Category: Theater

The Music Man delivers on his promise

Harold Hill (KJ Hippensteel) and Marian (Alexandra Silber)

Highly Recommended 

You may think you know Meredith Wilson’s “The Music Man.”

But it doesn’t matter how often you have seen this “feel-good” family show. Each time you go, you are likely to take away something different, something more than recognizing its popular, fun “Seventy-Six Trombones.”

 It might be a song that you didn’t know was from the show such as “Till there was You” or “Goodnight My Someone” or “Lida Rose.” 

For this reviewer, it was the “book ban” political philosophy mentioned by Marian Paroo, the River City librarian, beautifully portrayed by Alexandra Silber.

Harold Hill (Left center) Looks up and admires Marian (center) who talks and sings about books while a library patron (far left) watches.

 It shouldn’t have been a surprise given that an important theme is how the town changes once Professor Harold Hill arrives.

Played by the highly talented KJ Hippensteel as the fast talking, glib salesman, we watch Hill evolve while the town he had planned to scam, changes as he falls in love with its librarian.

The leads, KJ Hippensteel and Alexandra Silber are excellent but so is the entire cast. 

Kudos particularly go to Kai Edgar who is terrific as the young Winthrop Paroo, Marian’s little brother who suffers from a lisp and is painfully shy until Hill reaches him with a musical instrument. And to Janet Ulrich Brooks who returns to Marriott as Marian’s mother after doing “Beautiful – the Carole King Musical” and “The Cherry Orchard at Goodman Theatre.

Most of all, audiences will be treated to the outstanding choreography of director/choreographer Katie Spelman. Yes, the accompanying cast may have partially been chosen by their dance ability, but all their movements across the stage and interactions with others are innovatively thought out to express the town and characters personalities.   

So, sit back and enjoy or clap in time to “Seventy-Six Trombones” as “The Music Man” enhances your evening.

Details: “The Music Man” is at Marriott Theatre, 10 Mariott Drive, Lincolnshire, now through June 2, 2024. Run time: 2 hrs., 40 minutes with one intermission. For more information and tickets visit Marriott Theatre.

Jodie Jacobs

 For more shows visit Theatre in Chicago

 

 

Felder reveals life of Chopin

 

Hershey Felder as Monsieur Chopin - A Play with Music

Pianist/ theater performer Hershey Felder as Chopin

Highly Recommended

Billed as “Hershey Felder as Monsieur Chopin – A play with music,” the title doesn’t even come close to offering clues on what to expect when you enter the Alexandra C. and John D. Nichols Theatre at Writers Theatre in Glencoe.

Composer Fryderyk Chopin did speak French and spent some happy times in Paris where he did have a salon. But he was Polish and longed for his country.

Hershey Felder, a highly skilled pianist and performer does become Chopin to take audiences through the composers’ short but momentous life. But to call what is on stage “a play with music” hardly does justice to Felder’s amazing dexterity at the piano and his ability to enthrall audiences with his interpretation of Chopin’ musical compositions and tragic life.

It’s a tale that bounces in both enacting Chopin’s life and playing his compositions from romantic moments to mental illness and from depression to exuberance.

Felder starts by addressing the audience as if they are music students at his salon, 9 Square d’Orleans, Paris on the afternoon of March 4, 1848.

The scenic design is by Felder who carefully researched the time, place and salon. But along with the elegant setting, audiences will also be watching the wall behind him where projections change to what is going on in Poland and Paris thanks to production manager Erik Carstensen’s excellent video Design. 

Directed by Joel Zwick, Chopin’s music and Felder’s “book” or “play” if you want to call it that, “Hershey Felder as Monsieur Chopin” provides an extraordinary glimpse into the life of a famous composer that is arguably little known beyond his compositions.

Felder is also known for his performances as other composers such as Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, Leonard Bernstein and Ludwig von Beethoven. 

Details: “Hershey Felder as Monsieur Chopin” is at  Writers Theatre, 325 Tudor Court, Glencoe, IL April 10 through May 12, 2024. Running time: between 90 and 110 minutes (depends on questions from the audience) with no intermission. For tickets and more information visit Writers Theatre.

Jodie Jacobs

For more shows visit  Theatre in Chicago

Oh what a night with Jersey Boys

 

Jersey Boys

Highly Recommend

Seeing “Jersey Boys” is about having a great time watching a “jukebox” musical.

“Jersey Boys” must be the hardest working cast on stage in Chicago. This nearly three-hour production, now at the Mercury Theater, is a physical workout for the four primary characters. They perform over 30 musical numbers while walking us through the life and times of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons.

The Four Seasons were a Jersey-based rock and roll quartet that appealed nationwide to largely blue collar teens in the 1960s with songs like “Sherry” and “Walk Like A Man.”

Lead singer Frankie Valli with his distinctive falsetto transitioned successfully to the top of the pop charts as a single with “My Eyes Adored You” and “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You” composed by his creative partner Bob Gaudio.

In this Chicago based production, the group’s founder, Tommy DiVito (Adrian Aguilar), starts the narration explaining the tumultuous beginnings of a few street-smart kids with a foggy vision of an exciting future. Tommy says their options were, “the military, the mob or music.”

As the story goes, Tommy became aware of a kid in the neighborhood, with “a voice like an angel.” It was Frankie Castelluccio or Frankie Valli (Michael Metcalf) as he came to be known.

With the help of another neighborhood friend, Joe Pesci (Grant Alexander Brown) – Yes the same guy who went on to become a famous actor – – they were introduced to Bob Gaudio (Andrew MacHaughton) a local musician and songwriter who had a recent hit with “Who Wears Short Shorts?”

The three struggled to find their sound. Ultimately, another old friend, Nick Massi (Jason Michael Evans), joined them and in a moment of inspiration they restructured themselves as the “Four Seasons.” Not inspired by Vivaldi but rather by the name of a bowling alley in New Jersey.

The final character in the puzzle is their record producer and lyricist Bob Crewe (Adam Fane) portrayed here with a good amount of humor as an over-the-top gay man with a great ear for music.

A theme running through the story is the group’s association with local mobster Gyp DeCarlo (Carl Herzog) and the fact that the boys can’t quite shake their Jersey roots.

This manifests as Tommy’s desire for largely undeserved respect, and a quest to find short cuts or easy money that he evidently felt was what led to the stature and apparent success of figures like Gyp.

The other side of the “Italian Jersey code” was a sense of honor which Valli took very seriously and is behind his arguably over developed sense of loyalty and an admirable adherence to his word.

Aguilar’s performance as Tommy carries the first act with his charming tough-guy persona. Grant Alexander Brown as Pesci and Adam Fane as Crewe interject much of the comic relief throughout the production.

MacHaughton as Gaudio lets his presence be known with an outstanding strong delivery of his first number, “Cry for Me,” and later on in “Oh What a Night.”

The weight of the production, of course, falls on the shoulders of Michael Metcalf as Frankie Valli who does an outstanding job on every level.

We see the character transition from a naïve young man to a global superstar with his own demons and life challenges. Valli’s well known falsetto is not easy, if not nearly impossible, to duplicate, but Metcalf manages it admirably.

The entire support ensemble does yeomen’s work keeping the high energy, fast-paced storyline going. Kudos specifically to Eric A. Lewis who plays Barry Belson and others who belts out a few high notes of his own.

One of the highlights of this production is the terrific orchestra led by Linda Medonia (keyboards) with Justin Kono (percussion), Jonathan Golko (bass), Samuel Shacker (guitar), Cara Strauss (reeds), and Greg Strauss (trumpet).

Jersey Boys seems as much like a great concert as it is a play with a substantial and interesting book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice.

Whether you are coming to this as a nostalgic experience or you’re new to the music of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons you will be in for an entertaining event suitable for all ages (PG-17 for language).

Details: Jersey Boys at the Mercury Theater, 3745 N. Southport Avenue, Chicago, IL, through May 19, 2024. Running time is about 3 hours with a 15-minute intermission. For tickets and information visit mercurytheaterchicago.com or call (773) 360-7365.\

Reno Lovison

For more shows visit TheatreinChicago

 

‘James and the Giant Peach’ is a sweet treat at Marriott Theatre

 

Cast of “James and the Giant Peach” at Marriott Theatre. (Photo by Liz Lauren)

 Recommended

Introducing young theatregoers to the delights of musical storytelling leaps off the page of the famous Roald Dahl novel at the Marriott Theatre for Young Audiences in Lincolnshire.

“James and the Giant Peach” is the perfect way to introduce young theatergoers to enjoying live musical theatre. The hour-long performance is suited for audiences of all ages as they watch the fantastical musical come to life. 

In traditional Roald Dahl fashion, James is an orphan forced to live with his two screechy aunts who are anything but nice to him. When he is sent to chop down their old fruit tree, he discovers a magic potion that turns an ordinary peach tree into a gigantic peach.

All of a sudden, he finds himself among a group of larger-than-life insects who quickly become the family he is missing. They go on adventures in the ocean ending up at the Empire State Building in New York City. Along the way they learn that they must work together to survive.

Humor, music, and comedic antics weave their way through this wonderful performance. The music by the Tony Award-nominated team of Pasek and Paul (La La Land, Dear Evan Hansen) is catchy and fun.

Starring is the always wonderful Alex Goodrich as Ladahlord. Lucy Godinez as Aunt Sponge and Leah Morrow as Aunt Spiker are hysterical with quirky costumes to match. The young James is played by the talented Kai Edgar.

The show is directed and choreographed by Tommy Rapley with music direction by Ryan T. Nelson. Kudos to costume designer Amanda Vander Byl for her amazing insect and character costumes.  They are colorful and fun.

Each performance is followed by a question-and-answer session with the cast.  The show plays most Wednesdays through Sundays at 10 am with select 12:30 pm performances and plenty of Spring Break performances. 

Also currently playing at the Marriott is Lin Manuel’s “In the Heights” now through March 17, 2024. Next up is The Music Man opening April 10.

“James and the Giant Peach” is the perfect way to introduce young theatergoers to enjoying live musical theatre.

Details:” James and the Giant Peach” runs through March 30 at the Marriott Theatre, 10 Marriott Drive in Lincolnshire. For tickets, call Marriott Theatre Box Office at 847.634.0200 or visit   www.MarriottTheatre.com. 

Mira Temkin

For more shows visit  Theatre in Chicago

Two diverse cultures wonderously offer support during an accidental overnight visit

 

Egyptian band members, Rom Barkhordar and Armand Akbari, hear Israeli cafe owner Dina’s (Sophie Madorsky) thoughts in “The Band Visit – The Musical” at Writers Theatre. (Photo by Michael Brosilow).

Highly Recommended

When an Egyptian Police Unit’s professional band ends up in the desert Israeli town of Bet Hatikva overnight instead of at the cultural center in a large Israeli community due to the similarity in town names, both sides, the musicians and town residents, take away a better understanding of their own lives by dawn. That is the basic plot of “The Band’s Visit.”

I loved the show when it was simply a 2007 screenplay by Eran Kolirin because it delicately entered the life situations of the band members and of the residents.

Audience members of Writers Theatre in Glencoe where it is now appearing through March 17, will find the basic premise is still there but the production, now a 2018 multi-Tony Award-winning Broadway musical by composer David Yazbek and book writer Ithamar Moses, has drastically changed the show. I don’t think it is better or worse. It’s just different. There is even a roller-skating rink (with appropriate musical number) in this desert town.

Audiences who saw “Once” at WT will recognize and love the introductory musical number and closing number as similar in beat, musical instruments and choreography. Not sure why they were used here unless they somehow represent the music at the destination’s cultural center but they don’t change the story line.

Directed by Zi Alikhan, the characters present their situations with sensitivity and also compassion for each other.

Dina, a cafe owner interpreted by Sophie Madorsky, is both sensual and empathetic as she interacts with Tewfiq, the band’s leader played by Rom Barkhordar. They sing “Something Different.” By the story’s end you learn of  Tewfiq’s tragic family story.

During the show you watch other band members getting to know and interact with residents who are having relationship problems. However different the musical is from its original intent, ‘The Band’s Visit” is a heartwarming and beautiful short story of two cultures coming together with support for each other.

DETAILS: “The Band’s Visit” is at Writers Theatre, 325 Tudor Court, Glencoe, IL., now through March 17,2024. Run time: 95 minutes with no intermission. For tickets and more information call (847) 242-6000) or go to www.writerstheatre.org.

Jodie Jacobs

For more shows visit www.theatreinchicago.com.

 

 

Superb ‘Silent Sky’ reminds how gender matters

(L-R) Cameron Feagin, Anne Lentino, and Melissa Harlow (Photo by North Shore Camera Club

Highly recommended

First, I must reveal that Lauren Gunderson is my favorite contemporary playwright.  I loved her ATCA award-winning “The Book of Will,” a play about saving the works of William Shakespear and how they got published. She is among the most produced current American playwrights.

Gunderson often intertwines witty dialogue with historical matter while developing themes that have been overlooked. Such is “Silent Sky,” currently on stage at Citadel Theatre in Lake Forest.

A true story based on what Ratcliff grad and astronomer Henrietta Leavitt faced in 1900 when she left Wisconsin and family to join the Harvard University Observatory, (she used her dowry to move and get settled), the play follows her discoveries and interaction with female coworkers called “computers” and a male who is the boss’ assistant.

Now imagine what it must have been like to be told she couldn’t touch much less use the famed telescope there. Picture her working after hours to explore the universe through photos that she and coworkers used in an office space called “the Harem” (really).

Do you think much has changed since then? Did you see the true NASA-related movie, “Hidden Figures?”

Through Gunderson’s words, finely interpreted by Melissa Harlow, Henrietta comes to life in the beautifully done Citadel show. 

The entire production is well cast with Cameron Feagin and Anne Lentino, both of the Promethean Theatre Ensemble that did the excellent “Blue Stocking,” as fellow computers in the Harem and Adam Thatcher as Peter Shaw, the assistant boss. Thatcher just did Citadel’s “She Loves Me.”

Even though the theater space is small and the stage is tiny, Trevor Dotson’s set design includes a proper area for Henrietta’s Wisconsin’s home that includes her sister Margaret’s piano.

Margaret, now a young mother played by the very talented Laura Michele Erle (also the co-writer of “Three Sisters, Four Women”), is composing a symphony.

Pulling it all together is Director Beth Wolf, a Jeff award nominee for Citadel’s “Outside Mullingar” production.

Details: “Silent Sky is at Citadel Theatre, 300 S, Waukegan Rd, Lake Forest, (West Campus of Lake Forest School District) now through March 17, 2023. Run time is about 2 hours including one intermission. For tickets and other information visit www.citadeltheatre.org or call 847-735-8554.

Jodie Jacobs

For more shows visit  Theatre in Chicago

 

 

 

 

Kokandy Productions leads Jeff awards announcement

 

The 2023 Chicago theater season’s Jeff Awards nominations for excellence among Non-Equity theaters were announced today, Feb. 6.

The Non-Equity awards considered 144 theater artists from 32 companies in 24 categories presented during the season from January 1, 2023, to December 31, 2023,

Four theater companies are recognized with more than 10 nominations each. Kokandy Productions garnered the most with 17 from two productions. Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre received 16 nominations, Invictus Theatre Company and Refracted Theatre Company each received 10. “Tambo & Bones” at Refracted Theatre Company drew the most nominations for a single production with 10.

Plus, the Jeff Awards recently expanded categories to recognize Short Run Productions of nine to 17 performances.

2024 Non-Equity Nominees:
PRODUCTION – PLAY
“Cat’s Cradle” – Lifeline Theatre
“The Crucible” – Invictus Theatre Company
“Dying For It” – The Artistic Home
“Indoor Cats” – Red Theater
“Right Now” – Facility Theatre
“Tambo & Bones” – Refracted Theatre Company
“We Are Proud to Present a Presentation About the Herero of Namibia, Formerly Known as Southwest Africa, from the German Südwestafrika, Between the Years 1884 – 1915” – Theatre Y

PRODUCTION – MUSICAL
“American Psycho” – Kokandy Productions
“Assassins” – Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre
“The SpongeBob Musical” – Kokandy Productions
“The Threepenny Opera” – Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre
“tick, tick… BOOM!” – BoHo Theatre

ENSEMBLE – PLAY
“Cat’s Cradle” – Lifeline Theatre
“The Crucible” – Invictus Theatre Company
“Jane: Abortion and the Underground” – Idle Muse Theatre Company
“Panther Women: An Army for the Liberation” – Prop Thtr (i/a/w Perceptions Theatre)
“The Pragmatists” – Trap Door Theatre
“Right Now” – Facility Theatre
“We Are Proud to Present a Presentation About the Herero of Namibia, Formerly Known as Southwest Africa, from the German Südwestafrika, Between the Years 1884 – 1915” – Theatre Y

ENSEMBLE – MUSICAL
“American Psycho” – Kokandy Productions
“Assassins” – Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre
“Promises, Promises” – Blank Theatre Company
“The SpongeBob Musical” – Kokandy Productions

NEW WORK
India Nicole Burton – “Panther Women: An Army for the Liberation” – Prop Thtr (i/a/w Perceptions Theatre)
Tina Fakhrid-Deen – “Dandelions” – MPAACT (Ma’at Production Association of Afrikan Centered Theater)
Mora V. Harris – “Indoor Cats” – Red Theater
John Hildreth – “Cat’s Cradle” – Lifeline Theatre
Evan M. Jackson – “The Last Queen of Camelot” – Idle Muse Theatre Company
Shannon O’Neill – “The Kelly Girls” – The Factory Theater
Ed Rutherford & George Howe – “Murder, ReWrote” – Hell in a Handbag Productions
Micah Ariel Watson – “Alaiyo” – Definition Theatre

DIRECTOR – PLAY
Charles Askenaizer – “The Crucible” – Invictus Theatre Company
Mikael Burke – “Tambo & Bones” – Refracted Theatre Company
Heather Currie – “Cat’s Cradle” – Lifeline Theatre
Dado – “Right Now” – Facility Theatre
Wyatt Kent – “Indoor Cats” – Red Theater
Tyrone Phillips – “Fairview” – Definition Theatre
Kezia Waters – “We Are Proud to Present a Presentation About the Herero of Namibia, Formerly Known as Southwest Africa, from the German Südwestafrika, Between the Years 1884 – 1915” – Theatre Y

DIRECTOR – MUSICAL
Fred Anzevino – “The Threepenny Opera” – Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre
Derek Van Barham – “American Psycho” – Kokandy Productions
Daryl D. Brooks – “Assassins” – Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre
Bo Frazier – “tick, tick… BOOM!” – BoHo Theatre

PERFORMER IN A PRINCIPAL ROLE – PLAY
Brittney Brown (Regan Kelly) – “The Kelly Girls” – The Factory Theater
Laura Coover (The Woman) – “Heisenberg: The Uncertainty Principle” – Griffin Theatre Company
Ny’ajai Ellison (Camae) – “The Mountaintop” – Invictus Theatre Company
Julian Hester (Scratch) – “Witch” – The Artistic Home
Patrick Newson Jr. (Bones) – “Tambo & Bones” – Refracted Theatre Company
Felicia Oduh (Ariel) – “Alaiyo” – Definition Theatre
Aila Ayilam Peck (Layla) – “Hatefuck” – First Floor Theater
Soleil Pérez (Agnes) – “Agnes of God” – Redtwist Theatre
Mark Pracht (John Proctor) – “The Crucible” – Invictus Theatre Company
William Anthony Sebastian Rose II (Tambo) – “Tambo & Bones” – Refracted Theatre Company

PERFORMER IN A PRINCIPAL ROLE – MUSICAL
Neala Barron (John Wilkes Booth) – “Assassins” – Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre
Frankie Leo Bennett (SpongeBob SquarePants) – “The SpongeBob Musical” – Kokandy Productions
Britain Gebhardt (Bessica Feltcher) – “Murder, ReWrote” – Hell in a Handbag Productions
Carl Herzog (Macheath) – “The Threepenny Opera” – Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre
Brandy Miller (Fran Kubelik) – “Promises, Promises” – Blank Theatre Company
Patrick O’Keefe (Balladeer and Lee Harvey Oswald) – “Assassins” – Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre
Kyle Patrick (Patrick Bateman) – “American Psycho” – Kokandy Productions Alec Phan (Jonathan) – “tick, tick … BOOM!” – BoHo Theatre
Rory Schrobilgen (Chuck Baxter) – “Promises, Promises” – Blank Theatre Company

For more categories, and info about Jeff Awards visit www.jeffawards.org

Jodie Jacobs

Three holiday shows that change a personality

 

Writers Theatre, Glencoe does Manual Cinema Christmas Carol (Photo by Liz Lauren)

Lots of shows to choose from this holiday season. So if wondering how to whittle them down, here are a few recommendations all based on age appeal and the message of change.

 

For the whole family

 It doesn’t matter if you have seen Goodman Theatre’s production of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol.” It’s always a little different each year but the story still is a feel-good message of what is important and that people can change. It’s also a tradition in many Chicago area households with all-age appeal.

The show runs from Nov. 18 to Dec. 31, 2023. For tickets and more information visit A Christmas Carol 2023 – Goodman Theatre

 

For adults and older teens who want something different

At Writers Theatre in Glencoe, Manual Cinema presents a different take on Scrooge and how to present the Christmas Carol story. First, Manual Cinema often uses shadow puppets to tell a story in a somewhat unusual way so give the action and production time to develop its theme. It’s not as chaotic as first appears. Secondly, by the show’s end, audiences realize the woman presenting the story starts out with a Scrooge-style personality.

The show runs Nov. 16 to Dec. 24, 2023. For tickets and more information visit  Manual Cinema’s Christmas Carol | Writers Theatre

 

For youngsters

“How the Grinch Stole Christmas” at the Cadillac Palace Theatre is yet a third view of how a Scrooge-type character, this time called a Grinch,” developed that way and can change.

The show runs Dec. 19-Dec. 31, 2023. For tickets and more information visit Dr. Seuss’ How The Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical – Broadway In Chicago.

Jodie Jacobs

Beautiful tells how King classics came to be

 

(Kaitlyn Davis as Carole King in “Beautiful” at Marriott Theatre Lincolnshire)

3 1/2 Stars

The audience at the Wednesday Marriott opening of “Beautiful: the Carole King Musical,” are likely familiar with such classic songs as “You’ve Got a Friend,” “So Far Away,” “Up on the Roof,” and “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling.”

But I wonder if they know that the person who wrote them started out as a teenage songwriting phenom who had skipped two grades in school and whose mom wanted her to continue her classical piano studies.

Or that she started out as a pop composer whose first husband, Gerry Gofin, did the lyrics while she wrote the music.

Or that the grand piano on stage at the show’s start would actually reappear at the show’s end in Carnegie Hall.

With terrific dance and song examples, “Beautiful’s” long Act I showed  how the music of the King-Gofin partnership was picked up and performed by well-known groups.

(“Beautiful” at Marriott shows how major performers adopted the King-Gofin songs) 

The shorter Act II is about that partnership’s on-off crises and split up that led King to going it alone and her concert at Carnegie Hall. The show could have an Act III about all her awards, more partnerships and more songs plus her award-winning “Tapestry” album.

However, King’s “Beautiful” journey as performed at the Marriott Theatre is in the wonderful, over-the-top hands of Kaitlyn Davis from the national tour of “Beautiful.” BTW, Davis is also an accomplished pianist and songwriter.

Her co-star, Andrew Mueller, who is the brother of the Mueller sisters who performed “Beautifu”l on Broadway and the national tour, has impressive credits in Chicago area theater. He does an excellent portrayal of Gofin.

(Song-writing rivals and friends, Cynthis Weil (Erica Stephan) and Barry Mann, (Justin Albinde) )

A good picture of the song business is the delightfully done inclusion of couple Cynthis Weil portrayed by Erica Stephan, and Barry Mann, played by Justin Albinder. 

Well directed by Jessica Fisch, “Beautiful” is basically a “jukebox” show that will bring back lots of musical memories.  

“Beautiful: the Carole King Musical” is at Marriott Theatre, 10 Marriott Drive, Lincolnshire, Il now through Dec. 31, 2023.

For tickets and more information visit Beautiful/MarriottTheatre

Jodie Jacobs

For more shows visit  Theatre in Chicago

 

 

 

 

Brigadoon has reappeared

 

(Conor Jordan and Zachery Linnert)

4 Stars

With such Lerner and Lowe songs as “Almost Like Bein’ in Love” and “Come to Me, Bend to Me,” it would be hard to not put on a fine musical. However, Brigadoon, now presented at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts by Music Theater Works, goes beyond merely “fine.”

Everything, from the voices and acting to dance numbers by Clayton Cross and costuming by Jazmin Aurora Medina, are spectacular. And that is happening, unlike the last Music Theater Works of “Springtime for Hitler” on the large stage. This production is crammed onto the small North Theatre stage.

But it works.

Directed by Sasha Gerritson and choreographed by Cross, the show features a sterling cast of ballet-style dancers and such exceptional singers in the lead as Conor Jordan as Tommy Albright and Sarah Obert as Fiona.

Albright and Fiona fall in love but the catch is the Scottish town of Brigadoon will disappear for one hundred years. Albright, an American who stumbled on it while exploring the country with his friend, Jeff (Zachery Linnert), returns with him to America and his somewhat jaded existence.

What happens next is that Love conquers all. 

As with “Springtime,” the show has a large supporting cast of singers, actors and dancers – Madison Kauffman, Luke Nowakowski, Stan Austin , Will Leonard, Bob Sanders, Susannah Harvey, Kent Joseph, Timothy Wolf, Adam Raso, Delaney Good, Isa Ramirez, Jimmy Hogan, Anna Marie Abbate, Emma Jean Eastlund, Theresa Egan, David Geinosky, Dee Kimpel, Olivia Russell, Alex Villasenor, Chad Gearig-Howe and Renee Dwyer.

Go see it before Brigadoon disappears. The production is at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, 9501 Skokie Blvd, Skokie, IL through Nov. 12, 2023. For more information and tickets visit Music Theater Works | Great Music. Great Theater. The Works.

Jodie Jacobs

For more shows visit Theatre in Chicago