The pre-Broadway engagement runs through December 10, 2023

It’s a “brand new day” for THE WIZ with new material from Amber Ruffin in this Broadway-bound engagement, but the production is well-trod territory. While I don’t take issue with the 1974 musical’s source material (Broadway is no stranger to riffs on THE WIZARD OF OZ), but the production choices — and the new additions to the book — don’t make this a unique or refreshed interpretation. From the gray tones of Kansas to the technicolor fairy-tale transformation into Oz (set by Hannah Beachler and costumes by Sharen Davis), this WIZ follows a well-worn path. That’s not to say the production isn’t enjoyable, but this Yellow Brick Road isn’t taking audiences on a novel adventure.

Continue reading “Review: THE WIZ National Tour Presented by Broadway In Chicago” →

These days, truth is elusive — and Timeline Theatre’s THE LIFESPAN OF A FACT plays with that idea. It’s the age of endless fact-checking resources on the internet, but also the age of misinformation spread across TikTok, Reddit, and other social media. Wherein lies the truth? And what is accurate? Sometimes, it’s hard to say. THE LIFESPAN OF A FACT meditates on that theme.

Continue reading “Review: THE LIFESPAN OF A FACT” →

The Chicago premiere of Selina Fillinger’s play runs through December 17, 2023

Selina Fillinger’s POTUS: OR, BEHIND EVERY GREAT DUMBASS ARE SEVEN WOMEN TRYING TO KEEP HIM ALIVE has farce-within-a-farce energy. Fillinger draws on the conventions of classic farce as a day in the White House for seven women working for the President (or otherwise connected to him) try to contain POTUS’s messes. In this way, it’s obvious that Fillinger wants to infuse POTUS with “f*ck the patriarchy” energy and assert that it’s the women behind powerful male political figures who are the ones really making things happen. While it’s a clever and intriguing concept, Fillinger’s play doesn’t go that deep. I don’t think POTUS offers deep political or social commentary, even though the play certainly underscores that competent women in positions of power are usually overlooked. 

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

BEETLEJUICE THE MUSICAL is a strange and entertaining spectacle. I first watched Tim Burton’s 1988 classic Halloween film BEETLEJUICE a couple weeks ago in preparation for seeing this musical, and I was curious about how it would translate to a stage musical. Interestingly, I think composer/lyricist Eddie Perfect and book writers Scott Brown and Anthony King have made the narrative tauter than the film — and they’ve inserted plenty of musical theater in-jokes along the way. While the title character makes sporadic appearances in the movie, the musical gives us more Beetlejuice. Beetlejuice. Beetlejuice. The musical centers the lonely, bizarre, and sexually deviant (markedly more so than in the movie) bio-exorcist, who sets his sights on the recently deceased Adam and Barbara Maitland. Overall, it’s a fun, wacky show that works better than I expected. BEETLEJUICE isn’t at all serious, but it’s a good time.

Continue reading “Review: BEETLEJUICE THE MUSICAL” →

Stephen Sondheim’s thrilling and bone-chilling 1990 musical about presidential assassins (and attempted assassins) runs through December 17, 2023

Although it debuted off-Broadway more than thirty years ago, Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman’s ASSASSINS remains a thrilling, bone chilling, brilliant, and immensely taut musical. Drawing on the United States history of successful and would-be presidential assassins, ASSASSINS is an astounding exploration of disillusionment and infamy. The musical feels remarkably prescient in the era of TikTok influencers and an epidemic of mass shootings in America; ASSASSINS unnervingly pre-dates both of these phenomena and yet is a real immediate reflection of them. When the ensemble sings in “The Gun Song” that “all you have to do is move your little finger/ and you can change the world,” it’s absolutely terrifying in a 2023 context. Sondheim and Weidman present a cast of historical characters that feel disenfranchised and disillusioned by American ideals, and modern America certainly hasn’t been disabused of this notion. 

Continue reading “Review: ASSASSINS at Theo  “ →

Magician and mentalist Dennis Watkins’s long-standing show debuts in a new venue at Petterino’s in partnership with Goodman Theatre

If you like good old-fashioned magic, sleight of hand, and mind-reading tricks, Dennis Watkins’s THE MAGIC PARLOUR is the ticket. Watkins has been performing his one-man show since 2011, and it’s newly arrived in the former Petterino’s reception space, which has been transformed into the titular magic parlor. Watkins is a master at his craft — the magic tricks themselves, of course, but also at entertaining audiences. He’s a real performer; evidently he’s had plenty of time to hone his act, but he also understands how to charm in a way that’s warm and inviting (even if the bits are well rehearsed). I think that’s in many ways the great feat of THE MAGIC PARLOUR; what’s a magician without charm up his sleeve?

Continue reading “Review: THE MAGIC PARLOUR at 50 West Randolph” →

Just in time for spooky season, Mel Brooks’ YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN has debuted at Mercury Theater Chicago. Of course, The Monster that haunts this musical is more comedic than scary — and that’s exactly how I like my Halloween entertainment. While YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN isn’t as clever or as funny as Brooks’s THE PRODUCERS, it’s a fun choice for the season. And even if not all of Brooks’s lyrics are memorable, Mercury Executive Producer L. Walter Stearns’s production is a laugh-out-loud event. 

Continue reading “Review: YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN at Mercury Theater Chicago” →

The world premiere Louis Armstrong musical starring Tony Award winner James Monroe Iglehart as Louis Armstrong plays through October 29, 2023

World premiere musical A WONDERFUL WORLD has a wonderful lead in James Monrie Iglehart as Louis Armstrong. Iglehart embodies the acclaimed vocalist and trumpeter completely; he nails Armstrong’s signature raspy voice and vocals and larger-than-life presence, but he’s also a master at embodying the role’s emotions. He’s a joy to watch in every moment he’s onstage, even as Aurin Squire’s book charts both Armstrong’s successes and his more human mistakes. In terms of framework, A WONDERFUL WORLD surprisingly reminded me of Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss’s SIX. The musical starts and ends with Armstrong’s four wives: Daisy Parker (Khalifa White), Lil Hardin (Jennie Harney Fleming), Alpha Smith (Brennyn Lark), and Lucille Wilson (Ta’rea Campbell). Each of the musical’s four parts is centered around one of Armstrong’s wives. While the musical piqued my interest in Armstrong’s biography as a whole, I think this framework meant the timeline on his route to fame was incredibly condensed. And the musical certainly conveys that Armstrong was quite the philanderer; Squire’s book and Christopher Renshaw’s direction and conception don’t shy away at all from the fact that Armstrong cheated on each of his past wives with the next one. 

Continue reading “Review: A WONDERFUL WORLD — THE LOUIS ARMSTRONG MUSICAL Pre-Broadway World Premiere” →

Brett Neveu’s world premiere play runs through November 5, 2023

Although the title may be bold, Brett Neveu’s world premiere REVOLUTION is a true “slice of life” play. In fact, the Revolution of the title refers to a rather mundane establishment: A hair salon. Co-workers and best friends Puff (Stephanie Shum) and Jame (Taylor Blim) meet in the alley behind the salon to chat, and on the day of the play, to celebrate Puff’s birthday. While Jame is eager to make a big deal of Puff’s special day, the anxiety-ridden Puff seems content to just drink cider in the alley and eat her share of Sour Patch Kids, Hershey’s Miniatures, and Mike and Ikes. When Puff and Jame invite the beleaguered Georgia (Natalie West), an employee at the mall’s nearby Ross, to join them, the evening becomes a meeting of friends old and new. 

Continue reading “Review: REVOLUTION at A Red Orchid Theatre” →

The Chicago premiere of this campy horror musical runs through December 10, 2023

Kokandy Productions’ Chicago premiere of AMERICAN PSYCHO: The Musical is a delectable, campy romp. Producing Artistic Director Derek Van Barham’s production is a mainly bloodless vision for the bloody tale of serial killer finance bro Patrick Bateman — and it’s an approach that works incredibly well for the material. I know that AMERICAN PSYCHO: The Musical was short-lived on Broadway and that that production was a literal bloodbath. The fact that Kokandy’s production substitutes red confetti for stage blood is a microcosm of how well this scrappy interpretation of the musical works: By making the show more camp, less horror story, audiences are then free to indulge in the satire and fun. 

Continue reading “Review: AMERICAN PSYCHO: The Musical at Kokandy Productions” →