PicksInSix Review: Hymn - Chicago Shakespeare Theater

Crisp, Compelling ‘HYMN’ at Chicago Shakes.
PicksInSix® Review | Ed Tracy

Lolita Chakrabarti’s absorbing new play “Hymn” that opened Saturday at Chicago Shakespeare Theater’s Courtyard Theater directed by Ron OJ Parson features two of Chicago’s most accomplished actors, Chiké Johnson and James Vincent Meredith. The show follows two 50ish Black men who share much more than the fact that their birthdays are a few days apart. That fact may be enough to set up what follows without blatantly divulging the other, more significant, genetic marker they have in common.

“Hymn” plays out in a series of scenes set in South Side Chicago over the course of a year in the lives of Benny (Johnson), a logistics professional and family man who grew up in a tough neighborhood and Gil (Meredith), whose father, an accomplished dry cleaning business owner has recently passed. Gil has been engaged as a partner in the family operation that has allowed an affluent lifestyle. When we first meet Benny, things are a bit unhinged.

Early on we discover some radical lifestyle differences. While Benny attended public school in Englewood, Gil graduated from prestigious Saint Ignatius. Both are tentative at first, understandably wary on many levels. That all dissolves away into a fast and meaningful friendship, sharing common experiences, life lessons and future dreams with a strong, fulfilling brotherhood developing. Gil is welcomed into Benny’s family and a warm, respectful kinship takes hold. Things turn quickly though as other forces beyond their control eventually come into play and the partnership that started with such promise is suddenly in serious jeopardy.

Chakrabarti’s characters are superbly defined and Johnson and Meredith are excellent in this 100 minute drama. Parson, a multiple Jeff award-winning director in his first production at Shakes, skillfully maneuvers the ebb and flow of the action as the men rekindle experiences missed from an earlier era through the music of their lives. These are two wonderfully warm and genuine performances filled with sincerity and humor.

Scenic/projections designer Rasean Davonté Johnson has replicated an elegant, wood hewed set on the Courtyard Theatre’s thrust stage with multi-purpose benches on each side with elaborate drops that frame the various projections. Jason Lynch’s lighting and Yvonne Miranda’s costumes complete the savory visual landscape. There is a definite wink and a nod in the timely use of music to punctuate the story, much a part of the script and expertly executed by sound designer and composer Willow James.

“Hymn” is a powerful example of what Chakrabarti calls “a universal story of finding commonality and love” even as it reaches out with music to build a bridge of trust and brotherly love. The influential women in these men’s lives, though unseen, radiate an extraordinary level of love and support which comes through brilliantly in the rich text and Parson’s crisp, compelling production.     

PHOTO|Vashon Jordan Jr.

Chicago Shakespeare Theater
presents
World Premiere
HYMN
Jentes Family Courtyard Theater
Navy Pier
through May 25, 2025

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PicksInSix Review: Berlin-Court Theatre

“Only Two Sides In A Revolution.”
PicksInSix® Review | Ed Tracy

The world premiere of Court Theatre’s “Berlin”—adapted by Mickle Maher from the epic graphic novel by Jason Lutes and directed by Charles Newell—that opened Saturday is a searing examination of the decline of Germany’s Weimar Republic from 1928 to 1932, told through the stories of those caught up in the chaos of the inter war years and the rise of fascism.

That fragile democracy struggled within a culture that was fractionalized following World War I with dozens of conflicting political parties and organizations. The guilt and growing unrest of the post-war sentiment gave way to the Beer Hall Putzh of 1923—successfully suppressed by the military and resulting in a five-year prison sentence for Adolf Hilter for treason—a political flash point for the Nazi party. Hitler served 9 months of that sentence, wrote Mein Kampf (published in 1925) and galvanized his followers using fear, intimidation and retribution to obliterate anything standing in his way. By the elections in 1928, scores of political parties had risen up, leaving pro-left opposition vulnerable. With no clear ruling majority, it would become a perfect storm for the rise of fascism in the ensuing years, the events of which play out in “Berlin” in rapid-fire succession.

Post-war Berlin also experienced a cultural explosion with an enormous rise in population including writers, artists and musicians in a Roaring 20s climate all their own. It is in the middle of this hypersexualized era that director Newhall masterfully wrestles Maher’s broad-stroked, sweeping narrative from a May Day courtroom hearing to the ultimate chaos that would lead to the demise of democracy itself. Central to the story is a young, upstart art student Marthe Müller (Raven Whitley) who arrives in Berlin and meets Kurt Severing (Tim Decker) a middle-aged journalist who is struggling to make a public stand in print. There is an instant attraction and a promise they will see much more of each other. Marthe then meets Anna Lenke (Mo Shipley), a queer artist who is also infatuated with her.

Kurt has also had a past relationship with a Nazi sympathizer, Margarethe von Falkensee (Kate Collins), who will do whatever she can to break up Kurt’s romance in an attempt to win his affections back. Kid Hogan (Terry Bell) is a Black American jazz musician who, with singer Pola Mosse (Molly Hernández), find love and lead an exploration through the devolving city nightlife. The Braun family—Gurun Braun (Elizabeth Laidlaw), her unemployed husband Otto (Christopher Meister) and daughter Silvia (Ellie Duffey)—represent a family struck hard by the times. Silvia ultimately sets out on her own, finding comfort and love with David Schwartz (Jack Doherty) a Jew who is publicly protesting in defiance of his family. Otto Schmidt (Guy Van Swearingen) is a communist organizer. Ever-present throughout is Theo Müller (Brandon Ruiter), Martha’s cousin and first love.  

Under Newell’s artful direction, “Berlin” moves from scene to scene at a blistering pace with scenes appearing out of thin air. Dramatic interludes realized first as tender portrait-like tableaus evolve in a heart-rendering moment to the stark essence of evil, magnified by the illusion of a city grounded in palette of Lutes’ black and white images—fine work by scenic designer John Culbert, lighting designer Keith Parham, and, costume designer Jacqueline Firkins—and personified by Laidlaw’s sinister portrayal of Hitler. Newell expertly weaves the superb ensemble in every movement, incorporating sights and sounds in ways you will have to see and hear to believe.

In the end, we are reminded that Hitler will be appointed Chancellor of Germany nine months later, signaling the dissolution of the Weimar Republic. “Berlin” is without a doubt the most important show to see on stage right now, a stunning example of a splintered, ineffective political system overrun by the forces of hate and persecution. Court Theatre’s bold and timely message for our time is a stark reminder of how easily our personal freedoms and individual liberties can be swept away virtually overnight. It is left to history itself to tell us how impossibly difficult it is to regain what has been lost, or whether it is even possible.

PHOTO|Michael Brosilow

Court Theatre
World Premiere
BERLIN
A New Adaptation by Mickle Maher
Based on the Graphic Novel by Jason Lutes
Directed by Charles Newell
5535 S. Ellis Ave
Extended through May 18, 2025

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PicksInSix Review: The Da Vinci Code-Drury Lane Theatre

High Tech ‘Da Vinci Code’ in Oakbrook
PicksInSix® Review | Ed Tracy

The midwest regional premiere of “The Da Vinci Code” opened Thursday at Drury Lane Theatre in Oakbrook, directed by Elizabeth Margolius and starring Jeff Parker, Yaneh Assadourian and Bradley Armacost in the suspense thriller based on Dan Brown’s 2003 international bestseller.

The adaptation by Rachel Wagstaff and Duncan Abel closely follows the events that unfold after authorities discover that a prominent museum curator, Jacques Saunière (Ray Frewen) is found murdered in the Louvre and an equally prominent American symbologist, Professor Robert Langdon (Parker), is brought in to help sort out the cryptic references and religious clues at the scene of the crime. Forming an alliance with Sophie Neveu (Assadourian), a cryptologist who is Saunière’s granddaughter, the two join with Sir Leigh Teabing (Armacost) to sort through the mystery. The action then races forward while everyone is avoiding the authorities, led by Bezu Fache (Anthony Irons), and a criminal mastermind called “The Teacher” who has recruited the deranged assassin Silas (Shane Kenyon) to do his bidding.

If you are still with me and curious about how all this plays out, Drury Lane’s immersive treatment of “The Da Vinci Code” is just the show for you. No guesswork here. The play is hinged tightly to the book and 2006 film starring Tom Hanks. The film, of course, had the benefit of stunning locales from the streets of modern day Paris to monasteries and cathedrals dating to the middle ages. The stage production debuted in 2022 at the Bromley Churchill Theatre before touring in the United Kingdom. The American premiere was staged at the Ogunquit Playhouse in Maine, prior to the Drury Lane run.

It’s a very stylized show relying heavily on projections and live action video with dense text that comes at you like water blasting from a firehose. Parker, Assadourian and Armacost are first rate performers whose characters feel like they are trapped on every page of the well-known story. There are reams of exposition in the first act, so if the story is familiar to you, you may have a leg up, but it all may feel too familiar. If this is your first time with the material, you had better giddy-up or it will run you over.

Judging from the audience reaction, many departed with an entirely different perception. For me, the pace felt rushed and the ritualistic movement was distracting. Overall, the action lacked the foundation necessary to build and sustain suspense. I thought more than once that these fine actors and the high production values deserved a more intimate setting to capture the nuance of the material more effectively. Do we have to see shadows moving in slow motion to create a macabre flashback? Is urgency created simply by briskly running off stage to hop a plane to the next destination?

These are all choices, of course. There are many elements of Margolius’s production that will captivate you, however, in its present state, “The Da Vinci Code” appears to still be sorting itself out with its high-tech imagery often falling short in the shock and awe department.

PHOTO|Brett Beiner

Drury Lane Thaatre
presents
The Da Vinci Code
100 Drury Lane
Oakbrook Terrace, IL

through June 1, 2025

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PicksInSix Review: Titanic The Musical - Marriott Theatre

Marriott’s ‘Titanic’ – A Stunning Musical Odyssey!
PicksInSix® Gold Review | Ed Tracy

It will be 40 years this September that Dr. Robert Ballard’s expedition team discovered the solemn remains of the RMS Titanic resting on the ocean floor 2 1/2 miles below the surface. To anyone over 50 years old, the exact details of the tragedy was up to that point one of the great mysteries of our time.

James Cameron’s 1997 blockbuster film incorporated the haunting images of the underwater tomb for the 1,517 victims of the tragedy. New theories emerged, testing firsthand accounts of survivors captured at the time and questioning the catastrophic collision with the iceberg that led to the sinking of the ship in the early hours of April 15, 1912.

The Broadway production that would receive five 1997 Tony Awards—Best Musical, Book, Original Score, Scenic Design and Orchestrations—was a ship of dreams all by itself. When “Titanic The Musical” arrived on Broadway, I had two memorable opportunities to see the fascinating multi-level set design and ingenious hydraulic system to replicate the inevitable outcome. But it was the impassioned personal stories in Peter Stone’s superb book and the resounding lyrics and melodic score by Maury Yeston that I recall most of all. These are true-to-life representations of the crew and passengers—a reflection of the class structure of the era —woven together with fictionalized composite accounts of the disaster as it unfolded.

The size and scope of the show posed major challenges for touring and regional productions. Over the years that followed, “Titanic The Musical” spawned concert and chamber performances around the world. A 2012 critically-acclaimed ensemble version—produced in Chicago by Griffin Theatre with orchestrations for six musicians by Ian Weinberger, a Northwestern alum—emerged with a cast of twenty playing multiple roles.

It is this version of “Titanic The Musical” that opened at Marriott Theatre on Wednesday, expertly directed and choreographed by Connor Gallagher with a matchless Chicago-based ensemble featuring top stage veterans and exceptionally talented newcomers to the Lincolnshire venue.  

At the center of the story is the contentious relationship between Titanic’s Captain E.J. Smith (David Girolmo) and White Star’s owner J. Bruce Ismay (Adam Pelty), who is constantly pressuring Smith and Titanic designer and builder Thomas Andrews (Christopher Kale Jones) on the ship’s performance. Their confrontation in “The Blame” is a highlight, and Jones gives one of the most powerful performances of the night in “Mr. Andrews’ Vision.”

Individual stories that illuminate the class distinctions on the Titanic are 1st Class passengers Ida (Heidi Kettenring) and Isidor Straus (Mark David Kaplan), Madeline (Victoria Okafor) and John Jacob Astor (Joel Gelman); 2nd Class passengers Kate Murphey (Laura Guley), Kate Mullins (Victoria Okafor), and Kate McGowan (Erica Stephan) whose relationship with Jim Farrell (Garrett Lutz) is a tender storyline richly told. Lillian Castello’s delightful Alice Beane, who aspires to be included among the 1st Class passengers, is matched in earnest by her husband, Edgar played by James Earl Jones II. Darian Goulding is terrific in the role of Frederick Barrett.

Among other stellar featured performances are Second Officer Lightoller (Gelman), Harold Bride (a spirited turn for Matthew Hommel), Third Officer Herbert Pittman/Etches (Kevin Webb), First Officer Murdoch (George Keating), Frederick Fleet (Lucas Thompson), Charlotte Cardoza (Kelli Harrington), Charles Clarke (Will Lidke), Caroline Neville (Francesca Mehrotra) and the Bellboy (Eric Amundson).  

Music Director Ryan T. Nelson and conductor/keyboardist Brad Haak with musicians Heather Boehm, Loretta Gillespie, Lewis Rawlinson, Trevor Jones and Andy Wilmouth are on the mark with the exceptional score. The show plays out on an exquisitely detailed, multi-tiered Collette Pollard set that shifts effortlessly from forward to aft, 1st Class to 3rd, and all points in between with a minimum of embellishments, an extraordinary feat within the confines of Marriott’s in-the-round configuration. Add Sully Ratke’s sensational costumes, the evocative lighting by Jesse Klug, and, sound design by Michael Daly, and Marriott’s “Titanic The Musical” becomes a stunning musical odyssey.

PHOTO|Justin Barbin Photography

Marriott Theatre
presents
Titanic The Musical
10 Marriott Dr
Lincolnshire, IL
through June 1, 2025

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