Author: Colin Douglas
Between Activism and Capitalism
Windfall
A Chicago father has lost his child after a clash with the police. It’s not the first time, either. Earlier, he lost his son and the ghost of young Marcus continues to haunt and taunt him. Then three different strangers, all of whom look suspiciously alike, but in different clothes and with different accents, show up at his door. Each woman arrives offering advice and a huge cash settlement for Henri Mano’s loss. The city wants Mr. Mano to simply put aside his grief, take the check and then relocate somewhere else. If Henri chooses to remain in his home all the memories of his two children will continue to haunt him. In addition, the world that Eli, his young activist child, was trying hard to protect for future generations, will always be a reminder of the cash offer he shunned. This tense story about gender, money and resistance turns into a fierce battle between activism and capitalism.
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Theatre People
The Angel Next Door
Hello friends. Are you tired, rundown, listless? Do you poop out at parties? Are you unpopular? The answer to all your problems is in this delightful two-act farce. Paraphrasing the familiar opening words of that hilarious Vitameatavegamin commercial sketch from “I Love Lucy” seems apropos. It brings to mind the special kind of gleeful, gut-busting romantic comedy that actor and playwright, Paul Slade Smith, incorporates into his latest side-splitting, screwball comedy, THE ANGEL NEXT DOOR. Like “I Love Lucy,” the play is a fast-paced entertainment that takes theatergoers away from their personal problems, as well as today’s taxing, troublesome world, and provides a witty, very funny story about theatre people.
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Shake, Rattle and Roll
Heartbreak Hotel
A form of theatre called the jukebox musical continues its popularity in America with two very different variations. There are the musicals that cobble together an original story around the songbook of a famous singer or pop/rock group. Think of AMERICAN IDIOT, with its score by the rock group, Green Day; or the mega popular ABBA musical, MAMMA MIA! Then there are the biographical jukebox musicals that weave songs from a pop, rock, soul or country/western group or star into a show, whose life the musical depicts. Examples include JERSEY BOYS (about the rise of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons), RING OF FIRE (detailing the life and career of Johnny Cash), AIN’T TOO PROUD (about the popularity of the Temptations) or BEAUTIFUL: THE CAROLE KING MUSICAL. These jukebox entertainments focus on the personal and professional struggles of the artists.
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A Real Blast From the Past
Father of the Bride
The 1950’s has been called The Golden Age of television. Many of those black & white TV programs form the fond memories from my childhood. Besides some variety shows, the airwaves were dominated by situation comedies. All of these half-hour programs were G-rated stories, and each of them championed traditional family values, suburban life and strong community support. A few of them featured silly slapstick comedy, like the broad schtick once found in vaudeville. But the best-loved most humorous and heartwarming television programs included classics like “I Love Lucy,” “The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet,” “The Real McCoys,” “December Bride” and the quintessential family comedy, “Father Knows Best.”
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Everything That Happens is Chance
Private Lives
English playwright Noel Coward is best known for his finely fabricated craftsmanship. Coward’s sparkling, witty dialogue, his eccentric and memorable characters and his biting satire of the upper class elite is a pure delight. In this delicious theatrical confection, particularly as directed by Jeffrey Cass, the Artistic Director of BrightSide Theatre, PRIVATE LIVES is an elegant, delightfully droll and very sophisticated comedy. The story focuses on Elyot and Amanda, a divorced couple, who unexpectedly meet again in the south of France. The problem is that they’re each with their new spouses and on their honeymoons. Upon surprisingly confronting each other in the adjoining balconies of their hotel, Elyot and Amanda discover that they are still in love with each other. So naturally they do what anyone would do in this situation: they abandon their new partners and run off together to Paris.
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The Secret Lives of Windsor Wives
The Merry Wives of Windsor
The crisp Autumn air wafts through the streets of Windsor. The town is alive planning all the festivities for All Hallows Eve. Overflowing with bizarre misunderstandings, ridiculous costume disguises and over-the-top comedy, Director Phillip Breen has taken William Shakespeare’s 1602 Elizabethan comedy and plopped it down in contemporary England during the Halloween holiday. And although generally not considered one of Shakespeare’s greatest plays, Mr. Breen’s production is not only loads of fun, but he’s made the story easily accessible for every audience member. He’s even provided an LED screen that projects the dialogue, for those who prefer to read their comedies, in addition to watching them.
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Part Scripted Drama, Part Improvisation
Mrs. Krishnan’s Party
Leave your troubles at the door as you enter the intimate Upstairs venue on the sixth floor of Chicago Shakespeare Theatre. Set in the storeroom of a small grocery store a surprise party is in the works. And guess what? The good news is that we’re all invited to participate and enjoy the festivities! The shop is owned by a very original personage, in every sense of the word. Mrs. Krishnan is the charming, gregarious Indian woman who owns and runs the store. She’s a widow, with a son named Abu, who’s at university in another city. Mrs. Krishnan is a little kooky and an extraordinary cook. Today is the colorful celebration of the feast of Onam, and the entire audience has been invited to the festivities!
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A One, A Two…You Know What to Do
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
In a Chicago recording studio, impatient record producer Sturdyvant and the star’s patient, put upon manager Irvin, prepare for their diva Blues singer. Ma Rainey is over an hour late for her recording session of a new album. But time is money. Her talented band members have all arrived early and are downstairs rehearsing, while teasing each other and sharing stories from the road. These likable musicians are virtuoso veterans trombonist Cutler, bass player Slow Drag, talented pianist Toledo, and young trumpeter and loose cannon, Levee. After Ma Rainey finally—finally—makes her long awaited entrance, her entourage in tow (with her stuttering nephew Sylvester and sexy gal pal Dussie Mae), the recording session begins, with “A one, a two…you know what to do.”
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Opposites Attract
The Official Biography
Two people could hardly be more different. The pair of characters in this play come from different races, generations, cultural backgrounds and schools of thought. Henry Percival is a highly successful author of popular novels and is approaching his eightieth birthday. Xan Smith is an up-and-coming twenty-something, a dedicated writer of critical essays. Henry is a grumpy recluse, content to live out his years alone in a rural, woodland setting. Xan lives in an apartment in the bustling, metropolitan jungle of the city, a three-hour drive from Henry’s country cottage. Mr. Percival is an elderly caucasian author who has enjoyed a life writing creative fiction. Xan is a young African-American woman who strongly feels that truthful, exploitative nonfiction is far more relevant today than phony, fabricated stories that are a waste of time in our troubled world. But when Xan pushes her presence into Henry’s home, eventually opposites attract.
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Listening to Other’s Voices
The Alley
Itamar Moses is the 2017 Tony Award-winning playwright of the libretto for the Broadway musical, THE BAND’S VISIT. He also wrote the book for the more recent musical, DEAD OUTLAW. His more recent play, THE ALLY, which premiered at New York’s Public Theater in 2024, is a very different animal. This drama is much more a collection of ideas and the arguments in support or against them, rather than a play in the traditional sense. Filled with passionate political pleas to convince and advocate for change and choosing sides, THE ALLY is theatrically impressive, especially in Jeremy Wechsler’s incredibly fervid, almost frenzied production.
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