PicksInSix Review: Little Bear Ridge Road - Steppenwolf Theatre Company

METCALF IN MESMERIZING RETURN AT STEPPENWOLF
PicksInSix® Review | Ed Tracy

Samuel D. Hunter’s brilliant new play “Little Bear Ridge Road” now enjoying an extended world premiere run at Steppenwolf’s Downstairs Theater might not have ever happened if Tony Award winning director Joe Mantello and iconic Steppenwolf Ensemble member Laurie Metcalf had not approached Hunter to develop a project for Metcalf.  

That was a little more than a year ago and the resulting work traces the reemerging relationship between Metcalf’s irascible character Sarah and her gay nephew Ethan (Micah Stock), the last surviving members of the Fernsby family who are navigating the aftermath of the death of Ethan’s estranged father. Ethan has arrived on Sarah’s doorstep near Moscow, Idaho with little more than a writing degree and the wherewithal to rent a hotel room for a few days let alone the weeks he would need to settle his father’s estate. Sarah lives a private, secluded life alone on Little Bear Ridge Road, her 40 year nursing career shrinking to three shifts a week and is not at all excited that Ethan may now be her house guest for an undetermined period of time.

Things move quickly in conversations between the two, exposing Sarah’s unbridled opinions and hilariously mundane lifestyle, Ethan’s conflicted relationship with his father in the years prior to his death and his own disheveled personal life and uncertain future. The combination of Metcalf and Stock, with Mantello’s expertly paced direction, allow the series of crisp early scenes of Hunter’s script to seamlessly define both characters.  As time passes, Ethan ventures out to a bar and hooks up with James (a rock solid performance by John Drea), who sees some potential in a relationship, but wants to slow things down at first. As that relationship takes shape, James finds himself in a revealing conversation with Sarah. Details about Sarah’s health challenges emerge, which have the two-fold effect of bringing the two men closer together and shifting the dynamics of the drama in Sarah’s direction.

Hunter’s writing is clever, succinct and punctuated by Metcalf’s marvelous presence on stage. Even as we revel in the robust early comic interaction of the play, it is the dramatic turn of the piece that elevates this drama, exemplifies Hunter’s exceptional storytelling ability and exposes the emotional core of the piece.

The elegant, stylized stage design by Scott Pask is set with a home theater seating unit that revolves to suggest alternate scenes. There is a lone ceiling fan above and an expansive, circular stage floor all enhanced by Heather Gilbert’s lighting design and Mikhail Fiksel’s sound design. The look of this show is clean, simple and amazingly effective.

Over the course of ninety minutes, Metcalf is a mesmerizing force on stage and a joy to watch, her flawless, wide range of comic timing and dramatic sensibilities on full display. Stock plays Ethan with a fragile, measured intensity that emerges in a definitive scene with Drea and then becomes unhinged in a stunning definitive confrontation with Metcalf. And when Meighan Gerachis appears in a brief but powerful and satisfying coda to the drama, we are left to ponder the importance of making choices that look forward with hope rather than backward with regret.

PHOTO|Michael Brosilow

STEPPENWOLF THEATRE COMPANY

Presents

WORLD PREMIERE

LITTLE BEAR BRIDGE ROAD
Downstairs Theater
1650 N. Halsted
Extended
through August 4, 2024

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PicksInSix Review: The Kite Runner—Broadway In Chicago

“Kite Runner” poignant, moving… and shocking.
PicksInSix® Review | Guest Contributor | Ronald Keaton

If you’ve never read the bestselling novel The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini—a tale of friendship between two Afghan boys and how their choices dictate their adult lives—you are missing a real treatise in the nature of youth growing up. And as the audience was witness to the luscious theatrical take of the novel by Matthew Spangler, playing at Broadway in Chicago’s CIBC Theatre through June 23, it is striking how many of the themes that progress throughout the story are so universal and timeless, both in the family dynamic and inside us all as individuals. Friendship, betrayal, bigotry, sacrifice, courage (or lack of), there is an endless touch on all these ideas. It’s a stark lesson for all in Afghan culture and tradition that becomes highly accessible to all who invest in the storytelling, which, even in its challenges, is first rate and quite articulate.

The play opens atmospherically with a tabla player, offering some gentle, syncopated rhythm on his hand drum set, even as the audience enters the house.  Most of the story then revolves around the main character telling his side of things. His name is Amir, a comparatively well-to-do boy whose family has servants. One of the servants is Hassan, who serves Amir not only in deed but in their relationship as best friends. The separation between them is never really forgotten, it’s simply cast aside when convenient for the two boys to enjoy each other in growing up. There is an annual kite competition and Amir and Hassan enter it. It’s not a normal kite fight, so to speak. Contestants also have to run down the competition while in the air, last man standing. Amir feels special pressure from his father Baba to participate, since Baba senses that his sensitive son is not up to all the expectations that are placed in front of him. As the father did as a youth, Amir (with Hassan’s expert help) stunningly wins the competition and find at least a little compassion and respect in Baba’s house, even if it’s temporary.

Amir and Hassan are menaced by a gang of young thugs, whose claim on the prize for the kite competition was interrupted. That gang, in its continual harassment of the two friends, steals the magic blue kite that wins the prize and physically assault Hassan in the process while Amir watches helplessly.  Amir acquires a growing, lifelong guilt for not having stopped the violence, and Hassan is so loyal to his friend and master that he takes whatever punishment comes. In fact, the guilt is so strong that Amir simply denies the friendship any more influence and even tries to plant a theft under Hassan’s bed, so that he and his family will be banished. To Amir’s utter surprise, Hassan confesses to a crime he did not commit. And a bigger surprise comes when Baba forgives him—something that shapes the father/son relationship for the rest of their lives.  Eventually Hassan and his father leave the house in shame, taking with them a dreadful family secret owned by both fathers. In the meantime, the country is invaded by the Russians (the entire story all takes place between 1973-2001), and so Baba and his family need to leave for their own protection and come to America, specifically San Francisco. And this is just Act I.

From then on, the family becomes somewhat Americanized. Amir becomes the writer he always wants to be. He meets his future wife Soraya, a teacher in her own right. They want to have children but cannot conceive and consider adoption. Her father, a general back home, distastefully rejects such a notion because of a “blood” consideration—a bit like the old notion “but you don’t know where that’s been” in his regard for adoption. You know, purity of the bloodline and all. And at this point, Amir goes back to Afghanistan to discover the moment in his own life where guilt can at last be assuaged and shape itself into a kind of redemption. It’s a part of the story that one needs to witness to understand its impact. It’s abrupt and shocking and very personal. And quick, almost too much for some. But it works in a grandly affecting manner, as a part of the entire directing challenge ably steered by Giles Croft, who also directed the Broadway production.

Truth is, this is a full ensemble play at its core; everyone is not only involved in character, but to support the story as props and musicians. The two most elegant and touching scenes they have are where kites are flown in a ritualistic, poetic presentation. There is also a gorgeous set of kite representations onstage that are used as a kind of combination curtain and backdrop to separate the scenes out, arriving onstage like a giant butterfly. Wind effects, background noise, all are offered up by the marvelous ensemble here. 

Ramzi Khalaf is a wonderfully effective Amir and does the really difficult task of narrator/actor a great justice. Shahzeb Zahid Hussain as Hassan grabs you hard and eloquently in his character’s vulnerability and loyalty. As the well-to-do merchant Baba, Haythem Noor is both menacing and vulnerable in trying to find a way to identify with the son Amir.  As Soraya, Awesta Zarif is properly reserved at first, only to finally open up to Amir in that awkward, loving way that all youth discovers love.  The entire experience here is poignant and moving. And shocking. And just what theatre, in my eyes, should be. It’s not at all like humming a tune from a musical, but leaving the theatre in a thoughtful mood.  

GUEST CONTRIBUTOR | RONALD KEATON received an Equity Jeff Award for the performance of his one-man show CHURCHILL. www.solochicagotheatre.com  Coming soon, his new solo play “Echo Holler.” www.echoholler.com

PHOTO|Bekah Lynn Photography

Broadway in Chicago
presents
The Kite Runner
CIBC Theatre
through June 23, 2023

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PicksInSix Review: Love, Chaos & Dinner - Teatro ZinZanni

Teatro ZinZanni delivers high-flying entertainment!
PicksInSix® Review | Ed Tracy

There was a genuine air of excitement for the opening on Friday of Teatro ZinZanni’s 2024 summer show in the magnificent Spiegeltent ZaZou on the 14th floor of the Cambria Hotel in the heart of the Chicago Loop Theatre District. There were several birthdays being celebrated and at least one bubbly bachelorette party having fun, the revelers being set apart from the rest of the glittery crowd with rhinestone-studded foreheads and matching eye shadow. At the main entrance on Randolph just off Dearborn, there is a savvy new mascot to mark the location: a four-foot pink elephant statue that beckons you to enter. From the lobby, guests are escorted via a private elevator to the main event that combines a wide array of topflight cirque acts, music, comedy, cabaret and a four-course dinner. It is a ride we have taken often since 2019 and this unique show would typically be more than enough to get the sold-out crowd on their feet.

But there was more.

Another event last week had people buzzing well before the lights went up. Teatro ZinZanni’s extraordinary featured vocalist LiV Warfield, a Chicago-based performer from Peoria, Illinois and a veteran of prior shows, appeared on America’s Got Talent on June 4 and received a Golden Buzzer from host Simon Cowell for the performance of her original song “Stare” which equates to a direct pass to AGT’s live show finale round. Those live final episodes begin in mid-August, so Chicago audiences will have at least the next two months to make their reservations to revel in Warfield’s exceptional talent in the Belgian Spiegeltent.

The entire production is under the artistic direction of founder Norm Langill and is directed by Teatro ZinZanni veterans Kevin Kent and Elena Gattilova under the superlative musical direction of Theodis Rodgers, Jr. with choreography by Mickael Bazajet, all framed in inventive set and properties by Shauna Frasier and the stunning costumes of Debra “Beaver” M. Bauer.

In addition to Warfield and the charismatic impresario Cunio who share the soaring featured musical segments, the show features an impressive company. Kent, a seasoned comic force of nature, plays the captivating clown queen Doily (and a lovestruck aviator, Amelia) whose hilarious, over-the-top antics and clever repartee with the audience appeals to all ages. The array of international cirque acts includes the high energy hula hoop artist Vita Radionova (another AGT finalist), the astounding contortionist and foot archer Elayne Kramer, Bazajet and Vlada Romanova (Micky and Vlada) a thrilling acrobatic dancing duo, and the superb aerialist Raphael Nepomuceno.

It all adds up to a high-flying evening of non-stop entertainment complimented by a delectable four-course menu from Chef Jacob Sutter. That menu includes a variety of main course choices and an expanded offering of appetizers, entrée upgrades and specialty cocktails. The bustling service staff and immersive nature of the artists add to the festive and fun atmosphere that make Teatro ZinZanni a terrific night out to dress up and party down at one of Chicago’s most unique and exciting performance venues.  

PHOTO|Elliot Fisher

TEATRO ZINZANNI CHICAGO
presents
LOVE, CHAOS, AND DINNER
Spiegeltent ZaZou
Cambria Hotel
32 West Randolph
14th Floor
Open Run

WEBSITE

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PicksInSix Review: Blithe Spirit - Dunes Summer Theatre

“I’ll Be Loving You…Always”
PicksInSix® Review | Ed Tracy

Is there a better way to introduce an audience to a superb regional theatre production of Noël Coward’s classic farce “Blithe Spirit” at the Dunes Summer Theatre than a hauntingly beautiful performance of Irving Berlin’s immortal love song “Always” by the enchanting spirit of the play herself? It’s one of many nuanced enhancements by director Michael Lasswell who has crafted a briskly-paced comic offering for the acclaimed summer theatre that opened its 73rd season on Friday night.

The word “crafted” is not used lightly here since in addition to directing an exuberant cast in a smart, spry and entertaining production of one of Coward’s most well-known and challenging works, Lasswell also contributed a stunning 1940s era scenic design. The creative elements of this show—Emily Chidaleck’s stylish costumes accented by Arturo Pozos’s flawless lighting design and the gentle but mystical touch of Jake Tillman’s sound design—and that exquisite performance at the top by Danielle Kerr, set the tone perfectly for all the enjoyable mayhem that follows.

The “Blithe Spirit” of Coward’s title is actually Elvira Condomine (Kerr), the long-deceased first wife of British novelist Charles Condomine (Sean Kelly) who is ‘materialized’ from the otherworld by Madame Arcati (Madeline Pell), an appealingly eccentric psychic who is invited for cocktails, dinner and a séance at the Condomine manor house in southeast London. It’s all a bit of a ruse by Charles who is working on a new project and hopes to gather research into the mixed up, mystic world in which Arcati resides. What starts out as after-dinner entertainment evolves into comic chaos as Elvira answers Arcati’s call and begins to wield her own special havoc first on Charles and then on his current wife Ruth (Danielle Bilderback) for her own ends.

While Ruth tries to rationalize the erratic actions of her husband, things start to fly about and Ruth senses the very real threat that Elvira’s spirit may be settling in to stay. So, it’s up to the spiritual prowess of Madame Arcati to bring things back to normal with a spell or two of her own.

Lasswell draws fine performances from Kelly and Bilderback who have to cope with the haunting presence of Kerr’s captivating Elivira. Pell’s brilliant comic turn as Madame Arcati is a laugh-out-loud riot. Rounding out the cast is Mary Jane Britton as the Condomine’s unwavering maid, Edith, Dean Johanson as Dr. Bradman and Stacy Nelson as Mrs. Bradman.

The Dunes Summer Theatre, the oldest continually produced company in Northwest Indiana, is under the artistic direction of Chicago-based theatre artist and director Steve Scott and managing director Elise Kermani. “Blithe Spirit plays through June 16 and the summer season continues with productions of Talley’s Folly (June 28-July 14) directed by Morgan McCabe and The Bridges of Madison County (July 26-August 11) directed by Scott – exciting and promising nights of theatre for the months ahead in Michiana Shores.

PHOTO|Dunes Summer Theatre
Dunes Arts Summer Theatre
presents
BLITHE SPIRIT
Michiana Shores, Indiana
through June 16

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PicksInSix Review: Black Sunday - TimeLine Theatre Company

‘BLACK SUNDAY’ – A Captivating Cautionary Tale
PicksInSix® Review | Ed Tracy

TimeLine Theatre Company’s world premiere production of “Black Sunday” written by Chicago playwright Dolores Díaz and directed by Helen Young, is a gripping drama about life in the harrowing days leading up to Sunday, April 14, 1935, when a dust bowl of epic proportions consumed the plains states with a devastating impact that reverberated across the nation.

TimeLine’s “Black Sunday” begins with a stunning cinematic prologue that traces the ecological impact of two decades of homesteading that initially reaped the rewards of the fertile prairie land but would ultimately disrupt and destroy the natural balance of the ecosystem. Drought and an increase in the jackrabbit population led to crop failure as coyotes preyed on farm animals created a perfect storm of destruction for the once promising frontier.

In the midst of this decaying situation, homesteaders who had flocked to the west with hope of starting a new life now faced a daily battle for survival. For one family—Pa (David Parkes), Ma (Michelle Moe) and Sunny (Angela Morris)— the heightened anxiety of living in squalor and fear as the impending winds blow all around them is palpable. Pa is a defiant settler, angry and unhinged but determined to keep his family together at all costs, even in the face of life and death. Ma is increasingly haunted by visions of the future, images and dreams that manifest themselves in a crude series of drawings that could hold the key to what is to come. Sunny has known only despair and isolation in her young life and now aspires to find any way to escape the hopelessness that she feels for her situation and the ruthless nature of her father’s control over the situation.

Díaz weaves into this family drama Jesύs (Christopher Alvarenga), a Mexican migrant worker who had hoped to start a new life for his family in California and Jim (Vic Kuligoski) a minister who has attracted the attention of Sunny over her mother’s protective objections. As the days click down on this intense drama and the gritty tension of the pending storm reaches a fever pitch, emotions flare and a stunning twist is realized.

“Black Sunday” is both a brilliant historical retrospective and a captivating cautionary tale for our time about the impact of climate change on our resources. The work also shines a light on the migrant workers story of the era and comes at a time when that story is being told to a new generation. Moreover, it stands as a powerful statement—then and now—about our personal responsibility to the environment and as stewards to our resources for future generations.

And “Black Sunday” steps in line as the final production in the 25-year succession of TimeLine’s rich dramatic storytelling in their Wellington location. Over the course of the next season, TimeLine Theatre Company will produce shows in association with Court Theatre, DePaul University’s Cortelyou Commons and Writers Theatre as plans for a new home in Uptown take shape for one of Chicago’s most revered professional theatres.    

PHOTO|Liz Lauren

TIMELINE THEATRE COMPANY
presents
World Premiere
BLACK SUNDAY
615 W. Wellington Avenue
through June 29

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PicksInSix Review: Death Becomes Her - Broadway in Chicago

“Death Becomes Her” - Masterful Musical Macabomedy!
PicksInSix® Review | Ed Tracy

The world premiere of the rollicking new musical “Death Becomes Her” opened Sunday at the Cadillac Palace Theatre combining an all-star cast with eye-popping special effects for a high-flying, side-splitting show. The book by Marco Pennette, with an original score by Julia Mattison and Noel Carey, is remarkably true to the absurd 1992 film directed by Robert Zemeckis starring Meryl Streep, Goldie Hawn, Bruce Willis and Isabella Rossellini about the search for immortality.

The new show is a masterful musical macabomedy with an unmatched, award-winning creative team led by director/choreographer Christopher Gattelli with music supervision by Mary-Mitchell Campbell and an equally outstanding cast starring Megan Hilty, Jennifer Simard and Christopher Sieber as the love triangle in the sights of the mystical temptress Viola Van Horn played by Michelle Williams who promises physical perfection and “Siempre Viva” (forever life) for a not-so-small fee and some stringent strings attached.  

At the heart of the storyline is the embattled relationship between the aging actress Madeline Ashton (Hilty) and struggling author Helen Sharp (Simard) who have been competing for the other’s riches all their lives. Everything Helen has Madeline wants which includes her doctor fiancé Ernest (Sieber) who is an easy mark for the wily starlet. The two are married which spirals Helen into a nervous breakdown.

Seven years pass and while Madeline and Ernest are trapped in an unhappy, loveless marriage, Helen emerges as a youthful, successful author seeking revenge for all of the misery Madeline has wrought. As she begins to plot with Ernest to put her out of the way so the two can live happily ever after, Madeline returns from her own meeting with Viola and the two face off, well, to the death. And that’s just the beginning of Ernest’s problems to keep the two looking fresh and fit in their forever lives.

At its best, the Mattison/Carey score—with magnificent orchestrations by Doug Besterman and dance and incidental music arrangements by Sam Davis all under the music direction of Ben Cohn—is terrific as evidenced by the electrifying crowd-pleaser “For The Gaze,” showcasing Hilty and the ensemble in the show within the show. Individually, Simard’s vocal and versatile comic abilities are on full display from the tortured, outcast in “Madeline” and “Falling Apart” to vengeful ex-lover who stands up for what she believes is rightfully hers. Williams’s stoic Viola, and the cast of immortals who surround her, delivers the soaring anthems “If You Want Perfection” and “I Warned You” in high style.  Sieber shines throughout as someone we can root for in “Till Death” and “The Plan” but it is the musical duel of Hilty and Simard evidenced in “Confrontation,” “Hit Me” and “Alive Forever” that propel the show forward to life ever after.

Derek McLane robust scenic design with Justin Townsend’s dazzling lighting provides the perfect backdrop for an array of magnificent costumes by Paul Tazewell. Peter Hylenski’s sound and Rob Lake spellbinding illusions  make the Broadway-bound “Death Becomes Her” a visual feast for the senses. Previews begin in October with opening scheduled for November 21, 2024, at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, but you can see it now at the Cadillac through June 2.

PHOTO|Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman, 2024

BROADWAY IN CHICAGO
presents
World Premiere
DEATH BECOMES HER
Cadillac Palace Theatre
through June 2, 2024

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BROADWAY IN CHICAGO

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PicksInSix Review: Judgment Day - Chicago Shakespeare Theater

“WHAT GOES ON IN YOUR HEAD?”
PicksInSix® Review | Ed Tracy

There’s a deliciously hilarious show now playing in The Yard at Chicago Shakespeare Theater, a spritely, unabashed, comic romp that centers on a deceitful and wretched lawyer named Sammy Campo (Jason Alexander) who gets what everyone wants out of life: a second chance. The world premiere of “Judgment Day,” with a whip-smart, no-holds-barred script by Rob Ulin that’s loaded with laughs, casts the irrepressible Alexander as one of the most crass and insincere bottom feeders you will ever imagine, thanks as well to the crisp satiric direction of Moritz von Stuelpnagel.

Right at the top, coming on the heels of one of his greatest and most sinister of schemes, the throttled Sammy suffers a massive heart attack. During Sammy’s near-death experience, he is greeted in purgatory by an Angel (Candy Buckley) who appears to him as his former Catholic school teacher. No salvation here, though, as she welcomes the idea that Sammy will finally and forever be “attacked by pecking birds” and boiled in “flaming diarrhea” in Hell to pay for his sins.  

But, since there are always technicalities when you are dealing with matters of Heaven and Hell, Sammy is miraculously restored to the living, armed with a new mantra to accumulate points for good deeds that will realign the trajectory of his afterlife upward. All the insincerity that follows, spewing effortlessly from the irreverent Sammy Campo, begs the question: What will it take to turn this self-centered manipulator into a person worthy of the glory of Heaven?

Sammy first makes a pact with Father Michael (Daniel Breaker), a conflicted priest who jeopardizes his own well-being by ruffling the feathers of the by-the-good-book Monsignor (Michael Kostroff) by helping Sammy. There’s the hard luck story about Edna (Meg Thalken), a member of Father Michael’s congregation who is being evicted from her house for non-payment of her dead husband’s insurance claim. The third opportunity is the reconciliation with his love-lorn wife Tracy (Maggie Bofill) and son Casper (Ellis Meyers). As the relationship with Father Michael develops, Sammy reconciles with Tracy and settles in with Casper. Soon, even his steadfast and delightfully direct assistant Della (Olivia D. Dawson) begins to recognize glacial changes in Sammy’s demeanor. But the question of salvation remains to be answered and this is where “Judgment Day” must meet its maker.

In its best and most hilarious moments—and there are many—Ulin’s script clips along much like a television sitcom, dealing with our hard fast perceptions of spirituality, morality, sex and love. The lawyerly, contrary point of view that Alexander’s self-centered despot espouses is perfectly counterbalanced by Breaker’s everyman character. Ulin allows Father Michael to complete our thoughts at Sammy’s outrageous observations at every turn, whether in the confessional, on a stakeout of insurance adjuster Jackson (Joe Dempsey) or simply finding consolation and ultimately friendship on a park bench.

Beowulf Boritt’s scenic design elements transition from Sammy’s office to the confessional and Tracy’s home all framed in a massive faux stained glass backdrop that offers otherworldly opportunities for the combined efforts of Amith Chandrashaker’s lighting design, Mikaal Sulaiman’s sound and Tilly Grimes costumes. The open design allows Alexander full range of mobility, stepping in and out of scenes in search of his comic salvation in this highly entertaining piece that feels very much like it was heaven sent just for him.  

PHOTO|Liz Lauren

Chicago Shakespeare Theater
presents
World Premiere
Jason Alexander
JUDGMENT DAY
through May 26

The Yard
Navy Pier

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PicksInSix Review: Joe Turner's Come and Gone - Goodman Theatre

Riveting Performances Drive Goodman’s “Joe Turner”
PicksInSix® Review | Guest Contributor | Ronald Keaton

“A man forget his song, he forget who he is”… It was a line shared by Bynum Walker, a ‘conjure man’ whose awareness of life and people is reflected in Walker’s role as the compass, the conscience of “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone,” the staggering August Wilson play now at the Goodman Theatre through May 19.  There are several themes that flow throughout the play, all expertly articulated by Mr. Wilson—the song inside us all, identity, search, discovery, prejudice, the effect of money, the comparison of status, the supernatural, on and on.  It quietly inspires us to follow on one hand, then forcefully repels us with its stark reality on slavery and its influence on culture and society.

The story is so thick and full of imagery that it’s a real challenge to distill its essence in this forum.  It ostensibly takes place in and around the steel mills of 1911 Pittsburgh, focusing on the boarding house of Seth Holly (an easy, yet riveting portrayal by Dexter Zollicoffer), who charges guests a weekly rate “up front” and works at turning scrap metal into dustpans; and his wife Bertha (an elegant and comforting TayLar), whose natural ease belies her character’s real moral center in the house. And there’s a cast of wide-ranging tenants and visitors, whose performers all deserve kudos.

There’s the aforementioned Bynum Walker (Tim Edward Rhoze is eloquent, rock-steady and takes Walker’s purpose into firm hands); Rutherford Selig (a stoic, wonderfully deadpan Gary Houston), a peddler and ‘peoplefinder’ who visits the house on Saturdays; Herald Loomis (a dynamic presence from A.C. Smith), whose life was forever altered by ‘Joe Turner’, being kept in slavery for seven years, and whose search for his wife is both heroic and tragic; Mattie Campbell (the wonderful Nambi E. Kelley), a woman waiting for her own man to come home, but who wants to find direction through the eyes of others; and Jeremy Furlow (Anthony Fleming III in a real star turn), playing guitar, romantically preying on women and fighting his bosses all the way to unemployment.

Then there’s Molly Cunningham (Krystel V. McNeil, in a strong rendering of a character with conflicting impulses), a single woman on her own road, whose huge strain of independence tempts all the men in the house; Martha Loomis (Shariba Rivers skillfully inhabits her with both a sense of obligation and a feeling of dread), Herald’s wife, who is finally found after all the years of separation; Zonia Loomis (a simply heartbreaking presence by Kylah Renee Jones), who has accompanied her father on this endless quest at the tender age of 11; and Harper Anthony (the charming Reuben Mercer), whose scenes with Zonia result in a first kiss and a realization of growing up.

The grand Goodman spirit Chuck Smith, an avid and long-supportive interpreter of Mr. Wilson’s cycle, directs this play like a symphony conductor, with all the crescendos and quiet moments we can witness, as well as displaying Mr. Smith’s own deep affection for the playwright’s words and thoughts.  The not-so-abstract and stylish set design by Linda Buchanan shows an authority in understanding what’s needed to help tell this complex story.  And here’s something I’d like to mention.  It takes a real professional to keep this moving so smoothly and to affect how an audience perceives it all; the production stage manager Mars Wolfe surely had Mr. Smith’s vision in hand like it was personal.  Exquisite work.

Finally.  We began our reaction here with a referral to song, that we create our lives (or should) with a message of some kind.  Mr. Wilson recognizes that our message is indeed a song inside us, waiting to come out and be recognized in a world that doesn’t always know to do that.  “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone” is a truly extraordinary piece of theatre, of storytelling, of the song that resonates for all of us within the human spirit. 

GUEST CONTRIBUTOR | RONALD KEATON received an Equity Jeff Award for the performance of his one-man show CHURCHILL. www.solochicagotheatre.com  Coming soon, his new solo play “Echo Holler.” www.echoholler.com

PHOTO|Liz Lauren

GOODMAN THEATRE
presents
August Wilson’s
Joe Turner’s Come and Gone

NOW EXTENDED
through May 19

TICKETS

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PicksInSix Review: Guys and Dolls - Drury Lane Theatre

Shake the Dice. Save a Soul!
PicksInSix® Review | Ed Tracy

Looking for the oldest established permanent floating crap game in New York with tough guys packing heat and cracking wise while a couple of old-time love stories unwind in locales as exotic as Havanna and the Hot Box Club? If so, then, the rock’em sock’em revival of the 1950 Tony Award winning “Guys and Dolls” now playing at Drury Lane Oakbrook is the show for you.  

Director/choreographer Dan Knechtges with co-music directors Roberta Duchak and Chris Sargent, who also conducts, have assembled an impressive ensemble of multi-talented performers for a highly-charged production showcasing the most cherished music and lyrics of Broadway’s legendary songsmith Frank Loesser and a book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows based on Daymon Runyon’s stories and characters. The cavalcade of Loesser hits like the touching ballads “I’ll Know” and “More I Cannot Wish You,” the superb bigtime, song and dance spectacles “A Bushel and a Peck,” “Luck be a Lady,” and “Sit Down You’re Rocking the Boat,” make Drury Lane’s “Guys and Dolls” a musical extravaganza that pokes good-natured fun of the rough and tough guys and the glitzy glamor dolls from Runyon’s creative imagination.

As the story unfolds, the lovable huckster Nathan Detroit (Jackson Evans) has been unofficially engaged for 14 years to the vivacious Miss Adelaide (Alanna Lovely), headliner at the Hot Box Club. Adelaide is trying to get him to stop gambling and settle down to the life she has imagined all along. Meanwhile, Detroit and his ‘associates” Nicely-Nicely (Nkrumah Gatling) and Benny (Christopher Llewyn Ramirez) are trying to get a spot for some nightly action and stay a step or two ahead of the law in the process.

Against the backdrop of petty larceny and bawdy late night revelry, the dutiful missionary Sarah Brown (Erica Stephan), struggling to make a difference one sinner at a time at the Save-A-Soul Mission, falls hard and fast for the suave, high-stakes charmer Sky Masterson (Pepe Nufrio). When the love table turns on Sky, he finds himself suddenly searching for any way to win her back again including making good on his mark to fill up the evening prayer meeting to impress the zany General Cartwright (Heidi Kettenring) and save the mission from closing.

Drury Lane Theatre presents “Guys and Dolls” through June 9, 2024. More information and tickets HERE.

Stephan and Nufrio are perfect together. Their rich vocals and chemistry shine in the heartfelt Act I closer “My Time of Day/I’ve Never Been in Love Before.” Stephan, one of Chicago’s top performers, is simply marvelous. Nufrio’s smooth and effortless Sky is spot on in “My Time of Day,” and with the brilliant ensemble in “Luck Be a Lady.” Lovely sparkles as Adelaide, displaying excellent comedic chops in “Adelaide’s Lament” and singing, dancing and leading the Hot Box Girls in a sizzling version of “Take Back Your Mink” while chumming up with Evans’s hilarious and heartwarming Nathan for lots of laughs and their touching duet “Sue Me.”

Back at the mission, Gene Weygandt’s serves up a splendid Arvide Abernathy, Kettenring is a riot and everybody gets in the act when Gatling explodes into the rousing crowd favorite “Sit Down You’re Rocking the Boat.” Angela Weber Miller’s scenic design, framed in a glistening Broadway skyline, alternates seamlessly between the relatively solemn confines of the mission to the gritty underbelly of the city and the sultry Hot Box Club where Leon Dobkowski’s stunning costumes set the place on fire. All in, Drury Lane’s “Guys and Dolls” is a night filled of 7’s and 11’s for every high stakes roller in the audience.  

PHOTO|Brett Beiner

Drury Lane Theatre
presents
Guys and Dolls
100 Drury Lane
Oakbrook Terrace
through June 9, 2024

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PicksInSix Review: Peter Pan-Broadway in Chicago

Take Flight with Reimagined PETER PAN!
PicksInSix® Review | Guest Contributor | Kaitlyn Linsner

“Peter Pan” opened in a limited run at the James N. Nederlander Theatre on Wednesday night with an audience full of children eager to watch the beloved characters soar off to Neverland. The wholesome production, directed by Lonny Price, maintains much of the magic of the original musical. Everyone was delighted the moment Peter Pan (Nolan Almeida) flies on stage to later search for and grapple with his mischievous shadow. In fact, all of the flying scenes are such fun with the best being the remarkable staging of the initial flight of Peter and the Darling children to Neverland.

This version also re-conceptualizes the story in important and necessary ways to create a more inclusive and less harmful portrayal of women and indigenous characters. These changes come from the additional book of Native American playwright Larissa FastHorse. Her telling gives a long overdue backstory to Tiger Lily (Raye Zaragoza) and the indigenous tribe now inhabiting Neverland. Each tribe member is the last of their people who have taken refuge on the island to preserve their culture before returning home someday. Tiger Lily and Peter also team up to run the island, and the two of them plus Wendy (Hawa Kamara) fight together against the pirates.

All of this is a great refresh to the original musical yet the production lacks depth and caters to a very young crowd. The narrative and dialogue only scratch the surface in addressing the full range of emotions and themes that have drawn so many into the story of a boy who refuses to grow up. “Peter Pan” focuses on innocence and imagination, and in turn leaves behind the more profound and at times darker feelings that arise when exploring concepts like home, preserving memories, motherhood and aging.

The musical is at its best, then, when leaning into spirited and cheerful musical numbers such as a tap dance from the Lost Boys and stage turtles, and when Peter Pan, Tiger Lily and the full company perform “Friends Forever” with endearing choreography and such heart.

Singularly, the actors do well in portraying their characters. Almeida plays Peter with confidence and charm. Kamara’s Wendy is warm and strong. Cody Garcia’s theatrics as Captain Hook are extravagant and entertaining. The pirates as a whole, though did not come across as gritty villains but instead goofy and cartoonish.

Yet, “Peter Pan” still brings plenty of enchantment to Chicago and will have many young audience members in wonder. The show runs through April 7.

GUEST CONTRIBUTOR | KAITLYN LINSNER is a Chicago-based attorney practicing construction and surety law.

PHOTO|Matthew Murphy

Broadway in Chicago
presents
PETER PAN
James N. Nederlander Theatre
through April 7, 2024

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PicksInSix Review: Jersey Boys - Mercury Theater Chicago

Sweet, Sassy, Success Story, Richly Told!
PicksInSix® Gold Review | Ed Tracy

After an electrifying opening on Thursday night at Mercury Theater Chicago,  “Jersey Boys,” the mega-hit Tony Award-winning musical has officially launched its first regional production in Chicagoland. Get in step, folks. This will be the hot ticket to get in town!

The Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice book follows the origin story of The Four Seasons, one of the top selling vocal groups of their, or any, time told from the perspective of each of the four guys who traded up from a Newark street corner to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame – Tommy DeVito (Adrian Aguilar), Nick Massi (Jason Michael Evans), Bob Gaudio (Andrew MacNaughton) and Frankie Valli (Michael Metcalf).

JERSEY BOYS: The Story of Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons at Mercury Theater Chicago through May 19, 2024.

Along the way, all night long, the memorable Bob Gaudio and Bob Crewe hits keep coming, backed by the highly-charged Mercury Theater band under co-musical directors Eugene Dizon and Linda Madonia, and with choreography by Christopher Chase Carter, all under the co-stage direction of L. Walter Stearns and Brenda Didier.

And everyone on and off stage make it look easy, something that this magnificent show is decidedly not. With over 30 numbers, lots of moving parts, and barely over a dozen players covering numerous roles, Mercury’s “Jersey Boys” is a sweet, sassy, success story, richly told. Things move along at lightning speed on Bob Knuth’s mammoth, two-story scenic design framed with G. “Max” Maxin IV graphics that serve to both reinforce the story and provide multiple visual surprises. With Rachel Boylan’s costumes, lighting by Denise Karzcewski and Stephanie M. Senior’s sound design, this marvelous production is everything you could hope for.

The show also serves as a right of passage for a very select group of actor/singers at the top of their craft who can navigate a musical marathon of intricate harmonies, stage show choreography and the rigorous ebb and flow of a dramatic story that allows for multiple narrators to tell their own version of the story about friendship, family, overcoming obstacles and achieving success.

The multi-layered Mercury creative team hit solid gold with this extraordinary cast. Aguilar’s gritty, commanding portrayal of Tommy DeVito, the hardened, street smart leader of the group, propels the origin story forward at the outset while Evans’s superb, more introspective, troubled Nick Massi wins us over, particularly when the stress of keeping up wears him out.

The teaming of MacNaughton and Metcalf is inspired. MacNaughton’s pure voice and vocal range add depth to the musical mix and Metcalf has all the right stuff for the demanding vocal range and lush delivery of Frankie Valli—a star turn of the first order—charming and poised, with just the right mix of confidence and vulnerability.

Grant Alexander Brown shines as the ebullient matchmaker Joe Pesci. Starmaker producer/songwriter Bob Crewe is played by the multi-faceted Adam Fane who hires the group as backup singers to his corral of recording artists and becomes the pivotal driving force in their success co-writing with Gaudio. It’s in Crewe’s studio where the transformation begins, their unique sound starts to coalesce and the show throttles up. And true to the real-life rags-to-riches story, Gaudio delivers the chart busting hit they have been waiting for and “Sherry” vaults the Four Seasons on to fame, fortune and all the trappings that follow.

From top to bottom, strong supporting performances from the ensemble are delivered by Dan Gold (Nick DeVito), Eric A. Lewis (Barry Belson), Kayla Shipman (Mary), Jason Richards (Norm Waxman), Haley Jane Schafer (Lorraine), Carl Herzog (Gyp) and Maya McQueen (Francine).

When we get through the drama of it all, Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons find their place in history, and Mercury’s “Jersey Boys” is on a path all its own–another milestone run on Southport for the foreseeable future.

Oh, what a night, indeed!  

PHOTO|Liz Lauren

Mercury Theater Chicago
presents
JERSEY BOYS
3745 N Southport Avenue
EXTENDED through July 28, 2024

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PicksInSix Review: PURPOSE - Steppenwolf Theatre Company

Steppenwolf’s Sterling “PURPOSE” Examines Family Dynamic.
PicksInSix® Review | Guest Contributor | Ronald Keaton

“I need to find my path again…” Thus spoke the Jasper family patriarch Solomon “Sonny” Jasper at the end of a challenging evening of family dynamic and self-examination.  Every character in this sterling production of “PURPOSE,” now playing at Steppenwolf Theatre through April 28 in the Downstairs Theater, hits a point in their lives on this particular day where each could utter these same words.  And the marvelous playwright Brandon Jacobs-Jenkins has seen to it that the audience has plenty of emotional and intellectual subject matter to chew on vigorously. I love a play that makes its viewers think in the moment, as it moves along its storytelling.

Indeed, the title is the rudder that pushes this piece forward.  We begin with an appearance by the youngest family member, Naz (our narrator and chief character focus in the play done in wondrous, properly questioning tones by Jon Michael Hill), whom we find has completed a trip to the Canadian wilderness in his newly-found avocation as nature photographer.  He’s left the divinity school that Sonny (Harry Lennix in a strong, dominant gait and attitude) has so wanted for that son, because his calling seems different. Meanwhile, his older brother Solomon Jr. (where Glenn Davis fully shines with who is arguably the most problem-laden character in the play) has just been released from prison for embezzlement and trying to find his way again.  In the meantime, Junior’s wife Morgan (an almost unrecognizable Alana Arenas, full of proper anger and consternation at a family so totally aware of its public image), is about to serve time herself for tax evasion.

In the midst of all this is the mother figure Claudine (Tamara Tunie is a real wonder here as she expertly offers a matriarch with hugely enabling responsibilities), whose awareness of the family’s public persona is always on guard and on point. She and the entire clan are surprised at the arrival in the middle of a snowstorm by Naz’s friend Aziza (Ayanna Bria Bakari in a generous and altogether charming portrayal), whose presence is necessary because she and Naz have haphazardly tried to help her have a baby, her own unique search for peace and purpose.

Every character in the play eventually finds a point where that wall of ‘purpose’ is prepared for the scaling. Jacobs-Jenkins knows his as a playwright, having assembled these characters in an almost epic-telling that ranks with the best this writer has witnessed in recent years.  Director Phylicia Rashad has helped map out the paths walked by these characters with genuine care and affection.  It is unmistakable that this play is an authentic comparison with the accomplished and colorful family of Jesse Jackson. Rashad helps us care deeply about the Jasper family, even in the middle of all the emotional chaos, with loving and gentle strokes. This production only enhances the Steppenwolf mystique as the American template for ensemble theatrical presentation.

“PURPOSE” brought to mind one of my favorite quotes. From the pen of American author/poet Stephen Crane:

A man said to the universe:
“Sir, I exist!”
“However,” replied the universe,
“The fact has not created in me
A sense of obligation.”

Hence, the search for one’s own purpose. And we all get to be a part of it.  

GUEST CONTRIBUTOR | RONALD KEATON received an Equity Jeff Award for the performance of his one-man show CHURCHILL. www.solochicagotheatre.com  Coming soon, his new solo play “Echo Holler.” www.echoholler.com
PHOTO: Michael Brosilow

Steppenwolf Theatre Company
presents

No Man’s Land

Downstairs Theater
1650 N. Halsted St.
EXTENDED
through May 12, 2024

(312) 335-1650

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PicksInSix Review: The Matchbox Magic Flute - Goodman Theatre

Reduced Retelling with Epically Goofy Grandeur!
PicksInSix® Review | Guest Contributor | Scott Gryder

The star-swirled proscenium of the Goodman’s Owen Theatre playfully invoked the essence of a childhood bedroom, ripe with stories to be told, creating the perfect backdrop for the opening night/world premiere performance of Mary Zimmerman’s “The Matchbox Magic Flute.” A spirited reworking of a centuries-old tale, this playful mini-rendition is the perfect introduction to the piece and the artform of classical storytelling, while maintaining a respectful reverence for the opera’s origin.

“The Matchbox Magic Flute” follows the adventures and trials of Prince Tamino, your stock prince charming. Along the way, he makes a bird-brained friend, Papageno, and they are tasked with finding and rescuing the Queen of the Night's daughter, Pamina, who’s been captured by a sinister fiend. A completely family-friendly event, this production takes the original Singspiel source material of Mozart’s “The Magic Flute” and powders it with a more floral, playful Gilbert & Sullivan operetta flair.

In keeping with the original operatic style, “The Matchbox Magic Flute” weaves together a spellbinding storytelling through song, with very minimal moments of dialogue, and the star-studded cast commits full tilt. In a way, as the text has been thinned, the characterizations and their goals have been inflated. Of the trio of Ladies, reminiscent of the witchy sisters of Hocus Pocus, First Lady Lauren Molina truly captures the manic intensity of over-the-top subtext, while later naturally transforming into the frolicking and foul beloved Papagena. As Tamino, the always-handsome Billy Rude plays a dependable Prince. Although beautifully layered in vocal range, Rude lacks a solid singing line in comparison to the rest of the cast. Speaking of, watch out, Maria Callas! The fierce, fiery vocals of Emily Rohm’s Queen of the Night truly strike fear in all hearts who share her stage! Even her dress flows with a magma-like rage as her vocal acrobatics sear. And, like mother, like daughter, Marlene Fernandez’s Pamina warbles a range of deep richness, while also enchanting with a soaring soprano. Pair Fernandez with the clownish Papageno of Shawn Pfautsch, part Piglet/part Tigger, and their schmaltzy repartee is endearing and amusing. Most vocally soothing is Keanon Kyles as Sarastro, whose basso profondo delivers chills and thrills.

Whether you’re a fan of the original story, or hardly familiar with it at all, you’ll be truly captivated by Chicago-favorite Mary Zimmerman’s adaptation and direction. Zimmerman is no stranger to this elevated artform, with a resume reaching all the way to the Metropolitan Opera. What she does with “The Matchbox Magic Flute” is combine her knack for musical theater timing with the grandeur strokes of opera, creating a youthful retelling. For the music, while lyrics sometimes edge more toward basic rather than inventive, music adaptors and arrangers Amanda Dehnert and Andre Pluess refreshingly revive these original melodies, succinctly capturing the frothy character motivations.

The more petite venue of the Owen Theatre helps to capture the matchbox concept of the show, further instilling the image that “The Matchbox Magic Flute” could be boxed up and set on wheels to travel from town to town, with a Jack in the Box ease. Even the dual role casting throughout emphasizes the traveling troupe aesthetic. Set designer Todd Rosenthal leans into the collapsible concept with tracked, sliding flats and effortlessly spun walls, painted pastorally and with brocade patterns. And what a delightful concept to have the orchestra in a raised pit at the foot of the stage, bringing the musicians into the action, sometimes literally, within arm’s reach of the vaudeville style stage.

The production elements of “The Matchbox Magic Flute” are so cleanly executed, it’s as if you could simply close the door on the Owen, latch it securely and then carry this marvelous musical moment onto another venue entirely; opening it like a music box to reveal the same darling show on the move. For patrons who don’t fancy themselves operagoers, or for anyone wishing to dabble in the genre, “The Matchbox Magic Flute” satisfies. The sure sign of a winning musical experience is when the melodies linger in your ear as you leave. And how could these tuneful masterpieces not, especially when so daringly and darlingly delivered? Bravi tutti!  

GUEST CONTRIBUTOR | SCOTT GRYDER received a Non-Equity Jeff Award for his performance in the one-man show BUYER & CELLAR. www.thescottgryder.com

PHOTO|Liz Lauren

Goodman Theatre
presents
The Matchbox Magic Flute
Adapted and Directed By Mary Zimmerman
EXTENDED
through March 24, 2024

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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: Fiddler on the Roof - Drury Lane Theatre

Even “Old Ways Were Once New.” 
PicksInSix® Review | Guest Contributor | Kaitlyn Linsner

Drury Lane Theatre winds up its 2023/2024 season with a heartfelt production of the Tony Award-winning classic “Fiddler on the Roof” featuring music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick and book by Joseph Stein. Set in the Pale of Settlement of Imperial Russia in 1905, this cherished musical centers on Tevye (Mark David Kaplan), an endearing milkman with five daughters, facing challenges to his Jewish religion and cultural traditions as change approaches the village of Anatevka. 

Director Elizabeth Margolius describes “Fiddler on the Roof” as a “memory play” and decided to approach the tale completely from Tevye’s memory. In the program notes, Margolius writes: “This new, evocative approach to Fiddler on the Roof puts the focus on the people in hopes of illuminating this story as never before and inspiring us to question who we are and what we will leave behind for future generations.”  

The minimal yet highly effective scenic design by Jack Magaw combined with the beautiful projection design of Mike Tutaj creates a deeply imaginative space for the audience to truly see the depths of the characters and the legacies that shape them. The projected images and video artfully transform the set to Tevye’s dreamscape in the musical number “The Dream” as he convinces Golde (Janna Cardia) that Motel (Michael Kurowski) is the right husband for their daughter Tzeitel (Emma Rosenthal). Kaplan and Cardia are an absolute delight. 

Other notable musical numbers include Kurowski’s spirited performance of “Miracle of Miracles” and the celebratory “To Life” by Kaplan, Lazar Wolf (Joel Gelman) and the company of villagers. Yael Chanukov shines as Hodel, and as a whole, the cast sings, moves and dances well together on stage with a warm chemistry. 

Fiddler on the Roof at Drury Lane Theatre Oakbrook through March 24, 2024.

Kaplan plays Tevye with excellent comedic timing and whimsy. He also skillfully portrays a father being tested by the actions of his three oldest daughters. The asks from his daughters become increasingly difficult (“unthinkable!”) as they each seek modern, non-arranged but different marriages. Tevye must grapple with first being asked for permission to marry, then his blessing and lastly only for his acceptance. Where does a father draw the line and what does the good book say about evolving relationships with those you love? 

Embrace these questions and more in this beloved show now playing through March 24, 2024 at the Drury Lane Theatre. 

GUEST CONTRIBUTOR | KAITLYN LINSNER is a Chicago-based attorney practicing construction and surety law.

PHOTO|Brett Beiner

Drury Lane Theatre
presents
Fiddler on the Roof
100 Drury Lane
Oakbrook Terrace
through March 24, 2024

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PicksInSix Review: In The Heights - Marriott Theatre

Marriott’s ‘Heights” Bursts With Celebratory Spirit!

PicksInSix® Review | Ed Tracy

Usnavi has a dream to escape, like everyone on his block in Washington Heights. And those few hot days in July play out in what is sure to be a blockbuster revival of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s “In The Heights” that looks and sounds as fresh and vibrant as ever at Marriott Theatre Lincolnshire. The strong sense of family unfolds in a neighborhood teeming with a celebratory spirit that is so inherently baked into this show it erupts again and again with uncontrollable passion and hopeful promise. Look no further than the rousing Act II “Carnaval del Barrio” which prompted a thunderous ovation and the waving of flags in the audience. Not the usual Wednesday opening night in Lincolnshire to be sure.

It is hard to believe that Miranda created what would become “In The Heights” twenty-five years ago when he was a sophomore in college. With thirteen 2008 Tony Award nominations and four wins including Best Musical and Best Musical Score, there was no doubt that Broadway had welcomed a new force of nature—a playwright, composer, lyrist and performer whose talents speak for and to generations of performers of Latino decent—and just about everyone else on the planet, as well.

And that other revelatory musical by Miranda “Hamilton” would arrive little more than seven years later.

Director James Vásquez has hit the mark and assembled an astounding cast around the gifted Joseph Morales as Usnavi, who essayed the role on the first Broadway national tour. Conceived by Miranda with a book by Quiara Alegria Hudes, Usnavi runs a bodega with his cousin Sonny (Jordan Arredondo) who is prodding Usnavi to take the next step with Vanessa (Paola V. Hernández). When Vanessa’s best friend Nina (Addie Morales) returns home and announces to her parents Camila (Cruz Gonzalez-Cadel) and Kevin (Rudy Martinez) that she lost her Stamford scholarship, Kevin makes the decision to sell the family business to fund her education. All that does not sit well with Nina or her mother and turns into a standoff with longtime employee Benny (Yasir Muhammad), who is Black and in love with Nina. Everyone in the neighborhood knows the score, too, as the delightful gadabout Daniela (Lillian Castillo) who runs the salon with Carla (Michelle Lauto), along with Sonny, begin to stir the pot to get everyone together.

“In The Heights” now playing at Marriott Theatre Lincolnshire through March 17, 2024.

Abuela Claudia (Crissy Guerro), a kindred spirit to Usnavi and everyone in the neighborhood, has a windfall that just might bring financial security to those around her. It’s an emotional roller coaster ride when the power goes out during the July 4th celebration and everyone “In The Heights” realizes that the most important thing in life is being there for each other. You will find yourself deliriously swept away by the music, directed by Ryan T. Nelson and conducted by Noah Landis, and the nonstop exuberance of William Carlo Angulo’s choreography, of which one patron of a certain age said to me on the way out, “I wish I could bottle up that energy and take it home!”

I could not agree more.  

PHOTO|Liz Lauren

Marriott Theatre Lincolnshire
presents
In The Heights
through March 17, 2024

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PicksInSix Review: Highway Patrol - Goodman Theatre

Like Nothing You Will Ever See.
PicksInSix® Review | Ed Tracy

It may appear glamorous, but the life of a lead actor in a hit television series is, by all accounts from those in the know, a bit of a grind. Long hours in preparation memorizing lines, early morning makeup calls, missed holidays and family gatherings, and the interminable wait time between takes are a way of life for the months that the show is in production. Around the edges of all this activity, it’s a challenge to maintain somewhat of a normal life and to keep the business side of entertainment moving forward while maintaining a personal life. And then there are matters of the heart. And sleep. And wine.

The charming Dana Delany, whose career includes a string of long-running hits like China Beach and Body of Proof— the kind of success that most actors can only dream of having—appears to be one of the fortunate ones who can take all it in stride, even as she admits there has been little time to pursue the joy and the fulfillment of what it means to have a meaningful relationship. Even when those opportunities did come along she could not always be present and things went nowhere.

All that changed in October 2012 when Delany was wrapping up the last few months of filming Body of Proof which is the point of reference for the opening scene of “Highway Patrol,” a fact-based memoir of sorts that peers into Delany’s daily life on and off the set. The network has asked the usually private Delany to embrace Twitter to build a social following for the show. Although somewhat reluctant at first, Delany soon dives in enthusiastically and the interaction with fans begins to fill a void in her life.

One of those fans is an inquisitive young boy named Cam (Thomas Murphy Molony) who was different. He was encouraging, thoughtful, brave and persistent. The relationship between the two deepened, encouraged by her friend and fellow actor, Peter Gallagher, due to the nature of Cam’s terminal disease and in cooperation with Cam’s guardian and grandmother Nan (Dot Marie Jones). In a few short weeks, Delany was communicating regularly to make the boy’s final days bright and meaningful, sending photos and telling his story to close friends and to those around her on the set.

“Highway Patrol,” which opened Tuesday night at Goodman, is based on Delany’s digital archive of her experience in text messages that have been curated by playwright Jen Silverman. Delany, a superbly engaging central star who has an arresting presence on stage throughout the play, is narrative storyteller. The show—created by Delany, Silverman, director Mike Donohue and scenic designer Dane Laffrey—moves with precision over the course of two-acts, retelling a captivating story that, at times, defies belief except that at every turn we know this all happened. Delany gives a stunningly poised performance, as if she were recounting these events in a more intimate setting than Goodman’s 856-seat Albert that was filled to capacity.

That same ease of delivery is highlighted in Molony’s endearing performance as Cam who is making his Goodman debut. And although it would be unfair to give more away about their relationship in what becomes a fascinating and intriguing thriller, watching Delany’s story unfold made for a marvelous night of theatre. Like nothing you will ever see.      

PHOTO|Liz Lauren

Goodman Theatre
presents

HIGHWAY PATROL
through February 18, 2024

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PicksInSix Review: Anything Goes - Porchlight Music Theatre

Blow Gabriel! Murphy is Heaven Sent!
PicksInSix® Review | Ed Tracy

Porchlight Music Theatre celebrates the Chicago Cole Porter Festival and launches their 29th Season with a sparkling, effervescent 90th anniversary production of “Anything Goes” superbly directed by Michael Weber featuring Meghan Murphy in a big, boisterous star turn as the seaworthy siren Reno Sweeney. The book by Timothy Crouse and John Weidman, was adapted for the 1987 Broadway revival from the 1934 original by P.C. Woodhouse, Guy Bolton, Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It tells the story of an oceanic crossing with a zany cast of characters with Murphy’s Sweeney at the delectable center of Porter’s most beloved music and lyrics.

Luke Nowakowski shines in the role of Billy Crocker who yearns for Hope Harcourt (played beautifully by Emma Ogea) even as he falls in with a gangster named Moonface Martin (an inspired performance by Steve McDonaugh) and his partner Erma (a scintillating Tafadzwa Diener) who all want to flip the tables on the wedding between Harcourt and Lord Evelyn Oakleigh (Jackson Evans). At the matinee on Saturday, Evans—in one of the most hilarious of his many stage appearances to date—and Murphy create an irresistible comic cosmos in “The Gypsy in Me” that literally brought tears to my eyes. In the end, of course, love conquers all and everything works out, except for a few clay pigeons off the starboard bow and anyone who actually sold their Amalgamated stock.

Under the lush musical direction of Nick Sula, Porter’s rich, melodic score comes vibrantly alive in “You’re The Top,” “Friendship” and “It’s De-lovely.” And when conductor Linda Madonia’s band kicks into high gear, it’s time to clear the decks for Tammy Mader’s rock-solid, toe-tapping choreography—and one of the finest singing and dancing ensembles seen on a Porchlight stage—to blast the big production numbers like “Anything Goes,” and “Blow, Gabriel Blow” straight to the heavens, with Murphy leading the way.

Jeffrey D. Kmiec’s magnificent two-story ship deck is dressed in navy blue and white with seaworthy stairs that frame a series of three revolving doors providing access to the main stage area. Kmiec’s masterfully sturdy design, complete with ship’s railing and arched pylons, reveals more than a few surprises along the way.

Under the steady hand of artistic director Michael Weber, Porchlight Music Theatre has built a superb reputation for developing exceptional new talent. In recent years, on the intimate Ruth Page Center for the Arts main stage, the company has forged full steam ahead through harsh winds and heavy seas to stay on course despite the challenges that the performing arts community has been navigating. Weber and Executive Director Jeannie Lukow’s bold, innovative, award-winning, musical productions include a long list of outstanding veteran performers like the late Hollis Resnick in a memorable production of “Sunset Boulevard,” E. Faye Butler’s showstopping performance as Mama Rose in “Gypsy” and Broadway veteran Felicia P. Fields in “Blues in the Night” who elevate the performances of everyone around them to new heights.

Add the exquisite Meghan Murphy to the company of Chicago’s all-time brightest stars. What a performance. What a show! 

PHOTO|Liz Lauren

PORCHLIGHT MUSIC THEATRE
presents
ANYTHING GOES
Ruth Page Center for the Arts
EXTENDED
through March 10, 2024

WEBSITE

TICKETS

DIGITAL PROGRAM

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PicksInSix Review: It's a Wonderful Life: Live in Chicago!-American Blues Theater

A New Home. An Enduring Classic!
PicksInSix® Review|Ed Tracy

American Blues Theater has officially opened their permanent home—the first in the 35-year history of the professional theater company in Chicago—and they did it in grand style with the 22nd annual production of the holiday chestnut “It’s a Wonderful Life: Live in Chicago!” The theatrical tradition—a family show with a message for the young at heart—is year after year ABT’s delightful homespun offering. On Sunday afternoon, the show took on special meaning as the first to officially christen the 137-seat main stage with music, mirth and merriment that makes it the perfect choice to ring in the season.

The live radio show— based on the short story The Greatest Gift by Philip Van Doren Stern that was the basis for the 1946 Frank Capra film—is under the direction of longtime Executive Artistic Director Gwendolyn Whiteside and features Christmas carols, local “on-air“ commercials, audience shout-outs and a warm, engaging show that looks, feels and sounds—thanks to Foley artist J.G. Smith—every bit like a broadcast from the 1940s. That is except when music director Michael Mahler is delightfully churning out a holiday parody to a familiar REO Speedwagon tune in the pre-show. That’s one of several clever additions to previous sing-alongs I have attended. The ensemble was having a blast warming up the audience prior to the main event—a 90-minute true-to-telling of one of the most heartfelt of all holiday stories about the fateful day in Bedford Falls when George Bailey learns from his guardian angel Clarence that no man is failure who has friends.

Returning with gusto for his seventh run on the Bailey Building and Loan, Brandon Dahlquist has the corner on George Bailey, delivering a marvelously sensitive and present performance—a fine balance between familiarity with the material and navigating the limitations of the radio play format where scenic elements and props are all but non-existent, unless they make a sound. We are truly moved by George’s anguish as he struggles to confess his love for Mary—beautifully portrayed by Audrey Billings— and the explosive frustration unleashed upon Manny Buckley’s befuddled Uncle Billy when Billy is duped by Mr. Potter (played superbly by Joe Dempsey) and threatens the solvency of Bailey’s Building and Loan setting the wheels in motion for George’s frenzied emotional collapse. George’s redemption may be the most familiar part of this story, but Dahlquist keeps the dramatic tension fresh, coming literally unhinged at the sight of the world without him a player in it.

Along with Mahler, who shines as announcer and pianist, the company includes Dara Cameron, Mahler’s real-life spouse who is lovely as Violet and Zuzu; the multi-talented Ian Paul Custer and versatile Buckley, who collectively have many of the most heartfelt and touching moments in the show. At the opening press performance on Sunday, Cameron was honored by the onstage company for her longtime service and contributions. Richly deserved!

Over the years, I look forward to coming back to “It’s a Wonderful Life: Live in Chicago!” In 2016, I recorded a delightful conversation with Wendy Whiteside together with then-Foley artist Shawn Goudy on main stage at The Greenhouse Theater. It was Dahlquist’s first year and the 15th for the late John Mohrien whose performance as Clarence/Potter was broadcast in a memorable pandemic era broadcast that elevated my deep respect and admiration for the ABT Ensemble who have continued to adapt, enhance and deliver truly inspired work at venues across Chicagoland.

Brandon Dahlquist (George Bailey) and Joe Dempsey (Mr. Potter) in the 2023 American Blues Theater production of “It’s a Wonderful Life: Live in Chicago!” now playing through December 31, 2023. Video|The Stage Channel

As much as their sparkling new home is a labor of love and an extraordinary accomplishment for Whiteside, the ABT Board and Artistic Ensemble, it is just the beginning. The new facility has a second, small flexible rehearsal studio that will serve as a venue for other theatrical companies and, altogether, a stunning cultural anchor for the neighborhood and lots of old and new friends.  

PHOTO|Michael Brosilow

American Blues Theater
presents
It’s a Wonderful Life: Live in Chicago!
through December 31, 2023

5627 N. Lincoln
(773) 654-3103

WEBSITE | TICKETS

2023 BACKSTAGE GUIDE

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PicksInSix Review: BOOP! The Musical - Broadway in Chicago

“BOOP! The Musical” Has It All!
PicksInSix® Gold Review | Ed Tracy

When the stunning new show “BOOP! The Musical” arrives on Broadway next year, a new generation will discover the iconic Betty Boop through the spellbinding performance of Jasmine Amy Rogers in the title role, and through the eyes of one of their own—16 year-old pop media phenom Angelica Hale, making her stage debut as Betty’s new pint-sized BFF.  

At the magical moment that Betty catapults into present day Comicon from her cartoon world of the 1930s, she is searching to both escape the adulation of her own time and to satisfy her yearning to discover an answer to the pivotal question: “Who am I?” Upon arrival, she finds a vibrant world in the radiant colors of the rainbow, none of which she knows by name. She also has a predilection to put an ‘L’ in everything, so her new marshmallow world is “plurple.”

It's the black, white and red-hot opening sequence of “BOOP! The Musical” with Rogers as the charming, charismatic, and confident heroine created by illustrator, animator and cartoon innovator Max Fleischer who revolutionized the graphic technology of the day, merging illustrations and live action to create whimsical cartoon series and shorts featuring Betty Boop, Popeye and a cavalcade of quirky characters who morph from inanimate objects to all forms of comic incarnations.

The world premiere of “BOOP!” opened Wednesday at Chicago's CIBC Theatre. After years in development, there is now a dream team in place for the Broadway-bound project directed and choreographed by multi-Tony Award winner Jerry Mitchell, the first musical venture by Grammy and Emmy award-winning composer/producer David Foster with lyrics by Susan Birkenhead (“Jelly’s Last Jam”) and book by Bob Martin (“Drowsy Chaperone,” “Elf”). The creative team includes a spectacular scenic design by David Rockwell that is beautifully enhanced by Finn Ross’s projections and Gareth Owen’s sound design, Philip S. Rosenberg’s lighting and the stunning costumes of Greg Barnes.

With big, boisterous dance numbers, tender ballads, an extraordinary scenic landscape and masterful illusions courtesy of Skylar Fox, “BOOP!” has it all. It's a love story—three actually—but even more it’s a free-spirited and endearing comedy that has a message for all of us about who we are and the impact we can make on the world and the people in it.

At Comicon, Betty collides with Dwayne (Ainsley Melham) a jazz musician and for maybe the first time, Betty senses an attraction. Overcome by her new surroundings, Betty forges a friendship with Trisha (Hale) a young fan and aspiring artist in need of a little confidence of her own. It doesn't take long before we find that Trisha lives with her aunt Carol (Anastacia McCleskey), who serves as manager for the New York City mayoral campaign of Raymond Demerest (Erich Bergen) and Carol’s brother, who just happens to be Dwayne. The hook is set and a youthful love story begins to unfold.

Back in early 30s, the studio directors, Aubie Merrylees and Ricky Schroder, are in a tizzy when they discover that Betty is nowhere to be found. Grampy (Stephen DeRosa) realizes that Betty’s absence will have a disastrous impact on their present and the future, so he embarks on a cross-dimensional journey of his own with his dog Pudgy (the brilliant marionette artist Phillip Huber). In Times Square he meets up with Valentina (Faith Prince) a retired NASA scientist who is still holding a torch for Grampy that was lit 40 years earlier. At first on a quest to find Betty before it’s too late, Grampy discovers that the fire is still smoldering between the two.

The cat’s out of the bag on the secret that Betty Boop is now alive in the present when she shows up and brings the house down at Nellie’s Place, the jazz club where Dwayne is trying to get a regular gig. Once the news is public, the corrupt Demerest, the King of Waste, tries to hitch his dump truck, and whatever else he has at his disposal, to Betty’s instant celebrity. But it’s Betty who turns the tables on the plan and as always, love wins out overall.  

Martin’s book moves briskly and effortlessly with zingers and easter eggs, old and new, along the way. Musically, Foster has infused the score with a plethora of styles from jazz and pop to some socko Broadway show tunes that allow Mitchell a full range of dance routines for the superb, multi-talented ensemble. Among the highlights, Rogers leads the ensemble in the opening “A Little Versatility,” “My New York” and “In Color,” and the show is at full throttle for the truly sensational Act I closer “Where I Wanna Be.”

World Premiere of “BOOP ! The Musical” at Broadway in Chicago’s CIBC Theatre through December 24, 2023.

Price and DeRosa shine in “A Cure for Love” and the touching “Together, You and Me.” Melham joins Schroder and Probst for “Sunlight” and delivers a blissful “She Knocks Me Out.” Hale’s powerful “Portrait of Betty” is a smash and the lovely “My Hero” with Rogers is one of the show’s many highlights.

It all comes down to Rogers though, whose radiant stage presence is all at once inquisitive, vulnerable and decisive as she evolves to the real version of who she will become: a loving role model of strength and independence.

Rogers’s charismatic performance of “Something to Shout About” is a showstopper. After taking center stage surrounded by a glistening celestial panorama, she steps decisively and defiantly forward and, in that one moment, appears larger-than-life, captivating the audience and signaling the presence of a star.

That she is.  

PHOTO|Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman

Broadway in Chicago
presents the
World Premiere of
BOOP! The Musical
CIBC Theatre
through December 24, 2023

TICKETS
SHOW WEBSITE

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