Author: Colin Douglas
The Petulant Prodigy
Good Night, Oscar – Goodman Theatre
Oscar Levant was an incredible man. He had an encyclopedic mind. His knowledge about classical music, baseball, films and books was astounding. Levant’s mind was always going a hundred miles an hour. He was forever multitasking before the word was even coined. He was unbelievably witty and unexpected jokes and hilarious observations just tumbled out of his mouth. Oscar Levant was extremely surly and cynical. Although he suffered from excessive stage fright, Levant was a genius at the piano. During the 1940’s Oscar Levant was the highest paid and most temperamental classical musician in America. He was, quite simply, a petulant prodigy.
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Mrs. Patmore Explains It All to You
How the Hell Did I Get Here? – Greenhouse Theater Center
Most of the civilized world primarily knows Lesley Nicol as Mrs. Patmore, the hardworking head of the downstairs kitchen, on PBS television’s “Downton Abbey.” However, the charming, multitalented, three-time SAG Award-winning English actress has an extensive resume that proves that she’s not just a one-trick pony. Ms Nicol has played an array of memorable roles, both on television, film and in the theatre. And the lady has also lived quite an exciting, colorful life, as well, as we’re privileged to learn in this wonderful autobiographical presentation.
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An Opening for a Princess
Once Upon a Mattress – Theo Ubique
Those of us who were fortunate enough to have a literature-based childhood grew up cutting our teeth on folk and fairy tales. They were a big part of our lives and colored our imaginations, often providing a stimulus for our playtime and fantasy worlds. There were so many versions of each story and it was always fun to hear or read each rendition. When Walt Disney began creating his own animated adaptations of these fairy tales they usually became THE undisputed version, because everyone went to the movie theaters to see them.
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A Collaborative Community Experience
Stand Up If You’re Here Tonight – American Blues Theater
A small theatre space, furnished with only a table, a chair and a pool of light for the starring actor, welcomes the tiny Theater Wit audience. What we’re in for collectively isn’t too clear as we take our unassigned seats, but we’re assured that it’s going to be something memorable. And it is. The lights dim and when they restore themselves we find a middle-age actor seated at the table. He’s a familiar member of the American Blues Theater Company, Jim Ortlieb. Jim’s been seen in several plays produced by this company, as well as at many other Chicago theaters. His acting talents have actually been enjoyed all over the country and he’s even appeared on Broadway a few times. Mr. Ortlieb has starred in various previous productions of this show around America, and so his familiarity with the character he’s portraying is comforting.
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Tension in the Rust Belt
Sweat – Paramount Theater
As the restrictions inflicted by the Covid pandemic lessen, there’s excitement in the air as a new theatre venue opens its doors. We enter the sleek, newly renovated Copley Theatre, Paramount’s intimate new venue for their season of more modest productions, and we’re immediately taken by the polished, professional look of this space. This glitzy, beautifully-furbished space, located just across the street from from the glorious Paramount Theater, is a state-of-the-art studio space that’s a wonderful addition to the growing Downtown Aurora Arts District.
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The Language of Friendship
King James – Steppenwolf Theatre
Henry David Thoreau once said, “The language of friendship is not words, but meanings.” He could’ve been giving his reaction to the beautiful new play by Obie Award winner, Rajiv Joseph, the intuitive and gifted playwright and Pulitzer Prize finalist of “Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo.” This World Premiere is about two young men who start out as total strangers and end up as the best of friends. And although plenty of words are spoken, it’s in the unspoken, the meaning of what they say and the silences that sometimes occur that emerge with the loudest voice.
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A Play With a Twist
Wife of a Salesman – Writers Theatre
Talented playwright Eleanor Burgess, whose searing two-character drama, “The Niceties,” burned up the stage at Writers Theatre before the pandemic curtailed live entertainment in Chicago. The production was praised by audiences and critics alike. It dealt with a Caucasian college professor who provokes a confrontation with a likable, very intelligent African-American student, who’d written a well-thought-out paper about the part she felt that slavery played in the American Revolution. This was a riveting production that had a lot to say about a number of subjects, particularly racial inequities and closeted prejudices.
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Bring on the Girls
La Cage aux Folles – Music Theater Works
The glitz and glamor of summer in St. Tropez, with its sunbathed beaches, and all the sparkle and shine of its nightclubs, features wonderful performances by musical stars in sequins and feathers, backed by a troupe of talented chorines in glitzy drag. And yet, all this magic and majesty almost takes a back seat to the musical’s warmhearted story about an unconventional family who love and support each other through thick and thin. The story of Georges and Albin, their son Jean-Michel and his determination to impress Anne, his bride-to-be, and his future, ultra conservative in-laws, M. Dindon and his mousy wife, Mme. Dindon, is a story that overflows with love, caring and devotion. All the rest is sweet la glace on un gateau.
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It Begins in Darkness
Passage – Remy Bumppo
Like a tunnel or long hallway, Christopher Chen’s 2018 one-act drama is a walk down a dark “Passage.” It begins in darkness and ends in the light, but along the way the journey is filled with shadowy uncertainty, frightening twists and turns and unexpected surprises with shocking revelations. Without actually dramatizing the book, this is Chen’s homage to E.M. Forster’s novel about colonization, A Passage to India. The play borrows elements of Forster’s plot and character relationships, without being about the British takeover of India. True to Remy Bumppo’s credo, this play is truly “think theatre,” because it fiercely engages the audience and forces each member to examine, explore and ultimately evaluate the drama they’ve just experienced.
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Reuniting After Separation
Once Upon a Shore: A Tale of Pericles and the Daughters of Tyre – Idle Muse
Idle Muse is a true survivor. It’s the little storefront theatre that could. Once again, the company is back again and going strong, thanks to a small army of creative men and women who love creating dramatic art and who believe in its mission. They’re deeply devoted to transporting audiences through the plots of interesting stories, “exploring the relationship between individuals and the worlds they inhabit.” The company’s been around for 16 years, and despite a devastating pandemic that temporarily shut down live entertainment and permanently closed the doors of many theatre venues, Idle Muse is back.
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