Inherit the Wind – Goodman Theatre – September 28, 2024

Not being a Blacklist viewer, the last time I may have seen Harry Lennix he was giving Superman a hard time when all the poor guy was trying to do was save the world from General Zod.

In Goodman Theatre’s Inherit the Wind, it is Lennix, as Henry Drummond, who is trying to save the world, from the followers of the close-minded honorary Colonel Matthew Harrison Brady, in a play that is as forceful and timely today as it was when it debuted in 1955, especially when one considers the reports that came out this past week (Banned Books Week) from the American Library Association and Pen America concerning the enormous amount of book censorship taking place across the country.

I was particularly struck by the following exchange – Brady: “I do not think about things I do not think about.” Drummond: “Do you ever think about things that you DO think about?” It reminded me of the famous 2002 Rumsfeld quote – “There are known knowns. These are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns. That is to say, there are things that we know we don’t know. But there are also unknown unknowns. There are things we don’t know we don’t know.”

The other thing that struck me was how much Brady, when addressing the town, came across as a much scarier version of Professor Harold Hill. I could almost hear him saying “We got trouble, right here in Hillsboro, and that starts with T and that rhymes with D and that stands for Darwin.”

That said, the problem with the opposite side of the argument is exemplified by people like the clearly unevolved guy sitting behind me, whose 18.5 minutes of high decibel, bag rustling, open-mouth chewing at the beginning of the show made me yearn for a Rose Mary Woods to turn off his sound.

Chicago Live – Navy Pier – September 21, 2024

I heard that they moved the Sunday performances indoors because of the rain. I wished they had done that on Saturday because of the heat – 90 degrees and blazing sun less than 24 hours before the autumnal equinox. Don’t wait, buy your new winter getaway home in Chicago while they last.

Last year I saw a dozen different acts and planned to do much the same this time around. I wanted to see Black Ensemble Theater and Dee Alexander again and catch Second City, which I haven’t gone to in years, even though I can tell you, from personal experience, that comedy is hard and outdoor comedy in front of mobile audiences, near impossible.   

After enjoying the Porchlight Music Theatre presentation that highlighted their forthcoming 2024-25 season, I began my quest for shade, to reenergize, before my next selection. (Unlike Superman, I don’t get my strength from the sun, just my Vitamin D, and I’d already gotten my required dosage for the day, based upon the new portable body monitor I’m envisioning but haven’t yet invented.)  

Unfortunately, going inside the building that once upon a time (1945-1965) housed the University of Illinois Chicago campus (or as it was known at the time, no joke, Harvard on the rocks) brought no relief, as I was now subjected to overexposure, not to the sun, but rather to children, suburbanites and toxic aromas from fast food restaurants, more burden than anyone should have to bear. 

Same time next year.    

Porchlight Music Theatre’s ICONS Gala – Ritz Carlton – September 22, 2024

If you get invited to a brunch event at the Ritz, go. The food is great.

This was my 5th in-person Porchlight ICONS Gala (plus one online during the height of Covid), but only the second one that was a Sunday brunch. As honoree Raúl Esparza might have heard said when he played Fagin in last year’s New York City Center Encores! production of Oliver! (please excuse all the exclamation marks – they’re not mine), “please . . . , I want some more.

And, as usual, I can say the same about the entertainment Porchlight provided, a dozen songs from shows in which Esparza has appeared, flawlessly performed, if you ignore, as everyone chose to except those of us required to faithfully journal the event, the problems with a microphone that plagued one of the artists throughout, despite repeated attempts by hotel staff to replace the offending device. Rest assured, the problems didn’t detract from the audience’s enjoyment, as the performers efficiently dealt with the issues.

While all four singers brought talent and joy to the stage, I want single (double?) out two of them. First, Adrian Aguilar, whom I last saw as Tommy DeVito in Jersey Boys, for not taking even a moment off, displaying his showmanship at all times, in every little movement and facial expression, whether he was singing or reacting to others.

Second, Ava Stovall, for her rendition of Maybe This Time (Cabaret), which, justifiably, brought the biggest round of applause from the audience.

My only complaint is that I would have liked to have seen a full-out dance version of Let’s Do the Time Warp Again (Rocky Horror Picture Show), because the song is just not the same without the choreography.

During his interview by Paul Lisnek, Esparza was down-to-earth, engaging and humorous, treating us to his voice and mannerism impressions of Stephen Sondheim; his memories of starting out in Chicago in the worst production he’s ever been in; and his opinion about the movie Evita (not a high one) and what he went through in the context of playing Che (Evita) in the national tour his own way.

 

Network – Invictus Theatre Company at Windy City Playhouse – September 1, 2024

I really liked this new theatrical adaptation of Paddy Chayefsky’s movie Network, and not just because a friend of mine was in it.

They tell you to come early to add to your enjoyment of the immersive process, and, sure enough, the bulk of the excellent cast is on and around the stage, in character, doing their business as if really preparing for a tv show that is getting ready to go on air.

I learned a new word, adamantine, a description that, I admit, may occasionally have personal relevance.

Even though the film came out in 1976, the script, the gist of which I’m certain remains unchanged, remains eerily current.

An exception would be the way people were watching Howard Beale back then, the reference being to 21-inch televisions. That seems archaic in the age of size matters.

Speaking of TV sets, the play’s use of screens was well-conceived and executed, a far cry from the use of the screen I criticized in my review of The Band’s Visit.

And speaking of size mattering, the sex scene, normally a boring or uncomfortable, or both, moment in a play for me, was short, cleverly imagined, useful to the story line and funny.

Death, Let Me Do My Show – Steppenwolf Theatre – August 24, 2024

If you were a fan of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, which I was, it was impossible to resist the temptation to see Rachel Bloom’s current theatrical production.

That said, I didn’t know what to expect from the show, but whatever it was, it certainly wasn’t what I got, which was part stand-up comedy about life, death and Bloom’s last few years, and part therapy session for her, with a few typically dirty and/or irreverent Bloom songs mixed in, the last of which, my favorite, may or may not have been titled I Am My Daughter’s Well-Intentioned Dog.

What was promoted as a one-woman show turned out to also include the embodiment of death, as played by David Hull, who played White Josh on Crazy Ex. In retrospect I guess the title of the show should have been my first clue in that regard.

Spoiler alert (not really as the show closes today), Hull, wearing a Covid mask, first inserted himself into the show as a heckler in the audience. Before he did his reveal, Bloom ripped into him in humorously startling fashion.

From there, things got serious, then they got funny, then rinse and repeat for the full 90 minutes.

The Last Wide Open – American Blues Theater – August 16, 2024

Thank you to the American Blues Theater for using the American spelling of theater in its name and on the building it moved into last year, which I visited for the first time for this show. Noah Webster would be proud.

Now that I’ve experienced their flexible studio space, dressed up as a diner, with the audience at tables, in this immersive experience, I’ll have to go back some time for a different production in their larger space, perhaps their annual production of It’s a Wonderful Life.

To augment the diner experience, each member of the audience even got served cheese and sausage (presumably Polish, given the show we were seeing), but only one piece per customer, so I’m glad I stopped first at BryAnna’s down the block, my first time at this nice restaurant, to have some Salvadoran and Guatemalan cuisine, though I found their pollo amarillo rather bland for my taste buds. I don’t know what sensation “Guatemalan spices” are supposed to elicit, but it just tasted like chicken to me. I only saw one item on the menu that used the word “spicy”. Next time.

In any event, the show was excellent. Real life husband and wife Michael Mahler and Dara Cameron play two people who may or may not be destined for each other in a multiverse that, fortunately, merely asks for acceptance rather than trying to explain itself in 80 minutes, for as much as I enjoy listening to Max Tegmark and Brian Greene, they make my head spin, at least in this incarnation.

Broadway x 3 – July 31, August 6, August 12, 2024

Three different annual Broadway-related concerts, put on by three different groups, in the span of 13 days, and nothing unlucky about it.

The Grant Park Music Festival opened with Broadway Rocks!, which opened with the overture from Tommy. I would have been satisfied with that alone, but the orchestra and a trio of singers kept the energy going through another dozen selections, closing with Don’t Stop Believing (Rock of Ages).

Six days later Porchlight Music Theatre (PMT) wrapped up its Broadway in Your Backyard 12-concert summer series in Washington Square Park (I also saw them June 27 at Seneca Park), opening with, appropriately, Another Op’nin’, Another Show (Kiss Me Kate) (which sent me off into “what if” land, wondering about what the the reception would have been if Mel Brooks had titled the song from The Producers Another Op’nin’, Another Flop, instead of just Opening Night) and closing with Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In (which was actually the opener in Hair). These things are important.

Then, another six days later, it was back to Millennium Park for Broadway in Chicago, put on by, wait for it, Broadway in Chicago, featuring songs from 16 shows coming to Chicago (starting today with Back to the Future). Some of the shows have been here before, like Come From Away, Les Miserables, Moulin Rouge and the pre-Broadway run of Tina, but the biggest hits of the night were a couple newcomers, Kimberly Akimbo and Titanique (produced by PMT), both of which brought waves of laughter and enthusiastic applause from an audience that packed the park from front to back.

Finally, I would be remiss if I omitted the fact that two songs were included in both otherwise divergent Millennium Park Concerts, the always crowd-pleasing Proud Mary (Tina) and the always crowd-engaged Sweet Caroline (A Beautiful Noise), which closed the last of the three nights.

2 Pianos 4 Hands – Northlight Theatre – July 27, 2024

Two pianos, four hands, and a hundred twenty minutes of entertainment.

Years ago, when I first saw this show, I had not yet started my adult piano lessons, so, although I enjoyed it, obviously enough to see it again, a lot of what I heard and saw I took on faith, given that the piano teacher I had for two years as a child had the pedagogical skills, though not the charisma, of someone who might have studied with Harold Hill at the Gary Indiana Conservatory, gold medal class of ’05.

This time around I could appreciate everything even more, though I missed the overhead mirror that the earlier production used to help the audience better see the pianists’ hands at work.

Adam LaSalle and Matthew McGloin are both accomplished musicians, who also displayed excellent acting chops while inhabiting several characters each, along with the main roles as they aged from childhood prodigies to adults.

McGloin, in particular, showed off a range of physical movements that highlighted the action in a story where there really is no action other than at the keyboard.

Another ability that both men portrayed was to play below their obvious talents, as occasionally required by the story.

The final classical duet of the night was spotless, even to the point of my inability to decode any subtle signals they were giving each other from across the room, behind their respective instruments.

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (Part 2) – John Berendt and Taylor Mac – American Writers Museum – July 8, 2024

I had trouble determining the identity of the musical. Taylor Mac, who wrote the book of the show, helped by saying he meant to present two interwoven stories, those of Jim Williams and The Lady Chablis, aided by an antagonist for each, Emma Dawes and Lavella Cole, respectively.

The book’s author, John Berendt, stressed how important humor was, stating that his background at Esquire magazine had taught him to write with knowledgeable irreverence.

Mac specifically pointed to the Dawes character, played by Sierra Boggess (what a voice!), who had my favorite line of the show when, in representing the interests of historical and hysterical Savannah, she promised she wouldn’t sell Mercer House to anyone who would knock down a wall to make an open kitchen.

As I stated last time, J. Harrison Ghee, as The Lady Chablis, was great. Their antagonist, Cole, as played by Shane Bailey, had, for me, the best song, among many good ones, in the show when she delivered Clap on One and Three.

I was going to complain about the opening of the show, but Mac’s comments about slowing the audience down to Savannah time, seemed reasonable, though I might still tweak it a little, as I would in a few other places. (I don’t think the audience as the author was explained clearly enough for all.)

Mac commented that no one should expect to “get” everything upon first viewing, that just like a book or movie, a second viewing lends itself to greater appreciation. Moreover, he said they changed the ending after the first five previews, so, oops, you also might have to go again for that reason. Nice marketing.

I also wondered whether the show would be attractive to post Broadway licensees. I asked Mac about whether he took possible future productions into account in his writing. He said he, unlike many others, does, and that the Choreographer, Tanya Birl-Torres, who also was the Cultural Consultant, played a big part in those considerations.

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil – Goodman Theatre – July 3, 2024

This will be a two-part blog, the second half of which will come after I attend the discussion next week at the American Writers Museum by the author of the book, John Berendt, and the author of the stage adaptation, Taylor Mac.

Part of my reason to delay is that, although I’ve seen the movie, I’ve never read the book, and I think that the musical needs some adjustments to better serve those who have done neither. I’ll be interested in hearing what they have to say about that and whether they will discuss any possible changes before looking towards Broadway.

On a general note, let me say that I’ve been to Savannah, and, though I walked around town quite a bit, I didn’t meet anyone interesting there, only lawyers.

Also, I’m a fan of Jason Robert Brown, who wrote the music and lyrics for this show, and also for Parade and Honeymoon in Vegas (which I liked very much despite its lack of success). I haven’t seen any of his other work, including The Bridges of Madison County, which is, dare I say, a bridge too far for me.

For now, I will leave on a positive note. J. Harrison Ghee, Tony award-winner for Some Like It Hot, is a force, worth the price of admission. And the audience was ready, giving them a raucous welcome the second they walked onto the stage, reminding me of the greeting Michelle Williams received at first sight in Death Becomes Her. In a moment predictive of the rest of the evening, Ghee looked out into the audience and said “wait until I earn it.”