Chicago Theatre Review
All the World’s a Stage
As You Like It
Shakespeare’s sweet, pastoral comedy, thought to have been written around 1599, is one of his more frequently performed of his plays and an audience favorite among professional, regional and educational theaters, alike. It boasts a large cast of memorable characters, all of whom spend most of their time roaming through the forest and farming community and pining for love. The story has even been adapted for radio, film and the musical stage.
Read MoreHappy Holidays
White Christmas
We’ve already had an early snowfall in Chicagoland this Winter, but, at Aurora’s breathtaking Paramount Theatre, the snow is falling again on stage, night after night. The award-winning Theatre’s latest offering is a truly magical stage adaptation of the classic 1954 film holiday film. Audiences, both young and old, will be absolutely delighted and emotionally moved by Paramount’s sweet-sounding, visually stunning Christmas confection. This musical production glitters so brightly and sparkles with so much talent that it’s guaranteed to put the audience in the holiday mood.
Read MoreFabulous, Baby!
Sister Act
Dreaming of fame, fortune and phenomenal stardom is the attractive and audacious Deloris Van Cartier. The charismatic protagonist of this musical is a flamboyant Philadelphia nightclub singer. Deloris is hoping, as she auditions her hit, “Take Me to Heaven,” that her smarmy gangster boyfriend and discotheque director, Curtis Jackson, will make that happen. But when Deloris accidentally witnesses Curtis and his posse of thugs offing a guy who squealed on him, suddenly her life is in danger. Led by Deloris’ old high school buddy, the sweet-natured “Sweaty Eddie,” the Philly Police decide that the best place for Lady Fabulous to safely hide is in a convent. And thus this moving story of friendship, sisterhood and becoming “Fabulous, Baby!” begins.
Read MoreMusic, Menace and a Murder Myth
Amadeus
Sparked by rumors and stories surrounding the life and death of Austrian Classical composer, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, famed English playwright, Sir Peter Shaffer (EQUUS, BLACK COMEDY, LETTICE AND LOVAGE) wrote this historically-based murder mystery. Shaffer’s 1981, multiple Tony Award-winning wig-and-costume masterpiece was also adapted three years later into an impressive, Oscar-winning film. The play is narrated by Antonio Salieri, the 18th century court composer for Viennese Emperor, Joseph II. Within the first moments of the play, Salieri states that he’s not only responsible for poisoning Mozart, but that he’s riddled with guilt and has decided to take his own life. Come hell or high water, Salieri only wants to be remembered, if not for his artistry, then for his notoriety.
Read MoreA Privilege to Pee
Urinetown
Welcome to Urinetown. It’s not an actual place, as Officer Lockstock, our Narrator and political henchman enjoys telling us: it’s a metaphysical state of mind. He and Little Sally, a precocious street urchin, inform the audience that a twenty-year draught has led to a severe water shortage. This unnamed, dystopian city is now run by a corrupt municipal administration. It’s lorded over by the evil authoritarian, Caldwell B. Cladwell. This miserly money grubber has outlawed private toilets and is gleefully exploiting the poor for every penny. Each citizen is forced to pay an exorbitant fee, in order to use the communal toilets around town. Suddenly it becomes “A Privilege to Pee.”
Read MoreThe Lure of Glory and the Madness of Desire
A Devil Comes to Town
Cunning. Creepy. Comic. Characters caught between destiny and desire – worlds of shadow where genius and madness intertwine. Rabid foxes. Rabid writers? Orgiastic masturbatory frenzied scribbling inking all over the pages. Madness and the threat of barely restrained violence ripple under the surface of civilization.
Read MoreRockin’ Around the Christmas Tree
Million Dollar Quartet Christmas
For fans of the popular jukebox musical, the original MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET, this may be the perfect holiday show for you. That musical was last seen at the Marriott in a brilliant production that opened their 2019 season. Closing out the Theatre’s 50th season, the Marriott’s holiday offering is once again another perfect production, appearing at the perfect time of the year. Similar to the original show’s premise, famed rock&roll, rockabilly and country/western recording stars, Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Johnny Cash have reunited once again at Sun Records. They want to celebrate Christmas Eve with the man whose care and guidance launched their careers, Sam Phillips. And once again, Elvis has brought along his lovely girlfriend, Dyanne. The result is a rousing, 90-minute reunion of old friends, “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree.”
Read MoreGirl on Fire
Hell’s Kitchen
We are always in the process of becoming the best version of ourselves. Stories, such as the beautiful HELL’S KITCHEN, remind us that we’re never really finished with our own Coming-of-Age journey. With a beguiling book by playwright Kristoffer Diaz (Pulitzer Prize finalist for THE ELABORATE ENTRANCE OF CHAD DIETY), and an enthralling pop/hip-hop score by singer and songwriter Alicia Keys (a seventeen-time Grammy Award recipient), this TonyAward-winning musical has finally made its way to Chicago. A tender, sometimes heartbreaking and highly exhilarating show about a young woman’s transition from childhood to adult, the story’s loosely based on Alicia Keys’ life. With some fictional enhancement, we watch Ali, a young, evolving musician, overcome the many challenges of growing up. By the end of the story, Ali has transitioned from rebellious teenager to wise and talented young adult—a Girl on Fire.
Read MoreSuperior Donuts
by Colin Douglas
Possibilities, People and Pleasing Pastries
When life is as bitterly cold and gridlocked as a Chicago winter in Uptown, sometimes the only thing that keeps a body going is possibilities…and people…and maybe some pleasing deep-fried pastries. At least that’s the philosophy that one optimistic young man lives by in SUPERIOR DONUTS. Written by Tony and Pulitzer Prize Award-winning playwright Tracy Letts (AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY, BUG, KILLER JOE), this is probably his most mainstream play. His slice-of-Chicago-life comedy-drama had it’s highly-acclaimed world premiere at the Steppenwolf Theatre in 2008, where Letts is also a company member. That production went on to Broadway a year later; and in 2017 CBS aired a situation comedy, based upon the popular play.
Typical Tracy Letts, this play is liberally peppered with profanity and violence. The story primarily centers around character relationships, rather than plot. The playwright’s genius, however, is his compelling creation of a tightly knit community of realistic, flesh-and-blood people who we can all recognize. Under Director John Mossman’s determined and dauntless guidance and staging, Artistic Home’s production boasts a truly magnificent cast.
The company is led by talented Ensemble Member, Scott Westerman (TIME OF YOUR LIFE, WEDDING BOND), who portrays a resourceful but reticent Arthur Pryszbyszewski. Mr. Westerman has created his character with intelligence, nuance and a quiet sensitivity that’s sublime. Arthur’s merely a middle-aged hippie who likes to keep to himself, a second generation Polish immigrant who’s proud of his skill at making old-fashioned donuts from scratch. Although the Uptown Chicago neighborhood has changed considerably (Starbucks has taken most of his business), both Arthur and his unpretentious coffee shop have remained the same. But Arthur’s past has left him a cautious character, isolated and resistant to the influence of family and friends.
Suddenly, into his quiet world bursts a loud, fast-talking and optimistic young African-American kid named Franco Wicks. He’s played by the engaging and gifted John N. Williams (HAIRSPRAY at the Beverly Arts Center), making his auspicious Artistic Home debut. Energetic and filled with dreams, Franco is looking for a job to make ends meet. He’s also determined, once hired, to bring some vitality and innovative ideas to both Superior Donuts and Arthur’s personal life. All of this, despite the older man’s reluctance. But Franco also has a secret past that interferes with his personal aspirations.
A community of charismatic characters wander in and out of Arthur’s tiny cafe. They include two members of the Chicago Police Department, Officer James Bailey (a good-natured and amiable Kevin Aoussou) and Officer Randy Osteen (peerlessly played by lovely Kristin Collins, with a perfect blend of detached distance and concealed caring). We also run into Russian immigrant and wheeler-dealer, Max Tarasov (played with hysterical histrionics by Reid Coker, showcasing his impressive dialect skills) and Lady, a sweet homeless woman and mother, portrayed with heaps of heart and humanity by Barbara Roeder Harris. Adam Schulmerich and Michael Bayler provide a mess of menace and antagonism as loan shark thugs Luther and Kevin; and as Kiril, Max’s robust, young nephew, John Wehrman creates a hard-to-miss hero.
In today’s world, continually riddled with insufferable strife and chronic conflict, it’s comforting and recommended that we spend a couple hours in a warm, intimate theatre with these memorable characters. Like many of us, the Chicagoans in this play are all learning to face their problems with courage and confidence. Armed with a shared strength and profound empathy for each other, Arthur, Franco and their friends can see a bright future ahead. And the reason they’re able to find a modicum of comfort is because of the possibilities, the people and the pleasing pastries sold at SUPERIOR DONUTS.
Highly Recommended
Reviewed by Colin Douglas
Presented November 2-December 6 by Artistic Home at the Den Theatre, in their Bookspan Venue, 1331 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago.
Tickets are available in person at the Den Theatre box office, by calling 773-697-3830 or by going to www.theartistichome.org.
Additional information about this and other area productions can be found by visiting www.theatreinchicago.com.
Hot Tuna – North Shore Center Van Dusen Theatre
From the moment the venerated artists of Hot Tuna, Jack Casady and Jorma Kaukonen, graced the stage of the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, the audience was immediately reminded that they were in the presence of living history. The spontaneous standing ovation that erupted before a single note was struck underscored the duo’s formidable, decades-spanning legacy—a testament few contemporary acts could command.
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