“Dana H.” at The Goodman Theatre

Dana H. is a revolutionary new play directed by Les Waters and written by Lucas Hnath. It is the true story of Hnath’s mother, Dana Higginbotham, who was abducted by an ex-convict who she had met and helped counsel in a psych ward. In this one woman play, Deirdre O’Connell lip-syncs to an interview which was conducted by Steve Cosson at the urging of Lucas Hnath. Hnath then took those recordings to weave a script that tells Dana’s story as she would have told it herself, with endearing jokes and chilling recollections. O’Connell sits on stage and lip-syncs to not only the words, but also recreates movements captured by the audio recording. Those with trepidations to that premise can rest assured that this is not merely a gimmick, but an addition of ingenious artistry to repackage the original voice and source material. 

Harsh Lessons

Blue Stockings – Promethean Theatre Ensemble

It is 1896 and four students assemble for they hope will be the first class of female students to be granted degrees at Cambridge. They have to convince the school to first even hold a vote on the issue, let alone win that vote. To do so, they will have to be perfect, and not just academically, and it still may not be enough. This is the setting for Jessica Swale’s play Blue Stockings, getting its Chicago premiere with Promethean Theatre Ensemble.

The Challenges That Life Offers

Tiny Beautiful Things – Victory Gardens Theater

Cheryl Strayed is an empathetic and extremely talented writer. She’s authored such bestsellers as Wild, Torch and Brave Enough. But Ms. Strayed’s Tiny Beautiful Things, culled from a collection of letters from her readers, and her thoughtful responses to them, was compiled from two years of writing an advice column at an online literary magazine called The Rumpus. The popular book not only became a New York Times Bestseller but was the selection that launched Oprah’s Book Club 2.0. Now, actress, director and writer Nia Vardalos (who wrote and starred in the film, “My Big Fat Greek Wedding”) has lovingly adapted Ms. Strayed’s book into a deeply poignant, often humorous one-act, which was co-conceived by Marshall Heyman and Thomas Kail. The play auspiciously kicks off Victory Gardens Theater’s 45th season, in a moving production that begs to be seen.

Love Survives as Opposites Attract

The Pajama Game – Theatre at the Center

For those of us who grew up during the Eisenhower years, the  songs from Richard Adler and Jerry Ross’ score provide a blast from our past. Haunting ballads like “Hey There,” as well as  sexy, catchy novelty tunes such as “Steam Heat” and “Hernando’s Hideaway,” were all familiar standards often heard on the radio. George Abbott’s dramatic collaboration with author Richard Bissell on his novel, 7 1/2 Cents, turned into 1955’s Tony Award-winning Best Musical. The show has been revived twice on Broadway (the latest 2006 version starred Harry Connick, Jr. and Kellie O’Hara) and has become a staple with regional, community and educational theatres. The reasons are many, as demonstrated in Linda Fortunato’s magnificent  production, now playing in Munster.

Lullaby as Lament

I will fly like a bird – Thompson Street Opera Company

Beginning in Louisville, Kentucky, in 2013, and thriving in Chicago since 2016, the Thompson Street Opera Company continually presents the works of living composers at the highest level of the storefront opera scene. Their season opener this year is no exception. Canadian composer John Plant, with librettist J.A. Wainwright, has created a tone poem of intense feelings of anticipatory joy and poignant sadness around the horror that we see on our television and computer screens every day: Immigrants and the welcoming of refugees gone terribly awry. Skillfully lead by conductor Alexandra Enyart, the orchestra of four strings, piano, and clarinet created not only the textual moments, but the swirls of deep feeling that would carry the stories arc to the next moment where the poetry caught up with the journeys.

Paramount Once Again Seizes the Day

Newsies – Paramount Theatre

Paramount Theatre has done it again! Opening their new season is Disney’s stage adaptation of their own so-so 1992 cult movie musical of the same name. Taking Broadway by storm when it opened in 2012, “Newsies” went on to play over 1,000 performances before hitting the road in an excellent National Tour. Deservedly this musical earned eight Tony nominations, winning two for its athletic choreography and contemporary score. History promises to repeat itself as this regionally produced musical, now playing to sellout houses at the Paramount Theatre, is once again demonstrating why it’s one of our most highly-respected professional Chicagoland venues.

“Love and Information” with Trap Door Theatre

Trap Door Theatre is currently performing Caryl Churchill’s Love and Information as a part of their 26th  season. With direction by Kim McKean and an ensemble of nine performers, the production seeks to analyze how the over-saturation of media has enhanced and weakened modern day relationships between humans. The performance succeeds in presenting this theme with an interesting twist that I will elaborate on later; however, the unfinished framing technique as well as an inconsistent ensemble may leave some audience members uninspired. 

Members of an Exclusive Club

Five Presidents – American Blues Theater

Rick Cleveland’s fictionalized docudrama, which is generously laced with comic zingers and one-liners that lighten the subject, imagines a 90-minute get-together between past presidents Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush, Ronald Reagan, and the current Leader of the Free World, Bill Clinton. The year is 1994 and the setting is a gathering room in the Nixon Library in Yorba Linda, California, tastefully designed by Grant Sabin and nicely lit by Alexander Ridgers. The occasion for this meeting is the funeral of President Richard Nixon. Even though these five men would’ve greeted each other on this occasion, it’s unlikely that they spent an hour and a half talking together about so many different topics. 

Masters of Our Fate

Be Here Now – Shattered Globe Theatre

Set in a small town in upstate New York, Bari is a cynical former college professor, who taught a course in nihilism. She’s lowered her standards by working to make ends meet at a chotchke shop that deals in religious souvenirs, that are made in China. She’s suffering from writer’s block when it comes to finishing her dissertation. But she’s also suffering from severe, debilitating headaches that often result in seizures. Bari radiates negativity about everything in life and it deeply troubles her longtime friend and coworker, Patty Cooper, as well as a young, tirelessly optimistic newcomer to the mail order warehouse, Luanne.

Another Trip to the Bright Side of Life

Spamalot – Mercury Theatre

At some point in this hilarious musical, the plot simply goes out the window and unbridled hilarity and bawdy humor takes over the Mercury Theater stage. Eric Idle’s brilliant adaptation of his  popular film, “Monty Python and the Holy Grail,” which features an infectious score by both Idle and John DuPrez, won the coveted Tony Award for Best Musical in 2005. The show first hit the boards in its Chicago PreBroadway preview. It went on to become a Big Apple and West End hit, as well as everywhere around the world.