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John C. Reilly is Mister Romantic – Steppenwolf Theatre – Dec. 5, 2025

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I’ve seen Mr. Saturday Night, Mister Roberts and now Mister Romantic, John C. Reilly’s one-man show, if you don’t count the four musicians, but you should, because they’re great.

The evening started when said musicians marched down an aisle to the stage, playing a New Orleans-type walking song. What most caught my attention was the performer who was playing the coronet with one hand, while simultaneously playing the accordion with the other. I later prided myself for this mental note when Reilly, at the end of the show, acknowledged that same skill for the audience.

Reilly, at first, was nowhere to be seen, but suspicions grew when the quartet, after reaching their destination, pulled a steamer trunk, with the words Mister Romantic on it, from stage left. Sure enough, a vaudevillian-like-appearing Reilly arose from the luggage to greet the crowd and announce that he had no memory, other than that he had to find someone who would love him forever in order to be freed from the box.

What followed was Reilly beautifully singing classics such as Dream, What’ll I Do and You Don’t Know Me, accompanied by the musicians he claimed not to know (but was pleased that they knew the same songs he did), and augmented by a lot of amusing schtick, including a fair amount of miming and interaction with the audience, with the hope of finding eternal love and never having to return to his portable home.

He added a little extra spice to the show with a rendition of Earl Okin’s “My Room,” before which he suggested that any children head to the lobby for popcorn.

His quest was not gender specific, as he walked into the audience to engage, rather closely (after asking consent), for a few minutes each, two women and two men, one of whom was me. If I were a rabid fan, I would never wash my eyebrows again.

Fall Impresario Society Soirée – Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park – Nov. 19, 2025

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First things first. The brownies were good.

I accidentally found a different entrance to the Millennium Park Garage that I might be able to find again. Exiting was a whole different adventure that I might not be able to repeat, or want to. In fairness to me, there was some construction going on and the brownies may have affected my cognitive abilities.

Entertainment was provided by the Murasaki Duo, composed of the husband and wife team of Eric Kutz, cello and Miko Kominami, piano. They were terrific, playing selections from Nadia Boulanger and Sergei Rachmaninov.

Kutz also was something of a raconteur, my favorite story being about their son, who, when he was young, assisted the duo by being Kominami’s page turner. The son was not present and, according to Kutz, now complains that he was replaced by technology, that is, the wireless, page-turning foot pedal, a scary turn of events that not even Heinlein, Clarke or Wells could have predicted. As far as I, or AI, can tell, The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees does not include a category for page turners.

The other interesting thing about the duo is the origin of their name, being an homage to Lady Murasaki (Shikibu), said by some to be the author of the world’s first novel, The Tale of Genji, in the early 11th century. At least a dozen versions (and a study guide) are available for purchase on Amazon. I’m guessing that the original copyright has run out.

Chamber Music Immersive: Charlie Chaplin’s Smile with Philippe Quint – Chicago History Museum – Nov. 18, 2025

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When I saw Philippe Quint at the Chicago History Museum in May, I mentioned what a terrific musician he is. I now would like to add, based on this latest event, that he also is creative, knowledgeable, a good storyteller, funny and joyful. Too much?

The word immersive is thrown about rather casually these days as a buzz word in describing various types of entertainment. In the sense of being interactive, or in the middle of the action (like the Production of Making Marilyn Miller I previously wrote about), this concert was not. Audience members were not part of The Matrix. They neither played instruments nor mingled with the performers while they played.

The show was, however, multimedia in nature and terrific in execution. There were photos, and some video from The Great Dictator, Limelight, The Kid, A King in New York, Monsieur Verdoux, City Lights, The Vagabond and Charlie’s New Job. Quint provided numerous Chaplin anecdotes and he and pianist Jun Cho played selections from the Chaplin movies and other pieces that related to Chaplin’s interests and friendships, for examples, music by Stravinsky and Gershwin.

As to the latter, Chosen Mitchell, a musical theater major at the Chicago College of the Performing Arts, demonstrated a wide range while singing Summertime and I Got Rhythm.

The highlight of the evening was Quint and Cho collaborating, to play live, replacing the movie’s recorded score, Brahms’ Hungarian Dance No. 5 from the barbershop scene in The Great Dictator, perfectly synched with the film. Quint, charming as always, suggested that you shouldn’t try this at home.

Bloom/Funkhouser Duo: Salute to Duke Ellington – 4th Presbyterian Church – Nov. 17, 2025

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The Funkhouser of Bloom/Funkhouser is not Marty Funkhouser, from Curb Your Enthusiasm, played by the great Bob Einstein, although there was a 2008 movie entitled Einstein and Eddington (not Ellington) about the relationship between Albert Einstein (the scientist, not Bob’s brother, better known as Albert Brooks) and British scientist Sir Arthur Stanley Eddington. Too bad.

Also too bad was that the salute to the Duke was performed on piano (as it should be) and flute (as it shouldn’t be). Just because you can (both members of the duo are accomplished musicians), doesn’t mean you should. See Jurassic Park.

Where’s a saxophone when you need one?

As far as I can tell, the first time a flute was played in Ellington’s band was 1970, 31 years after a 24-year-old Billy Strayhorn penned “Take the ‘A’ Train” for Ellington and only four years before Ellington passed away, though I’m not suggesting that the introduction of the flute into the group was in some way a causal factor. Ian Anderson is still performing at age 78.

Paranormal Activity – Shakespeare Theater – Closed Nov. 2, 2025

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Things are a little slow right now, so here’s something I didn’t do.

Paranormal Activity was promoted as being very scary, which was not an incentive to go for me, but compared to what? Is it possible for it to have been scarier than reality, or the ubiquitous AI version of it, where no reservations are required, though I have many?

Instead of going to the play I wound up watching something more frightening – a Bears game.

The warning that came with the show said it had loud noises. Big deal. I hear blaring sirens all day long, with the added threat of having to dodge the emergency vehicles puncturing my eardrums.

The warning said the show had sudden darkness. Big deal. That happened after we turned back the clocks.

The warning said there was stage blood. As long as it’s not my blood, and I’m not asked to drink it, I don’t care.

The play was universally highly-recommended (17 out of 17 reviews). That sounds pretty suspicious to me. Everyone loved it? In this day and age? According to a 2024 Gallup poll, 80% of U.S. adults believe Americans are greatly divided on the most important values. Can’t even universally agree that we don’t agree. And don’t get me started on the Oxford comma.

Front Row: An Insider Series – Steppenwolf Theatre – October 27, 2025

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The next best thing to seeing a Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning play is to go to a program featuring the director and some of the actors discussing the evolution of the work.

Phylicia Rashad (director), Harry Lennix, Alana Arenas and Glenn Davis came together, in a program moderated by Director of New Play Development Jonathan L. Green, to celebrate A Homecoming for the Artists of Purpose at the theater where the work had its world premiere before heading to Broadway.

That I have not seen the play didn’t affect my interest in hearing about the drama behind the drama, highlighted by a discussion of the final hours before the show took wing. Apparently, quite a bit of the script remained uncompleted until late the day before opening night, when Green rushed into the rehearsal on stage from the room where he had been with the author, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, pages in hand, like a scene out of some other play, announcing the script was done, to the relief of all, but forcing the actors (except for Lennix, who amazed even his colleagues by his quick study) to appear on stage the next night with lines in hand.

The participants used the word canon a lot, describing the play’s status in the theater world and in Steppenwolf’s collection of works, and also spent time articulating their steadfast attitude in bringing the “Steppenwolf way” to Broadway.

All that, and the cookies at the reception were really good.

Blue Heaven – Black Ensemble Theater – Closes October 26, 2025

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Blue Heaven is not a show you go to for the plot or the monologues, which are jammed into the middle section of this 90-minute show to provide some background on the lives of the depicted artists – Howlin’ Wolf, Big Mama Thornton, Muddy Waters, Stevie Ray Vaughan and B.B. King – before it heads into full concert mode.

You do go for the music, and it’s a treat. The only things missing from my days of going to blues clubs were a layer of cigarette smoke and a bottle of beer in hand.

And, if you closed your eyes, the talented cast, aided by a terrific backup band, might make you think you were listening to the original performers. My favorite was probably Cynthia Carter, as Thornton, who brought a delicious feistiness to her part.

The only one of the featured five I ever saw in person was King, as the opening act for the Rolling Stones in 1969. Unforgettable.

I was familiar with about 40% of the songs in Blue Heaven, but, if you’ve listened to enough blues, you think you know the songs even if you’ve never heard them before.

Making Marilyn Miller – Porchlight Music Theatre – October 10, 2025 Workshop

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I’m somewhat embarrassed to say that I’d never heard of Marilyn Miller prior to being invited to see this immersive musical workshop, this despite the fact that she was the biggest star on Broadway at one time (okay, it was the 1920s) and that Norma Jeane Mortenson’s stage name (Marilyn Monroe) had been selected, by studio executive Ben Lyon, because the name reminded him of Miller, with whom he had worked, and, according to the play, liaised, while she was still married to Mary Pickford’s brother Jack.

Before attending, I went online and was pleasantly surprised to find the songs available to listen to.

I loved what I heard, and the songs were even better in person, performed by a stellar cast, which I got to enjoy up close and personal, as opposed to from the 20th row in a 2000 seat theater. No big orchestra, just some really good piano accompaniment.

The play “follows the audition process for a modern musical based on the life of the great Music Theatre icon of the 1920s.” If that sounds a lot like the TV show Smash about the creation of a Broadway musical about Marilyn Monroe, (appropriately, I suppose, given the whole name thing), well, yes and no. Yes as to the decision-making process. No as to any backstage goings on. Yes as to the early tragic deaths of both, Miller at age 37, Monroe at age 36.

Attendees were told that they were investors in the fictional musical. They were
encouraged to move between three rehearsal rooms during the middle section of the show to view the fictional actors working on dialogue, songs and dances and to formulate opinions about casting of the Miller role from the three candidates.

At the end of the audition, attendees were given ballots to vote for which Miller candidate they would choose for the part. Sort of like Sheer Madness or The Mystery of Edwin Drood, except, in this case, no lives, or even careers, were lost.

Prior to the performance, I was pleased to speak briefly with David Bell, the author/lyricist/director of the show, who also authored Southern Gothic, the first immersive play (not a musical) I ever saw, in 2018, at the Windy City Playhouse. After the show, Bell gave a heartfelt speech about what had inspired him to do the project, as attendees and cast members, perfectly cast as themselves, mingled.

Rome Sweet Rome – Chicago Shakespeare Theater – Through October 19, 2025

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Rome Sweet Rome is a product of the Q Brothers Collective (who previously gave us hip-hop versions of A Christmas Carol and Othello: The Remix), not to be confused with the Q Continuum, an immortal group that has been represented in over 20 episodes of various Star Trek series and which, to my knowledge, has never hipped, hopped or put on any kind of musical.

I divided the show into three parts. The beginning didn’t do much for me, even though, fortunately, I had a seat with an unobstructed view of the open-captioning screen so that I could at least understand what was going on.

I loved the middle of the show. I wish I could tell you how much of the entire production that encompassed, but the program does not include any scene or song identifiers.

I can tell you that my enjoyment ratcheted up considerably upon the rendering of the song I Need a Sandwich, which played off that part of the plot that involved a ban on bread by the Roman dictator, who preferred that his subjects ate the salad named after him.

As if it were not enough to borrow from Shakespeare, the cast followed the food frenzy with a couple dance excerpts that enjoyably sounded and looked suspiciously like Monster Mash and Thriller, apropos as Julius Caesar had been told to beware, not the Ides of March, but rather Halloween.

After (spoiler alert) he brutally met his demise at the holiday party, the show went downhill for both Julius and me, for me when it got preachy near the end. I prefer subtlety. I came for entertainment, or possibly an all-powerful alien race, not a political rally.

Catch Me If You Can – Marriott Theatre – Through Oct. 19, 2025

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Catch it if you can. It’s a wonderful show. I’m a big fan of Marc Chaiman/Scott Wittman music and lyrics (who doesn’t love Hairspray, among others) and this production is just another example of why. It’s one very enjoyable song after another by a very strong cast, led by JJ Niemann as Frank Abagnale, Jr., Sean Fortunato as Frank, Sr. and Nathaniel Stampley as FBI agent Carl Hanratty, with an additional special shout out to Mariah Lyttle, as Brenda Strong, who takes full advantage of her moment in the spotlight with the ballad Fly, Fly Sway.

The plot is, of course, ridiculous, but wait, it’s the true story first brought to a lot of people’s attention by the 2002 movie of the same name. Or not. Research suggests that the supposed exploits of Frank Abagnale are greatly exaggerated.

But it’s a fun ride anyway. Suspend your disbelief for a couple hours. (I pretty much do it all the time now anyway.) Listen to the great orchestra and don’t forget to pay attention to all the design elements of the show. In that regard, don’t sleep on the visuals accompanying the song Seven Wonders.

I even got a kick out of watching the 20 cast members making their entrances and exits using the aisles in this theatre-in-the-round. I would love to see the stage manager’s prompt book detailing the stage directions for this fast-moving show. Snagglepuss saying exit stage left doesn’t work when there is no stage left.