Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre presents Spring 2025 Concert Series

CRDT debuted their Spring 2025 Concert Series, helmed by co-founder and artistic director Wilfredo Rivera, at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts this past weekend. The program included a collection of pieces from past years and a few premieres, featuring work from choreographers Wilfredo Rivera, Shannon Alvis and Michelle Manzanales and composers Joe Cerqua and James Sanders.

The night opened with Lágrimas Negras, which, despite the name (Black Tears) and the song’s history as a 1931 bolero-son by Miguel Matamoros, was an exuberant celebration of Salsa and other Caribbean rhythms. However, the tone of the night was really set a few pieces later, by Less choreographed by Shannon Alvis, composed by Joe Cerqua and danced by Brennen Renteria. A haunting and emotive piece, it was written in 2020 as a reaction to the experience of lockdown. Renteria danced beautifully, expressing the profound loneliness and fear felt by so many in that year. The next stand out was The Island, choreographed by Michell Manzanales, composed by James Sanders and featuring Lilia Ambler Castillo Gomez and Caitlin Clark. It tells the story of an island in Humboldt Park Lagoon that becomes the refuge of two young girls. The principal dancers infused their movements with a childlike energy that was unmistakable, and the piece also showcased what is so unique to CRDT: an earthy, tactile and intimate physicality.

The use of touch and intimacy was continued in Identity City, a piece from 2023, choreographed by Shannon Alvis, composed by Joe Cerqua and collaborated on by Lucas Greeff. Consisting of several short pieces, each one explored gender identity in a unique and lyrical way, while still adhering to the earthy, organic feel of the earlier pieces. Dancer Yui Nakatani had a particularly lovely solo, called Reflection.

The second half of the night included a Paul Simon cover by Joe Cerqua, and an excerpt from a larger piece by co-founder Wilfredo Rivera, American Catracho (2019). The dance was a semi-autobiographical exploration of Rivera’s own journey as a young immigrant. It was a deeply personal piece, reflected in both the continued use of physical intimacy of the dancers and the costumes, plain streetwear that somehow highlighted the emotional struggles of everyday people as they go about their lives, as if we could see the workings of their souls beneath the trappings of the everyday.

The CRDT style was a captivating departure from other dance companies. More theatrical than a modern or experimental company, but more abstract than theater or ballet. There was a live band, and at times, the musicians left the band box to participate in the dances, creating a deeper feeling of connection between the music and the dance. The dancers themselves move with an athleticism and power that they seem to be channeling up from the very earth itself. At moments in The Island I found myself imagining that the company had emerged from some magical wood, moving with an almost primal grace. Overall, the show was an exploration of identity that seemed to highlight the very physical reality of life as a human in a body, with an occasional, incongruous Paul Simon cover. The style is unique and captivating, and worth coming out to see.

Recommended

Reviewed by Alina C. Hevia

To learn more about Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre, check out their website www.cerquarivera.org

Additional information about this and other area productions can be found by visiting www.theatreinchicago.com.

Teatro Vista and Filament Theatre present the World Premiere of: Memorabilia

Imagine a steampunk, late seventies era, Geppetto’s workshop: warm wood, various electric lights, a machine of piled tvs, buttons and levers. This is Salvador’s memory workshop. Instead of making toys, Salvador collects memories. He examines them, then pieces them together like puzzles of gossamer and string and sound. What he builds is a mournful celebration, or perhaps a cheerful dissection of memory and the loss of memory that characterizes any person’s life.

MEMORABILIA by Jean Claudio (Salvador) and director Raquel Torre, produced by Teatro Vista Productions and co-presented at Filament Theatre, is a whimsical, bilingual, hard-to-categorize dive into a unique world of sight and sound. In classic clowning fashion, there are very few words. Instead, Salvador’s memories are presented to the audience through dance, acrobatics, clowning, music, video and old-fashioned emoting. It is a reminder that the essential language of humanity is wordless.

Scenic Designer Lauren Nichols created the sort of dreamy workshop you’d want to get lost in for a little while, poking through boxes and pushing buttons. Lighting Designer Conchita Avitia and Sound Designer/Composer Satya Chávez designed the myriad sound and light cues with a sharpness that was precise as a knife but still felt organic. Every flicker of the lights, every sound from the speakers, immersed the audience further into Salvador’s exploration of his memories. For some of Salvador’s more powerful or painful memories, Projection Designer Liviu Pasare created video clips that shined through the windows of the workshop. Each clip had the rapid and fragmentary quality of a racing mind, trying to recall something you know is (was?) important, but can’t seem to grasp in the here and now. The story of Salvador is told in bits and pieces; there is no explanation as to how he lost his memories, started his workshop, or found himself at this moment in his life, and none is needed. This is a moment like any other: when who you were and who you are, are blending into who you will be. Despite these heady, philosophical qualities, the show is chock full of classic jokes like throwing things up that don’t come down, pratfalls, imaginary windstorms and creaky doors, silly jump scares and jaw dropping acrobatics. The absurd elements add to the surreal quality, and the clown elements keep things light and engaging.

There is a lot of audience participation as well, meaning that each night of this show will be unique, dependent in part on who comes to see it. I suspect you could watch several nights in a row and experience something different every time. Choreographer Michel Rodríguez Cintra created an exploration of childhood, falling in love and grief that Jean Claudio’s expressive physicality translates into what feels like a seamless dance. In reality, the show is structured loosely, with extended scenes, dances, clowning or acrobatic moments, interspersed with the audience participation.

Jean Claudio’s varied talents mean that there are often many elements at play in any given scene. In one of the only scenes with lines, Salvador walks through a memory of being a waiter in a cafe and waits on several audience members – taking their orders, chatting with them and serving them coffee. It felt like we were witnessing a light work-place comedy. In another, he uses one of his inventions to hear the songs playing in audience member’s heads, getting the biggest laughs of the night – and a totally different experience than the cafe had been. One magical element I was lucky to witness was a child in the audience whose laughter floated up at different times than the adults’ – usually followed by delighted chuckles from everyone who heard it. It was like a physical infusion of joy and wonder.

My favorite aspect of the show however, was one more specific to me: as a “third culture” kid – the child of an immigrant and the product of a community of bilingual, bicultural families, Memorabilia reflects a mind and a culture that I recognized. Kulikitaka by Toño Rosario gets as much play time as Hit Me Baby One More Time by Britney Spears. Reggaeton is followed by Lionel Richie. Salvador speaks Spanish and English, and the labels in his workshop are in both languages at random. A classic Mexican bolero, El Reloj, threads through the show – emphasizing the power of memory and music through generations, and reminding the audience that we are all a collection of memories, and not only our own: my Cuban grandmother’s favorite songs still play in the back of my mind, accompanied by my father’s love of Albita and my mother’s love of the Beach Boys – they all shaped who I am today, even if I don’t remember all the words.

Despite the silliness, the music and the dance, as the evening progresses, it becomes clear that Salvador is searching for specific memories of a specific person, and many of those memories are tinged blue with grief. While no explanation is given as to how he lost them, it is clear that he desperately wants to get them back. Despite the light touch, if you have ever experienced the intimate horror of watching a loved one become lost to a disease like Alzheimer’s or Dementia, this will strike a chord. But don’t be deterred, if anything, Memorabilia reminds us that we are a collection of all of our memories, forgotten or not, and that the experiences that shape us are with us always. It is hilarious, it is touching, it is memorable.

This is a perfect show to bring the whole family to. In fact, part of the joy is watching others experience it with you. Go see it.

Highly Recommended

Reviewed by Alina C. Hevia

Memorabilia can be seen at the Filament Theater, located at 4041 N Milwaukee Ave
Chicago, IL 60641 June 4 – 29, Wednesdays through Saturdays 7:30 p.m.; Sundays 2 and 6 p.m.  General Admission $45. Each performance has a number of Teatro for All tickets for $20 available on a first come, first served basis. At a higher price, the VIP package ($65) helps support Teatro Vista’s ticket accessibility programs and includes reserved seating and Teatro Vista memorabilia (see what we did there?) as a thank you for being a community champion. Note: Taxes and fees not included.

Group rates available; contact boxoffice@teatrovista.org for details or got to www.teatrovista.org for tickets.

Email boxoffice@teatrovista.org for tickets

Evanston Salt Costs Climbing is a Constant Truism.

Evanston Salt Costs Climbing was originally a writing assignment while playwright Will Arbery was in college: he had to write a short play based on a headline and challenged himself to find the most boring headline imaginable. The resultant mix of mundanity, absurdity, menace and humanity feels so topical it’s hard to believe it debuted in the relatively innocent days of 2018.

The play opens with long time co-workers and friends, Basil (understudy Christopher Hainsworth) and Peter (Jelani West), before a winter workday in 2014. They work for the city of Evanston as Salt Truck Drivers. They have spent enough time with each other to have a shorthand and easy camaraderie, which is interrupted by a cheery visit from their supervisor, Jane Maiworm, played by Ashley Neal. The back and forth feels lived in, the set up feels like an invitation to enjoy a peek into the lives of a specific community in the Midwest

The First Floor Theater company’s production, in the Bookspan at the Den Theatre on Milwaukee, makes great use of the long, narrow space. The salt warehouse, where Basil and Peter spend most of their time, is at one end, and Maiworm’s home is at the other. Lighting Designer Conchita Avitia did a lot of the heavy lifting in separating the space and creating movement, for example, when Basil and Peter are driving their truck. Sound Designer Matt Reich also deserves special mention: from the turning off and on of the truck, to the wind when the imaginary doors are opened, to the ominous tones that fill the room when Basil’s demons appear, the sound cues help fill out the small space and spare staging with detail and texture.

What begins as a slightly quirky, workspace comedy quickly begins to reveal a darker core. Jelani West’s Peter is a loving, supportive friend, plagued with “sadness” that he cannot shake, and often expresses thoughts of suicide. West whips through laughter and pain with an intensity that leaves the viewer unsettled and a little unsure as to danger to himself or others he might pose. Hainsworth’s Basil, meanwhile, writes creepy, strange short stories, but refuses to dive any deeper into the very real darkness Peter is running from.

At first, Maiworm is just a well-meaning, if slightly self-important low-level municipal employee. Soon, however, we discover she is living with her daughter, Jane Jr., played by Jacinda Ratcliffe, who struggles with paralyzing anxiety and suicidal ideation as well. In fact, it’s Jane Jr. who puts words to the feeling that has begun to creep up as the story unfolds: “Don’t you feel that there is something, underneath everything, that wants us to die?” Maiworm refuses to feel it, putting all of her energy into “administration,” fiercely believing in its ability to keep people safe, and build a community that works for everyone. Ashley Neal moves through the production with a desperate cheerfulness and awkward attempts at friendliness that often produce the biggest laughs, though occasionally come off as slightly bigger than necessary in what is ultimately an intimate look at the creeping, cold anxiety that most of us seem to be living with these days.

As the story continues, things begin to twist and turn in weirder and darker directions. As Maiworm struggles to find safer, more environmentally responsible ways to maintain Evanston’s winter roads, Basil reveals a darker and darker past, and Peter’s menacing depression is met with real-life tragedy. Meanwhile, Jane Jr. is frozen in time, year after year she is stuck in her mother’s house, paralyzed with choice and with the ever bleaker trajectory of climate change. Ratcliffe shines for a moment with a short dance number that is as powerful as it is another rather pointless attempt to get out of her anxiety-ridden hermitage.

The last third of the play goes completely off the rails when it comes to plot. Desperation and darkness are everywhere, the veneer of everyday, midwestern cheer thinning with every moment. Tragedy builds on tragedy, and the characters all long to connect with each other, but often have no idea how to do so with any real meaning. In the end, Arbery seems to be saying that it doesn’t really matter. They are there, they are trying, and as the world ends around us, as salt costs only climb, all we really have are each other – it’s the people that matter, even when they can’t understand each other.

Recommended

Reviewed by Alina C. Hevia

Presented at The Bookspan at The Den Theatre, 1331 N. Milwaukee Ave, Chicago. May 15 – June 14, 2025 Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 8 p.m.; Sundays at 3 p.m. Tickets for  Evanston Salt Costs Climbing  can be purchased online at:  https://www.firstfloortheater.com and range from $10.00 – $35.00.

Additional information about this and other area productions can be found by visiting www.theatreinchicago.com.

The Blank Theatre’s Sweet Charity is a Ray of Brightly Colored Sunshine.

SWEET CHARITY, written, directed and choreographed by Bob Fosse for Gwen Verdon, made it’s Broadway debut in 1966, and garnered several Tonies. When watching the joyful, silly, brightly colored confection that is the Blank Theatre Company’s production at The Greenhouse Theater Center, its roots as a show conceived by a dancer are easy to see.

The story follows the adventures of Charity Hope Valentine, optimistic dance-hall hostess (or taxi-dancer) with a heart of gold, as she searches for love in New York City. Taxi dancing first appeared in taxi-dance halls in the early 20th century in the United States, in them, male patrons typically bought dance tickets for a small sum each. When a patron presented a ticket to a chosen taxi dancer, she danced with him for the length of a song and earned a commission on every dance ticket she received. Fosse based the musical on the 1957 Italian film, Nights of Cabiria – about a sex worker looking for love, but I’m guessing that was a bridge too far for 1960s era Broadway. It is heavily coded in SWEET CHARITY, however, that the jump from taxi-dancer to sex worker isn’t very far, and it’s interesting to see what has and hasn’t changed much in the 60 or so years since it debuted.

Charity herself is played with a big, bubbly smile by Teah Kiang Mirabelli. The show opens with a hopeful, energetic number, before her dirt-bag boyfriend betrays her. She takes her sorrows to work, and her friends and co-workers give her tough love, which moves into one of the most famous numbers of the show: Hey Big Spender. This is also when the production begins to shine. I suppose it should be no surprise that a show conceived by a dancer would have wonderful, expressive dance numbers, but it was a surprise at just how great this ensemble carried it off. It’s a difficult thing to find dancers who can sing, and vice versa. Director McKenzie Miller uses each player perfectly, creating a beautiful, ever-changing whirlwind of characters. Choreographer Lauryn Schmelzer must have memorized the exact width and depth of the stage, because the dancers move across it with a precision and fluidity that are captivating. The design team of Cindy Moon as costume design, Amy Gillman scenic design, Ellie Humphrys lighting design and Abby Gillette on props also do a wonderful job of creating a slightly psychedelic, cheerful environment, just shy of too much.  The use of pop-signs to move the action along was not only funny, but made the show feel modern – like the show had a plot-driven comments section.

Given the 14 member cast, everyone has a ton to do, and everyone does it well. Special mention must go to Damondre Green, who plays an absolutely electric cult leader and Kelcy Taylor and India Huy, who play Charity’s besties Nickie and Helene. Eldon Warner Soriano also plays a very convincing Italian movie star and Dustin Rothbart is a lovable nerd as Oscar.

The best moments were the ensemble dance numbers. It was impossible not to smile through the silly, rhythmic, absolutely-attitude-packed pieces. They all concluded to well-deserved, wild applause. Mirabelli’s Charity is a funny, self-deprecating clown who just wants to love, and has a capacity for optimism and a bright smile that is almost superhuman, but in a life punctuated by epic dance numbers, wouldn’t you be too? You won’t find a more fun evening than one spent with The Blank Theatre Company.

Highly Recommended

Reviewed by Alina C. Hevia

SWEET CHARITY runs May 9th – June 8th at The Greenhouse Theater Center, 2257 N Lincoln, Chicago, IL 60614 in Lincoln Park. Tickets range from $15-35. Additional information is available at www.blanktheatrecompany.org.

Additional information about this and other area productions can be found by visiting www.theatreinchicago.com.

The Second City keeps its promises and absolutely slaps.

The Second City began as a small comedy cabaret in Chicago in 1959. In the more than sixty years since, it has grown to become one of the most famous comedy venues in the country. This Too Shall Slap, is the 113^th Mainstage Production by the team there, and proof that age is just a number.

A two-hour sketch comedy show, bursting with musical numbers, bits as short as a minute and extended sketches, the time absolutely flies by. The set is colorful but simple, and costumes are minimal. This gives the ensemble, with the help of light and musical cues, to grab the audiences attention and keep it for the entire run. “Comedic whiplash” is an appropriate way to describe the absolute sonic speed with which the players fly through their scenes. The thing about a sketch comedy show like this, as opposed to New York City institution SNL, is that it was developed in tandem with the performers and director, rehearsed and planned and will be performed, and still more honed into perfection for many more week. It makes for a polished, controlled experience, without any visible strings being pulled.

The ensemble is a seamless team, each playing to their strengths. Several of the cast have unexpectedly good singing voices and each get a moment or two to shine, there were also several dance numbers that were frankly joyous. Adonis Holmes has that unique ability to stay grounded and relatable, no matter how far outside the bounds of normal behavior his characters seem to stray, for example when he loses his cool in an anger management workshop and devolves to wordless, high-pitched screaming. Jordan Stafford has the perfect gangly grace to abruptly appear in a teacher’s lounge to dance his goodbye since the school has cut all arts or become so angry he becomes Spider Man. Leila Gorstein commits to her roles, whether as a nutso meditation teacher or an unhinged bodybuilder with an intensity that is as formidable as it is hilarious. Hanna Ingle has a bouncy energy that played to great effect in a sketch sending up a Paula Dean –type character. Bill Letz often leans into the role of midwestern neighbor next door perfectly, except for when he’s a terrifying waiter with supernatural powers.

The sketches themselves run from silly to razer sharp commentary. This ensemble is not afraid to make a statement and the show manages to be bitingly political while dancing lightly over any accusation of heavy-handedness. I had the luck to be sitting between a group of middle-school boys and a group of senior citizens, and both groups spent the evening howling with laughter. That is an impressively tight line to walk, but the ensemble made it look effortless.

My favorite sketches were a musical number reminiscent of Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation – except it was about an Autocratic one. There was also a running gag begun by a well-meaning school nurse who’s only solution to illness, injury or sadness is Gatorade. The jokes and call backs are thread effortlessly through the night; there were some gags so irresistible that the audience was joining in by the end.  The whole thing builds to a ridiculous climax which, appropriately, closes with a dance number. There was a spontaneous, and well deserved, standing ovation.

It helps that the staff at Second City is attentive and polite, and the place itself is run like the well-oiled machine that it is.  This show is a reminder of the power and importance of the arts (comedic especially) when the world seems to have lost its mind. If you are looking for a night that is seamlessly funny, topical and cathartic, this is the show for you.

Highly Recommended

Reviewed by Alina C. Hevia

This Too Shall Slap plays Tuesday – Thursday at 8pm, Friday – Sunday 7pm and Fridays and Saturdays 10pm. Located at 1616 N. Wells St. Chicago. Tickets start at $29 and are available at The Second City Box Office, by phone at 312-337-3992 or online at www.secondcity.com.

Additional information about this and other area productions can be found by visiting www.theatreinchicago.com.

Immersive meets the absurd in The Terror Cotta’s THE OSTRICH

The Terror Cottas is an experimental playwright-driven theatre group, and the historic North Mansion in Berger Park serves as an experimental theater for playwright Wendy A. Schmidt’s The Ostrich. The play is an absurdist, immersive experience that involves the Wright Brothers’ inexplicably living out of time and their collision with a small town called Ostrich, that has, perhaps unsurprisingly, a collective love of ostriches.

It opens on the front stoop of the mansion, where the mayor, Incandescence Groane, played with warmth by Shellie DiSalvo, announces that her beloved town of Ostrich, Indiana has been chosen by none other than the Wright Brothers to be the site of a new airstrip. The townspeople are all delighted at this sign of Progress, and even more delighted when the Wright Brothers themselves (Pete Wood and Donaldson Cardenas) arrive to give a speech, as if they’d just walked out of 1915 and onto the stage. Wood and Cardenas do a great turn as old-timey gentlemen. Wood is grandiose and cheerful, sporting an “evil” curled mustache, and Cardenas is a deceptively gentle mastermind. Once the announcement is made, the audience is invited into the house. The action unfolds mostly in the three main rooms of the home. The front room is appropriately covered in kitschy ostrich-themed art, as it is The Ostrich Feather, a bed and breakfast run by the mayor, while the other rooms serve as whatever the scene calls for, be it an airplane, a park, a beach or a front porch.

Each scene takes place in a different room – the audience is directed to each new scene by a tour guide. This makes for a new meaning to the term theater in the round, since every scene is viewed from a different angle, and the actors walk in and out, and even occasionally interact with the audience as if they are fellow townspeople. The plot is relatively straightforward, once you grasp that the Wright Brothers somehow exist as men of the early 19^th century in a town that has Amazon, HBO and woman-owned businesses. The Wright Brothers have been given carte blanche by the residents of Ostrich to choose land for their airfield – a thing everyone is convinced will put sleepy, quaint little Ostrich on the map. The brothers choose a back field belonging to Chuck (Jorge Salas), the brother of Incandescence and an unflappably cheerful guy. Unfortunately for Chuck, he had plans for that field – and it holds a tree shaped like an ostrich, the town’s pride and joy.

The misfortune doesn’t stop there. This play is about the destructive power of blind faith in progress. Each town member pays an increasing cost to welcome the Wright Brothers in and in the end, all they do is lose. There are some unexpected twists and turns as the story gets darker, with one huge, hilarious departure near the middle when the townspeople put on a play about Thanksgiving that somehow becomes a gun fight between Christopher Columbus and two self-important eagles (played by the very game ensemble members Ellen Adalaide and Jonathan Crabtree). After an evening of increasing silliness and a mounting feeling of unease regarding the Brother’s motives, the ending is a little abrupt – in fact, applause in the outer room was how we knew the show had ended at all. This led to a feeling of discomfort that I suspect was the playwright’s goal all along.

The combination of absurdity, surrealism and walking from room to room makes for a memorable evening. Experimental theater, according to the Terror Cottas, should: challenge audiences to think about life and themselves in a different way, expand the possibilities of the medium to keep it fresh and effective, speak to audiences of their particular moment in time in a way that artistic work from the past cannot, and nurture the audience’s ability to experience their present reality aesthetically, as opposed to experiences approved for inclusion in museums or histories. Frankly, The Ostrich does just that. If you’re looking for an evening of experimental theater that doesn’t involve sitting still for a few hours, this show is a great place to start.

Somewhat Recommended

Reviewed by Alina C. Hevia

May 2 – 17 at the Berger Park’s North Mansion, 6205 N.Sheridan. Performances are Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:00pm. Run time is 100 minutes with no intermission. There is an Industry performance on Monday, May 12 at 7 p.m. Tickets are on sale for $5 – $10 at www.TheTerrorCottas.org

Additional information about this and other area productions can be found by visiting www.theatreinchicago.com.

Dive into Chaos with Curious Theatre Branch’s Premiere, THE INFINITY PLAY

Paul William Brennan’s The Infinity play opens innocently: two characters in black, on a black stage, argue over who gets to speak first. It reads as a take on the random symbols we use to order our lives: A or B, 0 or 1 – or is it O or I? It’s a silly set up that devolves into a sillier, circular argument.

What follows is nine more scenes, each with two players, and each devolving further into chaos, betrayal, dissent and madness. None of the scenes are interconnecting, and none of the players seem to have a relationship with any other, but there is a common theme of circular, hopeless argument while characters try desperately to beat each other in games that have no winner. Each scene grows wilder and more destructive, until the stage resembles a junk heap, with props from each scene strewn about and occasionally recycled.  By the end, the actors are literally digging through the piles to find what they need. The cast seems larger than necessary for a collection of two-person scenes, it could have been done with a cast of only four, but all ten of them perform admirably. There is so much passion, so much yelling-in-faces, so much confusion and disagreement, and so many barely sensical conversations, that their commitment is the only thing the audience can really hold on to. The overall sense of bewilderment only grows as the play progresses. It begins with something to say about the hopeless, desperate scrambling in circles we humans do with each successive generation but then falls prey to its own complaint: the chaos heightens till there is nowhere for it to go and ultimately ends in one character’s attempts to solve a problem that doesn’t exist. Actress Maya Odim has a particularly soft and soothing voice that helped bring the room down collectively from the chaos that had been whipped up over the course of the evening.

The highlight of the night was the mostly seamless jumping from pre-recorded content played on a screen hanging from the middle of the stage, to live video on the same screen from a camera moved about the stage by the actors, and the actual, live-action play going on in real time. In some scenes, the actors even interact with the pre-recorded content, eliciting several laughs and a nod to the careful choreography that goes into that kind of move. The videos were often artfully edited and added considerably to the events going on onstage, sometimes as commentary, and sometimes as a continuation of a particular story line.

Ultimately, if you’ve ever wondered what that old stoner adage “time is a flat circle” would look like as a play, this is as close as I think you could get. Absurdist, experimental, and surreal, the Infinity Play reminds us that no matter how much we might try to correct the mistakes of the past, all we are really doing is making more of a mess.

Somewhat Recommended

Reviewed by Alina C. Hevia

Presented at the Jarvis Square Theater, 1439 W. Jarvis Ave. in Chicago.

Tickets for The Infinity Play tickets are on the “pay what you can” model, suggested rate is $20.00 and can be purchased at CuriousTheatreBranch.com

Performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30pm and Sundays at 5pm. Run time is 110 minutes with no intermission.

Additional information about this and other area productions can be found by visiting www.theatreinchicago.com.

The Ensemble has a night to shine at Chicago Lyric Opera’s A Wondrous Sound

The Chicago Lyric Opera consistently delivers productions that are excellent from bottom to top: luscious sets, incredible musicians and performers and thoughtfully directed shows. As anyone who has worked in the theater can tell you, for that many levels of excellence to exist, there is an enormous, hardworking, and often unseen team of people making the lead performers shine. A Wondrous Sound – a concert at the Chicago Lyric Opera this coming Saturday, April 19, brings some of the lesser-celebrated members of the Opera front and center.

This special concert features the Chorus and the Orchestra to showcase some of opera’s most famous and beloved overtures and choral works, as well as a few classic selections from American Musical Theater. It is conducted by Lyric’s Music Director Enrique Mazzola and hosted by Lyric’s General Director, John Mangum.

The audience is treated to brief explanations and histories of the pieces performed, and the music does the rest, filling the opera house with passion, beauty and melody. The program included well known favorites, such as the Carmen overture, and William Tell. The ensemble also stretched outside their more usual fare with selections from Westside Story, Carousel and The Sound of Music. One unique aspect of the show, pointed out by Chorus Director Michael Black, was that unlike most evenings at the Opera, there was little need for the audience to look up at the translation, you could sit back and let the music wash over you.

All the pieces were relatively brief. General Director and President John Magnum came out after every three or four pieces to introduce them, giving context and a few light jokes, and let the ensemble do what they do best. It was a real-time, real-life, curated, greatest hits playlist, played and sung by word class musicians in what felt like an act of love. Highlights included Verdi’s Nabucco, which was introduced both by John Magnum and Music Director Enrique Mazzola. Mazzola spoke of the power of “Va Pensiero,” the selection from Nabucco. It was written in 1841, when Italy was still a collection of independent kingdoms, troubled by foreign influences, tyrannical rulers and instability.  He described it as a song about the longing for freedom and loved ones that are out of reach when one’s land is ruled by tyrants, which struck a chord with the audience.

While every piece was excellent, there were a few standouts:

The selections from William Tell were the “Gloria al poter supremo!” March and Chorus from the Act 3 overture. The piece is instantly recognizable if you’ve ever seen Looney Toons or the Lone Ranger, and garnered laughter and applause.

“Freudig begrüssen wir edle Halle” from Wagner’s Tannhäuser, was the only German piece of the night. The chorus sang it with obvious relish, and the power to back up their enthusiasm.

We were also treated to Puccini’s “Humming Chorus” from Madame Butterfly, an achingly beautiful and difficult piece of music, as it is entirely hummed, but still has the vocal range one would expect from an Opera. The unique chorus of hums creates an ethereal, heartbreaking sound, that leaves a special sort of silence in its wake. It’s no wonder Madame Butterfly remains one of the most popular operas since its debut in 1904.

I’m a Musical Theater kid at heart, so the world-class treatment of Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim and Rogers and Hammerstein was especially delightful to hear. Mazzola invited the audience to participate in the West Side Story Overture section of “Mambo” which left me feeling like a kid mischievously singing along when my parent had shushed me. The women of the Chorus also provided a playful rendition of “America” that was captivating.

The night ended with arguably two of the more stirring songs from all of American Musical Theater: “Climb Every Mountain” from The Sound of Music, and “You’ll Never Walk Alone” from Carousel. Given that the sound of excellent singers raising their voices in harmony is already enough to move one’s soul, these two pieces surrounded the audience with what I can only describe as hope, if it had a sound.

There was a special encore at the end, but I don’t want to give it all away. This show is the perfect way to introduce kids, or really anyone, to the power and beauty in Opera and Classic American Theater. Do your family a favor and bring them out for some wondrous sound.

Highly Recommended

Reviewed by Alina C. Hevia

Presented at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. A final performance is on April 19, at 2:00pm. Tickets range from $65-$345. For more information and tickets, call 312.827.5600 or visit 

www.lyricopera.org/shows/upcoming/2024-25/a-wondrous-sound-concert/

Additional information about this and other area productions can be found by visiting www.theatreinchicago.com.

Giordano Dance Company Flies High in “Soaring.”

Giordano Dance Chicago, “America’s original jazz dance company,” celebrated its 62nd season with two performances and a gala celebration at the Harris Theater this past weekend. Giordano Dance Chicago is an iconic cultural institution with deep roots in Chicago and one of the longest running dance companies in the world. This past weekend’s program, “SOARING: Life, Light, and Legacy,” is a celebration of the joy of living, the brilliance of light, and the lasting impact of Nan Giordano’s 40 years at the helm of Giordano Dance Chicago as well as the vibrant life of her beloved son, Keenan Giordano Casey, that was cut too short this past October.

A blend of old and new pieces were showcased. The evening began with the world premiere of “Sana” (Latin for heal) by Al Blackstone, a choreographer in residence. Sana is his second work created for the full company and is set to an original music score by percussionist and pianist Stahv Danker. A warm, rhythmic piece, it begins with a sultry jazz feel, and ends in a percussive, athletic power that is invigorating and joyful. The next piece was “333,” a solo created for company dancer Erina Ueda, (Dance Magazine’s “25 to Watch 2024”) by Nan Giordano and Cesar G. Salinas. Erina dances with a level of sheer, physical power that is captivating. Her body is an expressive, joyful instrument that Giordano and Salinas used as a vessel for a celebration of life.

Ueda’s solo was followed by “SOARING,” a moving tribute to the life of Nan’s son, Keenan Giordano Casey (1995-2024). The piece was created through a collaboration between Nan Giordano, Cesar G. Salinas and the Giordano Dance Chicago Company Dancers. All in white, the dancers sped across the stage at almost dizzying speeds. Keenan Giordano Casey was taken too soon, and the pain of his loss could be felt as the dancers incorporated handheld candles. They created a feeling of collective gratitude to have lived and loved, and the inevitable sorrow that comes with that same gratitude. The audience was clearly packed with friends and family, and it was an honor to be a part of such a beautiful and heartfelt memorial.

The next piece was Red & Black, choreographed in 2024 by Ray Leeper. It felt like a throwback to the early days of jazz dance and an homage to a certain era of Broadway. The collection of songs went from classic to modern, beginning with Eartha Kitt and ending with Club De Beluga. Each vignette told a story of love, lust and adventure. The company is made up of particularly expressive dancers, who not only used their whole bodies, but their faces to tell their stories.

After intermission, the audience was treated to past works by Nan Giordano and Christopher Huggins. “Taal”, originally debuted in 2001, featured music by Anuradha, Suno A.R. Rahman and S Jhaia, and had a distinctly Southeastern Asian feel. The dancers incorporated large, saffron colored sheets that hung from the ceiling and created an atmosphere that felt grounded in nature, perhaps because of the soft, independent movement of the fabric as it reacted to the dancers.

The final work of the night was “Pyrokinesis,” originally created by Huggins in 2007. It won the 2008 Black Theater Alliance Award for “Best Choreography.” Huggins created a piece that builds on itself with a rhythmic intensity that was a joy to witness. The company’s athleticism, especially after a night of already powerful, energetic performance, was staggering.

Throughout the night, as the dancers hurled or spun or leaped or sashayed across the stage with perfect control, or supported each other with impossible strength, or reached toward the sky to bid farewell to a loved one, I was reminded that, above the other performance arts, dance often feels like the purest expression of human emotion. It needs no words, no roles or elaborate sets, only humans and their bodies in motion, living in riotous color. If you are looking for a reminder of what it is to be human, be sure to check out a Giordano Dance show this season.

Highly Recommended

Reviewed by Alina C. Hevia

To learn more about Giordano Dance Chicago, check out their website, and their calendar, here: https://www.giordanodance.org/calendar

Additional information about this and other area productions can be found by visiting www.theatreinchicago.com.

A Very Shakespearian Buddy Comedy

Helena and Hermia in the Enamored Odyssey at the Den Theater

The Imposters Theatre Company works out of the Crosby Theatre Space, tucked away at the top of the Den Theater on Milwaukee, and most commonly known for comedy. As you walk up the steps to the upstairs lounge, the noise of the clubs and bar below fades. In the case of Helena and Hermia in the Enamored Odyssey, walking into the space is like leaving the world behind, because the company has transformed the little space into a Magical Wood: filled with creeping vines, bright flowers, shadowed corners and birch trees. It’s an appropriate setting for this musical re-telling of Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream.

The show follows the general plot of Midsummer, but with way more singing, and a healthy dose of Shakespeare-nerd jokes and fourth wall asides: In Harken’s Hold, England, a Duke (Gabriel Reitemeier) prepares for his grand wedding to the future Duchess (Tessa Marie Hoffman). Local law states a daughter must obey her father’s every command, and that does not sit well with saucy Hermia, (Shannon McEldowney), whose father insists that she give her hand in marriage to pompous Demetrius (Zachary Riley), who she does not love. In defiance, Hermia sets off with her boyfriend; the slightly delicate Lysander (Ethan Gasbarro), into the neighboring Far Forest, intending to marry him outside of their region’s jurisdiction. She swears her dearest friend Helena (Anna Roemer) to secrecy along the way. Helena, lovelorn and desperate, immediately turns around and tells her true love what her bestie is up to, the problem being that her true love is the aforementioned Demetrius.

The gaggle of lovers take off into the trees and soon cross paths with the faeries, embroiled in a battle between the Fairy King and Queen, (Reitemeier as Oberon and Hoffman as Titania) and an amateur acting troupe (traditionally known as The Mechanicals), rehearsing for their big show at the Duke’s wedding. As anyone can guess, hijinks ensue.

Composer and Librettist Dominick Alesia sticks to the plot for the first half of the play and even throws in a few references to other classics. In fact, The Bard is referenced frequently, like a god. There are frequent throwaway comments from the actors on the action, or some aspects of the play that haven’t aged as well in the past four hundred years. The Duke even steps out to explain plot points a few times. This creates a sort of tongue in cheek effect, where the actors are at once bringing the audience in on the joke but also living out their stories in real time. It’s a hard line to toe and mostly worked. McEldowney and Roemer, as the titular besties, do a nice job with it, giving the impression that Helena and Hermia are a little too smart for this, but alas, what’s a girl in a play to do but say her lines? Reitemeier also toes the line well, his performance as the stiff Duke, much more fluid Oberon and occasional narrator gives him the space to play with multiple characterizations infused with silliness and weariness – a good-natured, slightly flamboyant, midwestern dad, if you will.

The Mechanicals, Nick Bottom (Ian Rigg), Petra Quince (Annika Andersson), Francis Flute (Sam Martin), Robin Starveling (Bruce Holtman) and Tamsin Snout (Maya Reyna). Do their best to steal the show and almost succeed. They are raucous, ridiculous, and having arguably way too much fun. Rigg came out hot in the small role of Hermia’s father, a bit cartoonish and over-the-top to start with, but his Bottom is a self-satisfied ham whose confidence is so vast he’s not even thrown off by the donkey-head, and that’s a lot of fun to see. He also has a rich and versatile voice that he used to the hilt and managed to build Bottom’s ridiculousness from scene to scene. His final death scene as Pyramus, along with Martin’s slightly confused Flute as Thisbe, was next-level silliness, and had the audience in stitches. All the Mechanicals deserve a mention here. Since they double as Titania’s faery escort, they work their pants off: costume changes and group dance numbers and stagehands galore. Bruce Holtman’s Robin Starveling was a delightfully dainty try-hard. He managed a slightly more low-key performance and still held his own against the stomping, tromping, 10 decibel Bottom, Flute and Quince. You got the impression that he deserved his petulance, surround by all those oafs. Anderson’s Quince was a passionate, if not very talented writer. My favorite bit of hers was a new addition to the play: she wanders about lost in the wood till she stumbles on Helena and Hermia, and her silly helplessness helped keep things moving along at a time it had begun to slow down just a bit. Reyna’s Snout has a solid singing voice, and a cameo as another famous Shakespearian character that left me wishing for a play where she could have joined in the action a bit longer.

Titania is arguably one of the key roles in this show, and Tessa Marie Hoffman plays her with a ton of energy. Her story is also one of the biggest departures from the original play. You can understand why Alesia made the choices he did: Titania’s humbling by Oberon is an ever more difficult pill to swallow as the years go by. She’s a powerful, intelligent, demigoddess who comes off as a generally good force in the world, while Oberon is a petty, jealous and controlling man-baby. That said, making Titania an all-powerful, all-knowing mastermind who is always three steps ahead leaves us wondering why she would put up with Oberon in the first place. As charming as Gabriel Reitemeier is, there weren’t many moments in this production where it was obvious what Titania saw in him at all.

The second half of the production takes several departures from the original play. Helena and Hermia are given much more agency to solve their own problems and have a delightful run-in with Puck. Lysander and Demetrius are mostly useless, schoolboys, but both actors are useless school boys with panache. Rachel Borgo’s Puck drives the action along in the best accent of the night, a thick, Scottish brogue. Her look is markedly different than the rest of the cast, she creeps about and around the stage in dark rags and paint, an emo-fairy laughing at all the vibrant color around her. Borgo has a commanding stage presence and is creepily well-suited to the role.

Director Stefan Roseen and Costume Designer Toria Olivier went with a vaguely Regency era look. Umpire waists and men in short pants are what we generally expect from Shakespeare, but seeing how the Bard himself set the play in ancient Greece, I found myself wondering how the play would look if they’d dropped any pretense at the English style. The set design was lovely, as were most of the clothes, but I occasionally found the anachronisms distracting. Borgo in particular, despite her accent, felt wilder than the English countryside of the Regency era could have withstood. McEldowney and Hoffman both went with a parody of posh accents, that left me wondering what they could have done if they hadn’t had to spend so much time on how to shape their “a”s. That said, McEldowney was the standout here. She played Hermia with a clumsy grace and a great eye for physical clowning that played up her damsel in distress beautifully.

Dominick Alesia also did a bang-up job as the band: he played piano, guitar and even interacted with the players a few times. He and Roseen made the right choice to keep the arrangements simple and the actors un-amplified. Though again, I wonder how the music would have felt in a slightly less “formal” setting than Regency England. The score was challenging and ran the gamut from operatic, to show tunes, to “ye old drinking song.” For my part, it was the older, folk styles that worked best, both for the space and for the actors singing them.

Though the night runs long, I find that The Imposters Theatre Company is consistently ambitious, creative and entertaining. They will never go home when they could go big.  They also keep ticket prices affordable, and their location means you can grab a drink at intermission. I was glad to be a part of their latest work and look forward to seeing what they try next.

Recommended

Reviewed by Alina C. Hevia

Presented in the Crosby Theatre space at the Den Theatre, 1331 N. Milwaukee Ave, Chicago. March 28-April 12 Thursday – Sunday at 7:30 PM and Sunday April 6, 3pm.

Tickets Helena and Hermia in the Enamored Odyssey can be purchased online at:  www.theimposterstheatre.com and range from $26.00 – $31.00 (including fees).

Additional information about this and other area productions can be found by visiting www.theatreinchicago.com.