Author: Colin Douglas
Sweltering Sultriness
A Streetcar Named Desire
It might still be cold and snowing in Illinois, but the heat and humidity from New Orleans has worked its way North. The thick, musty air seems to sizzle and sear into Paramount’s Copley Theatre. The cause for this sweltering sultriness isn’t due to climate change. It comes from Artistic Director Jim Corti and guest co-director Elizabeth Swanson’s scintillating production of Tennessee Williams’ 1948 Pulitzer Prize-winning drama. Playing now through late April, it’s a production that no one should miss.
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By the Pricking of My Thumbs
What the Weird Sisters Saw
Dramatizing the damaging psychological effects that political ambition has on those who seek power, William Shakespeare’s shortest drama, THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH, begins with a supernatural encounter. Amidst lightning and thunder, the Scottish general and his friend Banquo are returning victorious from defeating the allied forces of Norway and Ireland. There upon a heath, by the pricking of my thumbs, Macbeth meets Three Witches, who are also called the Weird Sisters. After praising his valor in battle, they portend that Macbeth will “be king hereafter.” Thus begins a sordid tale of evil, corruption, murder and revenge.
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Broadway Baby
The Sondheim Tribute Revue
Absolutely delicious, delectable and delightful. Those are some of the adjectives that flowed through my mind as I basked in the mellifluous glory that is a new tribute to the music and lyrics of Stephen Sondheim. This undisputed genius of the American musical theatre recently passed away but his legacy, the melodic majesty he created for our age and time immemorial, will last as long as there are instruments to play and voices to sing. Like one of his most popular songs claims, Sondheim is a true “Broadway Baby.”
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The Culture Vulture Angel
The Big Gay Cabaret
Jai Rodriguez may not be familiar to some people, but to certain populations he’s known as that handsome, youthful, multi-talented actor/singer who’s earned fame working very hard in all of the arts. As a result, Mr. Rodriguez has become a household name. In a cabaret show filled with biographical tidbits, personal confessions, celebrity gossip, songs from Broadway and the pop charts and a whole lot of laughs and charm, Jai Rodriguez tells all.
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The Good Wife
The Penelopiad
In Greek mythology, Penelope was the Queen, the devoted spouse and the good wife of King Odysseus. When her valiant husband is called to fight in the Trojan War, the loving and devoted Penelope struggles against all odds, including hundreds of persistent suitors, to remain faithful to her husband for the next 20 years. Comforted and aided by her 12 faithful maids, Penelope struggles to remain a loyal, loving wife to Odysseus, to singlehandedly raise their defiant son Telemachus and to fend off the persistent advances of an army of admirers and wooers. In this new play, based upon the novella by the distinguished Canadian author, Margaret Atwood, we experience the trials and tribulations of Penelope, all presented from the woman’s point of view.
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How Do You Spell W-i-n-n-e-r?
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
Bravo to Music Theater Works and, especially, to Guest Director Christopher Pazdernik, for the talent and artistry of the Skokie company’s latest production. Chris, his talented cast and all the many gifted theatrical creatives connected with this heartwarming and hilarious musical, bring a fresh, exciting vision and energy to this show. Each member of the cast is filled with brilliance, ingenuity and creates a truthful, realistic character. The risky element inherent in this musical is having to add four unknown, unrehearsed amateurs from your audience to the cast at every performance. It works very well here. I suspect that’s due to the excellent direction and preparation provided by the company, the production and stage manager, as well as by Pazdernik’s dynamic cast of actors. Everyone has anticipated any possible situation that might occur, and the show rolls along smoothly.
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Love Beyond the Grave
Proof
The dictionary defines proof as an argument or evidence establishing a fact or the truth of a a statement. But in Math, a proof is what lets mathematics work. Without proofs, every mathematical statement would be purely hypothetical. There’d be no absolute truths without them. A proof is the machinery that allows mathematicians to demonstrate, without any question or shadow of a doubt, that a statement is a fact.
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More Comic Than Macabre
Deathtrap
Receiving rave reviews when it opened back in 1978, DEATHTRAP played on Broadway for four years and was nominated for 4 Tony Awards. A few years later it was adapted into a successful film starring Michael Caine, Christopher Reeve and Dyan Cannon. For a while it was a staple of educational, regional and community theatre, but it’s been a while since this play was produced in Chicagoland. For his 2023-24 Season of Passion, Artistic Director Jeffrey Cass asked guest director Jason Harrington (director of last season’s THE ODD COUPLE) to dust off this clever thriller by Ira Levin. If his name sounds familiar, he’s the author of such popular works as Rosemary’s Baby, The Stepford Wives and The Boys From Brazil. Judging from the gasps and guffaws during the opening night performance, for many theatergoers this play was a brand new thriller.
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Catching a Wave
Wipeout
Three feisty, independent women-of-a-certain-age are bobbing around on surfboards in the Pacific Ocean, just off the coast of Santa Cruz. Why? Well, Claudia has arranged something special and unique to share with her two closest friends on her birthday. It’s an event that all three ladies have always fantasized about, so why not? You see, at 60-something they’re about to take their first surfing lessons! Joining Claudia are her lifelong friends Wynn and Margaret, who’s been nicknamed “Gary.” As we meet the ladies they’re casually floating in the water, hoping to catch a wave, while awaiting the arrival of Blaze, their hunky young surfing instructor.
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What a Feeling!
The Time Machine: A Tribute to the ’80’s
The joyful music of the 1980’s was vast, vibrant and valiant. So many different song styles were embodied by the talents of hundreds of groundbreaking singers and musicians. It must’ve been a daunting task for Daryl D. Brooks, BET playwright and director, to decide which of the multitude of great songs and performers from the ’80’s to include in this retrospective revue. But theatergoers who take this musical and historical journey through the Decade of Decadence at Black Ensemble Theater will be rewarded with two-and-a-half hours of total reminiscence and rapture. All I can is, “What a Feeling!”
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