Author: Colin Douglas
Clinging to Your Dreams
Hands on a Hardbody – Refuge Theatre Project
Welcome, ya’ll, to the Floyd King Nissan Dealership of Longview, Texas. It’s 1995 and a competitive giveaway is about to commence. Ten passionately-committed individuals of this dismal little town, from all ages and backgrounds, will attempt to win a cherry red pickup truck; but the winner is the contestant who has the stamina to keep one hand on the vehicle the longest and outlast all the others. This simple-sounding premise may sound like a breeze; but, in reality, it will turn out to be anything but easy.
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The Past, Present and Future Merge
The Time Warp Trio – Lifeline Theatre
Joe, Fred and Sam are three kids who find they suddenly have the power to travel through time and space to the past, present and even the future. The magical talisman that enables them to accomplish this feat is a birthday gift, given to Joe by his magician uncle, simply called “The Book.” The adventures these three friends enjoy together also provides the added benefit of teaching facts about each era and locale to which they travel. They’re able to learn firsthand from all kinds of famous men and women from history, people who inspire their daily lives.
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A Trip Through the Arab World
Detour Guide – Silk Road Rising
Travel can be kind of expensive these days. Most often one must tap into his savings to be able to afford a vacation that will take him to romantic and mystical locales on the other side of the planet. But this 90 minute journey through the Arab World, guided by Egyptian-American storyteller, musician and dancer, Karim Nagi, can be a money-saving alternative trip that will yield a fantastic educational and cultural experience.
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The Choices We Make
A Bronx Tale – Broadway in Chicago
This latest offering from Broadway in Chicago was ten years in development. The musical is based upon a story that became a play and then a film, of the same name, by film actor Chazz Palminteri. The expanded musical version of a one-man show, with a book by Palminteri, music by Alan Menken and lyrics by Glenn Slater, premiered at the Paper Mill Playhouse in February of 2016. It eventually opened on Broadway later that same year, co-directed by Robert De Niro and Jerry Zaks, and only closed last summer.
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Monkeying Around in the Salon
Ruse of Medusa – Facility Theatre
Facility Theatre is a Chicago collective, that relishes searching for and locating rarely seen works and original plays and producing them with a fresh eye and an alternative perspective. With their current production, Dado, Facility’s resident director, has taken a forgotten short play by Erik Satie and put her own stamp on it. To say that Windy City audiences have never seen anything like this is an understatement.
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Don’t Feed the Plants!
Little Shop of Horrors – Mercury Theater
Under the guidance of the superb team of director Walter Stearns and musical director Eugene Dizon, Mercury Theater has a bonafide hit to welcome the spring season. This company has recently produced several winning productions, sellout sensations that confirm the Mercury as one of Chicago’s finest theaters. In this current campy and impressively produced presentation, Mr. Stearns mines every ounce of humor, satire and wit from this cult classic. Audiences familiar with the musical, as well as those who are new to its hilarious, satirical sci-fi love story, will be singing the praises of this show-stopping production.
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The World Inside a Frame
The Bridges of Madison County – Theo Ubqiue Cabaret Theatre
Happily, Fred Anzevino has worked his magic once again. In the earlier, much-awaited opening of Theo Ubique’s shiny, new theatre space in Evanston, there were some problems with the balance of sound between the singers and the accompaniment. But all of those kinks were eventually corrected after opening night. With “The Bridges of Madison County,” their second production, Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre is back once again as a Chicagoland treasure. This new production sparkles with talent and artistry, thanks to Mr. Anzevino’s always dazzling, distinguished, collaborative work.
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Singing God’s Music
Mahalia Jackson: Moving Thru the Light – Black Ensemble Theater
Jackie Taylor has plied her many talents by writing and directing another passionate, inspirational tribute to one of America’s greatest African American singers. In this musical revue, just in time to herald the much-welcome coming of Spring and the Easter and Passover holidays, the divine Ms. Taylor paints a stirring portrait of the Queen of Gospel, Mahalia Jackson. As with previous productions at the Black Ensemble Theatre, this show injects factual material from the singer’s life, that detail the highlights and low points of Ms. Jackson’s long career, into a concert of the singer’s greatest hits. During her six decades as an international singer renown, a successful recording artist and a civil rights activist, Harry Belafonte called her “the single most powerful black woman in the United States.” Mahalia Jackson recorded over 30 record albums and a dozen of her singles became million dollar sellers.
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Beware Hootie Pie!
Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike – BrightSide Theatre
Christopher Durang, known for his hilarious absurdist comedies, such as “Beyond Therapy” and “An Actor’s Nightmare”, won both the 2013 Drama Desk and the Tony Awards for this, his most recent work. Durang’s riff on the characters and themes of Anton Chekhov sparkles with sunshine and his signature, unexpected humor, while still exploring some of the Russian playwright’s darker themes. This play is not, however, as the playwright insists, a parody of Chekhov’s comedies. Christopher Durang’s brilliant comedy is a gift to the audience on its own term.
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A Family by Choice
Southern Comfort –Pride Films & Plays
When families come together for the holidays, reunions or simply for a celebratory dinner with the parents and siblings, there’s often a fair amount of teasing, arguing and oftentimes the occasion doesn’t end on a happy note. But, within any family the love is always there, even if it’s sometimes only unspoken and implied. And when the gathering is with a family by choice, rather than by blood, there’s really very little difference, because, as someone once said, “Love is love is love.”
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