TheatreInChicago – Page 4 – Chicago Theater and Arts

Renee Fleming shines a light in ‘Piazza’

Solea Pfeiffer and Renée Fleming in LThe Light in the Piazza. (Liz Lauren photo) — Solea Pfeiffer and Renée Fleming in The Light in the Piazza. (Liz Lauren photo)

3stars

No question that soprano Renée Fleming, an opera superstar who has sung leading ladies from Donna Elvira in Mozart’s “Don Giovanni” to Nettie Fowler in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Carousel” is a fine fit as Margaret Johnson in Adam Guettel and Craig Lucas’ “The Light in the Piazza.”

Her remarkable voice, joyfully greeting Florence in the opening scene, heartbreaking in “Dividing Day” following a phone call back home when she realizes her own marriage lacks love, and later swelling with a renewed understanding of love versus risks in her final song, “Fable,” makes going to this production at Chicago’s Lyric Opera House worth attending.

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Q Brothers take ‘A Christmas Carol’ to a hip ‘ad-rap-tation’ level

Q Brothers Christmas Carol at Chicago Shakespeare Theater on Navy Pier.

4 stars

Victorian author Charles Dickens might be surprised, and maybe a little proud, at how his story about one curmudgeon’s redemption has been adapted for the stage, film, opera and every other form of media.

This production, “Q Brothers Christmas Carol,” back by popular demand at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, has fast become one of the Windy City’s favorite holiday events, especially among younger, hipper audiences. It’s a terrific, cleverly-written and utterly captivating piece of theatre that deserves the high praise it’s received.

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You Gotta Have Friends

Bette: Xmas at the Continental Baths

Cailin Jackson as Bette Midler at Mary's Attic. (Photo by Rick Aguilar Studios) — Cailin Jackson as Bette Midler at Mary’s Attic. (Photo by Rick Aguilar Studios)

3stars

Wrap that towel around you, settle back with a stiff one and get ready to enjoy The Divine Miss M, at her holiday best.

Once again it’s the early 1970’s, and we’re at Manhattan’s popular gay bathhouse where Bette Midler, portrayed at Mary’s Attic by the incomparably talented Caitlin Jackson, came to prominence.

Jackson, her tumbler filled with vodka, is cheerfully serving up an hour of some of Midler’s best, most beloved tunes. She also treats the audience to a few of Bette Midler’s bawdy Sophie Tucker jokes.

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Old fashioned musical fills Cadillac Palace Theatre with joy

(L-R) Kelly Sheehan and Jeremy Benton and company itap dancing to “I love a Piano” in Irving Berlin’s White Christams. (Jeremy Daniel Photography

4stars

It didn’t matter that outside temperatures were diving into the icy teens because inside the Cadillac Palace Theatre, Tuesday, “Irving Berlin’s White Christmas” was warming the hearts of families and veterans with “Happy Holidays,” “Count Your Blessings” and “We’ll Follow the Old Man.”

But good as Berlin’s music and lyrics and David Ives and Paul Blakes’ book are, what makes the touring production now playing in Chicago worth its four stars is its talented cast and Randy Skinner’s excellent choreography and direction.

There are the perfectly executed dance numbers by a superb ensemble and the wonderful dancing of Kelly Sheehan as Judy Haynes and Jeremy Benton as Phil Davis. Plus, there is the beautiful voice of Kerry Conte as Betty Haynes and the Martha Raye-style singing and acting of Lorna Luft as Martha Watson.

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‘Twelfth Night’ revisited

3 stars

If I might borrow from Chicago’s city motto “Urbs in Orto” (translated as “City in a Garden”) this production of “Twelfth Night” can be described as “Theatrum in Orto” (“Theater in a Garden”) as Midsommer Flight presents their popular perennial production of one of Shakespeare’s silliest plays, energetically performed, amid the (house-plants run amok) tropical flora collection in the Lincoln Park Conservatory’s Show House Room.

Directed by Dylan S. Roberts the comedy is intimately staged more-or-less in-the-round, costumed in 20^th Century modern dress.

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‘The Christmas Foundling’ or five men and a baby

The Christmas Foundling at Buena Arts Center. (Photo courtesy of Pride Films and Plays)

3 Stars

Five men in a small mining camp circa 1850s California find the meaning of family with the addition of a baby boy. It is an upbeat holiday story that explores the meaning of family and serves to illustrate the need for humans to band together forging family bonds in whatever circumstances they happen to be while also exploring the tug of bloodline ties.

This sentimental Pride Films & Plays (PFP) production directed by Danne W. Taylor will rival anything you might find on the Hallmark Channel this holiday season and may require an extra dose of insulin.

The well written script by Normal Allen is inspired by stories of 19^th Century author Bret Harte and is best served by Michael D. Graham as Old Jake, the glue that keeps this production together. Graham seems to have the best grasp of the cadence and pace of the men of this period and circumstance.

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Snarky Santaland Diaries Worthy of the Naughty List

Steven Strafford in the one-man-show of The Santaland Diaries at Goodman Theatre. (Cody Nieset photo)

3 stars

I still remember the first time I heard the caustic wit of David Sedaris as he performed his “The Santaland Diaries” monologue on NPR’s “This American Life.” I was gobsmacked. This snarky, irreverent essay quickly became a holiday staple in our house, revered as much as our other annual, if slightly less irreverent, family favorite, “A Christmas Story.”

Still, I had never seen the wickedly funny monologue on stage until this week when I headed to the Goodman’s Owen Theatre to spend an hour with Steven Strafford as the not-always-lovable elf named Crumpet. Continue reading “Snarky Santaland Diaries Worthy of the Naughty List”

‘A Christmas Carol’ still delights at Goodman

Larry Yando as Ebenezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol at Goodman theatre (Photo by Liz Lauren)

3 ½ stars

Goodman Theatre’s annual “A Christmas Carol,” now in its 42 appearance, continues to draw thousands of families downtown Chicago for Charles Dickens’ 19th century story about redemption.

Originally called A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas when published in 1843, the tale does feature four ghosts. At Goodman, the production also features Larry Yando making his 12th appearance as Ebenezer Scrooge, the Charles Dickens character whose name is synonymous with miser.

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‘Annie’ celebrates bright optimism at Citadel

Annie at Citadel Theatre (Photo courtesy of Citadel theatre) — Annie at Citadel Theatre
(Photo courtesy of Citadel theatre)

4 stars

One of the most popular comic strips of all time, “Little Orphan Annie” comes to life at the Citadel Theatre. recently extended until January 5, 2020.

Staged in a small, intimate space, the show features talented singers and dancers, a happy musical score, a delightful group of ragtag orphans and one adorable mutt, Sandy.

The plot revolves around poor Annie who lives in an orphanage, believing her parents are out there somewhere. She escapes her miserable life and tries to find them in New York City, without success. Continue reading “‘Annie’ celebrates bright optimism at Citadel”

Jukebox musical told anecdotal style

‘Always…Patsy Cline’

3 stars

The show is an amusing tale written by Ted Swindley based on a true story as told by Louise Seger (Harmony France).

Seger had met young Nashville chanteuse Patsy Cline (Christina Hall) at one of her early Houston performances in the 1950s. The meeting created a friendship that lasted until the legendary singer’s tragic death six years later at age thirty.

France’s energetic performance as Louise is the only real substance in this country music jukebox production which incidentally features a real jukebox as part of the honky-tonk set design of Lauren M. Nichols. Continue reading “Jukebox musical told anecdotal style”