Author: Colin Douglas
An Almond Joy That’s Deliciously Nutty
Melancholy Play – Organic Theatre
Filled with so much joy and style, Organic Theater’s production of Sara Ruhl’s first major play is being given a new staging at the Greenhouse Theater Center. Under the astute direction of Laura Sturm, this play with music overflows in a wash of emotion, melodrama and whimsy. This contemporary, surreal farce originally premiered in 2002 at Evanston’s Piven Theatre, and was revived there again in 2015, but rewritten, this time, as a chamber musical.
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It Ain’t Over Until the Fat Lady Swims
Poseidon: An Upside Down Musical – Hell in a Handbag
“There’s got to be a morning after,” shipboard entertainer Nonnie Perry tries to sing, although she’s a little off-key and kinda breathy. Parodying Carol Lynley, from the original 1972 disaster film, one of Chicago’s greatest comic treasures, Stevie Love, gives a bravura performance as the blond, shipboard singer with the deer-in-the-headlights eyes. Actually, she comes off like a buzzed artist who’s a few donuts short of a dozen. Stevie is just one of several excellent actors in this show, whose performance in this satire evokes almost nonstop laughter throughout the two-and-a-half hours of outrageous comedy, song and dance.
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Tension in the Rust Belt
Sweat – Goodman Theatre
Lynn Nottage deservedly won the 2017 Pulitizer Prize for Drama for this mesmerizing and revealing drama about race, economy and humanity. The background for the writing of the play is almost as fascinating as Ms. Nottage’s drama, itself. In 2011, the playwright began interviewing residents of Reading, Pennsylvania, which the US Census Bureau had declared as one of the poorest cities in America. Through this extraordinary drama we see the faces and hear the voices of the real people who suffer from the de-industrialization of America.
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Clinging to Your Dreams
Hands on a Hardbody – Refuge Theatre Project
Welcome, ya’ll, to the Floyd King Nissan Dealership of Longview, Texas. It’s 1995 and a competitive giveaway is about to commence. Ten passionately-committed individuals of this dismal little town, from all ages and backgrounds, will attempt to win a cherry red pickup truck; but the winner is the contestant who has the stamina to keep one hand on the vehicle the longest and outlast all the others. This simple-sounding premise may sound like a breeze; but, in reality, it will turn out to be anything but easy.
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The Past, Present and Future Merge
The Time Warp Trio – Lifeline Theatre
Joe, Fred and Sam are three kids who find they suddenly have the power to travel through time and space to the past, present and even the future. The magical talisman that enables them to accomplish this feat is a birthday gift, given to Joe by his magician uncle, simply called “The Book.” The adventures these three friends enjoy together also provides the added benefit of teaching facts about each era and locale to which they travel. They’re able to learn firsthand from all kinds of famous men and women from history, people who inspire their daily lives.
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A Trip Through the Arab World
Detour Guide – Silk Road Rising
Travel can be kind of expensive these days. Most often one must tap into his savings to be able to afford a vacation that will take him to romantic and mystical locales on the other side of the planet. But this 90 minute journey through the Arab World, guided by Egyptian-American storyteller, musician and dancer, Karim Nagi, can be a money-saving alternative trip that will yield a fantastic educational and cultural experience.
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The Choices We Make
A Bronx Tale – Broadway in Chicago
This latest offering from Broadway in Chicago was ten years in development. The musical is based upon a story that became a play and then a film, of the same name, by film actor Chazz Palminteri. The expanded musical version of a one-man show, with a book by Palminteri, music by Alan Menken and lyrics by Glenn Slater, premiered at the Paper Mill Playhouse in February of 2016. It eventually opened on Broadway later that same year, co-directed by Robert De Niro and Jerry Zaks, and only closed last summer.
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Monkeying Around in the Salon
Ruse of Medusa – Facility Theatre
Facility Theatre is a Chicago collective, that relishes searching for and locating rarely seen works and original plays and producing them with a fresh eye and an alternative perspective. With their current production, Dado, Facility’s resident director, has taken a forgotten short play by Erik Satie and put her own stamp on it. To say that Windy City audiences have never seen anything like this is an understatement.
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Don’t Feed the Plants!
Little Shop of Horrors – Mercury Theater
Under the guidance of the superb team of director Walter Stearns and musical director Eugene Dizon, Mercury Theater has a bonafide hit to welcome the spring season. This company has recently produced several winning productions, sellout sensations that confirm the Mercury as one of Chicago’s finest theaters. In this current campy and impressively produced presentation, Mr. Stearns mines every ounce of humor, satire and wit from this cult classic. Audiences familiar with the musical, as well as those who are new to its hilarious, satirical sci-fi love story, will be singing the praises of this show-stopping production.
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The World Inside a Frame
The Bridges of Madison County – Theo Ubqiue Cabaret Theatre
Happily, Fred Anzevino has worked his magic once again. In the earlier, much-awaited opening of Theo Ubique’s shiny, new theatre space in Evanston, there were some problems with the balance of sound between the singers and the accompaniment. But all of those kinks were eventually corrected after opening night. With “The Bridges of Madison County,” their second production, Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre is back once again as a Chicagoland treasure. This new production sparkles with talent and artistry, thanks to Mr. Anzevino’s always dazzling, distinguished, collaborative work.
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