Chicago Theatre Review
Sex, Drugs and Rocking Chairs
A Jukebox For the Algonquin
Many individuals have wisely commented upon aging. Mark Twain quipped, “Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don’t mind it doesn’t matter.” George Bernard Shaw stated that “We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.” Satchel Paige asked, “How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you are?” But author C.S. Lewis reminded us that “You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” All of these quotations, particularly the last one, could be the theme of Paul Stroili’s delightful comic drama, A JUKEBOX FOR THE ALGONQUIN, now playing at Citadel Theatre.
Read MoreHistory Repeats Itself
A Tale of Two Cities
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times; it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness…” Those opening lines of Charles Dickens’ epic novel are perhaps the most recognizable from all his books—probably from any work of fiction. The author’s 1859 serialized novel was very popular with Victorian readers, not just because it was filled with dozens of fascinating characters and thrilling, entangled plot lines. The story, which was set almost 100 years earlier, both in London and Paris, takes place before, during and after the French Revolution. However, 19th century readers could clearly see parallels with the era in which they were living. They were discovering a truism that we’ve all heard many times: History often repeats itself.
Read MoreRobert Langdon and the Holy Grail
The Da Vinci Code
Just in time for Easter, Drury Lane Theatre presents the Chicago premiere of Dan Brown’s popular 2003 mystery thriller, of the same name. The novel, which became a very popular film three years later, has been adapted for the stage by playwrights Rachel Wagstaff and Duncan Abel. This tense, two-act drama follows American Symbolist, Robert Langdon, and French police Cryptologist, Sophie Neveu, after Langdon is accused of murdering Jacques Saunière, Sophie’s beloved grandfather and the curator of the Louvre Museum in Paris. As a raft of mysterious clues pile up and an array of pulse-pounding events continue to unfold, what begins as a murder mystery turns into an exciting race against time between the good guys and the bad guys. Before we know it, the audience is cheering this anxious adventure story that could be subtitled, Robert Langdon and his Search for the Holy Grail.
Read MoreThe Night Was Alive
Titanic, the Musical
Some musicals are pure escape stories; some shed light on the life of a famous or popular individual or musical group; a great many shows these days are simply jukebox musicals, helping us to relive the sounds of a era. And then there are musical dramas, like LES MISERABLES, that are so beautiful and breathtaking that they stimulate an emotional experience that both breaks our heart and stirs our soul. TITANIC, THE MUSICAL is such a show, especially in Marriott’s unbelievably moving, majestic and yet intensely intimate production. It draws the audience onto “The Largest Moving Object” and takes the passengers, crew and theatergoers on a memorable journey during which “The Night Was Alive.”
Read MoreThe Ensemble has a night to shine at Chicago Lyric Opera’s A Wondrous Sound
The Chicago Lyric Opera consistently delivers productions that are excellent from bottom to top: luscious sets, incredible musicians and performers and thoughtfully directed shows. As anyone who has worked in the theater can tell you, for that many levels of excellence to exist, there is an enormous, hardworking, and often unseen team of people making the lead performers shine. A Wondrous Sound – a concert at the Chicago Lyric Opera this coming Saturday, April 19, brings some of the lesser-celebrated members of the Opera front and center.
This special concert features the Chorus and the Orchestra to showcase some of opera’s most famous and beloved overtures and choral works, as well as a few classic selections from American Musical Theater. It is conducted by Lyric’s Music Director Enrique Mazzola and hosted by Lyric’s General Director, John Mangum.
The audience is treated to brief explanations and histories of the pieces performed, and the music does the rest, filling the opera house with passion, beauty and melody. The program included well known favorites, such as the Carmen overture, and William Tell. The ensemble also stretched outside their more usual fare with selections from Westside Story, Carousel and The Sound of Music. One unique aspect of the show, pointed out by Chorus Director Michael Black, was that unlike most evenings at the Opera, there was little need for the audience to look up at the translation, you could sit back and let the music wash over you.
All the pieces were relatively brief. General Director and President John Magnum came out after every three or four pieces to introduce them, giving context and a few light jokes, and let the ensemble do what they do best. It was a real-time, real-life, curated, greatest hits playlist, played and sung by word class musicians in what felt like an act of love. Highlights included Verdi’s Nabucco, which was introduced both by John Magnum and Music Director Enrique Mazzola. Mazzola spoke of the power of “Va Pensiero,” the selection from Nabucco. It was written in 1841, when Italy was still a collection of independent kingdoms, troubled by foreign influences, tyrannical rulers and instability. He described it as a song about the longing for freedom and loved ones that are out of reach when one’s land is ruled by tyrants, which struck a chord with the audience.
While every piece was excellent, there were a few standouts:
The selections from William Tell were the “Gloria al poter supremo!” March and Chorus from the Act 3 overture. The piece is instantly recognizable if you’ve ever seen Looney Toons or the Lone Ranger, and garnered laughter and applause.
“Freudig begrüssen wir edle Halle” from Wagner’s Tannhäuser, was the only German piece of the night. The chorus sang it with obvious relish, and the power to back up their enthusiasm.
We were also treated to Puccini’s “Humming Chorus” from Madame Butterfly, an achingly beautiful and difficult piece of music, as it is entirely hummed, but still has the vocal range one would expect from an Opera. The unique chorus of hums creates an ethereal, heartbreaking sound, that leaves a special sort of silence in its wake. It’s no wonder Madame Butterfly remains one of the most popular operas since its debut in 1904.
I’m a Musical Theater kid at heart, so the world-class treatment of Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim and Rogers and Hammerstein was especially delightful to hear. Mazzola invited the audience to participate in the West Side Story Overture section of “Mambo” which left me feeling like a kid mischievously singing along when my parent had shushed me. The women of the Chorus also provided a playful rendition of “America” that was captivating.
The night ended with arguably two of the more stirring songs from all of American Musical Theater: “Climb Every Mountain” from The Sound of Music, and “You’ll Never Walk Alone” from Carousel. Given that the sound of excellent singers raising their voices in harmony is already enough to move one’s soul, these two pieces surrounded the audience with what I can only describe as hope, if it had a sound.
There was a special encore at the end, but I don’t want to give it all away. This show is the perfect way to introduce kids, or really anyone, to the power and beauty in Opera and Classic American Theater. Do your family a favor and bring them out for some wondrous sound.
Highly Recommended
Reviewed by Alina C. Hevia
Presented at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. A final performance is on April 19, at 2:00pm. Tickets range from $65-$345. For more information and tickets, call 312.827.5600 or visit
www.lyricopera.org/shows/upcoming/2024-25/a-wondrous-sound-concert/
Additional information about this and other area productions can be found by visiting www.theatreinchicago.com.
A Comic Catharsis
Scary Town
Richard Scarry is known the world over as one of the best-beloved author/illustrators ever! The late creator of kiddy lit is recognized for his legacy of more than 300 large, colorful and minutely detailed picture books about daily life, expressly written for young children. Most of his books are set in a fictional place called Busytown, a sweet little metropolis populated by an assortment of anthropomorphic animals, all living together in harmony. He filled his stories with humanity, a strong sense of community, kindness and cooperation.
Read MoreThe Go-Between
Translations
The year is 1833, and Owen has returned to Baile Beag, a fictional Irish-speaking village in County Donegal, Ireland. This tiny rural town was once his home. But the youngest son of Hugh, the master of the village’s secret hedge-school, Owen left home six years ago to make his fortune in the big city of Dublin. Because he can speak both Irish (Gaelic) and the King’s English, Owen’s been employed by the British as a translator. He’s working with them to Anglicize the village names and help map out Ireland for the Ordnance Survey. Owen serves as a go-between for the hard-boiled English cartographer, Captain Lancey, and his idealistic, younger orthographer, Lieutenant George Yolland, and all the Irish-speaking people of this rural community.
Read MoreMan of La Mancha – Wirtz Center
Celebrating its 60th Anniversary, Man of La Mancha is one of the world’s most popular musicals; the original 1965 production won five Tony Awards, including Best Musical. Inspired by Miguel de Cervantes’ 17th-century masterwork Don Quixote, Man of La Mancha was originally set during the Spanish Inquisition when Cervantes is in prison awaiting trial. This re-imagined version, directed by theatre department chair and Goodman Theatre Resident Director Henry Godinez, is set in a detention center on the US-Mexico border, where a growing group of migrants from across the world, being held and readied for deportation, is looking for safety and opportunity. Cervantes and his fellow prisoners perform a play-within-a-play, telling the story of the elderly Alonso Quijana, who renames himself Don Quixote and goes on a quest to right all wrongs in the world. The rousing score includes the classic numbers “The Impossible Dream,” “I, Don Quixote,” “Dulcinea,” “I Really Like Him” and “Little Bird.”
Show page: https://wirtz.northwestern.edu/man-of-la-mancha/
Ticket link: https://ci.ovationtix.com/1771/production/1204000
Evidence of Good
The Book of Grace
After a ten year estrangement, Buddy has been invited by Grace, his loving and optimistic stepmother, to come back home to South Texas. She’s hoping that a long-awaited reunion with his violent and bullying father, Vet, will patch up their mysterious longtime hostile relationship. The specific occasion for this homecoming is that Vet, a sadistic border patrol officer, is about to receive a medal for his work. And Vet’s proud of his apprehension and arrest of Mexican aliens, either trying to cross the border illegally or smuggling drugs into the country.
Read MoreGiordano Dance Company Flies High in “Soaring.”
Giordano Dance Chicago, “America’s original jazz dance company,” celebrated its 62nd season with two performances and a gala celebration at the Harris Theater this past weekend. Giordano Dance Chicago is an iconic cultural institution with deep roots in Chicago and one of the longest running dance companies in the world. This past weekend’s program, “SOARING: Life, Light, and Legacy,” is a celebration of the joy of living, the brilliance of light, and the lasting impact of Nan Giordano’s 40 years at the helm of Giordano Dance Chicago as well as the vibrant life of her beloved son, Keenan Giordano Casey, that was cut too short this past October.
A blend of old and new pieces were showcased. The evening began with the world premiere of “Sana” (Latin for heal) by Al Blackstone, a choreographer in residence. Sana is his second work created for the full company and is set to an original music score by percussionist and pianist Stahv Danker. A warm, rhythmic piece, it begins with a sultry jazz feel, and ends in a percussive, athletic power that is invigorating and joyful. The next piece was “333,” a solo created for company dancer Erina Ueda, (Dance Magazine’s “25 to Watch 2024”) by Nan Giordano and Cesar G. Salinas. Erina dances with a level of sheer, physical power that is captivating. Her body is an expressive, joyful instrument that Giordano and Salinas used as a vessel for a celebration of life.
Ueda’s solo was followed by “SOARING,” a moving tribute to the life of Nan’s son, Keenan Giordano Casey (1995-2024). The piece was created through a collaboration between Nan Giordano, Cesar G. Salinas and the Giordano Dance Chicago Company Dancers. All in white, the dancers sped across the stage at almost dizzying speeds. Keenan Giordano Casey was taken too soon, and the pain of his loss could be felt as the dancers incorporated handheld candles. They created a feeling of collective gratitude to have lived and loved, and the inevitable sorrow that comes with that same gratitude. The audience was clearly packed with friends and family, and it was an honor to be a part of such a beautiful and heartfelt memorial.
The next piece was Red & Black, choreographed in 2024 by Ray Leeper. It felt like a throwback to the early days of jazz dance and an homage to a certain era of Broadway. The collection of songs went from classic to modern, beginning with Eartha Kitt and ending with Club De Beluga. Each vignette told a story of love, lust and adventure. The company is made up of particularly expressive dancers, who not only used their whole bodies, but their faces to tell their stories.
After intermission, the audience was treated to past works by Nan Giordano and Christopher Huggins. “Taal”, originally debuted in 2001, featured music by Anuradha, Suno A.R. Rahman and S Jhaia, and had a distinctly Southeastern Asian feel. The dancers incorporated large, saffron colored sheets that hung from the ceiling and created an atmosphere that felt grounded in nature, perhaps because of the soft, independent movement of the fabric as it reacted to the dancers.
The final work of the night was “Pyrokinesis,” originally created by Huggins in 2007. It won the 2008 Black Theater Alliance Award for “Best Choreography.” Huggins created a piece that builds on itself with a rhythmic intensity that was a joy to witness. The company’s athleticism, especially after a night of already powerful, energetic performance, was staggering.
Throughout the night, as the dancers hurled or spun or leaped or sashayed across the stage with perfect control, or supported each other with impossible strength, or reached toward the sky to bid farewell to a loved one, I was reminded that, above the other performance arts, dance often feels like the purest expression of human emotion. It needs no words, no roles or elaborate sets, only humans and their bodies in motion, living in riotous color. If you are looking for a reminder of what it is to be human, be sure to check out a Giordano Dance show this season.
Highly Recommended
Reviewed by Alina C. Hevia
To learn more about Giordano Dance Chicago, check out their website, and their calendar, here: https://www.giordanodance.org/calendar
Additional information about this and other area productions can be found by visiting www.theatreinchicago.com.
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