Author: Colin Douglas
A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes
Mike Pence Sex Dream – First Floor Theatre
Following the 2016 election, two young men do their best to live their newly-wedded lives happily while coping with the frighteningly disastrous effects of the Trump presidency and administration. Ben is an excellent, compassionate elementary school teacher who cares for their students, but who also passionately wishes be a role model and make a difference. Ben, as a gay American, wants to show the school, and the world, that the Constitution has given them the unalienable right to be themselves. Thus, if Ben wants to wear a dress, there’s no reason for them to be challenged or ridiculed.
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And the Walls Came Tumbling Down
Act(s) of God – Lookingglass Theatre Company
A brand new original play, written by one of Chicago’s finest, most respected actors, and a Lookingglass Theatre company member, is a cause for celebration and demands an appreciative audience. Kareem Bandealy’s brilliant work as an actor has been seen by many and lauded by critics and audiences in productions all over Chicago. In his first attempt as playwright, Mr. Bandealy has embarked upon a new educational journey. His learning curve has expanded as he’s soaked up what it means to be on the other side of a production. This fledgling playwright has discovered, probably not unexpectedly that, in turning his script over to a director, a cast and a team of creative artists, it’s almost like sending your child off on his first day of kindergarten. But it’s the natural next step in the growth and nurturing of his young work, now in the hands of the theatre community.
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Super Trouper
Mamma Mia! – Drury Lane
Artistic Director, William Osetek has staged a fresh and exciting new production of the 1999 smash hit musical, a show that became a cult classic for Baby Boomers twenty years ago, and is one of Broadway’s original juke box musicals. Taking almost two dozen hit tunes from the ABBA songbook, Drury Lane’s stage version makes audiences forget Chicago’s cold, snowy winter, as well as a rather disappointing 2008 film version. Here, live and on stage, is a great opportunity to enjoy a polished, professional production of how that musical is suppose to look and sound. And this production is not only pitch perfect but, decked out in shiny spandex, platform heels and a ton of glitter and glitz, it’s a feast for the eyes, as well.
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Ordinary People
Twilight Bowl – Goodman Theatre
Rebecca Gilman is a Chicago-based playwright who keeps close to her small town roots. She doesn’t write about lofty characters using elevated language. Her plays reflect the struggle of ordinary people who are trying to live the lives they want. Through such notable plays as “Luna Gale,” “Boy Gets Girl” and “Spinning Into Butter,” Ms. Gilman paints portraits of real folks, showing how, instead of being true to their own goals and aspirations, find themselves trying to meet everyone else’s expectations in life. This is the focus of her latest play, now enjoying its world premiere in Chicago.
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Mystery Most Foul
An Inspector Calls – Chicago Shakespeare Theatre
Following an elegant family dinner at Arthur and Sybil Birling’s comfortable home in northern England, the arrival of a mysterious man is announced. He claims to be police Inspector Goole who inexplicably shares with them the sad news that Eva Smith, a young working-class woman, has tragically committed suicide. No one at the family gathering, including young Gerald Croft, who has just officially proposed to Arthur’s daughter Sheila, nor Arthur’s son Eric, recognize the young woman’s name. It then begs the question: why is the inspector involving this family in the unfortunate incident?
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The Music of Words
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom – Writer’s Theatre
During the 1920’s, the blues, sung by topnotch black performers, became so popular that it crossed over into mainstream America. The recording industry helped bring African American music from Harlem into the homes of white families all over the nation. Singers like Bessie Smith and Ma Rainey became household names and, although there would be many more years of fighting for Civil Rights, the African American integration movement was, thankfully, about to begin.
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Black Lives Matter
Pipeline – Victory Gardens Theatre
In 90 short, uninterrupted minutes, playwright Dominique Morisseau lays out how the direct route from school to prison has become the American norm for young, black men. That is, if they’re not being gunned down by some trigger-happy police officer. This is the hopeless existence depicted by the playwright of such important dramas as “Sunset Baby,” “Skeleton Crew” and the upcoming musical, “Ain’t Too Proud—the Life and Times of the Temptations.” In director Cheryl Lynn Bruce’s new production, a topic the playwright explored in a solo documentary, “Notes From the Field,” is starkly played out upon Andrew Boyce’s sparse, flexible scenic design. It’s a theatrical environment that wisely offers more focus upon the characters than the setting.
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How Lucky You Are
Seussical – Marriott Theatre
Oh, my goodness! Just tell yourself, “How Lucky You Are,” Chicagoans, especially those with families of young children. With Spring lurking just beyond the next snowdrift, there seems to be dozens of pleasurable options wherever you look. But this exciting and entertaining production stands out as one of the most multicolored musical offerings around. Marriott’s 65-minute Broadway caliber extravaganza is actually an combination of eight Dr. Seuss classics cleverly rolled into one charming story. The show is filled with oodles of catchy, toe-tapping, pop/rock songs by talented Broadway composers, Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens (“Ragtime,” “Once on this Island,” “Rocky”), and featuring additional scripted material by Monty Python’s Eric Idle.
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Waving Through a Window
Dear Evan Hansen – Broadway in Chicago
When this intensely moving and very topical musical opened on Broadway three years ago, one of its strongest selling points was that it was completely original. Unlike almost every other show on the Great White Way, that’s based upon a popular movie or book, Steven Levenson’s book, and the music with lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, was fresh and groundbreaking. This talented team had written a stunningly poignant play that truly spoke directly to today’s youth, the adult theater audiences of tomorrow. As the winner of six Tony Awards in 2017, including the coveted accolade of Best Musical, this astounding show, like “Hamilton,” continues to draw new theatergoers and play to sold-out audiences. Now Chicagoans have the opportunity to experience this affecting, heartbreaking musical for themselves.
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The Door Opens Again
A Doll’s House, Part 2 – Steppenwolf Theatre
In 1879, Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen wrote a play that would become one of his masterpieces and provide, for that time, a shocking evening at the theatre. In “A Doll’s House,” Nora Helmer, the leading character, ends the play, and her stifling, unfulfilled marriage, by walking out and slamming the front door. In doing so, Nora signaled that she was leaving behind her husband and children and starting out alone, on her own terms.
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