Author: Colin Douglas
We’re All Alike
The Band’s Visit – Broadway in Chicago
Try to imagine this situation. You’ve traveled many miles, as part of a small musical ensemble, to play a concert in a remote, little town. There’s danger in the air because of the political tension and social unrest that’s occurred over decades. You’re limited in your command of the language and, because of your nationality, you’re looked upon with suspicion. Then you suddenly learn that, because of a miscommunication, you’re actually in the wrong town. To make matters worse, it’s a desert village from which there’s no bus for at least 24 hours. You and your band are tired, hungry and pretty irritable from a long day of travel and waiting around. Then you learn there’s not even a hotel where you can stay. What to do?
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A Story of Class, Ethics and Romance
Howards End – Remy Bumppo
E.M. Forster’s 1910 literary classic is a sprawling novel about three English families from different social classes. Through this tale, we come to know the wealthy, capitalist Wilcox dynasty; the idealistic, intellectual upper middle class Schlegel sisters; and the ever struggling, financially impoverished lower class Leonard and Jacky Bast. Forster spun a dramatic story of social rank, morals and love. His novel offered an insightful portrait of England at the height of its imperial world influence, in the years just prior to World War I. He showed, through the lives of three diverse families, how fast progress was happening and shaping Edwardian England. Forster seemed to ask, in light of the sweeping changes taking place, who would eventually inherit England? Which class would ultimately define this powerful nation?
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Work in Progress
Sons and Lovers – Greenhouse Theatre
It’s true that the very best writers use experiences from their own lives to inspire their writing. English author D.H. Lawrence, whose early twentieth century novels like Lady Chatterley’s Lover, Women in Love, Mr. Noon and The Rainbow shocked and entertained readers during this Age of Innocence. But it’s also true that his stories are all very intimately bound up with his own life. But none of his novels is more autobiographical than Sons and Lovers.
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It’s a Woman’s World
Casa Valentina – Pride Films & Plays
As part of Pride Films & Plays’ exploration of all things gender related, we travel back to the Chevalier d’Eon Resort in the Catskill Mountains. It’s 1962, and a secret world is revealed to twenty-first century audiences that actually existed during those more innocent, post-war years. For at least one weekend during the late Spring, a group of happily married men with families, highly-respected in their chosen, white collar professions, gather together in this secluded Garden of Eden to express their alter-egos.
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Ever After
Into the Woods – Writers Theatre
Wish fulfillment and their consequences, the pain of growing up, parental and child relationships, learning to accept responsibility and the message that no one is ever alone: those are the themes that Stephen Sondheim leaves us with by the end of this magical musical. Imagine a world in which your favorite childhood fairy tale characters all live in the same neighborhood? Suddenly those familiar stories begin to merge and blend together as Cinderella, her Prince Charming, Little Red Riding Hood, the Big Bad Wolf, Jack and his beanstalk, Rapunzel, her Witchy mother, and many others, all work together trying to navigate their enchanted existence. Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s clever interweaving of these fairy tales propel the familiar characters forward on a journey of personal growth and self-discovery. The first act is frothy and fanciful but, in an unexpected about-face, the second act turns darker, more sobering and powerfully thought-provoking. The result is simply enchanting, especially in Writers Theatre’s deliciously delectable production.
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God Bless the Outcasts
The Hunchback of Notre Dame – Music Theater Works
Victor Hugo’s sweeping early 19th century novel was written, much like his Les Miserables, as a social commentary, as much as an entertaining Gothic romance. It’s a timeless reminder about the importance of looking beyond the physical to find an individual’s inner beauty. It’s also a tragic love story, telling about how a beautiful young Gypsy woman named Esmeralda bewitches three men from very different walks of life: the Archdeacon of Notre Dame, the Captain of the Cathedral Guard and the Cathedral’s hunchbacked bellringer. Set in 1482, everything takes place in and around Paris’ massive stone structure that is the world-famous Cathedral of Notre Dame.
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Always, Always Remember
All That He Was – Pride Films & Plays
First, a gentle warning to theatergoers planning to see this deeply moving, sometimes humorous new musical: bring along lots of Kleenex. If any audience member can make it through this stunningly soulful production without shedding a tear or two, you’d better see your doctor immediately. Because, like the Tin Man of Oz, you’re missing a heart.
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Lost in Space
Women of 4G – Babes with Blades
It’s the year 2094, 75 years in the future. Because of the arrogance and stupidity of our world leaders, the earth’s fragile environment has now been totally destroyed. With the planet’s atmosphere almost completely polluted, mankind is literally gasping its last breath. In one final, heroic attempt to insure another 500 years of life, a team of seven, superior female scientists, and their lone male Captain, have been sent on a life-and-death mission into outer space. Once into the cosmos, the crew of 4G plan to launch a lifesaving satellite, brilliantly developed by one their their own, LT Wollman. This celestial orb promises to reverse the harmful gases and lethal rays that have destroyed earth’s precious oxygen supply. But something else has gone deadly awry.
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A Triumph of Humanity Over Hatred
Come From Away – Broadway in Chicago
First of all, this musical is not, as many have labeled it, about the 9/11 tragedy. It’s an uplifting show inspired by those events, but it’s really about the triumph of humanity over hatred. It’s an exhilarating, joyous, sometimes funny and often heartbreaking story that celebrates the goodness inside most of us. It shows what happened when people put away their fears, prejudices and hostility to embrace the positive side of what it means to be a human being.
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A Pas de Deux for Six
Now and Then – Pride Films & Plays
Two young gay college students meet by chance at a weekly amateur variety show. The Fabulously Fabulous Open Mic Night is hosted by an outgoing guy named Greg, who fancies himself a comedian in the style of Don Rickles. In spite of never having heard him sing or play his guitar, Greg kiddingly introduces Daniel as the worst act of the night. Dan, dressed in bluejeans, boots, a white tee shirt and cowboy hat, sings “Solitary Man,” a lovely, moving ballad that he wrote after graduating from high school. Both the handsome young man and his personal song have a positive effect on Greg, so he invites Daniel back to his dorm room. There, Dan plays Greg another of his compositions and the two end up sharing Greg’s bed for the night. The rest, as they say, is history, with the two young men forming a relationship that will last over forty years.
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