The Playboy of the Western World

The Playboy of the Western World – City Lit Theatre

At a pub in County Mayo, Ireland in 1907, a young man stumbles and says that he has just killed his father with a shovel. After telling his story, he instantly becomes a local celebrity, with the town celebrating his bravery in standing up to his horrible father. Things get more complicated with the father, apparently only injured, shows up looking for him.

A Boogie Wonderland

Priscilla, Queen of the Desert

Amidst a profusion of sequins, marabou and mylar the ensemble of this cotton candy of a musical dazzles and delights audiences of every age, gender and persuasion. It’s just plain fun and, boy, with all that’s going on in the world today, do we ever need this dose of eye-popping, over-the-top beguilement right now. Christopher Chase Carter has energetically directed and choreographed a spirited, vivacious heartfelt musical version of the 2011 Tony Award-winning production that was, in turn, based upon a 1994 film cult classic.

Madcap enchantment and revelry abound in Summer Stage’s production of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Madcap enchantment and revelry abound in Summer Stage’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Director Dustin J. Martin’s spin on the tale plays with the narrative’s play-within-a-play technique to present a charmingly transportive production that is as much about the high-minded nature of dramatic potential as it is a nimble farce full of bewitched lovers, vengeful fairies, and donkey-headed amateur actors.

Storytelling At Its Best

Dear Jack, Dear Louise – Northlight Theatre

Handwritten letters. Does anyone remember these blasts from the past? Nowadays, we read a person’s thoughts in Twitter comments, short texts or possibly email missives—all electronically produced. But Goethe once wrote that handwritten letters are among the most significant memorial a person can leave behind them. For Ken Ludwig, the much-acclaimed prolific playwright of such popular comedies as “Lend Me a Tenor,” “Moon Over Buffalo,” and the George Gershwin musical “Crazy For You,” this sentiment is a  perfect description of his latest comic drama. It’s storytelling at its best, all told through the hundreds of imagined letters written by his parents, Jack and Louise Ludwig. And the result is a warm, very funny and often gripping true life story that’s also a heartfelt tribute to two wonderful, real life people.

A Night With Felicia P. Fields

Pearl’s Rollin’ With the Blues – Writers Theatre

When audiences think of the Blues, they most often associate that musical style with sadness, depression or melancholy. But the Blues can also have happy or even slightly bawdy lyrics, as the packed house at Writers Theatre joyfully discover when Chicago superstar, Felicia P. Fields takes the stage. Co-created by Ms Fields and Director Ron OJ Parson, the Tony Award-nominated actress/singer absolutely brings down the house in Glencoe. Closely harmonizing together with her onstage band, the talented company dazzles the audience with their salty and heartfelt words and music that provide additional heat to the summer night.

My Fair Lady

My Fair Lady – Broadway in Chicago

If you like the classics, this is definitely a classic. Traditional and standard to what you might have seen if you saw the Loewe and Lerner version when it debuted 1956. It is family friendly, good for the young and the old. For me, being in the middle of those two demographics made it slightly harder to appreciate, but it did bring back memories of the matinees my Bubbie would get me dressed up for when I was a little kid.