What's happening on the arts scene – on stage, in museums and at fairs and festivals
Top 2016 shows Year in Review
With about 250 theatre companies in the Chicago area, it’s pretty much a given that their audiences are fairly sophisticated when it comes to show choices. In addition, some folks love musicals, others gravitate toward meaningful reflections of life. So, feel free to add your top choice or choices in comments after reading those of Chicago Theater and Arts. The picks here are not in order of preference.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
A mysterious disappearance of the big bad wolf, a mainstay of some folk and fairy tales, leads traveling storytellers Mr. and Mrs. Pennyworth to quick stops with other famous characters such as the White Rabbit to find out if there are problems in their stories.
The journey to uncover the heart of the problem eventually takes them back to Norse mythology and the forces of Odin who was behind the Pennyworth’s travels.
Continue reading “‘Mr and Mrs. Pennyworth’ is a story worth telling”
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Magnificent voices, dramatic set design and fabulous costumes match Andrew Lloyd Webber’s brilliant score of ‘The Phantom of the Opera’ in a new production now playing in Chicago.
Continue reading “Stunning ‘Phantom’ perfect for the holidays”
SOMEWHAT RECOMMENDED
As PigPen Theatre Co.’s ‘The Hunter and The Bear’ plays out at Writers Theatre you think you are watching a ghost story take shape. That is until the end when it becomes a dark folk story.
Continue reading “Creative staging combine with fine acting and musicianship to tell dark folktale”
SOMEWHAT RECOMMENDED
There are two ways to consider Lyric’s ‘Magic Flute’ production. On one hand it will likely appeal to youngsters though they will have to sit for three hours and 20 minutes (intermission comes about an hour and 15 minutes into the opera).
Continue reading “The magic is in the music and singing at Lyric’s ‘The Magic Flute’”
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
You don’t have to be a Jane Austen fan to enjoy ‘Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley,’ a world premier now at Northlight Theatre.
You merely have to appreciate that Austen incorporated English society’s attitudes and expectations of women, marriage and social position of the late 18th century in such books as ‘Sense and Sensibility,’ published early 19th century in 1811 and ‘Pride and Prejudice,’ published in 1813.
Continue reading “A new holiday treat that hopefully will return”
RECOMMENDED
Take the creative minds of children and a Scottish playwright who wants to change from churning out formula plays for the London stage to recapturing his youthful imagination in order to write an amazing play, and you will understand ‘Finding Neverland.’
A touring Broadway musical in Chicago now through Dec. 4, 2016, the production reveals how J.M. Barrie came up with his world-famous, beloved ‘Peter Pan’ stories.
Continue reading “‘Finding Neverland’ seeks story behind Peter Pan”
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
If lucky enough to still snag a ticket to the Lyric Opera’s ‘Les Troyens’ (The Trojans), Hector Berlioz’ grand opera tribute to Virgil’s Aeneid, don’t worry about its length.
Berlioz’s music, grandly interpreted by Lyric Music Director Sir Andrew Davis, sweeps through the Lyric’s hall like a waterfall that fascinates and pulsates with danger.
Add to that, the incredible vocals by Christine Goerke as Trojan Princess Cassandra, Susan Graham as Carthage Queen Dido, Brandon Jovanovich as Trojan hero Aeneas (Énée) and Lucas Meachem as Cassandra’s lover, Chorebus, and the opera has transcended from a good experience to become a once-in-a-lifetime event.
RECOMMENDED
At a time when opposing philosophies are ridiculed, the Lyric Opera of Chicago steps in with a reminder there must be room in the world for idealists and dreamers.
Jules Massenet’s ‘Don Quichotte,’ based on Cervante’s ‘Don Quichotte’ (Don Quixote) and influenced by Jacques Le Lorrain’s play, ‘Le chevalier de la longue figure,’ is both love story and tale of a knight-errant who seeks chivalrous adventures to right the world’s wrongs.
RECOMMENDED
A charming and fun adaptation of The Nutcracker’ is at Marriott Theatre now through Dec. 20, 2016. As part of Marriott’s Theatre for Young Audiences series, the Mouse King is comic rather than scary but with deft direction and choreography by Matt Raftery, the show will delight all ages.
Continue reading “Marriott young audience ‘Nutcracker’ good for all ages”