Laid back romance meets sleight of hand in Luis Carreon’s Intimo.

Since breaking ground in 2017, Chicago Magic Lounge has been hosting “Chicago-style” magic, a tradition of up close “table magic” that was part of Chicago night life for nearly 100 years. Table magic usually involves, cards, coins and other things that are best experienced “up close.”

The Lounge, on Clark in Andersonville, even has a secret entrance: from the outside it looks like a laundromat. The delightful sight of laundry machines swinging open to reveal a twenties-style speak easy sets the tone just as you arrive. Shades of emerald green and glints of polished wood, combined with affable and welcoming staff create a unique atmosphere of relaxed elegance.

While you get a drink from their extensive and creative cocktail menu, the house magicians roam from table to table, performing exactly the kind of table magic Chicago was once known for. It’s like getting your own, personal magic show. My friend and I were hugely entertained by Paige, a magician as fun and colorful as her blue and purple hair and her named Queen Cards, and Michael, who opened our minds to the magical uses of rubberbands. The show began a bit late, but I can say with confidence that everyone in the audience was already having so much fun, it didn’t seem to bother anyone. Even better, the Harry Blackstone Cabaret is beautifully designed, there isn’t a bad seat in the house. When the lights came down and the crowd hushed, all eyes were on Luis Carreon.

Luis Carreon is a Chicago Magic Lounge co-founding member. He’s been featured on the Univision Evening News and was a semi-finalist on Tengo Talento, Mucho Talento, the Spanish-language equivalent of America’s Got Talent. The experience shows, he is confident and at ease, letting his magic take center stage, but never hiding behind it. He peppers his jokes with Spanish phrases and just a smattering of cultural history that adds a personal touch to every moment; you get the feeling that Carreon the entertainer is just the man himself, albeit in a pristine, white satin suit. His physical ability with the cards alone is impressive, in his hands, whole decks move like a living thing, shifting and undulating like waves or leaves. He builds his programs from small pleasures to a genuine show-stopper involving a knife and a blindfold – brining several audience members along the journey.  He also has a penchant for romance – a strain for whimsical beauty ran through several of his pieces, lending a little drama and sincerity to what was otherwise a funny, lighthearted show.

This is one of those programs where I don’t want to give too much away – part of the fun, after all, is the discovery. The unique feel of the Lounge, the easy-going charm, the mood lighting, the beautiful cocktails, all come together to create a unique experience – only possible with a live show.

Magic, especially the kind of intimate, close-up magic Carreon and his fellow magicians at Chicago Magic Lounge specialize in, is an alchemical mix of math, showmanship and comedy. In the current climate, it’s also a chance for artists to invite audiences in, delighting us and reminding us that the world is full of mystery and fun – something everyone can enjoy. Carreon is especially good at audience interaction, improvising as needed and engaging with audience members like they’re old friends. I can’t think of many better ways to spend an evening, than with friends, a good cocktail, and a little magic to delight and mystify.

Highly Recommend.

Reviewed by Alina C. Hevia

Catch Luis Carreon’s Intimo at Chicago Magic Lounge will be in the Harry Blackstone Cabaret Wednesdays at 7:00pm, March 25–June 24, 2026.

Tickets are priced $42.50 (Standard) and $47.50 (Front Row), plus a $4.75 ticket fee. Tickets for all Chicago Magic Lounge shows are available at the box office, (312) 366-4500 or online at www.chicagomagiclounge.com

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

Theater of the Mind carries perception from outwards in at the Goodman Theater.

The Memory Palace, known in Roman times as the method of loci, is a concept used for organizing and recalling information. It involves mentally associating pieces of information with specific locations in a familiar environment, like rooms in a house, or drawers in a cabinet.  The user visualizes these locations in sequence and imagines placing the concepts to be remembered at specific points within the house (or cabinet, or whatever).  Recall is achieved by mentally retracing the path and using the imagined places to retrieve the associated information. Co-Creators David Byrnes and Mala Gaonkar have taken this concept out of the mind and into a tangible experience at the Goodman Theater. It is an immersive blend of your childhood local science museum, a one person show, and a meditation on the nature of memory – and how it shapes who we are.

Tours of only 16 people at a time are taken on a 75-minutes journey through the memory palace of a character named David. The different rooms each have meaning for him, and the friends he has brought along. Each room provides an experience that plays with perception and examines how perception can alter any moment profoundly. Part of the joy of this experience is not knowing what each room will present, so I won’t get into details, but be prepared for all of your senses to be piqued.

Multiple shows go on each night, spaced out 15 minutes apart. Director Andrew Scoville has orchestrated a cast of eleven different actors of various ages, sexes and ethnicities to guide their audiences through the program with a playful yet clock-like efficiency.  Our David was the warm, engaging, Shariba Rivers. The choice to cast based on vibes, rather than any physical qualities, gives the whole evening a philosophical air – it’s about David, and Shariba, and you and me and anyone else in the room. It’s about our minds and our hearts, and what they can do, and how we can choose to engage with the world around us. Participating in this multi-media, technology heavy and yet deeply personal work reminded me of Arthur C. Clarke’s famous statement that magic is just science we don’t understand yet. Or perhaps, that the blend of art and science is the true definition of magic.

Despite the fact that all of the illusions in the program can be explained, in fact, at the end of the program audiences are even given a list of explanations and further reading, one can’t help but be slightly dissatisfied with the idea that science is nothing but facts. The ability of our minds to be fooled, of our senses to be mistaken, and of our memories to be imperfect requires a certain flexibility in thought and a steadiness of heart that goes beyond algorithms. In one room, there is a very technology-driven, futuristic experience and yet, that experience happens surrounded by expressive, strange and striking paintings made by a real person, conveying real and mysterious thoughts and feelings that inform the moment profoundly.

In dark times this evening is a return to wonder, a reminder that life, and the universe are filled with mysteries and seeking knowledge can be a joyful, illuminating experience, if you can let go and allow new perspectives to expand your understanding, rather than limit it. Perhaps this description of the show says it best:

Caution: Side effects may include a distrust of your own senses, a disorientation of self, and a mild to severely good time. You may not be who you think you are. But we’re all in it together.

Highly Recommended

Reviewed by Alina C. Hevia

Theater of the Mind, recommended for ages 10+, appears now through July 12, 2026, at the Reid Murdoch Building (333 N. LaSalle). Tickets ($69-$99, subject to change) are available at the Goodman Theatre Box Office (170 N. Dearborn), by calling 312.443.3800 or by purchasing online at TheaterOfTheMindChicago.com.

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

Red Theater’s The Seagull is here to remind us that Time is a Flat Circle

Anton Chekov, one of “The Russians” – greats of modern literature including Dostoevsky and Tolstoy, wrote four famous plays and hundreds of short stories before his early death at 44, while he was also a practicing physician, in case you weren’t feeling accomplished enough today. The Seagull was his first play, and its debut so disastrous he almost quit theater altogether, but in 1898, it was produced again in Moscow and a raging success, and it has confounded and enraged audiences ever since.

The Seagull tells the story of four main characters: the famous writer Boris Trigorin (a melancholy Josh Razavi), the ingenue Nina ( the buoyant Jamie Herb), the fading actress Irina Arkadina (narcissistic queen Anne Sheridan Smith), and her son the symbolist playwright Konstantin Treplyov, played with bruised, desperate intensity by Kason Chesky.

Famous actress Arkadina has come to visit her brother Sorin played loveably by Chuck Munro, a retired civil servant in ailing health. He’s also the de-facto guardian of her son, Treplyov, who she has little interest in. He’s made a small life for himself with his uncle, he’s an aspiring writer and adores his neighbor, the lovely Nina. Arkadina has brought along her most recent lover, the younger Trigorin, who is a successful writer. His fame and melancholy air is immediately attracting to impressionable Nina. Herb’s performance is innocent and joyful, her curiosity and big dreams spill out from her tangibly. Her infatuation sends Treplyov, who is already desperate for love and validation, into a tailspin of despair.

The cast is rounded out by Joe Zarrow as estate manager Shamraev, Ana Ortiz-Monasterio Draa as his wife and housekeeper Polina, Magdalena Dalzell as their sarcastic, unhappy alcoholic daughter Masha, Chris Hainsworth as Dr. Dorn, the only person in the house with any real stability, Ben Murphy as the humble, self-deprecating Medvedenko – who’s deeply in love with Masha, and Bobby Bowman as a delightfully grumpy Yakov.

As ever with Red, the scenic, light and sound design by Hunter Cole, Brenden Marble and Kate Schnetzer is well done, creating atmosphere and sense of place with carefully and sparsely placed strokes, the beautiful, room-sized painting of the lake front serves both as a suggestion of the outside, but also a reminder that the audience is engaging in artwork that is showing humanity back at itself.

What amazed me the most about this production was how little has changed from late 19^th Century Russia to modern American Life. Narcissistic parents, youthful dreams, the desperate, constant need for validation – none of this has changed, if fact, some if it has become ubiquitous. Anne Sheridan Smith’s performance as the aging actress Arkadina is sharp and pitch perfect. Arkadina clutches her desirability to men in a death grip. That, and the adoration of the crowds are the only things that matter. Her son’s health or happiness is a distant third.  Chesky’s Treplyov feels impossible young, his big brown eyes pools of neediness. Chekov kindly makes it clear that Treplyov is not without talent, but the deficits in his emotional being caused by the total lack of love and support ultimately can’t be overcome.

Watching the story play out of a young artist, toiling for recognition but also to make something new and authentic – while the older generation stops him at every turn, felt all to prescient. Several of the monologues from the older characters could have been made by my own Boomer relatives.

The Seagull shares many similarities with Hamlet, a Red Theater production from just a few years ago: there’s a lost young man, a delicate ingenue, inappropriate parental relationships and careless use of the powerless. Chekov had a sharp humor that can be easily missed among all the over-the-top tragedy. Luckily for us, director Ian Maryfield chooses the comedy in the first half. He uses Chris Hainsworth and Ben Murphy’s great comedic timing well. Hainsworth as the bemused straight man, and Murphy as the bumbling, self-deprecating doofus. Magdalena Dalzell is also perfectly dry – while sipping her ever-present flask. It’s a comedy of manners, but with a darkside.

Trigorin is often considered one of Chekov’s “best” male leads, and a difficult role. Razavi comes off as a rather insecure, easy going guy who just can’t say no. It would have been perhaps less of a shock if he had played Trigorin with a little more confidence and maybe would have sold why Nina found him so fascinating. But, as his duplicitousness is slowly revealed, you realize that this mopey dude is the very worst kind of bad guy – he thinks he’s a good guy, a victim of circumstance and irresistible women, and he is happy to pass the buck when things go south. Razavi’s harmless likeability is played to interesting affect here. His toxicity takes the audience by surprise. So too, does the sorry fate of Nina, and the unsurprising one of Masha and Treplyov.

It is a common observation of the play that young Treplyov is the Seagull – a creature destroyed by a man, simply because he can. This interpretation ignores the two young women in the play. Both Masha and Nina have very few choices, and both make a definitive choice, only to pay heavily for them after. Their lives are entirely at the mercy of the men they choose.  However, the only woman with any real power, Arkadina, also seeks validation and self-worth from men. That may actually be the point though. Each character in this story is desperate for recognition and validation, often from the one person they will never get it from. In today’s world of near-constant validation seeking, it could have been written yesterday, or sadly, tomorrow. For a sharp, funny, well produced evening, you won’t go wrong with this production.

Recommended

Reviewed by Alina C. Hevia

Presented at The Edge Off Broadway, 1133 W. Catalpa Ave. February 14 – March 15, 2026

Tickets are available now at www.redtheater.org for $30, student rates are available

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

The Actor’s Gymnasium Winter Circus is Aquí o Allá – A Circus Story, in association with La Vuelta Theater Lab

“Here, or there?” It’s a question most of us ask at least once a day. Aquí o Allá – A Circus Story, created and directed by Raquel Torre – asks this question for 75 minutes straight with dance, circus arts and sound. The association of La Vuelta Theater Lab with The Actors Gymnasium at the Noyes Cultural Arts Center in Evanston has produced a visual playground for a little family of misfit clowns to find a home.

The stage is a vaguely dystopian, forgotten alley in a large city. There are signs that warn not to feed the rats, and reminders for silence and rule following. In one corner, is a workstation for City Metronome 65 – run by a nameless city worker (Satya Chavez) with musical tendencies who appears to never leave, perhaps trapped by the monotony of life in the urban underbelly.

The Teen Ensemble of the Actors Gymnasium fills out the stage with worker drones who move strictly to a schedule. One of the best aspects of the Actors Gym is seeing these young artists work, learn and grow onstage, with near perfect timing and an underlying sense of excitement.

One day, our heroes, Jean Carlos Claudio, Kat Hoil, Kaitlyn Andrews, and Glenna Broderick stumble onto the stage, their worldly possessions in their hands and on their backs. In a land of immigrants, they don’t need lines to tell us what they are searching for, or even where they have come from. All we need to know is that they are together, and they are determined.

What follows is a playful interlude with exceptionally talented clowns. I had the pleasure of seeing Kaitlyn Andrews in last year’s Little Red, it was wonderful to see her growth as a performer. Her aerial dance on silks, a celebration of finally being able to call a new place home, is smoothly captivating. Kat Hoil plays a flamboyant, dramatic troublemaker and has quite an adventure trying to acquire a new pair of shoes. Glenna Broderick garnered the biggest gasps of the night with a breakneck run down a pole, winning the hearts of the audience but making no headway with the faceless, nameless denizens of the city they were hoping to call home. Jean Carlos Claudio, who I was lucky to see star in last year’s Memorabilia, plays a rather paternal, take charge character who ultimately has to fall back into the arms of his family to remember his own strength. Despite their charm, resourcefulness and warmth, the clowns lose nearly everything they have – until welcome comes from an unexpected place.

The music is all composed and performed live by Satya Chavez, who has a rich and powerful singing voice and an ability to make chaos sound orderly. In this tale, we are reminded that it is personal connection: the continued, ever hopeful reaching out across the barriers of language and difference, that carry us up and over the inevitable loss that haunts every life.  Watching circus artists use their bodies for storytelling and art is always an experience that inspires awe – with this crew, there is also pathos and ultimately, belonging.

Recommended

Reviewed by Alina C. Hevia

Not recommended for children under 5.

All performances are at Noyes Cultural Arts Center at 927 Noyes St., Evanston, IL.

Show dates are February 21 – March 22. Performances are Saturdays at 4:00 PM and 7:00 PM, and Sundays at 3:00 PM. Tickets start at $25 for adults and can be purchased online at www.actorsgymnasium.org/shows

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

Bramble Theater Company gets wild with THE PETS

On October 18, 2011, the owner of Muskingum County Animal Farm, 62-year-old Terry Thompson, released 50 exotic animals into the Ohio countryside before taking his own life. To add to the tragedy, most of the animals were subsequently killed by local officials, as they were large predators. The public outcry led to new regulations around owning and housing exotic animals.

Playwright Dizzy Turek uses this tragedy as the often surreal, occasionally poignant and very funny backdrop for a story focused on each person’s desire to choose their own prison, and what the cost can be.

When the story begins, a handful of zoo animals find themselves unexpectedly free for the first time in their lives, surrounded by corn, highways and powerlines. The intimate Nest Theater at the Bramble is strung in little stuffies and the actors all wear a tail; a few have clothes in the palette of their animal self – but otherwise the stage is spare, with chairs and a few extra stuffies the only real props. While it might have been helpful to lean in a little more to their animal appearance, the actors do also make varying choices in terms of physicality and vocalizations to let the audience know what sort of animal they are, some more obvious than others.

The play focuses on three short story lines as they weave in and out of each other; first, the wild cats (a commanding Francis Miller, a lithe and sparkling Kylie Anderson and an expressive Capri Gehred-O’Connell) have an ongoing argument on what to do with their freedom, and whether, after years in front of a TV, they are more than their wild selves, second, a small, very religious monkey (an unhinged Suzy Krueckeberg) is desperately grateful to her wild monkey god to beablet to settle into an oak tree, and third, a young Jehova’s Witness (played charmingly by Alice Wu), wanders the road near the zoo, trying to fulfill her mission and being nudged lovingly and gently by a vision of St. Francis of Assisi to another mission entirely.

If it all sounds a bit wacky, it is. But much like Animal Farm, Zootopia, Charlotte’s Web, or any cartoon where an animal wears a top without pants, THE PETS uses the goofy, surreal personification of animals to explore issues that are at the heart of being human, or perhaps simply, being a person. Each of the characters is seeking connection, community and freedom – but, rather bleakly, it becomes clear that “freedom” never comes without a cost, and the best most of us can do is either take part in choosing our cage, or rage against the dying of the light – however briefly. As the animals careen through the new, big world they’ve found, or in the case of the young Jehovah’s Witness stumble awkwardly, new relationships are formed. For example, Alexander Attea, as what can only be described as a wolf-bro, is a musician and poet who finally finds a muse. Happily for everyone in the audience, the music that comes out of him is late 90’s alternative rock. Like the tiny, puppet birds on the edges of the room, I could not resist singing along to Third Eye Blind and Oasis, among others. Johnard Washington is a thoughtful and gentle bear who forges new and lasting friendships with several of the big cats he comes across. Haley Bolithon is the shy, sweet and angelic Baboon, who makes a new best friend and falls in love all in one day. Bolithon’s character has the least obvious animal characteristics and some of the most pop culture references, since she was allowed in her owner’s house and therefore had lots of tv access. The real philosopher of the group though is Kylie Anderson’s Lion, who struggles with how to marry her new-found freedom to her ideals as a well-informed PBS viewer. All the characters are loved and fretted over by St. Francis of Assisi (a warm Rasheeda Denise), who jumps from story line to story line to provide emotional support.

Another major theme is that of faith. St. Francis isn’t the only holy character to be invoked, as the monkey and the wild cats each have a god of their own, and the Jehovah’s Witness gets an A for effort when it comes to sharing the word of Jehovah. Initially, it was a little difficult to see what all the varying holy figures and faiths had to do with a story of freedom and found family – no character is particularly protected, whether they have a god or not, and the presence of faith does not lend anyone more confidence or certainty than anyone else. As the story comes to its conclusion, each character experiences the consequences of their own personal choices, some of which were guided by their faith in a higher power, and some by their own conscience.

While the deeper themes may make it seem difficult to describe this play as “wacky” it does manage to keep things ridiculous enough to not be weighed down by them. The many pop-culture references, 90’s song sing-alongs and visual gags are a lot of fun to be a part of, and despite the fact that the production I saw was still workshopping, the actors moved around the stage and delivered their lines with a casual grace and confidence that made it feel like they were much further into the production. There are several fight scenes that Anderson shines in with appropriately feline grace and Attea’s full throated versions of 90’s classics is a lot of fun. There are a few hiccups, for example, though each character has a name, the program only lists the animals by type, which led to some confusion, as I spent quite a lot of time trying to figure out which actor was playing the mountain lion and which the “regular” lion, etc., since they referred to each other by name almost exclusively. That said, the cast bursts with energy and life, the cat-acting may be some of the best I’ve seen – shout out to Gehred-O’Connell for randomly kneading a wall at one point, and the play weaves in enough pop culture, little asides to the audience, and bizarre religious ceremonies to keep everyone entertained for the duration. Independent theater is often strange and entertaining, but it is rarely this smart and funny as well.  THE PETS is worth making time for, and the conversation to be had afterwards will be a good one.

Recommended

Reviewed by Alina C. Hevia

The Pets will be performed at the Bramble Arts Loft, 5545 N. Clark St., from February 11 to March 1. Weekday and Saturday performances will take place at 7:30 pm, and Sundays at 2:00 pm. Tickets are $5 to $35 and can be purchased online at brambletheatre.org.

Second City is “Black and Highly Flavored” this February and March

The annual Black Excellence Review at the Second City is four years in and has become a great way to spend an evening in the dead of Chicago winter. In a time when light-heartedness has become a radical act, this year’s theme is JOY – while honoring Black artistry, humor, resilience, and community.

Mainstage alumni Julia Morales is the first woman of color to direct a Second City Black Excellence Revue, and she takes Second City’s tried and true formula of long and short-form sketches, musical numbers and improv games to a place with a vibrant, celebratory feel. One of the best aspects of Second City is that the performers always seem to be having a good time, and this show was no exception. Music Director Cesar Romero was particularly involved in this show, and the same could be said for him! He provided emotional tone and even punchlines with sound that felt organic and impromptu – hard to do with music. In one sketch, he was key for the Dance fight through decades of music that was impossible not to dance and sing to, right along with the cast.

As ever with comedy shows, one doesn’t want to give too much away, but my personal favorite sketches were often the ones that dealt with identity, or nostalgia. A repeated sketch was The Crits Family Show, a play on 80s and 90’s era sitcoms, that managed to stay sharp, funny and current while still giving memories of classics like Living Single, Family Matters, and even older shows like Good Times. Another fun one was Two Girls in a Taco Truck, which had a wild time with all of the many ways people can choose to identify – while staying appropriately raunchy.  

Another sketch played with the experience of social awkwardness, and yet another with middle school girls celebrating Black History, but you know, Sexxxxay. Happily, outright silliness was a feature as well, like a sketch about a cat roommate and another involving missing pants that had the audience roaring.

The cast deftly jumped from role to role, keeping the momentum going and using their own, specific talents to great effect. E.J. Cameron channels a spot on professor of history, a crazy old man and a silly, forgetful waiter with such believability, I found myself looking for him in every scene. Jillian Ebanks’ warm smile and welcoming air lent a wholesomeness that wouldn’t seem likely, given the subject of some of the skits. Jason Tolliver has the air of a buttoned up businessman but then busts a dance move with such commitment and enthusiasm that all assumptions fly out the window. Tyler VanDuvall enters every role with a confidence and old-school charm that makes his forays into outright silliness even more entertaining than they would otherwise be. Lauren Walker has total command over her body, disappearing completely into her roles, but also, in a few scenes, using it like a musician would an instrument, or a clown, props. Finally, Kimberly Michelle Vaughn’s obvious formal dance training and total commitment to insanity is used to perfection in a scene about a dance audition.

In case there was any doubt that the cast was having at least as much fun as the audience, they played two more improv games at the end of the show. Their quick wit and good nature made for an interactive night. The audience, it seemed, was yet another cast member. If a night of culture, comedy and camaraderie sounds like a good time, Black and Highly Flavored is where to be.

Highly Recommended

Reviewed by Alina C. Hevia

Black and Highly Flavored runs February 5 – March 20, with performances on Thursdays and Fridays at 8pm in UP Comedy Club, located at 230 W North Ave, 3rd Floor of Piper’s Alley, Chicago. Tickets start at $39 and are available at The Second City Box Office, by phone at 312-337-3992, or online atwww.secondcity.com

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

Every creature is dancing in Cirque du Soleil’s ‘Twas the Night Before…

If there was ever a perfect, baked in opening line for a Cirque du Soleil show, it is Clement Clarke Moore’s “Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.” It begs for a mischievous night in motion – and that’s what it gets.

Cirque du Soleil has been making human-powered magic for audiences since 1984, performing on 6 continents and in 86 countries in the past 40 years. ‘Twas the Night Before… is the company’s first and only holiday show.

The classic poem “A Visit from Saint Nicholas” by Clement Clarke Moore, sparks Cirque’s story about a young girl who rediscovers the magic of the holidays and reconnects with her dad thanks to a fall into a magical, winter realm. But of course, the plot is incidental here. Really, it’s just a framework for an evening of the incredible acrobatics and larger-than-life staging that Cirque du Soleil is known for. Director James Hadley seamlessly brings together 26 artists from all over the world who dance, amaze and entertain to a soundtrack of many Christmas favorites re-invented with a Euro-pop beat by Cirque du Soleil.

The show has all of the classic acts you’d expect, clown, acrobats, dancers, etc. and, as you’d also expect, they are all excellent at what they do. This show in particular has a “Corps de Kpop” dance troupe that was as fun as it was of-the-moment. Another running theme of the night was the passage of small, bright lights – they were thrown, shared, and spread across the stage in several set pieces, creating a holiday appropriate festival of lights without taking away from the performances.

The audience is first ushered into the wintery realm by acrobats and dancers Arthur Morel Van Hyfte and Guillaume Paquin, as Snowflakes whirling and flying about the stage using straps. Their physical strength and grace were enough to make it feel as though we had left the real world.

Anastasiia Shlokhova took us completely out of the real world with her number, a “Hair Suspension” act, which was difficult to believe even as I watched it, and I was surprised to discover it is common enough to have a name. Shlokhova does as the name suggests – she dances, flying up and down and through the air, suspended by a strap connected only to her bun. You have to see it to believe it.

Another logic-defying act was a roller skate dance performed by Alina Suvorina and Jordan Smith, dressed like 1980s Barbie Dolls escaped from a box and living it up till caught. Suvorina came so close to the ground in several of the twists and spins she performed with Smith that the gasps from the audience became part of the soundtrack.

The Hoop Diving and Acro Table act was also wildly popular with the crowd, leaping and bounding across the stage as if gravity did not pertain to them.

What all these acts had in common, is that everyone on stage was not only at the pinnacle of their personal best physically and theatrically, they all worked together seamlessly and appeared to be having the absolute time of their lives – that is a heady mix of energy I would defy anyone to resist.

What is most fascinating, and most wonderful about Cirque du Soleil, is that the artists and production team are creating shows built on, and inspired by the work of circus arts that have been honed across many cultures for centuries, and yet, every performance feels new and exciting. This is in part because of the updated music or color, the youth of the performers or the theme, but because it is also based on the one thing that is most powerful through the ages – the miracle of what a human being, and human body can do. It simply never gets old.

This night is perfect for family and friends coming in from out of town, for a special family night out, or if you simply need to be reminded that there is magic in the world.

Highly Recommended

Reviewed by Alina C. Hevia

The Chicago Theatre is at 175 N State St, Chicago, IL 60601.

Tickets start at $39 in person at the Ticketmaster Box Office at The Chicago Theatre and at $51 when purchased online at www.ticketmaster.com. For groups of nine or more, please contact the Group Sales Department at 212-465-6080 or Group.Sales@msg.com. Accessible and companion seats are available for these shows via the Accessibility Services Department.

For more information please visit www.msg.com/the-chicago-theatre/accessibility-services.

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

Holidazed and Amused is Nice and Naughty at the Second City

The annual Holiday comedy show at the iconic Second City is a light-hearted, musical mash up of all that Second City is known for: sketch and improv, with an emphasis on parody songs.

The cast this year is particularly musical, the opening number was sung in at least a five-part harmony and an improved musical version of a typical Hallmark Christmas movie was also catchier than it had any right to be. My personal favorite musical number had to be the story of a girl who comes from a “Musical Theater” family, which led to a mash up of several Broadway Classics – turning On My Own from Les Miserable into a parent’s joy at a moment of peace, and Chicago’s Cell Block Tango a celebration of Christmas Dinner.

Some of the shorter bits were also dance numbers, and given the season, very cathartic. Like they say, when you have feelings too big to talk about, you sing, and when they are too big for singing you DANCE.

This year’s cast is particularly physically talented, and what’s more, committed to the bit. Riley Woollen carried a Sasquatch role to the bitter end, but with such boyish good humor it was more sweet than bitter. Anna Bortnick plunges into myriad dance numbers with an irresistible ferociousness. Ross Taylor’s Android is at once robotic and so creepy I couldn’t help but wonder if he was, in fact, part machine, and his version of the “Irish Goodbye” may be one I have to adopt myself. Kennedy Baldwin moves with a confidence that carries her easily from creepy Christmas Tree agent to recalcitrant child, to man-eating “Vixen.” Deb Duncan takes a turn as a “pervert ghost” that is both unfortunately and hilariously rhythmic. Rich Alfonso has a collection of expressions, from incredulous, to grumpy to suspicious, that prove the necessity of a straight-man for the really big laughs. The whole cast works together like old friends, and dances together like the understudies for a boy band you never knew you wanted.

The show stays safe, topically speaking, as is appropriate for a holiday table – it’ll only annoy that one uncle a couple of times – and those times will be worth it. The modern holiday season is often a source of stress, this show’s irreverent sendups will provide a great release valve, while keeping things light enough to laugh it all off. The whole cast is having a blast, and they bring the audience along for the ride. It’s great for visiting family and friends, and at 90 minutes, doesn’t have to take over the night. If you’re looking for a few laughs and a break from talking to your family, bring them along, especially that one uncle.

Recommended

Reviewed by Alina C. Hevia

Holidazed and Confused runs November 26 – December 31 at 1616 N. Wells St. Chicago. Tickets start at $35 and show times 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.

Theater Wit’s Who’s Holiday! takes nostalgia out for some raunchy play.

“Remember little Cindy-Lou Who, who was not more than two?  What became of that tot, after that Grinch and what-not?” The answer, in some rhyme, some song, and all rated R fun is… a lot.

Cindy-Lou Who, the adorable tot who helped save Christmas from the Grinch, is all grown up and living in a mobile home at the base of Mount Crumpit. Actress, singer and comedian Veronica Garza returns to reprise her title role for the fifth year in a row, and she brings a party:

Christmas Day is in our grasp.

Why the vodka? Glad you asked!

The tot from The Grinch has grown, you see.

She’s cursing and drinking. She’s super messy.

Her FIVE YEARS at Theater Wit have been nothing but trouble!

And this year, we fear

She’s gonna make it a DOUBLE!

Directed by Christopher Pazdernik and written by Matthew Lombardo, Who’s Holiday! is a smart, sassy and irreverent take on nostalgia in general. After all, in real life, there is never a hazy, joy filled “ever-after” there is just life, with all its inconveniences, hard knocks and unexpected blessings.

Cindy-Lou’s mobile home looks like the 70’s threw up Christmas, thanks to Jeff-Award Winning Angela Weber’s work, and Uriel Gomez’s hilarious, whimsical and delightfully tacky costumes bring it all home. Matthew R. Chase, sound and production manager, makes the sound feel natural and immersive in a small space. The life story of little Cindy-Lou Who is told with a sweet, playful and hilariously raunchy performance by Veronica Garza, who holds court like the queen she is. She speaks in a broad, midwestern accent, adding to the kitsch, because of course they speak in rhyming Midwestern English in Whoville.

First, she tells the story of How the Grinch Stole Christmas from Cindy-Lou’s perspective, which grounds the show in a history that we are all familiar with, and adds a more lived-in feel to the events. Then, she continues with the story after the picture book ends, a journey that takes increasingly darker turns. She never goes long without a smile and joke, however, flirting with the audience and even bursting out into several musical numbers, including one rap. Garza’s voice is Broadway quality, and she embraces the music with irresistible enthusiasm.

Despite the silliness, the raunch, and the gloriously tacky décor, Garza still brings the evening home with a reminder of what really matters in life, emphasized with a sing along.

The Wit Theater concessions offers a full bar, several themed drinks and even a boozy hot chocolate. The show runs a breezy 65 minutes too, which leaves plenty of time for dinner and an early bedtime – perfect for all the adults who were once hopefully little tots themselves.

Recommended

Reviewed by Alina C. Hevia

Theater Wit is located at 1229 W. Belmont Ave., in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood.  

Schedule: Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 7:00 p.m.; additional, 9:00pm shows on Fridays and Saturdays Dec. 6,13,19, 20, 26 & 27. Industry Night is Monday, December 1 at 7 p.m. Understudy performance featuring Jenna Schoppe is Saturday, December 6 at 9 p.m. Run time is 65 minutes, no intermission. For mature audiences only.

Tickets: General Admission $39-$65. Tickets for children 12 and under are $500. Purchase tickets at theaterwit.org or call the Theater Wit box office (773) 975-8150. 

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