Theater

The Attic – Goodman Theatre – October 11, 2026

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Unfortunately, there were no toys in this attic, unless you count the fitness hoops (I don’t want to assume they were Hula Hoops) that one of the performers twirled around her body during one of the countless acrobatic routines that, as a whole, went on way too long, even while exhibiting memorable talent and physicality.

The show is subtitled Things I’ve Seen While Lying on My Back, so it wasn’t really necessary to repeat that line over and over again, and yet.

Thank goodness there was some music to relieve the repetition-induced ennui, but even in that regard the one song I remember was Childless Mother, which only made me yearn for the Richie Havens Woodstock version of Motherless Child.

The most memorable scene may have been the one resembling a Stephen King-induced nightmare that featured hands coming up out of the mattress of a hospital bed.

The story line was confusing, even more so if you didn’t read the description ahead of time, with the absolute best thing being the three trapeze lessons, particularly the one about the weightlessness of the dead spot in aerial acts, which was apropos.

The Icons Gala – Porchlight Music Theatre – Venue West – October 4, 2026

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This is the seventh Icons Gala I have attended, not counting the 2020, Covid-induced, online version, which I don’t.

It’s a great occasion to support the theatre, mingle with friends, make some new ones and see some great young talent display their skills. It also can present the opportunity to see the icons up close and personal, and even have a chat with them. But not this year. In four of the last five years the honorees were there in person (2023 being the notable exception), posing for photos and telling stories about their careers. But not this year.

I understand the economics that have overtaken the theater community. Appearance fees and travel costs can eat into a budget in a hurry. But a couple minute video of Alan Mencken sitting at his piano saying thank you did nothing for me. I thought maybe he would actually play the piano while giving us a glimpse of his creative process. But no.

Well, at least we always have been treated to a good meal. But not this year. I wish I had eaten before I came.

The performances were, as always, wonderful, and I enjoyed speaking with a few of the performers, in particular Adam Fane, whom I’ve enjoyed watching in the past in Titanique and Avenue Q, but the room was missing the excitement of having the honoree there watching. I’m all for continuing some kind of group gathering, but it may be time to retire the Icons Gala and replace it with something more appealing.

Meanwhile, Porchlight opens Mencken’s Little Shop of Horrors in November. I expect great things from the cast members I saw perform at the Icons Gala, including Adam, who will play Orin Scrivello, D.D.S.

 

Come From Away – Marriott Lincolnshire Theatre – Through Oct. 18, 2026

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The Marriott always does an amazing job moving people on, off and around their theater-in-the-round stage, but they may have outdone themselves, again. The twelve cast members are in constant motion, entering, exiting, moving set pieces, pretending to be on moving vehicles, playing multiple roles and, oh ya, doing some extremely fine acting and singing,

I don’t know how the responsibilities for the movement are divided between director and choreographer, but kudos to both, Jessica Fisch and Katie Spelman respectively.

And here’s something I’ve never done before – a shout out to the Dialect Coach, in this case, Sammi Grant. Her contribution was indirectly brought to my attention in Alex Goodrich’s opening when he mentioned the peculiar accent found in Newfoundland, which he described as part Irish, part Fargo.

I also would like to single out Justin Albinder, who played at least three or four very different characters with distinction, reminding me of fellow cast member Matt Crowle’s turn as nine members of the D’Ysquith family in A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder at Porchlight Music Theatre in 2019.

You come away from Come From Away having seen a show that’s tearjerking, funny, and inspirational.

The Front Page – Northlight Theatre – Through October 25, 2026

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Another opening, another new theater. The Front Page is Northlight Theatre’s first production at its new 285-seat space in Evanston. The parking situation confused me, but I’m easily confused. Nice place to see a show.

This was the second play from 1928 that I saw this year, the first being Holiday at the Goodman Theater, which makes me wonder if someone will be producing Animal Crackers any day now.

It seems like just yesterday that I wrote about a different production of Front Page, though it actually was over eight years ago. The one constant – I am forever amused by the Earl Williams character hiding in the desk, a feature that I find more fun in person than in either of the filmed versions I’ve seen.

There are familiar faces in the cast, all doing good work, in this tight, well-paced comedy that provides some nice laughs, but the one actor I want to single out, appearing in a smallish, but delectable, role, is Tim Kazurinsky, as Pincus. Tim and I were at Second City about the same time. He was in the main stage cast and I . . . wasn’t, though I was able to procure a tragically unsuccessful audition. I’m sure that if we had ever spoken to each other we would have become fast friends. But he was busy flying around the theater, making a name for himself, and I was . . . around.

Play On! – Chicago Shakespeare Theater – Through October 18, 2026

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Turns out it wasn’t Duke Orsino of Illyria who said “If music be the food of love, play on,” but rather Duke Ellington of Harlem, at least in the world created on stage at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater, in a show featuring hits such as It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing), Don’t Get Around Much Anymore and Mood Indigo.

Worked for me, as I prefer my Shakespeare to be nontraditional. For example, the last time I saw one from the bard at this eponymous theater was As You Like It, featuring 23 Beatles songs. Before that there were such pleasures as The Flying Karamazov Brothers performing in the Comedy of Errors; Gary Busey’s One Man Hamlet; The Second City’s Romeo and Juliet Musical: The People vs. Friar Laurence, The Man Who Killed Romeo and Juliet; and The Q Brothers presenting Othello the Remix.

The show features a host of wonderful performances and a great band. There’s never a dull moment, or, for that matter, a dull color among the jazz-age costumes.

New Faces Sing Broadway 1976 – Porchlight Music Theatre – The Biograph – Sept. 16, 2026

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New faces, new season, new venue. Add in a new director (long-time singing and acting favorite Lorenzo Rush Jr. stepping into the role for this show), a new host (the wonderful Erica Stephen, who wowed us in Cabaret, among other shows), and a new energy resulting from all of the above (I even walked up and down the stairs to the second floor theater instead of taking the elevator) and you’ve got a great evening.

The new venue gave the new director and the new faces a new freedom to explore staging and performance possibilities previously unavailable in these annual shows. So, instead of a parade of people walking on and off the stage, we had an actual set that allowed interaction throughout the night, thereby enhancing the experience and allowing performers to show off a little more of their personalities.

The event still features a few more unfamiliar songs than I would like, as there is very little room in my brain to process new information, but the mix was good, and the ever-present photos shown on a screen behind the stage and the background information articulated by Stephan were easily interesting enough to keep my mind from wandering. Not once, until now, did I think about John Dillinger having been shot as he left The Biograph after seeing Manhattan Melodrama. I do wish, however, that autocorrect would stop trying to change Biograph to Biography.

To add to everything else, there was actual room to mingle in the lobby and there were comfortable seats in this, the smaller of the two spaces in the building. I peeked into the larger one, which will be the site of Little Shop of Horrors, starting November 4, and it looked terrific. Suddenly I want to see more and can’t wait to see what Porchlight feeds me in that production.

Laura Benanti: Nobody Cares – Steppenwolf Theatre – August 9, 2026

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According to Laura Benanti, one of her daughters told her, in response to some personal revelation, that nobody cares.

Her daughter was wrong. I cared. Well, maybe not cared, but certainly enjoyed hearing about her life, through her particular off-kilter lens, as did the entire audience. It was a great show.

I had heard Benanti sing in radio highlights of her 2013 show In Constant Search Of The Right Kind Of Attention and in the wonderful, filmed version of the 2016 Broadway revival of She Loves Me. In person, even better.

I knew she was funny from the above and from her many TV appearances, but she’s even funnier than that. Great personal stories told with impeccable, comedic timing and highlighted by attention to every detail.

I didn’t know how well she moves her body. Not your average stand-up comedian or cabaret singer.

She also co-wrote the show’s original, funny, no-holds-barred songs with Todd Almond. Some of them contained lyrics that reminded me of material that Garfunkel and Oates (Riki Lindhome and Kate Micucci) used to put out, and that’s a good thing.

Iceboy! – Goodman Theatre – Through Aug. 16, 2016

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According to the Broadway Maven Substack, ever since Oklahoma! started the trend, 5% of  Broadway show titles have ended in an exclamation point, a custom that “has become mostly ironic.” often, according to Broadway historian Laurence Maslon, “intentionally self-referential and not meant to be [taken] seriously.”  Definitely the case with Iceboy!

Richard Kind is not in Iceboy. But he was in the audience when I went. He needs to stop following me around. Almost exactly 10 years ago he was standing in line next to me at TKTS Times Square as I scored my last-minute ticket for Something Rotten.

But before I went to court for a restraining order, I did some research and discovered that Kind is in the just-released “Heads Will Roll; Heir Apparent” with Megan Mullally on Audible, whatever that is, so he probably was at Iceboy to see her starring in the show, not to stalk me.

The play is like a collection of Mel Brooks outtakes. The 40,000 year-old Iceboy even does a dance ala the monster in Young Frankenstein, which is only fitting in this mashup, as Mullally originated the role of Elizabeth Benning (Madeline Kahn in the movie) in the original Broadway production of YF.

There are a lot of laughs, many of which are provided by Mullally’s real-life husband, Nick Offerman, who costars as Eugene O’Neal, often speaking directly to the audience as part of the convoluted plot line.

The musical melodies are forgettable, which is a shame because I sat there thinking what Cole Porter could have done with some of the ideas being conveyed. The best song lyrics are in FM, which also probably got the biggest ovation. I won’t tell you what the title stands for. You’ll have to go see twice Tony-nominated performer Sarah Stiles perform it.

Mullally is intentionally over-the-top, which is appropriate for the material, but I don’t think her voice choice did her any favors, as, interestingly, her best comedic efforts came when she hardly spoke at all.

An Enemy of the People – Time Line Theatre – June 13, 2026

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Henrik Ibsen died in 1906, yet his 1882 play An Enemy of the People seems like it could have been written yesterday, maybe because the version being produced at the new TimeLine Theatre building was rewritten just a few years ago by Amy Herzog.

The disagreements between the characters reminded me in some ways of those displayed in the TimeLine production of Eureka Day, wherein, as here, protection of the health of the community was a topic of heated discussion. I liked that show better.

The lead role of Dr. Thomas Stockman was played by the understudy for this performance, which I think made a difference, but not enough to make me want to go again to see what I may have missed out on.

The issues raised in the original story were predictive of things to come, and, unfortunately, are still relevant, constantly hitting us in the face in every news cycle. Perhaps that’s why the production didn’t come across to me as particularly powerful. Truth is stranger than fiction (except, of course, science fiction). I’m jaded. I didn’t gain any new insights. Perhaps I’d just rather be distracted.

I did obtain a small tidbit of wisdom, however, though it could just as easily have come from a fortune cookie. As stated by Stockman, after being physically attacked, “When you’re fighting for truth and justice, don’t wear your good pants.”

Chicago Sings Broadway’s British Invasion – Porchlight Music Theatre at House of Blues – May 11, 2026

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I’m hard pressed to come up with a logical stream of consciousness regarding this year’s Chicago Sings event, so I will just dive (or diva) into some extremely random thoughts.

I got the chance to have a nice pre-show chat with this year’s Guy Adkins Award recipient, Mark David Kaplan, whom I saw recently as Mr. Mushnik in Little Shop of Horrors. In addition to his talent, what a nice guy, but I’m afraid, a bit of a close talker.

The room wasn’t as cold as last year, but still not shorts weather.

The British Invasion, as with the Revolutionary War, apparently hasn’t been entirely successful for them, at least as far as I’m concerned. I’ve seen less than half the shows that were represented, though only one of them was totally unfamiliar.

One of the shows is coming to Broadway next year – Paddington: The Musical. Seriously?! I think I’ll take a pass, and this is coming from someone who enjoyed SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical.

How do you put out a casting call for a singing bear? Well, if I’m reading the West End production website cast list correctly, you find one person to do voice and remote puppetry and someone else to be the on-stage bear.

I lip synched in a show one year and have worn various furry costumes in other shows, but never combined the two disciplines, or, in my case, undisciplined. So kudos to Paddington, but I still won’t see it.

All of Porchlight’s invading performers, including the band, were wonderful, as usual, even though, unlike last year, when there were three, there were no Moes in the group.

One final note – I’m embarrassed to say that I didn’t recognize Aja Alcazar, whom I just saw at Northlight Theatre in the Angel Next Door. But, in fairness to me, she was the angel next door, and the door was usually closed, so I didn’t see that much of her.