PicksInSix-Porchlight Honors Felicia P. Fields, Call Me Elizabeth and I, Banquo
March Comes In Like A Lioness!
As the temperatures rise, vaccinations ramp up, and more people are venturing outside, Chicago artists continue to rollout summer and fall plans that include live performances with reduced capacity indoors and out. In the meantime, it’s clear that investing in online programming to bridge the artistic and financial gap caused by the COVID-19 pandemic is critically important.
In a year that has been challenging for every member of the performance community on so many levels, here are just a few worthy opportunities for your support and entertainment.
Porchlight Music Theatre - Chicago Sings Rock & Roll Broadway through April 18, 2021
A leader in virtual programming that is both entertaining and unique, Porchlight Music Theatre, Artistic Director Michael Weber and Executive Director Jeannie Lukow have hit it out of the park with their annual Chicago Sings fundraising concert that will be available to stream now through April 18th. Take one look at Porchlight’s production schedule and you will discover educational, historical and superb live programming showcasing top Chicago artists and a seemingly endless stream of upcoming talent. It all comes together in a show that’s loaded with stellar performances, beautifully staged and filmed at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts. Directed by Weber with music direction by Jermaine Hill and Linda Madonia and honoring the extraordinary Felicia P. Fields with the 2021 Guy Adkins Award, this is truly a concert to savor. https://porchlightmusictheatre.org/chicagosings2021/
Kayla Boye’s Call Me Elizabeth – The Youngstown PLAYHOUSE through March 28, 2021
In an inspired artistic turn in the face of the pandemic following a staged reading in 2019 at The Den Theater, Kayla Boye produces and performs in the world premiere of her own one-woman show Call Me Elizabeth. It’s a virtual tour de force for Boye, produced in association with Youngstown Theatre Company in a limited virtual run through March 28. The 70-minute production is set in a suite at the Beverly Hilton Hotel where the captivating Boye unfolds her rich, stylish and complex portrait of Elizabeth Taylor. Erin Kraft directs. https://www.callmeelizabeth.com/
Music and Mayhem - Desperate Measures – Jeannie Tanner & Abigail Riccards |Paul Marinaro Paul’s Place | Bill Larkin’s Parody Song Improv
If you want interaction and spontaneity, there is something for everyone on any day, at any time on Facebook Live, YouTube or Twitch. For cocktail hour, give a listen to Desperate Measures, the Jeannie Tanner|Abigail Riccards songfest with Stacey McMichaels that recently celebrated its first year online taking requests and featuring special guest performances. Paul Marinaro, one of Chicago’s top jazz vocalist’s, returned last week with Andy Brown Live from Paul’s Place and the promise of future live jazz shows from Paul’s Place. And, be sure to tune into Bill Larkin’s Parody Song Improv on Facebook and Twitch that has been running non-stop since this all began. Submit your requests in the chat (or when you tip through the Venmo app) for an on-the-spot parody that Larkin and his loyal followers mash up. Larkin keeps the late-night entertainment rocking while directing a portion of the proceeds for every show—including Yacht Rock— to worthy charities.
Timothy Edward Kane—Court Theatre’s An Iliad
Adding to a growing archive of past performances that includes Five Guys Named Moe, Court Theatre has made the 2020 performance of An Iliad available featuring Timothy Edward Kane in a production based on Homer’s Iliad translated by Robert Fagles, adapted by Lisa Peterson and Denis O’Hare and directed by Charles Newell. The production run was cut short due to the pandemic, but not before a multiple-camera setup captured the stunning work staged at Oriental Institute on the University of Chicago campus. Check out the PicksInSix review. https://www.courttheatre.org/
Dan Waller—Chicago Shakespeare’s I, Banquo through APRIL 18, 2021
The “Scottish Play” through the eyes of his murdered friend is the newest offering from Chicago Shakespeare Theater’s live capture streaming on-demand platform Chicago ShakesSTREAM. I, Banquo features a gripping performance by Dan Waller as Banquo written by Tim Crouch and directed by Marti Lyons. The riveting drama unfolds on the Chicago Shakes stage in one continuous take on a stark and evocative technical landscape. https://www.chicagoshakes.com/
Theatre in the Dark – Moby Dick audio only through APRIL 10, 2021
The rich, familiar cadence of Melville’s Moby Dick seeps into Theatre in the Dark’s newest and most ambitious production yet, Moby Dick, adapted by Corey Bradberry about the classic story of Captain Ahab and his crew’s encounter with the deadly whale and told from the vantage point of the one living person who survived the encounter. This version of the stirring, epic tale of whaling adventure is narrated by Elizabeth McCoy as Ishmael who, with only two other actors—Mack Gordon and Robinson J. Cyprian—voice the 90-minute audio drama of the Pequod that departs on a three-year odyssey from Nantucket to raging seas and waterways around the world. When you consider the size of the earnest company and the enormity of the stories they attempt to tell, there is always something truly remarkable and noteworthy about Theatre in the Dark’s productions. https://www.theatreinthedark.com/
For more reviews, visit: Theatre In Chicago
PicksInSix® is a registered trademark of Roxbury Road Creative, LLC
