Author: Colin Douglas
Puttin’ On the Ritz
Young Frankenstein
Mercury Theater Chicago closes its 2023 season with an explosion of talent, music and comedy. With each new production, Artistic Director Christopher Chase Carter has upped the ante at his theater and presented some of the Windy City’s finest talent. The productions have ranged from the motivational “Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill;” to the touching and educational “Big River;” and the always highly entertaining, such as “Clue.” This demonically driving production of “Young Frankenstein” is one of Mercury Theater’s finest, to date. To quote Irving Berlin catchy classic that highlights this production, L. Walter Stearns’ cast and artistic team most definitely pulls out all the stops and are truly “Puttin’ On the Ritz.”
Read More
The Life and Loves of Louis Armstrong
A Wonderful World
Satchmo, Satch, Dipper, Pops and the Caucasian mispronunciation of his name,“Lewie,” are some of the most recognized nicknames belonging to the incomparable Louis Armstrong. In this sweeping biographical musical of “The World’s Greatest Trumpet Player,” as he was also called, book writer Aurin Squire had the formidable task of culling through mountains of information to create this production. At almost three hours, Squire’s episodic story begins poetically, with a spotlight on Armstrong’s trumpet downstage center, and four women on multiple levels, seeming to appear from the heavens, singing one of the musician’s most familiar hit songs.
Read More
The More Things Change
What the Constitution Means to Me
The Copley Theatre is Paramount’s smaller, more intimate venue. Each season they present a series of plays and musicals that are more modest in cast size and scenic requirements than its larger parent company, just across the street. But the intimacy of this theatre works beautifully to its advantage, especially with a play like this. The familiar theme that “the more things change, the more they stay the same” hits every audience member with its contemporary immediacy. Paramount, in short, has another huge hit on its hands.
Read More
A Gruesome Sight
Night Watch
With the exciting world of 1972 Manhattan at her doorstep, wealthy, pampered Elaine Wheeler seems only to be obsessed with the view outside her living room window. Elaine and her husband John Wheeler live in a luxurious townhouse, directly across from another large, but abandoned, building that’s in a state of disrepair. The old house appears to be deserted; however, one night Elaine notices a light shining through one of the windows, revealing a gruesome sight. The curtains have been drawn aside exposing the gory murder of a middle-aged man, sitting lifelessly in a wing chair. His throat has been slit.
Read More
Cheers and Jeers
Lucha Teotl
If you were walking past the Owen venue of the Goodman Theatre last night, you might’ve been surprised, even shocked, to hear the cheers and jeers, applauding and booing, coming from inside. Generally one only hears polite clapping and, sometimes, laughter during a play. But then this isn’t your typical Goodman Theatre production. This new play, co-written and directed by Christopher Llewyn Ramirez and Jeff Colangelo, borders on what we might call performance art.
Read More
A Modern Version of a Familiar Myth
Eurydice
Writers Theatre opens their new season with Sarah Ruhl’s modern version of the familiar Greek myth of Orpheus in the Underworld. Growing up in the far Northern suburb of Wilmette, Ms. Ruhl wrote this very personal one-act as a tribute to her dear father, who had recently passed away from cancer. She recalled that her dad used to take Sarah and her older sister to Walker Brothers Original Pancake House every Saturday. While there he would introduce his daughters to a new word or two. Some of the words he taught Sarah would later became a part of her play.
Read More
The King of Barataria
The Gondoliers
Picture it: Not Sicily, but Venice, Italy, sometime in the past. A young woman suddenly and unexpectedly learns that she’s the heir to the throne. Oh joy, oh rapture! That is, except for the number of unbelievable complications that continually arise, in true Gilbert and Sullivan style.
Read More
Everybody Wants to Rule the World
American Psycho
From the first lyrics that he utters in the opening number, “Selling Out,” the main character reels off a litany of high end brands he wears and products that he uses, the audience gets a pretty clear picture of Patrick Bateman. This is a most unique musical that says so much about the American Dream. Individual taste is different for everyone and it’s obvious that this eclectic show probably won’t appeal to everyone. “American Psycho” isn’t your traditional musical comedy, yet, truth be told, there’s a whole lot of dark humor wallowing in this gory production.
Read More
A Ghostly Voyage Awaits
The Flying Dutchman
There is no doubt that the Halloween season is upon us. You can already find pumpkins grinning and witches flying high over many a front lawn. The Lyric Opera seems to have tapped into this mania for magic and mayhem by opening their 2023-24 season with Richard Wagner’s German classic, “The Flying Dutchman.” This is a powerful, dramatic, ghostly opera in three acts, presented at the Lyric as a two hour and twenty minute one-act, just as the composer originally intended. The production is dominated by a brilliant orchestra, a spooky atmosphere, mysterious characters and a finale that’s open to interpretation. Theatergoers be warned: a ghostly voyage awaits you on North Wacker Drive.
Read More
Another Glass of Sherry
The Nacirema Society
Imagine a play that’s actually a clever mashup of a blithe British farce and an American comedy that addresses serious issues, like race, class and gender. Picture a laugh-out-loud play that’s set in Montgomery, Alabama during mid-1960’s, staged on a drop-dead gorgeous setting, clothed in beautiful period costumes, makeup and wigs, and starring a large, almost entirely female cast of Chicago’s finest African-American actors. This is just a taste of the banquet of delights that await the savvy audiences at the Goodman Theatre.
Read MoreRECOMMENDED SITES
