Chicago Theatre Review
One Dickens of a Show
A Christmas Carol
Whoever would’ve thought that a novella published back in 1843 London would not only become the most-told Christmas story of all time; it would even rival the story of the first Christmas in familiarity. There have been, and will no doubt continue to be, more versions and adaptations of Dickens’ story of Scrooge’s redemption than anyone can count. M.E.H. Lewis’ new adaptation is good, but director Shifra Werch’s production could use some tweaking.
Matthew Hallstein makes a good Scrooge, possessing a rich, commanding baritone that can level the youngest carolers or drive away even the most benevolent charity collectors. He fully understands the nature of the old miser and the dialogue Lewis has given him. The problem stems from his pacing. Scrooge has to be the driving force of this play and Hallstein simply takes too many moments of “reflection” to keep the story moving. At times Hallstein seems as if he’s stalling until he can recall his next line; but in retrospect, it’s more likely a directing choice. As a result, the rhythm becomes slow or staccato. When Mr. Hallstein is on a roll his Scrooge is a real fireball, but every time he stops to ponder the situation the play’s momentum comes to a halt.
Read MoreMagic, Clowns, and a Fiery Tragedy for Christmas
The Ruffians present Burning Blue Beard
When you see Burning Blue Beard at Theatre Wit, you’ll notice it is more like entering an amusement park ride than seeing a play. The Ruffians, who present the play, do a wonderful job of creating an environment for the audience to exist in as part of the story. Every moving part of the production adds to the whole, including you as the observer.
Burning Blue Beard is a play about a play….about a play. The show presents an absurdist retelling of how the Iroquois Theatre burned down in Chicago in 1903 during a showing of Mr. Bluebeard, a Christmas Pantomime. Much of the detail from the play is straight from history as the true events provide plenty of emotional fuel to motivate the characters on stage. The players and ghosts from that terrible night in 1903 on Randolph Street can’t help but keep trying to get it right, but every time the show seems to end in flames. Perhaps during the performance you see of Burning Blue Beard the ending will be a happy one. Hope is a big part of this tale.
Read MoreThe Grandaddy of Them All!
A Christmas Carol – Goodman Theatre
This show is it. This is what Christmas is all about in Chicago. The Grandaddy of all holiday productions, and the show that every other Christmas Carol aspires to be has opened for the 36th year at the Goodman. And it is sensational! It’s eloquent, heartwarming and a feast for the eyes, the ears and the soul. The themes from Dickens’ novella and the lessons he taught aren’t diluted here by raucous musical numbers, Star Trek characters or dancing turkey boys. This is the production that would’ve made Charles Dickens proud.
Festivities with Figgy Pudding!
A Very Merry Madrigal
As we draw closer to Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanza, the fast-approaching holiday trifecta can take a lot out of us right about now. All the shopping, decorating and holiday parties make it a nonstop season of frenzy that doesn’t stop until January 1st. But an hour spent at the No Exit Cafe will offer a pleasurable respite from all the holiday hustle and bustle, providing some beautifully sung music, a delicious meal or sweet treats and some laughs to recharge your battery.
Directed and compiled by David Heimann, with musical direction by Aaron Benham and Jeremy Ramey (who also provides superb piano accompaniment), this concert is more in keeping with the company’s “cabaret” label, but with a definite Renaissance Faire feel. As you enter the intimate coffee house, ensemble member Sarah Grant (as the company’s court jester) gleefully announces to everyone your name and the kingdom from which you hail. As the lights darken, amiable innkeeper Tom Chiola selects two audience members to serve as King and Queen of the hour’s festivities, and permission is sought from these two crown-wearing patrons for the events to come.
Mr. Heimann’s six-member ensemble of medieval-clad performers delight with songs and poetry from every era. Opening with the traditional “Wassail, Wassail” (during which warm spiced cider is provided to every audience member), toasts are offered, cheer is given and winter’s chill soon melts away. Delicious six-part harmonies infuse a medley of Olde English carols, a welcome beginning to this ultimately eclectic confection of music. Gilbert & Sullivan’s “A Very Merry Madrigal” delights and segues into more period songs and poetry until the ensemble announces a tribute to winter. Irving Berlin’s “Snow” and a wonderfully simple, heartfelt recitation by cast member Greg Foster of Frost’s “Stopping By Woods” make up this section of auditory treats. Then, as the entire company sings their “Dessert Medley,” the audience is treated to a complimentary bowl of figgy pudding, offering additional sensory delight to the song.
The second half of the program is a mixture of the classical and contemporary. Songs like Anne Murray’s “Snowbird,” beautifully sung by Missy Aguilar, “Turkey Lurkey Time” from Burt Bacharach’s musical “Promises, Promises,” sung by Sarah Grant, a sexy “Santa Baby,” purred to perfection by lovely Molly Kral, and “Winter/The River,” beautifully and sensitively crooned by Andrew Sickel and Greg Foster provides variety to the styles of music. Heimann returns to more traditional madrigal harmonies as he closes his show, but he saves a funny, delectably performed “Christmas Can-Can,” for the finale. In this number every holiday celebrated at this time of the year is represented, including those oft-heard complaints about how every year they start earlier and earlier.
It’s an intimate production, with performers not only using the stage but frequently wandering through the audience as they sing. While the variety of songs sounds strange, the effect is “something for everyone” and, as presented, add up to a very pleasant evening of unique holiday music audiences won’t hear everywhere. Combined with this cast’s genuine good humor and friendliness, Theo Ubique offers a winning and welcome break to the usual holiday hullabaloo.
Recommended
Reviewed by Colin Douglas
Presented Nov. 23-Dec. 22 by Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre at the No Exit Cafe, in Rogers Park, 6970 N. Glenwood Ave.
Tickets are available by calling 800-595-4849 or by visiting www.theo-u.com.
Additional information about this and other area productions can be found at www.theatreinchicago.com.
Circles Around “Paulus”
Circles Around “Paulus”
THEATER REVIEW: “Paulus” by Silk Road Rising
A Review by Kazuko Golden
In the world premiere of the play, “Paulus,” by Motti Lerner, the lead character Paulus (played by Daniel Cantor) leads us into 58 C.E. where he witnesses the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Paulus is then tormented with determining his life’s path forward. Having fantastical illusions about Jesus revisiting and spiritually motivating him to reinvent what he knows about Judaism and the Roman occupation of Judea, Paulus is internally conflicted and battles both religious and political forces that threaten to execute him if he either denies his traditional heritage and beliefs or rejects vowing faith to the Roman hierarchy.
If you are in need of “popcorn for the brain,” entertainment for the holidays, “Paulus” will not sit lightly with you. Rather the highly academic nature of the history and religious studies that Lerner, an Israeli playwright and self-described atheist, presents through his script (translated from the original Hebrew by Hillel Halkin) is a pedagogical and philosophical debate about the doctrines of salvation and atonement, as grounded in the doctrine of Christian theology and represented in the crucifixion of Jesus (played by Torrey Hanson). Further, the discussion about the psychological experiences of those who witnessed the crucifixion and its meaning is articulated fully by Paulus. As a witness, Paulus is then tormented with how to move forward after this experience. Those closest to him – Trophimos (Anthony DiNicola); ex-wife, Adima (Carolyn Hoerdemann); and nephew Eleazar (Glenn Stanton) -suffer as well.
The timing of this play is difficult. Lerner has presented his thought-provoking play right before the beginning of the Hanukkah, Christmas, and New Year seasonal celebrations. As Chicago audiences wander in to take a load off from the hustle and bustle of the busy retail season, this play does not permit them t to rest their brains. Every minute of this two-hour play is crammed with positioning the meaning of the history of Second Temple Judaism and the apostolic age of early Christianity. According to Silk Road Rising, “(Lerner) is not interested in relaying facts but in revealing truths.” The pauses between the political tumult and social upheaval and the fierce theological battles are slow and lingering.
The location of the play is breathtaking. Pierce Hall is housed in The Historic Chicago Temple Building, home of the First Methodist Church. At one time long ago, the building in Chicago’s Loop area was the tallest skyscraper in the city. The ornate interior of the church includes 16 stained glass windows depicting scenes from the Bible.
For those with questions about their theological positioning and for those that during this time of the year are interested in seeing a play that presents philosophical pedagogy about the reinvention of religion in the first century, “Paulus” will be an appropriate play to consider seeing. What is admirable about Lerner’s approach is that his message raises questions from Paulus’s experience that are relevant to contemporary questions about universalism, radical modernization, and the conflicts that arise when individuals attempt to challenge norms and enter into worlds of monotheism and ethnic diversity. Paulus’s questions about multicultural modes of practicing religion and pedagogical thought are drawn from and mirror Lerner’s questioning.
When: Through Dec. 15
Where: Silk Road Rising, Pierce Hall at Chicago Temple, 77 W. Washington St.
Running time: 2 hours
Tickets: $35 at 312-857-1234, ext. 201, or silkroadrising.org
Somewhat Recommended
Holiday Fun for Younger Audiences
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
There’s no lack of holiday entertainment in the Chicago area, but sometimes it’s difficult to find a show that will appeal to and hold the attention of younger viewers. Adapted practically word for word, song for song and character for character from the 1964 animated television special, this musical Christmas confection is the perfect holiday event for children, ages 3-10. First Stage Milwaukee’s Artistic Director Jeff Frank conceived the idea of adapting the stop-action animated holiday classic for the stage. Working closely with Robert Penola, they devised a script that recreated the cartoon’s magic, while still honoring Robert L. May’s original children’s story and Johnny Marks‘ well-known holiday song. Add to this Brandon Kirkham’s spot-on production design, which includes costumes, scenery and puppets, and you have a stage production that looks and sounds as if the animated TV special has actually come to life.
Holiday Redemption through Music
A Christmas Carol: the Musical
Charles Dickens’ famous cautionary tale about the old miser who learns to love Christmas can be found in more
A Family Holiday Treat
The Nutcracker – Marriott
With Christmas fast approaching, Marriott’s Theatre for Young Audiences brings back one of its holiday favorites. Based upon E. T. A. Hoffmann’s children’s story “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King,” which in turn inspired Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s world famous ballet suite, Marc Robin has created a 60-minute play with music and dance that captures the magic of both pieces.
The story opens on Christmas Eve in the Victorian home of youngsters Marie and her mischievous brother Fritz. Just as dinner is being served, their Uncle Drosselmeyer arrives surprising them with gifts, including a beautiful Nutcracker, which Fritz immediately breaks. After he’s mended Marie falls asleep next to her cherished Nutcracker. She dreams that all the Christmas toys have come to life and a battle ensues between the Nutcracker and the Mouse King over possession of a magical crown. Their journey takes Marie and her new friends to Candy Land, through the Snowflake Forest and to the Kingdom of the Sugar Plum Fairy. After the crown is rightly restored to the Nutcracker, Marie awakens to find that her prince looks very much like the new boy next door, and young audiences will be assured that the magic will continue.
Read MoreMary Wilson's Holiday Spectacular
The Holiday Season gets a taste of the Motown Sound as “Mary Wilson’s Holiday Spectacular Featuring Special Guests The Four Tops” blows into the Windy City December 23, 2013 – January 5, 2014 at the Harris Theater (205 E. Randolph St.) Presented by Reach Out Entertainment and Starvox Entertainment and Marketing, audiences will be taken on a journey through some of the greatest Motown hits as well as Holiday classics by Mary Wilson, one of the original Supremes and the legendary Four Tops, celebrating 60 years of performing in 2013. Pre-sale tickets ($59.99 – $119.99) go on sale Tuesday, October 22 at 10 a.m. and can be purchased online at Ticketmaster.com with an American Express Card. General Public tickets go on sale Sunday, October 27 and can be purchased at Ticketmaster.com, HarrisTheaterChicago.org, by calling 312.334.2419 or at the Harris Theater Box Office. For more information visit marywilsonandthefourtops.com.
“It is a dream to celebrate the Holiday season in Chicago,” said performer Mary Wilson. “To perform with my good friends The Four Tops while singing the great songs that introduced us to world combined with some of my favorite Holiday tunes, is the perfect way to usher in the New Year and celebrate the spirit of the season.”
“Mary Wilson’s Holiday Spectacular” stars the Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame, and Vocal Group Hall of Fame recipient Mary Wilson who will treat audiences to rousing renditions of some of the signature songs that catapulted the Supremes to become the most successful “girl group” in history. Favorites include “Stop In The Name of Love,” “I Hear a Symphony,” “Come See About Me,” “Can’t Hurry Love,” “Back In Your Arms Again,” Someday We’ll Be Together” and many more. Abdul “Duke” Fakir, leading The Four Tops will also bring the music of Motown to life with “Baby I Need Your Lovin’,” “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch),” Reach Out, I’ll Be There,” “Bernadette” and “Ain’t No Woman Like the One I Got” and “In The Still of the Night.” Wilson and The Four Tops will then join together on stage, putting the Motown sound into everyone’s favorite holiday classics including “White Christmas,” “Silent Night,” “Winter Wonderland,” “My Favorite Things” and a special rendition of “Baby It’s Cold Outside” sung by Wilson and Fakir. These living legends bring their soul and passion to the stage, embracing the warmth of the season and welcoming in a new year with memorable songs that are sure to have audiences singing along and embracing the spirit and the sounds of holiday.
“We are so thrilled to bring together some of Motown’s living legends and present them to Chicago audiences during the holiday season, said Starvox President Corey Ross.” Both Mary Wilson and the Four Tops have continued to delight audiences for decades and to see them join together on one stage and showcase their incredible talent will be a holiday treat for all.”
Performance Schedule and Ticket Information
“Mary Wilson’s Holiday Spectacular Featuring Special Guests The Four Tops:”
Monday, December 23, 2013 – Sunday, January 5, 2014
December 23, 25 – 29, 31 and January 2 – 4 at 8:00 p.m.
December 28 and January 4 – 5 at 3:00 p.m.
December 31 at 10 p.m. (Special New Year’s Eve performance, details TBD)
*no performances December 24 and December 30
Tickets ($59.99 – $119.99) are available online at , by calling
312.334.7777 or in-person at the Harris Theater Box Office (205 E. Randolph St.). Discounted Group Ticket reservations are available for groups of 10 or more at Grouptix.net or by calling 773-327-3778.
Events at MB Financial in Rosemont
KICK-START YOUR HOLIDAY SEASON WITH THE RETURN OF SKATING IN THE PARK AT MB FINANCIAL PARK AT ROSEMONT FRIDAY, NOV. 29
The winter season is fast approaching and MB Financial Park is kicking off the holiday season with Skating in the Park November 29, 2013. The NHL sized skating rink opens to the public for free ice skating at 11 a.m. followed by skating appearances from cherished holiday characters and horse-drawn sleigh rides throughout the afternoon and evening.
Rosemont’s Mayor Stephens will arrive at 5:30 p.m. to join in the opening day celebration and introduce a special performance by The Chicago Skates Open Juvenile Team, skating out of McFetridge Sports Center for almost 25 years. Coached by Kathy Janik and comprised of skaters ranging in age from 12 to 18, the team participates in competitions throughout the Midwest and the country, including the US Figure Skating Midwestern/Pacific Synchronized Skating Championships.
Following the performance, Mayor Stephens will welcome Santa Claus to join him in the MB Financial Park tree lighting ceremony. The rink closes for the evening at 10 p.m. MB Financial Park restaurants will be open for lunch and dinner throughout the day.
Skating at the Park will be open November 29, 2013 through February 2, 2014. Admission to the ice rink is free; Skates can be rented onsite for $8. Santa Claus will make additional appearances to meet children at MB Financial Park throughout the holiday season. Specific appearance dates are listed below.
Skating in the Park at Rosemont Opening Day Schedule
Open skate: 11a.m. – 5:15 p.m., 6:15 p.m. – 10 p.m.
Sleigh rides: 4 p.m. – 8 p.m.
Mayor’s welcome: 5:30 p.m.
USFS performance: 5:40 p.m.
Tree Lighting Ceremony: 5:45 p.m.
Santa Claus Appearances at MB Financial Park
Dec. 14: 2 p.m. – 6 p.m.
Dec. 15: 1 p.m. – 6 p.m.
Dec. 21: 2 p.m. – 6 p.m.
Skating in the Park at Rosemont Regular Hours
Monday-Thursday: 4 p.m. – 9 p.m.
Friday: 4 p.m. – 10 p.m.
Sat: 11 a.m. – 10 p.m.
Sun: 11 a.m. – 8 p.m.
Extended Winter Break Hours
Dec. 23: 11 a.m. – 10 p.m.
Dec. 24: 11 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Dec. 25: 5 p.m. – 10 p.m.
Dec. 26-28: 11 a.m. – 10 p.m.
Dec. 29: 11 a.m. – 8 p.m.
Dec. 30: 11 a.m. – 10 p.m.
Dec. 31: 11 a.m. – 1 a.m.
Jan. 1-3: 11 a.m. – 10 p.m.
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