Author: Colin Douglas
Stand Up
The Salon
Based upon the playwright’s sister’s real-life experience running a beauty parlor on Chicago’s South Side, there’s a fictitious Salon called Bernadette’s. We’re told that it opened its doors back in 1974 by a sincere, empathetic woman who wanted to offer African-American men and women a safe place to spend an hour or two with good people. Bernadette’s not only became a place to get a shave, a trim or have your hair styled by professionals, but it turned into a sanctuary, a place to Stand Up and be seen and heard. Senior stylist Mama T, and her staff that includes Monique, Johnny and MJ, played music, sang along and danced and shared news and gossip with each other. There was a definite community feel to the Salon.
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Night Waltz
A Little Night Music
Set in Sweden around the turn of the century, this lushly romantic musical is a multigenerational celebration of Amour, sometimes as folly, but mostly as a powerful life force. After the Liebeslieder Quintet opens the show and sets the mood with a gently swaying “Night Waltz,” this operatic Greek Chorus” often returns to comment musically on the characters. The five gifted artists who comprise this chorale include Peter Ruger, Mizha Lee Overn, Michael Penick (also cast as Frid, Madame Armfeldt’s caregiver), Madison Kaufman (who later plays the Egerman’s saucy maid, Petra), and the exquisitely talented Tessa Newman (who steps out of the Quintet to portray Desiree’s precocious young daughter, Fredrika). Throughout the next two-and-a-half hours, this magnificent musical eavesdrops on the loves, disappointments and tangled web of affairs enjoyed by the various star-crossed individuals.
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A Way to Be Good Again
The Kite Runner
Amir is a young man riddled with guilt. Back when he was a child, Amir’s lifelong companion, his devoted servant and best friend Hassan, became the victim of a horrific tragic assault. But Amir simply cowered in the shadows, standing by and watching, doing nothing to defend his friend nor anything to assist Hassan afterwards. He has never told anyone about the brutal attack and Amir’s guilt over his cowardice has forever haunted him. But one day he receives a mysterious phone call asking Amir to return to the Middle East, telling him, “There is a way to be good again.”
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Everything’s Alright
Jesus Christ Superstar
Guitarist extraordinaire Paul Compton takes the spotlight centerstage, captivating the audience with the ominous opening chords of the show’s overture that sets the mood and fills the entire theatre with sound. This glorious rock-opera score, led by Phil Videckis’ accomplished onstage band, is heavy on electric guitar, keyboard, bass, brass, reeds and percussion. It’s a lush and layered new sound for the Meiley-Swallow Hall stage that may surprise the faithful BrightSide Theatre fans. Theatergoers who are unfamiliar with this musical will soon realize that they’re in for an edgy, very modern retelling of Christ’s final days on earth. However, the fans of this show will thrill to the promise of a rock musical that broke new ground, back in 1971. Because in BrightSide Theatre’s stellar new production, truly “Everything’s Alright.”
Read MoreA Trivial Comedy for Serious People
The Importance of Being Earnest
June is busting out all over. In celebration of Gay Pride Month there’s so much fun and so many colorful activities bursting out all over Chicago. Not to take a back seat to the festivities, Strawdog Theatre is flying their own Freak Flag with a fresh and frolicking new production of Oscar Wilde’s final play, THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST. Wilde subtitled his witty work, “a trivial comedy for serious people.”
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Get Down!
Six, The Musical
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to resurrect some of the biggest names in history—or “herstory,” as these women like to refer to themselves, and bring them back to the 21st century for an evening or revelation? Imagine that you could invite the six wives of England’s King Henry VIII for a melodic and powerhouse party at Chicago’s Nederlander Theatre. A performance where each queen would be given a platform to tell her own story in song and dance? Opening with the familiar mantra, “Divorced, Beheaded, Died; Divorced, Beheaded, Survived,” the highly celebrated, crowd-pleasing musical, that made its North American premiere at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, has returned to the Windy City.
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Language as Identity
English
Think about it: our language is not only how we communicate with others, it’s also our identity. We connect through English, sharing ideas and information. We embrace and use our language to experience the world. But a language can be as much of a barrier between people, who aren’t fluent in it, as it is a pipeline for understanding others with similar skills.
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Death Becomes Her
Forever Young
Looks seem to be everything in our culture. Trying to appear forever young is a preoccupation with everyone these days, at least in this country. Creams, salves and other products guaranteeing youthful faces and hands, hair dye and trendy coifs that turn back time, varicose veins removed so legs look younger and weight loss pills, shots and exercise programs that promise a new, slimmer body are in high demand. And, if those methods aren’t fast enough for you, there’s always botox injections or simply going under the knife.
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An Historical Fantasia
Lavender Men
Beginning with the obligatory pre-curtain speech, a wickedly entertaining and sassy gay spirit named Taffeta welcomes the audience to a one-act Historical Fantasia. It’s partly a factual American chronicle enhanced by a great amount of imaginative creativity. This surreal play is a romantic rainbow reverie that’s based on longtime rumors about the private life of revered 16th President, Abraham Lincoln. It’s as riveting as any completely factual historical drama, but presented with a pronounced gay slant and a modern sensibility.
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Survival in the Dust Bowl
Black Sunday
A subject of so many excellent works of art, survival during the Great Depression and, especially, during the Dust Bowl, has been examined from many perspectives. From John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath, to the musical poetry of Woody Guthrie, to Dorothea Lange’s stark b&w photography, such as her moving “Migrant Mother,” the sorrow and tragedies of the early 1930’s has been potently portrayed. Today, TimeLine Theatre’s 2023-24 season concludes with another work of art, a World Premiere by Chicago playwright, Dolores Diaz.
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