Chicago Theatre Review
Flyover Chicago
The newest addition to Navy Pier is the exhilarating Flyover Chicago done in three parts.
Read MoreLanguage as Identity
English
Think about it: our language is not only how we communicate with others, it’s also our identity. We connect through English, sharing ideas and information. We embrace and use our language to experience the world. But a language can be as much of a barrier between people, who aren’t fluent in it, as it is a pipeline for understanding others with similar skills.
Read MoreDeath Becomes Her
Forever Young
Looks seem to be everything in our culture. Trying to appear forever young is a preoccupation with everyone these days, at least in this country. Creams, salves and other products guaranteeing youthful faces and hands, hair dye and trendy coifs that turn back time, varicose veins removed so legs look younger and weight loss pills, shots and exercise programs that promise a new, slimmer body are in high demand. And, if those methods aren’t fast enough for you, there’s always botox injections or simply going under the knife.
Read MoreAn Historical Fantasia
Lavender Men
Beginning with the obligatory pre-curtain speech, a wickedly entertaining and sassy gay spirit named Taffeta welcomes the audience to a one-act Historical Fantasia. It’s partly a factual American chronicle enhanced by a great amount of imaginative creativity. This surreal play is a romantic rainbow reverie that’s based on longtime rumors about the private life of revered 16th President, Abraham Lincoln. It’s as riveting as any completely factual historical drama, but presented with a pronounced gay slant and a modern sensibility.
Read MoreOn The 20th Century is a riotous, musical extravaganza.
On May 14, the blank Theatre Company opened their production of ON THE 20th CENTURY in the brand-new Bramble Arts Loft in Andersonville to a packed house.
Their venue was the intimate Berry, a black box with perfectly designed sound and lighting. On first glance, it seemed too small a space for a classic, larger than life American musical. The show debuted on Broadway in 1978, in the golden days of American Musical Theater. The book and lyrics are by the legendary Betty Comden and Adolph Green (On the Town, Singing in the Rain), and the music by Cy Coleman (Sweet Charity, Will Rogers Follies). It’s everything a musical should be: big, loud, silly and sharp. The Berry must be a magic clown car because somehow, a packed house and a boisterous cast of twelve all fit comfortably inside and had a rousing good time.
The staging was minimal – a large arch with red curtains graced one side of the room, and the audience lined along the other three sides. Props and costumes were carefully period creating a pared down yet distinct place and time. The only set changes were done with two chairs, some luggage, and a few handheld items like purses, posters, books, etc. Instead of fantastic, over the top sets, the cast filled the space with their song, their spirit and their obvious joy in their work.
The story is a classic Romantic Comedy, straight out of the birth of that genre: His Girl Friday meets I Love You Again meets at least half the movies starring Bing Crosby. Frankly, it’s a love letter to all of the above, and several of the classic tropes, like the warring couple who profess hate but secretly mean love, the eccentric millionaire and the bumbling sidekicks.
While there are no stand-out melodies, the songs are all well-crafted, funny and excellently sung. It is a modern Opera, with the requisite recitative, complicated quartets, counter melodies, bombastic duets and arias galore. The entire cast shares polished, operatically trained voices that really shined in this setting. A favorite recurring joke was a “holy chorus” that popped out of the wings and bathed us all in harmony, another was a recurring melody of random citizens pushing their plays on producer Jaffe.
The standout for this show however, aside from excellent, operatic voices and some truly hilarious physical comedy, was the choreography. Jen Cupani, Danny Kapinos, and Tony Pellegrino created a thing of beauty in what seemed an impossible space. Each scene was tightly choreographed, like a dance, but without much actual dancing; rooms changed, people came in and out, actors hid and surprised each other in a space roughly the size of a luxury walk-in closet. Somehow, it never felt crowded or impossible. The imaginations of the actors and the careful planning of the Creative Team transformed said closet into a moving train in the 1930s, and the precise movements around the space were overall a marvel of planning.
Karylin Veres especially shone as Lily Garland, an extremely difficult vocal role debuted by Madeline Kahn – who quit due to vocal exhaustion! Veres pulls it off perfectly, tossing out high C’s and trills like the pro she is – she even made it look easy – especially when singing seated, or lifted or draped. DeTogne as Jaffe also manages to sing a lovely operatic tenor solo while lying flat on his back: no easy feat. Rothbart and Arceo make a perfect comic duo and occasional straight men to DeTogne. Christopher Johnson, Rothbart and Arceo all met the challenge of playing straight men to the bombastic performances going on around them nicely; it’s easy to forget that without the straight man, we’re just watching a room full of nuts – those moments of disbelief and frustration they portray gives the audience something to relate to and laugh even harder when everything goes off the rails.
If gorgeous, trained singing, high physical comedy and sharp dialogue sound like a good time, you can’t go wrong with this production.
Highly Recommended
Reviewed by Alina C. Hevia
All photos credited to Kelsey Decker/Wannabe Studio
Presented at the Bramble Arts Loft at 5545 N. Clark St. Chicago, IL 60640 in Andersonville, and running Thursday – Sunday, as well as Monday, June 3, through June 9, 2024.
Tickets for ON THE 20th CENTURY are $15.00 – $35.00 and can be purchased online at www.blanktheatrecompany.com.
Additional information about this and other area productions can be found by visiting www.theatreinchicago.com.
Survival in the Dust Bowl
Black Sunday
A subject of so many excellent works of art, survival during the Great Depression and, especially, during the Dust Bowl, has been examined from many perspectives. From John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath, to the musical poetry of Woody Guthrie, to Dorothea Lange’s stark b&w photography, such as her moving “Migrant Mother,” the sorrow and tragedies of the early 1930’s has been potently portrayed. Today, TimeLine Theatre’s 2023-24 season concludes with another work of art, a World Premiere by Chicago playwright, Dolores Diaz.
Read MoreSurvival Underground
Turret
Two men are living—make that surviving—in a deep, underground bunker. Apparently Green and Rabbit are the sole survivors of “the war that we lost,” but now there’s some sort of unknown danger lurking outside in this post-apocalyptic world. Both men are dressed for combat so our initial impression is that they’re members of the military. Eventually we learn the truth: Green is the father of (or at the very least, a father figure for) Rabbit. The younger man has lived his entire life in this reinforced, subterranean shelter, and Green has taken on the role of his commanding officer, parent and companion. Survival underground is nothing if not bleak, depressing and without much hope for the future. It’s also bewildering and perplexing for the audience.
Read MoreWalking in Someone Else’s Shoes
Last Stop on Market Street
Change isn’t easy for anyone, particularly children. Leaving the familiar comforts of a home that a kid takes for granted, and then being dropped off at an entirely different environment populated by new people and filled with unexpected situations, can be somewhat traumatic. So when a little boy named CJ has to travel to an unfamiliar inner city neighborhood, and spend a week with his grandmother, the child is in for some surprises. Nana is a real force of nature, a vivacious, gleeful woman who always sees the positive side of life. However, this optimistic lady has her work cut out for her with CJ.
Read MoreAn Absolute Adult Delight
Poor People! The Parody Musical
Do I have a treat for you, especially if you’re an adult, liberal-minded Musical Theatre aficionado! Hell in a Handbag Productions, David Cerda’s wildly creative theatre company, is currently continuing its 22nd season. The company’s comprised of an ensemble of multitalented artists who are always challenging audiences and pushing the envelope. Well, consider the envelope pushed to the max. Often the company lampoons their favorite vintage films, classic television shows and even popular cult genres. But this sassy, salty new production parodies many of Broadway’s most treasured, time-honored musicals. Seemingly motivated by television’s “Schmigadoon!” HIAH’s tuneful satire is, quite simply, an absolute adult delight, and theatergoers will never look at these prototypical Broadway musicals the same.
Read MorePrelude to a Kiss
Prelude to a Kiss is a play written by Craig Lucas, who also wrote the books for the musicals The Light in the Piazza and Paradise Square. The play premiered in 1988 and received a film adaptation in 1992 starring Alec Baldwin and Meg Ryan. The story centers on Peter and Rita, who have fallen in love at first sight. At their wedding reception, an old man who none of them seem to know appears and asks the new bride for a kiss. She obliges and the two switch places in each other’s body. The story that follows explores that nature of love
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