November 2024 – Chicago Theater and Arts

No seasickness here

Beck Hokanson (Dick), Joe Bushell (Hennessy), Peter Kattner II (Lucky) and Elizabeth Bushell (Joan) in “Dames at Sea” at Citadel Theatre. (Photos by North Shore Camera Club.)

Highly recommend

Sometimes a show from the past that is not performed much now, is just what we need as a break from the usual holiday fare. Such is “Dames at Sea” a 1966 musical with book and lyrics by George Haimsohn and music by Jim Wise now on stage at Citadel Theatre.

Think of it as a spoof on the over-the-top 1930’s large dance movie productions of Busby Berkely and you will understand what may at first seem as over-emoting by some of the cast.

Also a spoof on “42nd Street,” it is filled with superb tap dancing and fine voices as it follows Ruby, (Melody Rowland) who comes to New York from Utah to, hopefully, star on Broadway.

She is accepted by producer/director Joe Bushell (Hennessy) because one of his chorus girls has just left.

Her just met boyfriend, Beck Hokanson (Dick) a sailor and songwriter is off a battleship in the harbor with sailor Peter Kattner II (Lucky).

To complicate relationships Lucky had met and likes Elizabeth Bushell (Joan) plus the production’s main star, Mona (Ciara Jarvis) really likes Dick’s songs and makes Ruby jealous.

The first half takes place in a tumbling down off Broadway theater that is going to be repurposed. When the roof literally caves in on everyone, the sailors decide they should move the production to the ship. Thus we literally have “Dames at Sea.”

Coincidences keep happening. When Mona gets seasick, Ruby does step in to the starring role.

What is amazing about this show is how choreographer/director Gregg Denhardt has fit the action, including the whole chorus line, onto Citadel’s tiny stage.

I even liked Dick’s funny attempts to keep a kicking girl’s leg out of his face when he “played” one of his songs on the upright piano in the corner.

The funny things is that when the show opened in 1966 in a Greenwich Village coffee house’s performance space, it starred the then, mostly unknown, Bernadette Peters as Ruby because the original star left. The show stayed there for 148 performances.

Peters went on to do regional performances in the 1970s including one at the Academy Playhouse in Lake Forest.

The show did eventually, officially open on Broadway, October 22, 2015 at the Helen Hayes Theatre.

Melody Rowland (Ruby) with soon to be boyfriend Beck Hokanson (Dick),

DETAILS: “Dames at Sea” is at Citadel Theatre at 300 S. Waukegan Road, Lake Forest, now through December 15, 2024. Running time: 90 minutes with a brief intermission. For tickets call 847-735-8554 or visit www.citadeltheatre.org.

Jodie Jacobs

For more shows visit Theatre in Chicago

Did you see Royko

In "Royko: The Toughest Man in Chicago," Mitchell Bisschop plays the hard-nosed newspaper columnist.

Mitchell Bisschop in Royko: The Toughest Man in Chicago. (Photo by Sarah Elizabeth Larsen)

Recommended

Mike Royko was an outspoken Chicago journalist, who in the 1960s through the ’90s railed against the political machine and championed the cause of the underdog with the same zeal he displayed toward his beloved Cubs.

Playwright and monologist Mitchell Bisschop has distilled thousands of Royko’s daily reflections of life in the Windy City to fashion a one-man show he wrote and stars in. It celebrates the person Bisschoph has dubbed, Royko: The Toughest Man in Town.

From the stage at the Chopin Theatre in Wicker Park, Royko’s written words come alive, reminding us of past political battles, every day joys and poignant personal dramas.

Royko had a sense for what was on the mind of Chicagoans. Many agreed with his observations and many did not, causing nearly everyone to say, “Did you read Royko?”

It’s safe to say that Royko disliked Richard J. Daley and his machine politics, catsup on hotdogs and deep-dish pizza, maybe as much as he appreciated Harold Washington, 16 inch softball and his favorite seat at the end of the bar at the Billy Goat Tavern near the newspapers (otherwise known as Royko’s other office).

Then of course there were the ribs. Royko loved to bar-b-que and felt his ribs were the best. This boast led to the establishment of the Royko Ribfest in 1982, a Chicago tradition that continues.

When Australian media magnate Rupert Murdoch bought the Sun-Times (the newspaper where he worked), Royko quipped that “No self-respecting fish would want to be wrapped in one of Murdoch’s publications.”

He proverbially held his nose in protest and reluctantly moved to the more conservative, right leaning Chicago Tribune.

The roughly two-hour performance at the Chopin Theatre serves as a reminiscence for those of a certain age and as an entertaining summary of our recent history for those of a younger generation who might not have first-hand familiarity with events related to the quickly fading recent past.

I tend to feel everyone has a story to tell, but we do not have a record of most of them. Indeed, there is an echo to history and lessons to be learned for those interested enough to listen.

Royko stood up for what he believed and pushed back against bullies like those who felt that they had a right to abuse him simply because he was courageous enough to share his thoughts. I guess this is why Bisschop calls him the toughest man in Chicago.

Details: “Royko: The toughest man in Chicago,” is at Chopin Theatre, 1543 W. Division Street, Chicago, IL now through December 22, 2024. Running time: about 2 hours with one 15-minute intermission. Find tickets at royko.brownpapertickets.com and more information at Chopin or call (847)920-7714.

Reno Lovison

For more shows visit Theatre In Chicago

The Royal Shakespeare Company adds music and dance to Pericles

Zach Wyatt plays the title role, with Leah Haile as the king's wife Thaisa, in a Royal Shakespeare Company production of "Pericles" now at Chicago Shakespeare Theater.

Zach Wyatt, center, is Pericles holding his bride to be, the king’s daughter Thaisa, played by Leah Haile in “Pericles,” a Royal Shakespeare Company production at Chicago Shakespeare Theater. (Photo by Johan Persson.)

Somewhat recommended

Maybe, I was in the mood for a solid Shakespearean play. In “Pericles,” supposedly half penned by William Shakespeare, members of the renown Royal Shakespeare Company flit around the stage as if in a remake of an 18th century enchanted forest dream complete with music and dance.

The production doesn’t get better until the last act which sounds more like the Bard’s thoughts and then it becomes a tearjerker.

Pericles, well depicted by Zach Wyatt, has been wandering the seas and islands with grief for Thaisa, his supposedly dead wife who died giving birth to daughter Marina. The daughter is supposed to be taken care of but isn’t.

He finds that long-lost daughter, nicely portrayed by Rachelle Diedericks, in a brothel. Then, he reconnects with his wife who has been brought back to life as a high priestess.

After everyone lovingly embrace, Pericles and Marina leave to find a suitable sacrifice to goddess Diana.

DETAILS: “Pericles” is at Chicago Shakespeare Theater now through Dec. 7, 2024. Running Time: 2 hrs, 40 minutes with one intermission. Chicago Shakespeare Theatre is on Navy Pier, 800 E. Grand Ave., Chicago.

For tickets and more information visit Chicago Shakespeare Theater.

Jodie Jacobs

For more shows visit Theatre in Chicago.

Chicago Shakespeare Theater | Where the World Comes to Play

Brilliant acting and script move into Writers small theatre

Jessie Fisher stars in “Every Brilliant Thing” at Writers Theatre. Photo by Michael Brosilow.

Four Stars

Number one on the “List” is ….” says Broadway regular Jessie Fisher who hails from the Chicago area. An audience member calls out “Ice Cream.” Fisher has passed out slips of paper with numbers on them and a phrase. They are her “List” and the audience interacts with her on various levels of participation.

By the end of the show, a short, intense 70 minutes of skipping several numbers while she grows up from a young, smart but worried child to a mature adult, she has reached one million things that, even if they sound little, bring joy.

The List which includes “having a piano in the kitchen” is what she writes for her mother who is suicidal but it is also how she copes as she moves through teenage, college years and beyond.

There is hardly a dry eye in the audience. Depression is a deep, real emotion and response. But in this play, there also is joy.

Directed by Kimberly Senior, Fisher is brilliant and so is the play. Written by Duncan Macmillan with Jonny Donahoe it likely touches many lives as it balances depression with hope.

The set, accommodated in Writers’ intimate Gillian Theatre, is a back yard with grass, tables and lawn chairs for the audience. The casual setting is perfect for encouraging the level of understanding needed for tackling suicide.

DETAILS: “Every Billiant Thing” is at Writers Theatre, 325 Tudor Court, Glencoe, IL extended now through Jan, 12, 2025. Running time: 70 minutes, no intermission. For tickets and more information visit Writers Theatre.

Jodie Jacobs

For more shows visit Theatre in Chicago

White Christmas soothes the soul

Kelly Felthous as Judy Haynes and Tyler Johnson-Campion as Phil Davis pair well as dancing partners in Marriott Theatre’s “Irving Berlin’s White Christmas” (Photo by Liz Lauren)

Three Stars

“Irving Berlin’s White Christmas,” an old fashioned song and dance musical, seemed just the right antidote opening night following the more than a month of high pitched and sometimes contentious presidential and legislative campaigns.

Songs such as “Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep,” “Blue Skies” and “White Christmas” lifted the spirits. The costumes designed by Sally Dolembo were integral to the show and beautifully enhanced the spare scenic design.

Perhaps you have seen the 1954 movie with Bing Crosby or the show performed before now but if not you should know that it revolves around the entertainment scene and a post WWII general who now has a Vermont ski vacation. It originally was written for a 1942 film called Holiday Inn.

Tyler Johnson-Campion is outstanding as Phil Davis, the dancing half of a popular song and dance pair with Bob Wallace as the songster. It’s just hard to believe that Johnson-Campion, a very talented actor/dancer from Disneys “Aladdin” is just now making his Marriott Theatre debut.

Kelly Felthous as Judy Haynes is a good romantic dance partner of Phil Davis. She is also have of the Haynes Sisters that also features Jaquelyne Jones as Betty. Felthous has appeared in Marriott’s “Music Man” and GoodmanTheatre in Roxie Hart in Chicago.

Also shout outs to Robin R McGee who as inn keeper Martha Watson, is also making her Marriott debut. and Olivia Grace O’Sullivan, the General’s granddaughter from the International and Marriott’s run of “The sound of Music.” Both actors are really enjoyable mainstays of this show.

Well directed and choreographed by Linda Fortunato, artistic director of Peninsula Players Theatre in Door County Wi, she previously choreographed Marriott’s “Into the Woods.” Music Direction is by Brad Haak. Music and lyrics are by Irving Berlin with book by David Ives and Paul Blake”

On a sad note:This production is dedicated to former Executive Producer Kary M. Walker (1944-2024). I remember him fondly.

Details: “Irving Berlin’s White Christmas” is at Marriott Theatre, 10 Marriott Dr., Lincolnshire, IL now through Dec 29, 2024. For tickets and more information visit Marriotttheatre/ irving-berlins-white-christmas

Jodie Jacobs

For more shows visit Theatre In Chicago