Just as Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens’s 1999 musical RAGTIME traverses numerous locales on the East Coast and spans the years from 1906-1914, so too does director Scott Weinstein’s dynamic staging make full use of The Den Theatre’s Heath Mainstage. In Griffin Theatre Company’s production, Weinstein’s in-the-round staging often has actors dispersed among the audience (indeed, a handful of performers appeared right in front and me and even made eye contact during the performance). While this is an intimate production of a sweeping musical, this genius device lends RAGTIME the grand air it commands. The closeness of the action also lends pathos to this story of three American families—one white and privileged, one black, and one immigrant—as they navigate a changing country at the beginning of the twentieth century.

Continue reading “Review: RAGTIME at Griffin Theatre Company” →

Often we go see musicals to escape. We lose ourselves in the pleasure of song and dance, and narrative conflicts that are neatly resolved in two acts. We see musicals because they are frequently joyous and light-hearted and allow us to forget, if just for a few hours, what’s happening in the world around us.

PARADE, now in a blistering and beautifully minimalist production from director Gary Griffin, is not that musical. Though it is based off the real-life 1913 trial of Jewish pencil factory worker Leo Frank and was written by Jason Robert Brown and Alfred Uhry in 1998, this musical feels entirely of this moment. Set in Atlanta, Georgia, the musical follows Leo as he is imprisoned and put on trial after being falsely accused of the murder of Mary Phagan, a pre-teen girl found dead in the basement of the pencil factory. Georgia governor Hugh Dorsey wants to rapidly resolve the case and pins the blame on Leo-and coerces factory janitor Jim Conley to serve as an eye witness. The residents of Atlanta buy into Dorsey’s false narrative, as they’re distrustful of Frank and also want to see Mary’s death avenged.

Continue reading “Review: PARADE at Writers Theatre” →

Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe’s 1956 classic Broadway musical MY FAIR LADY has some of the most iconic tunes in the American song catalog. And, of course, relays that tempestuous relationship (perhaps romantic, perhaps not) between the egocentric and language-obsessed Professor Henry Higgins and Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flower seller with aspirations for more. Higgins strikes up a bet with Colonel Pickering, also a language expert, that he can pass Eliza off as a lady of society within six months—and then, it’s off to the races as Higgins and Eliza spar along the way.

Continue reading “Lyric Opera’s MY FAIR LADY Will Have Audiences Dancing All Night” →

True blue fans of Stephen Sondheim (this reviewer included) will be drooling over Porchlight’s latest offering MARRY ME A LITTLE. This two-hander revue showcases a number of Sondheim’s finest trunk songs—early renditions of numbers that were cut from such musicals as FOLLIES, INTO THE WOODS and MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG. Conceived and developed by Craig Lucas and Norman René, MARRY ME A LITTLE (which has been revised for this production) introduces audiences to two lonely singles in New York City—known merely as “The Man” and “The Woman.” Living just an apartment floor away, these two lament their loneliness, and it becomes up to audiences to decide if the relationship that transpires in the show is real or imagined. The details are a bit foggy as MARRY ME A LITTLE has no dialogue whatsoever, but the piece is ultimately designed to showcase Sondheim’s work.

Continue reading “Porchlight’s MARRY ME A LITTLE is a Rhapsodic Love Letter to Sondheim’s Song Catalog” →

Though tickets are certainly hard to come by for the Chicago engagement of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical theater juggernaut HAMILTON, the laughs come easily at its hammier (pardon the pun) parody counterpart SPAMILTON at the Royal George. The latest in the line of Broadway parodies from FORBIDDEN BROADWAY creator Gerard Alessandrini (who also directs), SPAMILTON pays loving and playful homage to Miranda’s masterwork. The resulting show is witty, endlessly entertaining, and genuinely had me in stitches.

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In the spirit of the many “Top 5” song lists offered up in Refuge’s HIGH FIDELITY: THE MUSICAL, I present five reasons to see this entertaining, feel-good pop musical production rife with charm and delectable harmonies. There’s much to enjoy in Refuge Artistic Director Christopher Pazdernik’s delightful production, which is a remount of a 2016 staging of this musical based upon the 2000 film with John Cusack. Here are some of the reasons why this musical is worth a visit to Wicker Park:

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Steppenwolf Theatre Company’s Chicago premiere of Lucas Hnath’s THE CHRISTIANS is stunningly conceived and highly stylized. In a literal sense, Walt Spangler’s magnificent set captures the enormity of the megachurch in which the play is set—down to the opulent purple carpet—and enhanced by Scott Zielinski’s lighting design and Joseph A. Burke’s visually stimulating projections. But Hnath’s keen and effective playwriting is in itself also inherently theatrical—and sublimely delivered by the production’s ensemble. As the entirety of THE CHRISTIANS takes place inside this megachurch, the line deliveries are quite literally performative. The actors deliver the majority of their lines using hand-held microphones, which emphasizes that this play focuses on more formal, outward expression. The audience’s perspective is also filtered through the lens of the church’s Pastor Paul (Tom Irwin), who controls the play’s narrative.

Continue reading “THE CHRISTIANS at Steppenwolf Theatre Company Rivetingly Explores Timely, Gripping Themes of Belief and Power” →

Erika Sheffer’s witty and laugh-out-loud funny new play THE FUNDAMENTALS paints a bleak portrait of corporate culture within the New York location of a fictitious major hotel chain. Sheffer sets the tongue-in-cheek tone from the initial moments of the play, which opens with an overly polished film emphasizing the staff’s important role in optimizing the guest experience. This hilarious, dry wit also extends to the natural and biting dialogue.

Continue reading “Steppenwolf’s World Premiere of THE FUNDAMENTALS Takes A Cheeky, Entertaining Stab at Corporate Culture” →

The name Judy Garland for many may capture an image of the youthful, vibrant young actor with a powerhouse voice that donned sparkling red shoes as Dorothy Gale in the seminal 1939 film THE WIZARD OF OZ. Peter Quilter’s play END OF THE RAINBOW, now in a production at Porchlight Music Theatre with direction from Michael Weber and a compelling and beautifully realized performance by Angela Ingersoll as Garland, pulls back the curtain and shows us a haunted and broken woman nearing the end of her career. The play’s depiction of Judy Garland plagued by the demons of her past and struggling with alcoholism and a dangerous addiction to prescription medication makes the case that END OF THE RAINBOW is a timely play to mount, even as it also allows us to remember Garland’s glorious song catalog and the glamorous vaudeville tunes for which she was known.

Continue reading “Angela Ingersoll’s Magnificent Performance Anchors Porchlight’s END OF THE RAINBOW” →