The Queen of Rock & Roll

Tina: The Tina Turner Musical

When the most satisfying moments of a musical arrive following  the curtain call, something is amiss. After the more than two dozen talented cast members take their well-deserved bows, the show explodes into a concert presentation of the best of the best. Commonly found in jukebox musicals, we get a mega-mix of three of Tina Turner’s greatest hits, allowing the entire cast to delight the audience by singing and shaking their groove thing. The audience is invited to sing along, and they do so with gusto. This kind of joyous choral camaraderie erases the sad memories of Tina’s tragic life that we’ve just experinced and sends the audience home feeling like they’ve had a good time. But before this, theatergoers have to endure a whole lot of troubling, cringeworthy melodrama.

A Gem of Gender Splendor

Layalina

Little does a multigenerational Assyrian family, living in Baghdad in 2003, realize they’re about to undergo a huge change. The month of March that year was a turbulent time for Iraqi citizens as a United States-led coalition invaded the country to help overthrow the brutal government of Saddam Hussein. A joint resolution of Congress claimed the invasion would disarm Iraq of weapons of mass destruction, a knee-jerk reaction to 9/11. In addition, it sought to end Hussein’s reign of terrorism and free the Iraqi people. The War would continue for the next eight more years, claiming many thousands of lives.

Cry It Out

Jessie and Lina are both new moms and newly moved into adjacent duplexes on Long Island. Their baby monitors extend just far enough to let them meet in their backyards, but not far enough to go into each other’s homes while their babies take a nap. The mix of connection and isolation of being a new mother is the center of Theatre Above the Law’s new play, Cry It Out by Molly Smith Metzler.

Truth is a lie; Lies Are Truth

Describe the Night

Fascinating, intriguing, gripping and often funny—these adjectives all appropriately describe Rajiv Joseph’s mesmerizing new drama, now playing in-the-round at Steppenwolf’s Ensemble Theater. The story is an intricately layered labyrinth of characters, locales and historical periods. Some of the people are real, while others are purely fictitious. The story, that bounces around through time and place, is sometimes humorous, frequently gripping and truly mind-boggling. Rajiv Joseph (the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright of “Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo”) spins a story that illuminates the ethical enigma that is modern Russia.

Life Lessons and Puppet Pornography

Avenue Q

This upbeat, lovable musical opens with an infectious, toe-tapping “Avenue Q Theme,” which kind of serves as a prologue. Then an optimistic 23-year-old named Princeton, newly graduated from college, wanders through the audience. He rhetorically asks the musical question, “What Do You Do With a BA in English?” Princeton’s already lined up his first job but he needs an affordable place to live in New York City. With limited funds, bills piling up and student loans to pay, Princeton has journeyed through Alphabet City, down to the less-expensive part of Greenwich Village. Princeton’s life lessons are about to begin on Avenue Q.

You Won’t Be An Orphan For Long

Annie

Following three years of a pandemic shutdown in theatres all across American, Broadway in Chicago welcomes back this true family classic. Looking around the packed opening night audience, I had the distinct feeling that for many children and even some adults, this was their first time seeing “Annie.” Some of them may have listened to the Original Broadway Cast Album, or probably watched one of several film or television adaptations of the show. But there’s nothing quite like experiencing  the most optimistic, rags-to-riches story performed live in an opulent theatre, like the Cadillac Palace.

Fan the Fire

Reasons: A Tribute to Earth, Wind & Fire

It’s early Spring and a time for rejoicing! Black Ensemble Theater is back once again, after Covid stifled the continuous production of their heavenly, highly entertaining musicals. One type of show that Jackie Taylor’s wonderful company is particularly known for and does best are biographical musical revues, like this one. Created and directed by multitalented Producing Manager Director Daryl D. Brooks, BET is currently presenting this entertaining and enlightening true story about one of the best-known African-American rock groups to have its start in Chicago. “Reasons: A Tribute to Earth, Wind & Fire” is a flashy, fireworks of a production that’s filled with love and a legacy of popular songs that’ll take audiences back the more gentle time of their youth.

No Such Thing As Hell?

The Christians

Today, do most people believe they’ll go to heaven as their reward for being good? Are they frightened of being sent to hell if they’ve been bad during their lives? What happens when the minister of an enormous and financially solvent megachurch suddenly declares in his Sunday message that there’s no such thing as hell? This is a controversial play comprised of all kinds of questions, but there are no answers are offered. 

Six Characters in Search of Happiness

You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown

If there’s one sure thing in this world, it’s that the Marriott Lincolnshire Theatre really knows how to cast, direct and produce excellent, energetic and exciting productions for young audiences. While this isn’t the first time the Theatre has presented this 60-minute version of Clark Gesner’s delightfully  infectious musical, it’s got to be one of their very best. 

Piddle, Twiddle, and Resolve

1776

Putting a new spin on an old classic is an admirable challenge for a director. This 2022 Broadway revival production, helmed by co-directors Jeffrey L. Page and Diane Paulus, with Page credited for the choreography, certainly gives this musical a fresh, contemporary look and sound. While basically staying true to the original, the production offers all kinds of novel changes and additions. The show opens with the entire cast slipping off their streetwear and into black buckle shoes (which line the front of the stage), rolling up the legs of their black trousers and white knee socks and finally adding Emilio Sosa’s colorful frock coats. But this is just the beginning of the two directors’ many modern touches, not the least of which is its inclusive casting.