Author: Colin Douglas
The Original American Girls
Little Women, the Musical – Brown Paper Box Co.
This musical is exactly what we need today. Although the show originally opened on Broadway back in 2005, it speaks strongly to what America wants to hear right now. It portrays a loving, tight-knit, resilient family trying, against all odds, to survive during the Civil War. They must endure poor economic conditions, illness, romantic complications and a myriad of trials and tribulations we still face today. The play may be set in the mid-nineteenth century, but it’s a universal story about a community of people who care for each other, and it carries a message that still rings true today.
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Sondheim’s Most Enchanting Musical
Into the Woods – Music Works Theater
The fulfillment of wishes and their consequences, the pain of growing up, parent and child relationships, learning to accept responsibility and the message that no one is alone: those are the themes that Stephen Sondheim leaves us with by the end of this magical musical. Imagine a world in which many of 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 survive their enchanted existence. Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s clever interweaving of these stories propel the familiar characters forward on a journey of growth and self-discovery. The first act is frothy and fanciful but, in an unexpected about-face, the second act offers a darker, more sobering and thought-provoking storyline. The result is simply magical, especially in Music Theater Work’s deliciously delectable production.
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Tradition!
Fiddler on the Roof – Broadway in Chicago
This is the evening in the theatre that we most definitely need right now. Given the current climate of this nation, it’s a much-desired story of family, faith and folks making the best of what life throws at them. It’s about life and love and, of course, time-honored traditions. The theatergoer who thinks he knows this show and has already seen “Fiddler…,” one of the world’s best-loved musicals, will be in for a big, pleasant surprise. Settled in Chicago for the next three weeks, this Tony Award-nominated show’s National Tour is a fresh, new staging of this musical classic. So, make no mistake: this is no old chestnut, but a revival that’s as fresh and exciting as the day it was written.
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An LGBTQ Holiday Tradition for All
Barney the Elf – Pride Films and Plays
There seems to be an increase in holiday plays and musicals that feature an elf as the main character. First, we have the snarky, darkly humorous “Santaland Diaries.” Then there’s the big, splashy, tuneful “Elf, the Musical,” about Buddy, the Elf. “Rudolph the Red Nosed (and Red Hosed) Reindeer” both feature an elf in a main role. But another play with music, that’s become a Chicago holiday tradition, has another elfin North Pole citizen as its leading man.
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A Visual and Auditory Spectacle
A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Chicago Shakespeare Theatre
Shakespeare’s fantasy comedy is no doubt familiar to most theatre goers. The comedy weaves together three stories: a quarrel between the king and queen of the fairies, four young Athenian lovers trying to sort out their affections and a group of six rustic actors rehearsing a play for the Duke’s wedding day. All of these plots play out primarily in the forest under a full moon, and ultimately become connected through the marriage between Theseus, the Duke of Athens, and his lovely bride-to-be, Hippolyta. Of course, complications arise and provide the basis for this comedy.
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Digga, Digga, Digga
Fantastic Mr. Fox–by Emerald City Theatre
Digga, Digga, Digga
Roald Dahl’s beloved 1970 children’s novel about a family of foxes was adapted for the stage by David Wood and first presented in England about eighteen years ago. Emerald City Theatre, continuing their partnership with Victory Gardens, opens a new, 22nd season with this play at the Biograph Theatre.
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Baring It All for Bucks
The Full Monty–by Theo Unique
Baring It All for Bucks
The sad state of how unemployment impacts the life of the average Joe provides the conflict in many recent stories. Whether set in Sheffield, England, where the original film takes place, or Buffalo, NY, the setting for this musical version, joblessness not only results in poverty, but causes depression and issues of self-respect.
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A Terrifying Ghost Story
The Woman in Black–at the Royal George Theatre
A Terrifying Ghost Story
Onto a nearly empty stage walks Arthur Kipps, an elderly English gentleman, holding a bound script in his shaking hands.
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Reindeer Games and Jazz Hands
SnowGirls—The Musical–by Hell in a Handbag
Reindeer Games and Jazz Hands
Derek Van Barham’s high-stepping holiday parody of the erotic cult film, “Showgirls,” with spritely music by David Cerda, follows the career of a pretty, if somewhat naive and overly ambitious reindeer named Snowmi Malone (nicely played by HiaH newcomer, Harper Leander).
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No Elf on a Shelf
The Santaland Diaries–at the Goodman Theatre
No Elf on the Shelf
Not everyone looks upon the holiday season with the same unbridled joy and delight as movies, musicals and television specials would have you believe is in everyone’s hearts. Even that crabby old Victorian curmudgeon, Ebenezer Scrooge, eventually found Christmas to be a season of joy and renewal. But ask someone who’s worked in the public sector during the holidays, especially in retail or hospitality, and suffered the indignities and downright rudeness of people at their worst, and you will understand how some folks look at Christmas in an entirely different light.
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