Author: Colin Douglas
Four Gripping Characters
Lobby Hero
Meet Jeff. He is a goofy, but really likable 27-year-old security guard/doorman who works the graveyard shift at a mid-income Manhattan apartment building. He left his Navy career under a cloud when he was caught smoking pot, and this latest failing disappointed Jeff’s father so much that the man stopped speaking to his son. Then his dad died and Jeff’s still carrying the guilt with him in everything he does. Struggling to pay off some debts, Jeff shares a small flat with his brother. However, he dreams of having his own place where he can cook and entertain. He also fantasizes about having a girlfriend, although the eccentric young man, whose mouth runs nonstop, has a hard time maintaining personal relationships of any kind.
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Some Kind of Wonderful!
Beautiful: The Carol King Musical
From a precocious 16-year-old from a Jewish family in Brooklyn, who skipped two grades in high school to study music at local Queens College, to her first published and recorded hit song, “It Might as Well Rain Until September,” we really get to know Carole King. She begins the show as a precocious teenage girl, who grows from being a likable and talented kid to become a wise and gifted young “Natural Woman.” “Oh, Carol,” I know that everyone agrees, you are absolutely “Some Kind of Wonderful!”
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The American Dream
Debate: Baldwin vs. Buckley
On February 18, 1965, at the Cambridge Union Society in Great Britain, a monumental event took place. An historic debate between James Baldwin, the rising author and leading literary voice of the American Civil Rights Movement, and American Conservative intellectual and staunch critic of said Movement, William F. Buckley. They argued a question that was on everyone’s minds. They debated, “Is the American Dream at the expense of the American Negro?”
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The Subject I Know Best
Frida…A Self Portrait
When Frida Kahlo was only a child she contracted polio. Then, at age 18, as she was heading to medical school, her life suddenly changed again. A severe bus accident left her permanently disabled and left Frida with a life of chronic pain. She spent many years bedridden in hospitals and at home. The young woman would undergo many painful surgeries, often performed by quack doctors who promised a complete recovery that never materialized. Not able to leave her bedroom and often alone, Frida filled dozens of notebooks with sketches. She briefly considered combining her love of art and science and becoming a medical illustrator. Then her father loaned her some of his oil paints and her mother created a special easel that Frida could use while in bed. And with a few strokes of paint, the young woman’s future began as an artist.
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Anyway…
Mr. Parker
How do you move on after losing the one true love of your life? One night, seven months after his husband’s untimely death, Terry takes a big chance. He decides to leave the loneliness of his New York studio apartment and rejoin the human race. The studio is significant because it’s the workspace that he shared with Jeffrey, his beloved artist husband. A tragic car accident took Jeffrey’s life, leaving him in a coma, Terry had to make the difficult decision if and when to finally let Jeffrey go.
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An Odd Couple
The Heart Sellers
Luna spots Jane at the store while shopping for groceries. Both women have seen each other before, but have never actually spoken. So, feeling kind of lonely, Luna invites Jane to join her for dinner at the cramped studio apartment she shares with her husband, a doctor-in-training at the University. Luna tells Jane that, really, she’s not a weirdo. She just felt that Jane, a fellow Asian immigrant out shopping alone, might like to share Thanksgiving with someone. And, over the course of the next 90 minutes, a lovely friendship emerges.
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A Song Being Sung
Avaaz
Avaaz isn’t the leading character in this new production. It is, however, the theme of Michael Shayan’s one-person play that’s making its Chicago debut as part of a National Tour. Avaaz means “Voice,” not only in Farsi but in several other Middle Eastern, European and Asian languages. Farsi is, of course, the official language of Iran, the homeland of Michael Shayan. In Farsi, Avaaz also means “a song being sung,” which is the feeling the audience experiences during this often funny, sometimes heartbreaking, one-act. AVAAZ is not simply an autobiographical play. It’s a presentation that represents a great many ideas.
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The Essence of Hamlet
Fat Ham
In case you haven’t heard of him, James Ijames is a much-accoladed and talented actor, director and, most notably, playwright. His written work is incredible, especially since he brings a delightfully unexpected element of magical realism to many of his plays. Chicago audiences enjoyed his surrealistic THE MOST SPECTACULARLY LAMENTABLE TRIAL OF MIZ MARTHA WASHINGTON at Steppenwolf Theatre. In his 2022 Pulitzer Prize-winning comedy, FAT HAM, now in a glorious production at the Goodman Theatre, Ijames has taken the essence of Shakespeare’s tragedy classic, HAMLET, and molded it into (believe it or not) a contemporary one-act comedy.
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Nice-Nice
Jaja’s African Hair Braiding
Talk about a play being timely. Just as the news is reporting that following the inauguration of the new President, a sweeping mass National Deportation Plan is set to begin in Chicago, a dazzling and lively new play that focuses on a community of African immigrants is playing on Navy Pier. Jocelyn Bioh’s 2023 Broadway hit is part of a limited National Tour. The comic drama has just opened in the Windy City and, coincidentally, its plot points seem to be ripped from tomorrow’s headlines. Both the Mayor and the Governor of Illinois have promised that Chicago’s still a Sanctuary City and that immigrants will be protected. But the events that transpire in the final scene of JAJA’S AFRICAN HAIR BRAIDING will remind audiences of the prescience of Bioh’s play. Of course, the comic drama actually takes place in Harlem, New York back in 2019, during Trump’s first term. But with his re-election, the nightmare has returned for every immigrant who this new administration determines is “illegal.”
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A Musical Trip Back in Time
Hitt Records
Daryl D. Brooks, the wonderful Black Ensemble Theater’s multitalented Producing Managing Director, has written a number of musicals for the company. Some have been okay, some very good and some, like his currently running musical revue, are superb. Also Directed by Mr. Brooks, his new show is entitled HITT RECORDS, and is both an educational and nostalgic musical trip back in time.
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