A Once in a Lifetime Opportunity

Always Something There…A New (80’s) Musical

After Samantha Craig, an attractive middle-aged woman, checks into her hotel room, she sprawls out on her bed with an assortment of minibar libations and a birthday muffin. Clearly not in a happy place she makes a wish, blows out her candle and passes out. When she awakens Samantha’s wish has remarkably come true. She’s left her sad, disappointing life behind and returned to the past to celebrate her eighteenth birthday with her high school friends. But Sam is determined that this journey back to the 1980’s will offer her a fantasy come true, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for a do-over in her life.

What the World Needs Now

That’s What Friends Are For: Gladys, Dionne and Patti

Three talented divas gather in a theater greenroom to relax and catch up with each other before their Las Vegas concert. Enjoying attention from the hotel staff, along with every luxury the lodging can offer, Gladys Knight, Patti LaBelle and Dionne Warwick have reunited for an evening of the brand of musical splendor that only these celebrities can provide. The three icons of pop and soul warm up for their concert with a few familiar songs and a lifetime of shared memories, continually reminding us, as they will throughout the show,“What the World Needs Now.”

Written and Directed by Black Ensemble Theater Company member Daryl D. Brooks, this may be one of the multi-gifted artist’s finest creations. Skilled at writing and directing musical revues, Brooks’ latest work follows the same, tried and true formula of the best Black Ensemble productions. The shows typically present a company of personable, extremely talented local actor/singers portraying some of the most extraordinary performers of popular music. Along the way, we’re treated to a CliffsNotes version of a singer’s colorful background that made the artist who he or she is today. We also get to enjoy the incredible talent of the younger version of each performer.

Directed by Mr. Brooks, with expert Musical Direction by Robert Reddrick (who also leads and plays percussion with his brilliant onstage band) and the sensational Choreography by Tanji Harper, this new revue sizzles with soul and spice. The show stars Sybyl Walker as Mature Dionne Warwick, Rose Marie Simmons as Mature Gladys Knight and Tamara Batiest as Mature Patti LaBelle. Each of these performers are talented singers of unbelievable musicality, but these ladies also understand how to act a song so that we are treated to and evening of musical monologues. Hopefully we’ll be seeing much more of these three accomplished artists in the future.

As previously mentioned, a younger portrayal of each diva also takes the stage. They remind theatergoers of the early talent that eventually turned Dionne, Gladys and Patti into such luminary performers. Brianna Buckley is Young Dionne Warwick, Michaela Dukes plays Young Gladys Knight and Courtney Driver portrays Young Patti LaBelle. All three are brilliant solo singers and also lend their voices to the group ensembles. The talented men in this production include BET favorite, Dwight Neal, almost stealing the show as Luther Vandross, Dennis Dent as Charles Gibbons, the always exciting Jaitee Thomas as Michael Peterson and Trequon Tate, who’s featured along with the others in ensemble numbers. 

Staged on Angie Weber Miller’s aesthetically pleasing Set, this production is Lighted with concert brilliance by Denise Karczewski. Gregory Graham’s beautiful and excellently tailored Costumes are full of glitz and glitter, crowned by the perfect Wig Designs by talented Keith Ryan that really help define each character.

The show’s playlist is filled with familiar hits that we fondly remember from each of these celebrity singers. They include “I Heard It Through the Grapevine,” “Don’t Make Me Over,” “Neither One of Us,” “If I Was Your Woman,” “A House is Not a Home,” “Could It Be I’m Falling in Love,” “Then Came You,” “I Know I’ll Never Love This Way Again,” “Midnight Train to Georgia,” the title song and, of course, “What the World Needs Now.” In a tribute to their mutual friend, Aretha Franklin, we also get these ladies’ rendition of the Queen of Soul’s “Respect,” “Think” and “Ain’t No Way.”      

Daryl D. Brooks’ impressive new musical revue, which follows a familiar blueprint at Black Ensemble Theater, focuses on three gifted contemporary singers. We revel in the talents of Gladys Knight, the Empress of Soul, Patti LaBelle, the Godmother of Soul and, of course, Dionne Warwick, the Princess of Pop. All three musical artists, a trio of professionals and peers, have actually been close friends for decades. They even call each other sister and, as shown through this loving portrait, have always had the greatest affection and respect for each other. In light of America’s often aloof and antagonistic climate nowadays, “What the World Needs Now” is friendship because, as Dionne Warwick reminds us, “That’s What Friends Are For.”   

Highly Recommended

Reviewed by Colin Douglas

Presented June 7-July 27 by Black Ensemble Theater, 4450 N. Clark Street, Chicago.

Tickets are available at the box office, by calling 773-769-4451 or by going to www.blackensemble.org.

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

Crazy

Always…Patsy Cline

When theatergoers walk into the Drury Lane Theatre, their jaws will drop. They’ll swear they’ve been magically transported to Nashville’s legendary palace of Country/Western music, the Grand Ole Opry. Thanks to Collette Pollard’s extraordinary, meticulously detailed Scenic Design, the stage, which even houses a smaller stage and a bandstand, seems to stretch beyond the proscenium and out into the audience. That’s also thanks to the Lighting Design by talented Lee Fiskness and the sparkling and dazzling effects he achieves throughout the production. They are nothing less than awesome.

The New Theatre of the Absurd

You Will Get Sick

After pondering Steppenwolf Theatre’s latest excellent production, the strangely titled YOU WILL GET SICK, I’ve come to the conclusion that I should simply accept what this play really is. Noah Diaz’s curious and unsettling one-act is actually a throwback to a popular theatre movement from the 20th century. Labeled Theatre of the Absurd, this was a dramatic genre that began in the 1950’s and continued through the 1980’s. Plays of this genre haven’t been written or produced very much lately. Until now. 

BrightSide’s Magic To Do

Pippin

There’s much “Magic to Do” in BrightSide Theatre’s spectacular finale to their current Season. In what may be the finest, most polished production of this professional company’s thirteen years, they’re presenting a truly magical, captivating and heartfelt version of Stephen Schwartz’s beloved 1970’s pop/rock musical. This show was actually the talented composer/lyricist’s Broadway premier. Schwartz then went on to write some of Broadway’s most beloved hits, which include GODSPELL, THE BAKER’S WIFE, WORKING, CHILDREN OF EDEN, the upcoming Broadway premiere of THE QUEEN OF VERSAILLES and, of course, his universal hit, WICKED.

Living Life to Its Fullest

Kimberly Akimbo

Are you looking for a musical that’s different from the typical theatre fare? In a world filled with shows that are either jukebox musicals or watered down versions of popular films, KIMBERLY AKIMBO, which is playing in Chicago for just two weeks, is something quite special. The musical is much loved by those who’ve seen it. With music by Jeanine Tesori (FUN HOME, THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE, SHREK) and a book and lyrics by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, David Lindsay-Abaire (SHREK, RABBIT HOLE, FUDDY MEERS), it’s a unique and highly recommended musical that’s both funny and heartbreaking. When KIMBERLY AKIMBO opened Off-Broadway, it won scores of awards; and when it moved to Broadway a year later, the show earned five Tony Awards, including Best Musical of 2022.

What Dreams Can Do

42 Balloons

“It was something I had to do. I had this dream for twenty years, and if I hadn’t done it, I think I would’ve ended up in the funny farm.” This is what Larry Walters, a man with a passionate dream and a fiery fascination with flight, told the press following his unbelievable adventure in space. 42 BALLOONS is a high-flying theatrical tribute to anyone with a burning ambition or a flight of fancy. It’s a marvelous musical metaphor about “What Dreams Can Do.”