PicksInSix Review: The Lord of the Rings-A Musical Tale - Chicago Shakespeare Theater

“We Hobbits Like A Good Tale!”
PicksInSix® Review | Ed Tracy

Wizards, Hobbits and Elves have taken up residency in a Middle-earth all their own at Chicago Shakespeare Theater with the U.S. Premiere of the adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s masterpiece “The Lord of the Rings-A Musical Tale” that opened Friday in The Yard, CSF’s state-of-the-art 700-seat venue. The show, directed by Paul Hart, boasts awe-inspiring special effects, whimsical puppetry and a superb, multi-talented Chicago cast to tell the story of Bilbo Baggins (Rick Hall), Gandolf (Tom Amandes), Frodo (Spencer Davis Milford), Samwise (Michael Kurowski), and the rest of Fellowship of the Ring who save mankind from destruction.

With book and lyrics by Shaun McKenna and Matthew Warchus and music by A. R. Rahman, Värttinä and Christopher Nightgale, “The Lord of the Rings” incorporates actors as singer/musicians in what is largely a play with music versus a traditional musical. Characters move throughout The Yard’s massive space, in, out and above the audience with eye-popping surprises along the way, not the least of which is the impressive entrance and commanding performance of Tony Bozzuto as Gollum, who is everywhere all at once.

The dense story of the journey to Mordor by Frodo and Sam to destroy the ring in the foundry where it was forged has been streamlined in such a way that those not familiar with the story can follow the evolving action even if many of the characters come and go in the blink of an eye. There is more than enough here for loyalists as well although the overall pace would be improved by reducing the 2 hour and 45 minute run time, not including the 15 minute intermission.

There is remarkable, and often startling, puppetry early on—and one additional confrontation that took everyone by surprise—which when combined with the live action sequences elevate the mystical nature of the piece. Those familiar with Peter Jackson’s film trilogy will not be disappointed, but may do well to manage their expectations as this show is more about the characters and story.

Chicago audiences are fortunate to have the premiere here at Shakes through September 1. Later this fall, the production travels to the 2,379-seat Civic Theatre in Auckland, New Zealand, the locale that Jackson chose for Hobbiton, the mythical shire that today is an international tourist destination for Tolkien enthusiasts.  At three times the size of The Yard with an expansive proscenium and lift system, the Civic, built in 1929 is an atmospheric theatre—one of only seven in the world—with a unique skyscape of stars and clouds which will surely allow audiences an enhanced experience for the show.

So it was natural for me to feel that in its present form, “The Lord of the Rings-A Musical Tale” still has some room to coalesce for its next date with destiny. Staging Tolkien’s epic fantasy is a high order for the stellar cast of Chicago-based talent who are leading the way and more than up for the task. An adventure of a lifetime for sure.

PHOTO|Liz Lauren

Chicago Shakespeare Theater
presents
The Lord of the Rings - A Musical Tale
through September 1

The Yard
Navy Pier

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PicksInSix Review: Billy Elliot The Musical - Paramount Theatre

Billy Elliot: “It’s Showtime Baby!”
PicksInSix® Gold Review | Ed Tracy

What’s happening right now at Paramount Theatre in Aurora will not soon come this way again. “It’s showtime, baby!” Bring it on!

“Billy Elliot The Musical,” the Elton John/Lee Hall ten-time Tony Award winner with a long, rich love affair with Chicago, opened Friday in what can only be described as a phenomenal, electrifying production. As directed by Trent Stork and choreographed by Isaiah Silva-Chandley, this quintessential “Billy Elliot” features an enormously talented cast led by Ron E. Rains as Dad, Michelle Aravena as Mrs. Wilkinson and, on opening night, the arresting performance of Neo Del Corral as Billy Elliot, the young boy discovering his life’s passion in the midst of a tumultuous period of unrest as his small hometown north of London is embroiled in the 1984 coal miner’s strike.

The story unfolds amid a visual feast—adorned with Izumi Inaba’s costumes on scenic designer Michelle Lilly’s colossal sixty-foot-high steel-themed coal mine set with two-story moving stairway systems that are reconfigured to frame the evolving scenes moving effortlessly in sync with Greg Hoffman’s dynamic lighting design, Mike Tutaj projections and a crisp sound design by Adam Rosenthal.

The lovely and talented Aravena commands the stage in a fierce performance as the dance instructor who first discovers Billy’s true potential in ballet and fights for his opportunity to pursue a dream. Del Corral—who alternates the role of Billy with Sam Duncan—plays the 1,900 seat Paramount Theatre with extraordinary poise, presence and a strength of character that belies his years. And when Billy and his gay friend Michael (Gabriel Lafazan) get together, it’s showtime, baby! — a dynamic duo of pint-sized firebrands tap dancing and singing up a storm with a streak of sassy larceny a mile long in the show-stopping hit “Expressing Yourself.”

One of the most impressive ensembles ever assembled at Paramount includes many of Chicago’s most accomplished actors who cover the citizenry of life-worn miners opposed by an army of police along with a bevy of early career prima ballerinas all under the brilliant musical direction of Kory Danielson who conducts the Paramount Orchestra. Rains returns to a role he has played previously with a seasoned, passionate and superb multi-layered performance as Billy’s Dad. Barbara Robertson is exquisite as Billy’s endearing Grandma and Jennie Sophia is a beacon of purity as Billy’s Mum in the tender, emotionally charged ballad “The Letter” with Aravena and Del Corral.  Dakota Hughes (Mr. Braithwaite), Joe Foust (George), and Spencer Davis Milford (Tony) are all stellar, as is the stunning Swan Lake ballet with Billy and Older Billy (Christopher Kelley)— a work of art that utilizes the full range of the Paramount’s expansive stage.

The sheer grandeur of the closing moments of this production left me in awe and ranks as the most beautiful visual tapestry I have ever—repeat, ever—seen in a theatre. I am still thinking about it and how Paramount's stunning production of "Billy Elliot" will now occupy a permanent place in my memory box of this show.

PHOTO|Liz Lauren

PARAMOUNT THEATRE
presents
Billy Elliot The Musical
through March 24, 2024

23 East Galena Boulevard
Aurora, IL 60506

(630) 896–6666

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PicksInSix Review: HELLO, DOLLY! Marriott Theatre

Marriott’s “HELLO, DOLLY!” True Theatrical Magic!
PicksInSix® Review | Ed Tracy

Pandemic-era theater audiences are pretty used to some unexpected drama with their drama these days. So when things did not go according to Hoyle with the hydraulic system at the highly-anticipated opening of “Hello, Dolly!” on Thursday at the Marriott Theatre Lincolnshire, everyone took it in stride. On the heels of a troubling Covid outbreak, one might suspect some other-worldly intervention at work—perhaps the spirit of Thornton Wilder himself—on the beloved Michael Stewart/Jerry Herman musical starring the equally beloved Heidi Kettenring in a role that she was born to play.

Whether or not Wilder had a mystic hand in it all, the show went on and, just like that, musical theatre as we know it returned in fine form. Resplendent in picture-perfect period costumes by Teresa Ham, Kettenring’s Dolly is elegant, understated and flawless. The action moves briskly from the imaginative ride on a turn-of-the-century street car from Yonkers to New York’s Harmonia Gardens, where Dolly and her Vandergelder—real life heartthrob and husband David C. Girolmo—create true theatrical magic together.

Director and choreographer Denis Jones, musical director Ryan T. Nelson and conductor Brad Haak have welcomed Dolly Levi back where she belongs with the grace and high society style that this legendary show deserves. The terrific supporting cast is filled to the brim with seasoned players and triple-threat newcomers including Rebecca Hurd (Irene Molloy), Alex Goodrich (Cornelius Hackl), Amanda Walker (Minnie Fay), Spencer Davis Milford (Barnaby Tucker), Emily Ann Brooks (Ermengade), Michael Turrentine (Ambrose Kemper), George Keating (Rudolph) and Johanna McKenzie Miller (Ernestina).

The musical, based on Wilder’s 1954 play “The Matchmaker,” is equal parts farce and uproarious comedy wrapped in lush, musical explorations of love and longing, with a healthy dose of chicanery and lighthearted larceny rolled in. Jones has stepped up the production numbers which move on and off Marriott’s in-the-round configuration seamlessly thanks to scenic designers Jeffrey D. Kmiec and Milo Blue.

The ensemble soars in the spirited “Yonkers March” and then Jones pulls out all the stops for the crowd-pleasing “Waiters’ Gallop.” Hurd’s lovely, quiet “Ribbons Down My Back” and Goodrich’s touching “It Only Takes A Moment” are particular standout selections in the familiar score. The multi-talented Milford and Walker’s charming turn as Fay make for a perfect match all their own.

But at every turn, all eyes are on the mesmerizing performance of Kettenring—vulnerable and demure in one moment; captivatingly and brilliantly comical in the next—whose interplay with Girolmo is heartwarming and real. From the elegant rendering of “Before The Parade Passes By,” and a side-splitting dinner sequence, to the capstone title number, Marriott’s “Hello, Dolly!” will leave you with a wonderfully joyous feeling to savor for a long time to come.   

PHOTO|Liz Lauren

Marriott Theatre Lincolnshire
presents
HELLO, DOLLY!
through October 16

WEBSITE | TICKETS

(847) 634-0200

HEALTH PROTOCALS

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