“SAME SPOOP, NEW TAILS” Theatre Above the Law’s GRIMM returns for the fourth year in a row.

Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm first published their collection of folktales, Kinder- und Hausmärchen (Children’s and Household Tales) in 1812. As any English-Lit nerd can tell you, it was originally meant as a scholarly collection of traditional German folktales, not children’s bedtime stories. When the collection began to gain popularity, the brothers gradually sanitized their collection for children, and the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm have since become a foundational text here in the US, helped in part by Disney. In more recent times, the Grimm brothers themselves have entered the stories as adventurers, monster killers, con-men and/or heroes, depending on the re-telling.

GRIMM, written by Michael Dalberg is a new spin on the old stories and the characters of the Brothers Grimm. It is the ninth version of a production written for Theatre Above the Law each autumn. Given the rich legacy of the Grimms and the inventive, enthusiastic team at Theatre Above the Law, I can see why this particular show has been re-imagined four times, and opens the company’s ninth season.

The play opens with Jacob Grimm being dragged into a bar that is a sort of half-way house outside of time, and home to many characters from the stories. He’s hunting the Big Bad Wolf, who was apparently involved in the disappearance of his brother Wilhelm. The characters, including Little Red, protect the Wolf, and insist that Jakob will have to endure the re-telling some of his own stories before they will allow him to confront the Wolf. Throughout the play, characters remind Jakob that he must participate in the telling of his stories and must “go through” them to find the answers he seeks.

The set is a simple bar. Light and Sound Design do most of the work, to great effect. Sound Designer Nathan Goldberg provides several moments of comedy, and Lighting Designer Britany Pearson helps set the tone in several pivotal scenes. Director Tony Lawry is obviously well-versed in making a production work with a small budget and a big imagination, using all the elements available to him to create an immersive and joyful experience.

What ensues is a delightful, creative re-telling of several Grimm fairytales, both popular and lesser known: Little Red Riding Hood, The Goose Girl, The Pied Piper, Hans in Luck and Cinderella. The ensemble members all take turns playing the main characters, sliding between genders and ages, good guys and bad, with humor and enthusiasm. The costumes and props are simple and portable. Once again, I was reminded that with a talented and charismatic cast, all you need is a strand of golden beads to stand in for a ballgown, a stuffed doll for a horse, and a cocktail spoon for a sword. Appropriately for Halloween, the stories grow increasingly dark as it progresses. Jacob is slowly drawn into his own stories while hunting for answers on the disappearance of his brother.

At times, the framing device of Jakob’s search for answers was a little hard to follow. The reason behind Jakob’s need to hear the stories again remains vague, as does the reason that he blames the Wolf for Wilhem’s disappearance. The story of Little Red Riding Hood is used to explain all of this, but it’s not told till the very end of the show. Frankly, none of it really seemed necessary. The stories themselves, re-written with a modern sense of humor and portrayed by a charming, fully committed cast is more than enough to keep the audience engaged. Overall, there is a feeling that the cast is letting you in on the joke, creating an inclusive, jovial vibe that is irresistible.

The ensemble as a whole really shines in this production. The opening story is The Goose Girl. Told in broad, silly strokes, the cast adopts exaggerated poses reminiscent of Commedia Dell’Arte to great comic effect. Shea Lee as the damsel in distress, embraced the Woe is Me, dramatic physicality perfectly. Later, when she’s an enigmatic and evil fairy, her stiff-backed, deep voiced performance leaves all that behind. Dina Perez is also a blast as a VERY old and loving Queen. She is also instrumental to several sight gags that work wonderfully, and a vapid Evil Stepsister in Cinderella. The shortened vignettes of each story are broken up by silly dance sequences engineered by the Pied Piper (Kevin Woodrow), or Jakob Grimm’s complaining about having to be there at all. Kevin Woodrow leans in hard to camp as Lucky Hans – his tongue in cheek “smolder” is reminiscent of Flynn Rider’s. Sophie Civetta makes a archly funny, evil Chambermaid in The Goose Girl, and a sympathetic Cinderella. Newcomer Aditi Gadhvi is a sweet, wise beyond her years Little Red and the other, equally vapid Evil Stepsister – vocal frying with the best of them. Nick Barnes as Jakob, and Taylor B. Hill as Wolf provide most of the grounding for the audience, reminding us that these stories are told by, and reflect, real people. While Jakob participates in the stories, it is grudgingly until the end, when he takes a turn as a grieving father. Taylor B. Hill is the most common narrator until the end and a warm and solid presence, keeping the bar-outside-of-time a real place, with real feeling and stakes. Her scenes with Nick Barnes are a moving testament to the connections between the stories we tell and the people we love.

Part of the mission of Theatre Above the Law is to foster and educate young artists, and that mission is displayed beautifully with this production. Inclusive, funny and never condescending, this show is a wonderful way to spend an evening with the entire family.

Recommended

Reviewed by Alina C. Hevia

Presented at the Jarvis Square Theater, 1439 W. Jarvis Ave. in Chicago.

Tickets for GRIMM are $15.00 – $25.00 and can be purchased at theatreatl.org or by calling

773-655-7197. Performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30pm and Sundays at 3pm, Thursdays October 10 & 31 at 7:30pm. Previews October 10 & 11 Press Opening October 12 @ 5pm.

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

Jackalope Theatre Company’s 15th Living Newspaper Makes Art from Headlines.

“How to make a living newspaper: Pick and prod through current events from around the country, choose five. Pair stellar playwrights and directors and assign each pairing an article. Let sit for a bit, let a 10-minute play bake. Cast from Chicago’s talented actor pool. Rehearse for a smidge. Meet at the Armory to share our stories.”

Thus opens the program for Jackalope Theatre Company’s Living Newspaper Festival, and I couldn’t have described it better myself. Tucked away in a corner of the Armory on N. Broadway, The Jackalope space is warm and inviting. The theater itself is small, the backdrop a wall papered by newspaper. The stage is plain black, the sets or props for each short play simple and suggestive:  A tool cart, a leather chair, a corner table, hot stones, and a picnic blanket. Ryan Emens’ thoughtful, specific scenic design suggested just enough of an environment to ground each story in its own reality. Sound Designer Anna Jackson filled each show with atmosphere that was engrossing and affecting.  Each play opened with a tightly designed, humorous video intro by designer Tony Santiago.

This year’s memorable headlines included the retirement of the Chuck E. Cheese Animatronic Band (Out of this World by Rammel Chan and Directed by Wendy Mateo), the shocking loss of the Titan Submersible (The Depths by Paloma Nozicka and Directed by Gus Menary), the closing of many maternal wards in the rural U.S. (Into the Breach by Madhuri Shekar and Directed by Wendy Mateo) The Mi’kmat Nation’s choice to use opioid settlement funds to open a sweat lodge to treat addiction in Maine (A Drop in the Bucket by Ireon Roach and Directed by Sydney Charles, and the small movement of “pronatalists” furiously having babies to save the world (The Best of Us by Ike Holter and Directed by Gus Menary).

The headlines served more as a jumping-off point than content. This approach lent itself to an imaginative, sharp, thoughtfulness to each play. While it seems nearly impossible to find a headline these days that isn’t a at least a little bleak, it’s often mixed with a ridiculousness that clearly inspired each playwright. The night began with Out of this World, a slightly surreal, heartfelt story of an Uncle accepting his beloved niece’s transition to college, with the help of a nihilistic Chuck E. Cheese. Alex Hand made a particularly creepy Chuck.

The second play, The Depths, is a dark fever dream about a billionaire who meets her reckoning after playing fast and loose with a submersible’s design. Actors Christina Gorman and Claudia Quesada had wonderful timing, occasional saying lines in unison that created an unsettling, skin-crawling feeling that is released with a horrific thrill at the end.

Into the Breach is a satirical, razor-sharp take on a dystopian future when AI assisted births through smart phone apps are the only option for some young mothers. It was funny, but it was also scary, because it came so close to the truth. So much so that the play felt more like a prediction than a fantasy. Claudia Quesada also managed to keep her face in a blank, unmoving smile that is exactly what an AI midwife’s face would look like.

Fourth, we were swept into A Drop in the Bucket; a complete immersion into a poor soul, detoxing not only drugs but inner demons. The cast, Ashli Funches, DeVaughn Loman and John-Payne moved around the stage in what felt like a blend of dance and poetry. The heady mix of emotion, politics, legacy, grief and love felt like story telling from inside the mind of the storyteller, rather than viewed as an audience.

The final play, The Best of Us, brought everything home on a lighter, if still stinging, note. Niko Kourtis and Liz Sharpe play a pronatalist, Silicon Valley power couple, hiding from their insufferable, eight children. They’re conversation runs like an unhinged Twitter rant by a certain billionaire even more insufferable than the fictional characters he has inspired. All five plays combined made for a sleek, polished, funny and incisive body of work. 

The night served as a reminder that local, topical, immediate theatre can take the social conversation and make it into art. I am looking forward to seeing more of what Jackalope Theatre Company has to say next year.

Highly Recommended

Reviewed by Alina Hevia

Tickets are $15 – $30 and are available at www.jackalopetheatre.org or by calling 773-340-2543.

Show times are: Saturday, Sept. 14 at 7:30 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 15 at 3 p.m. and Monday, Sept. 16 at 7:30 p.m.

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

South Pacific Still Sings

South Pacific is the second show in MadKap Productions’ 10th Anniversary Season, and the first Rodgers and Hammerstein show in the company’s history. Considered by many to be Rodgers and Hammerstein’s best work, South Pacific is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning book “Tales of the South Pacific” by James A. Michener. The play won its own Pulitzer Prize for drama in 1950, along with 10 Tony awards for its original Broadway run.

Easily on anyone’s list of classics, South Pacific is set against the backdrop of World War II,

where parallel love stories blossom amidst the turmoil of war. Several popular standards written for the show include “Bali Ha’i”, “I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair”, “Some Enchanted Evening” and “There Is Nothing Like a Dame,” among others. In fact, director Pat Henderson good-naturedly reminded the audience before the production began that we would have to refrain from singing along.

The show opens on keyboardists Jeremy Ramey and Andrew Milliken, who attack the overture with bombastic flair. Given the size of the space, the two keyboards were a great choice by Music Director Jeremy Ramey. And, as the show unfolds, Mr. Henderson was right! It was difficult not to sing along to songs I, and likely most of the audience, have known since childhood. When Tony Calzaretta’s Emile Debeque began his first rendition of Some Enchanted Evening, in my heart, I could hear my grandmother serenading me with it as a child, and yes, it was difficult not to sing along.

The set was a simple affair: an oceanic backdrop, a small porch, and a platform with dried grasses about it. I did find myself wishing there was some hint of the mountains and palm trees of the South Pacific, even just the suggestion of them painted on the backdrop. That said, given the size of the theater and the vastness of the show, there were some creative uses of the space to give the feeling of more room than there actually was.

Even after 70+ years, the score is beautiful and soaring, and the cast were clearly relishing their chance to perform the classic songs. Willow Schneider makes a convincing and chipper Nellie and Calzaretta’s Emile is elegant and just a little stiff, as you’d imagine an “older” Frenchman might be, when in love with a lovely young woman from Arkansas.

Mariel Saavedra was a standout as Bloody Mary, played with humor and resilience. Another standout was Luis Del Valle, who played the French “Manny” and Stewpot. He brought a lot of personality and charm to smaller parts. Andrew Buel ‘s Luther Billis was also perfectly sleezy and added an element of physical comedy to his role that was much appreciated by the audience.

Overall, the cast was made up of strong singers, but the best number of the night goes to “There Is Nothing Like a Dame” sung and danced with unbridled enthusiasm by the men of the cast. They got a spontaneous round of applause from the audience and several laughs. Max Perkel’s (Lt. Cable) delivery of “Younger than Springtime” was also lovely and heartfelt.

After 70 years, the book feels abrupt at times and relies heavily on atmosphere and the chemistry of the actors to sell the instant love stories. It’s a tall order for a pared down cast, a simple set and a small space. Rodgers and Hammerstein are celebrated for a reason, however, and the music elevates everything around it. This production is for anyone nostalgic for the old days of Broadway. In a lovely theater moment, Calzaretta’s father once played Lt. Cable and was in the audience the night I attended, a reminder that this show has delighted generations, and will likely continue to do so.  Perhaps a night or two set aside for a sing along would be the cherry on top.

Somewhat Recommend

Reviewed by Alina C. Hevia

Presented by MadKap Productions at the Skokie Theatre, 7924 Lincoln Ave in Downtown Skokie. Sept 6 thru Oct 6, 2024. Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 pm, and Sundays at 2:00 pm, with one Wed. matinee on Sept 25 at 1:30 pm.

Tickets are $48 general admission, $42 for seniors and students and and can be purchased online at www.SkokieTheatre.org or by calling 847-677-7761.

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

Blank Theatre Company’s THE MAD ONES burns like a roman candle.

“[…]the only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue center light pop and everybody goes “Awww!”

Front: Rachel Guth (Samantha Brown); Back: Anne Sheridan-Smith (Beverly Brown), Karylin Veres (Kelly Manning), and Aiden Leake (Adam) photo by Elizabeth Stenholt

Garters – Pride & Romantasy

I must have been 10 or 11 when I first picked up Tamora Pierce’s The Song of the Lioness Series. It is a story of a young girl who wants to be a knight, and who’s twin brother wants to be a scholar. Neither role is socially acceptable, so they trade, each masquerading as the opposite sex. It became a favorite of mine, I read it over and over again. Over the series, the main character continues to grapple with gender roles and social expectations, as I myself did throughout my adolescence and young adulthood. In the press release for “GARTERS: A QUEER IMMERSIVE ROMANTASY PLAY” Tamora Pierce and Jacqueline Carey are both referenced as influences, and a love of the tropes of the Fantasy Genre resonates throughout the show. If you’ve ever dreamed of life as a bard, or in a caravan of tinkers and traders, or defeating a dragon, this show will feel in some ways like your dreams come to life.

Unlike those novels and many others from the 90s and early 2000s, the subtext has now become text. Writer Natalie Zutter uses familiar tropes and characters to explore gender identity, sexuality and power, and the intersection of social expectations and an individual’s need for self-expression.

Nearly every speaking role in this production reveals a perspective on the role of gender expectations in society and power in relationships. Heir to the throne, Varic (Jerome Michael Jones) spends most of his time on stage reconciling himself with his role as a powerful man, and how to use that power respectfully and responsibly. Lady Dagomar (Lauren Miller) Varic’s aunt and a royal advisor, uses sexuality, her own and that of her den of spies, to gain power. Sir Yvain (Kira Nutter) struggles to accept her childhood friend and lover, Hedy’s (Jenny Hoppes) choices when it comes to sexual expression, and Hedy struggles to understand Yvain’s need to adhere to their own gender identity, regardless of the consequences.

While all of this is going on, a classic fantasy quest for a magical object moves the plot: When Prince Varic’s father, the king, is injured on a hunt, Varic balks at assuming the throne. In an attempt to help, Yvain rushes off to find a magical jewel to help him. The jewel is said to be buried with a legendary heroine: Lady Clotilda, the first and only Woman-Knight. Yvain is joined by Hedy, who disappeared seven years earlier, after the meet in a brothel. As the two search for the jewel, they come across characters on the way, many of whom display a much more enlightened view on gender roles than usually expected in a stereotypical fantasy world. There are several rousing fight scenes, and a few sing-alongs: much like an afternoon at a Renaissance Fair, the ensemble often interacts with the audience.

The space is very small, the actors spent most of their time mere feet from the audience. This made for an intimate and challenging experience: without at least a little remove from the audience, remaining behind the fourth wall is a feat of concentration. At times, several actors seemed underprepared, as if they weren’t quite off-script. There was a struggle to encompass both the stylized, fantasy setting and the up close and personal space. Perhaps it was a character choice, but several of the actors were sometimes difficult to hear. Even a few feet from the audience, a low voice or hunched posture can make it difficult to follow the action. Any performance on a stage, regardless of how inward it might be, must always allow for outward expression.

Many of the best moments come from conversations between main characters, Sir Yvain, a non-binary Knight (Kira Nutter) and Hedy (Jenny Hoppes), a sex worker and former knight-in-training. Hoppes’ character was cast out from Knight Training for being a woman years before the action begins. Nutter’s character made it through training, and revealed themselves as a female knight, only to realize later that that identity no longer felt right. As Hedy and Yvain re-acquaint, Hedy struggles to understand her childhood friend and lover’s identity. Their conversations are frank and honest, and couched in a desire to understand and be understood, allowing the audience to engage with the ideas they present in a loving context.

Another stand out was the fight scenes. Sam Campos created intensity and action thoughtfully and used the available space very well. The cast also threw themselves into the action with abandon.

Ultimately, a fantasy setting felt perfect for exploring these themes. Fantasy worlds have often been places of refuge for kids who felt alone or misunderstood, and watching subtext become text was a refreshing and joyful experience. Theater and Fantasy are places where one can explore identity and ideas, and also a reminder that regardless of the trappings, we are all human beings, seeking to be seen and understood by those we love.

Somewhat Recommended

Reviewed by Alina C. Hevia

Presented at the Otherworld Theatre, 3914 N. Clark St. May 31-July 7, 2024, Fridays and Saturdays at 7pm, Sundays at 2pm. Tickets are $27 with a limited number of number of pay-what-you-can tickets available for each performance. GARTERS is thoughtfully crafted for mature audiences aged 18 and older; viewer discretion is advised.

Box Office: www.otherworldtheatre.org

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

On The 20th Century is a riotous, musical extravaganza.

On May 14, the blank Theatre Company opened their production of ON THE 20^th CENTURY in the brand-new Bramble Arts Loft in Andersonville to a packed house.

Their venue was the intimate Berry, a black box with perfectly designed sound and lighting. On first glance, it seemed too small a space for a classic, larger than life American musical. The show debuted on Broadway in 1978, in the golden days of American Musical Theater. The book and lyrics are by the legendary Betty Comden and Adolph Green (On the Town, Singing in the Rain), and the music by Cy Coleman (Sweet Charity, Will Rogers Follies). It’s everything a musical should be: big, loud, silly and sharp. The Berry must be a magic clown car because somehow, a packed house and a boisterous cast of twelve all fit comfortably inside and had a rousing good time.

The staging was minimal – a large arch with red curtains graced one side of the room, and the audience lined along the other three sides. Props and costumes were carefully period creating a pared down yet distinct place and time. The only set changes were done with two chairs, some luggage, and a few handheld items like purses, posters, books, etc. Instead of fantastic, over the top sets, the cast filled the space with their song, their spirit and their obvious joy in their work.

The story is a classic Romantic Comedy, straight out of the birth of that genre: His Girl Friday meets I Love You Again meets at least half the movies starring Bing Crosby. Frankly, it’s a love letter to all of the above, and several of the classic tropes, like the warring couple who profess hate but secretly mean love, the eccentric millionaire and the bumbling sidekicks.

While there are no stand-out melodies, the songs are all well-crafted, funny and excellently sung. It is a modern Opera, with the requisite recitative, complicated quartets, counter melodies, bombastic duets and arias galore. The entire cast shares polished, operatically trained voices that really shined in this setting. A favorite recurring joke was a “holy chorus” that popped out of the wings and bathed us all in harmony, another was a recurring melody of random citizens pushing their plays on producer Jaffe.

The standout for this show however, aside from excellent, operatic voices and some truly hilarious physical comedy, was the choreography. Jen Cupani, Danny Kapinos, and Tony Pellegrino created a thing of beauty in what seemed an impossible space. Each scene was tightly choreographed, like a dance, but without much actual dancing; rooms changed, people came in and out, actors hid and surprised each other in a space roughly the size of a luxury walk-in closet. Somehow, it never felt crowded or impossible. The imaginations of the actors and the careful planning of the Creative Team transformed said closet into a moving train in the 1930s, and the precise movements around the space were overall a marvel of planning.

Karylin Veres especially shone as Lily Garland, an extremely difficult vocal role debuted by Madeline Kahn – who quit due to vocal exhaustion! Veres pulls it off perfectly, tossing out high C’s and trills like the pro she is – she even made it look easy – especially when singing seated, or lifted or draped. DeTogne as Jaffe also manages to sing a lovely operatic tenor solo while lying flat on his back: no easy feat. Rothbart and Arceo make a perfect comic duo and occasional straight men to DeTogne. Christopher Johnson, Rothbart and Arceo all met the challenge of playing straight men to the bombastic performances going on around them nicely; it’s easy to forget that without the straight man, we’re just watching a room full of nuts – those moments of disbelief and frustration they portray gives the audience something to relate to and laugh even harder when everything goes off the rails.

If gorgeous, trained singing, high physical comedy and sharp dialogue sound like a good time, you can’t go wrong with this production.

Highly Recommended

Reviewed by Alina C. Hevia

All photos credited to Kelsey Decker/Wannabe Studio

Presented at the Bramble Arts Loft at 5545 N. Clark St. Chicago, IL 60640 in Andersonville, and running Thursday – Sunday, as well as Monday, June 3, through June 9, 2024.

Tickets for ON THE 20th CENTURY are $15.00 – $35.00 and can be purchased online at www.blanktheatrecompany.com.

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

A Pared Down Hamlet Only Packs a Stronger Punch

I attended the Red Theater’s production of Hamlet with a special excitement: my partner, named Hamlet in real life, came with me. It was his first-ever live production of Hamlet. I’m happy to say, Hamlet exceeded Hamlet’s expectations.

The curtain rises on Bramble Arts Loft

On Saturday, April 6, 2024, the new Bramble Arts Loft officially opened, on the second floor of the old Capital Garage building on Clark Street. Their stated mission is: “to create powerful new theatre that both nourishes and challenges our community to explore the question of what it is to be Human. By fostering an Artist-first culture that inspires hope and innovation, we strive to be a leading voice in this emerging era of American Theatre.”

An 80’s Throwback and a Modern Musical

City Lit Theater’s new production, TWO HOURS IN A BAR, is a double bill of new one acts. They are the world stage premiere of a play by Kristine Thatcher (with material by Larry Shue) and the world premiere of a musical by Kingsley Day. It is a night of one acts with only two things in common: they take place in a bar and have the same roster of actors. They were both directed by Terry McCabe, Set Design by Ray Toler, Lighting by Mike McShane, Costumes by Andres Mota, Stage Managed by Hazel Flowers-McCabe and Musical Direction was by Shraman Ghosh.

The first play, WAITING FOR TINA MEYER is the only collaboration between Kristine Thatcher, City Lit’s resident playwright, and Larry Shue, the late playwright of the farces THE NERD and THE FOREIGNER. Written while they were best friends and resident actors at Milwaukee Repertory Theater in the 1980s, it concerns a pair of best-friend actors sitting in a bar because one of them is expecting to be met there by Tina Meyer, a woman he doesn’t know who sent him a note backstage earlier that evening.

The script is sharp and funny, the one-liners, observations, and banter smack of Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld but with a warmth and kindness that the former have never captured.  In fact, it is so reminiscent of a well written sitcom of the 80s and 90s, that I wasn’t surprised to learn it had begun as a spec script for Norman Lear’s One Day at a Time. The set is a simple bar, much like any you might see in Chicago. However the costume design and props trended a bit odd; for example, it took quite a while to figure out the leads were supposed to be actors, as they were dressed like 80s businessmen also, a tequila bottle that played a prominent role was inexplicably a ceramic fish – lending an incongruous air of the absurd.

In supporting roles, Music Director Shraman Ghosh played a good-hearted pianist who’s a bit slow on the uptake and Kat Evans the sarcastic and poker-faced bar owner. The best friends are played by Jimmy Hogan, a sleezy, over-confident leading man type, and Freddy Mauricio as a gentle, romantic. Hogan and Mauricio were stilted at first, the words didn’t feel natural coming out of their mouths. Then came veteran actress marssie Mencotti, who commanded the stage the minute she entered it. She exuded a warmth, wry humor and gentle wisdom that seemed to gather everyone, cast and audience, around her. Her presence elevated the performances of both leading men, creating a sincerity in them that had been missing at the start. Then they in turn delighted with an unexpected climax: a hokey, ridiculous musical number from a Richard III musical that Hogan and Mauricio are meant to be touring with. Both actors went all in and it was a delight to see. The ending has a bit of a twist, that will leave you smiling.

The second play, TEXT ME, is a world premier by Kingsley Day. This time, Jimmy Hogan plays a hopeless romantic meeting a potential new boyfriend at a bar. Kat Evans plays his best friend and support – she’s there to save him if the date goes south. Mauricio plays their waiter, and Mencotti is in a much smaller role as the bar manager. This time Ghosh stayed off stage, but played the music and was the voice of most of the texts that Hogan and Evans received.

In many ways, TEXT ME is an example of why local theater is so vital: it is a classic musical that takes place in the modern day, with cell phones, text lingo and emoji. How to incorporate this integral part of modern life is something theater, television and cinema have been grappling with for a few years now. Some of it worked, some of it didn’t, but larger, national productions have reached the financial point of “too big to fail,” leaving the smaller companies, the local artists, to experiment, an invaluable aspect of any living art form.

The shining moments: Evans has a classic, lovely soprano, and Hogan is a solid musical theater singer as well. This was especially evident as both of them sang nearly every note while seated – no easy feat once you’re an octave above middle C. They also acted out all the emojis with choreographed movements and facial expressions that were creative, funny and impressively recognizable. Both Hogan and Mauricio seemed to fit their roles a little more comfortably in this play, and Evans’ character was a complete 180 from her role in TINA MEYER; she was every bit the warm and loving best friend.

The moments for pause: In order to demonstrate when they were texting (either each other, or Hogan’s potential date and Evans’ boyfriend) a spotlight would center them and the stage would go dark. However, as mentioned earlier, with only one exception, they stayed in their seats for every song. This led to a rather static staging, and I couldn’t help but wonder why not have them act out their conversations a little more broadly. As it was, in a peak moment, when Hogan finally did get up to sing and dance his feelings, it was startling.

Overall, both shows elicited several laughs, and in the case of WAITING FOR TINA MEYER, a moment or two of real pathos. Not a bad way to spend an evening.

Somewhat Recommended

Reviewed by Alina C. Hevia

Presented at City Lit Theater, 1020 W Bryn Mawr Ave, Chicago, IL 60660, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 pm, Sundays at 3 pm. Mondays April 1, 8, 15 at 7:30 pm through April 21^st.

Tickets for TWO HOURS IN A BAR are $34.00, seniors $29.00, students and military $12 (all plus applicable fees) are now on sale, online at www.citylit.org and by phone at 773-293-3682.

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