a toxic relationship with her former husband and songwriting partner Gerry Goffin. And though that storyline hardly sounds light and airy, BEAUTIFUL is also an unabashedly joyous celebration of King’s music and that of other 1960s artists who worked alongside her—perhaps most significantly her friends Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann.

Continue reading “BEAUTIFUL THE CAROLE KING Musical is “Some Kind of Wonderful”” →

In just over two hours, the Chicago premiere production of Joshua Harmon’s SIGNIFICANT OTHER made me laugh so hard I almost couldn’t breathe and then proceeded to have me very close to tears at the end. Harmon’s alternately hilarious and heartbreaking gem of a play acutely articulates the plight of protagonist Jordan Berman. Jordan is a single Jewish gay man in his late 20s, living in New York City and watching as his three best female friends find love and marriage. On the page, Harmon so beautifully expresses the nuances of shifting friendships and the fear of being left behind by those one holds dear, and he also nails so completely the complex neuroses that come with dating, loneliness, and being lost in one’s own head. Director Keira Fromm and an outstanding local cast bring Harmon’s expertly crafted words to life, finding both maximum amounts of humor and gut-wrenching emotion in the piece.

Continue reading “Review: About Face Theatre and Theater Wit’s Chicago Premiere of SIGNIFICANT OTHER” →

Washed up wannabe rockstar Dewey Finn and his ragtag band of lovable prep school students have arrived in Chicago for a rocking good time. SCHOOL OF ROCK is a faithful and fun-loving adaptation of the 2003 film that starred Jack Black as a “lovable loser” who poses as a substitute teacher and turns his timid class into a band of talented, self-assured rockers. With a score by musical theater icon Andrew Lloyd Weber, lyrics by Glenn Slater, and a book by Julian Fellowes, SCHOOL OF ROCK captures the frenetic energy and most of the tongue-in-cheek sass that characterized the original film.

Continue reading “Review: SCHOOL OF ROCK National Tour Presented by Broadway In Chicago” →

Under the direction of frequent company collaborator Brenda Didier, BILLY ELLIOT THE MUSICAL electrifies the mainstage at the Ruth Page Performing Arts Center, Porchlight’s new home. Based on the eponymous film about an adolescent boy from a working class British mining town who aspires to be a ballet dancer, this production finds the deep emotional core in its story about community and acceptance. With music by Elton John and book and lyrics by Lee Hall, this BILLY ELLIOT bursts with heart and passion.

Continue reading “Review: BILLY ELLIOT THE MUSICAL at Porchlight Music Theatre” →

Timeline Theatre Company has brought Sarah Ruhl’s IN THE NEXT ROOM, OR THE VIBRATOR PLAY back to Chicago in a moment in which it has undeniable relevance and impact—and a magnificent cast to carry out out Mechelle Moe’s direction. This play fundamentally contemplates one woman’s needs and wants in the wake of the invention of the electric light—and a new electrical invention designed to stimulate women’s bodies as a cure for hysteria. Through the journey of Catherine Givings (beautifully played by Rochelle Therrien in a charmingly, spirited, and ultimately deeply felt manner) as she contemplates her husband Dr. Givings’ (Anish Jethmalani) administrations of this new treatment in the next room, Ruhl opens up a window into a timely discussion about making women’s private desires openly expressed.

Continue reading “Review: IN THE NEXT ROOM, OR THE VIBRATOR PLAY at TimeLine Theatre Company” →

Under the deft direction of Audrey Francis, Steep Theatre Company treats audiences to an intimate, intense Chicago premiere of Ayad Akhtar’s THE INVISIBLE HAND.

Continue reading “Review: THE INVISIBLE HAND at Steep Theatre Company” →