Theater

Jersey Boys – Mercury Theater – June 9, 2024

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I won’t start the review tritely with “Oh, what a night,” not because I didn’t like the show (I did), and certainly not out of any literary integrity, but rather because I went to a matinee.

I hadn’t seen the show in over 16 years, but surprisingly, since I have no idea what I had for breakfast, I remembered it very well, which is actually the bad news, as the backstory of The Four Seasons, as told in the show, held no surprises for me, as it had the first time.

That missing intrigue didn’t stop me from enjoying the strong singing, dancing and acting performances or the classic music and choreography, or from appreciating seeing the play in a more intimate theater than before, but it did keep me from being as over-the-top excited as those in the audience, perhaps seeing it for the first time, seemed to be, appropriately so.

Afterward I was interested in any updates on the lives of the “boys.” Most significantly, Frankie Valli, at age 90, is still performing out on the road, but I would bet someone else’s good money that he can’t hit the high notes anymore.

And, according to news reports, Valli got a restraining order against one of his sons about a month ago. Perhaps a sequel is in order.

English – Goodman Theatre – May 25, 2024

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For some reason, I tend to see Pulitzer Prize-winning dramas that have one word titles – Fiorello!, Rent, Proof, Doubt, Hamilton and now English. If I’m allowed to count movies, add in Harvey, Fences and Picnic.

Not surprisingly, a strong list. English definitely belongs. It’s funny, it’s thoughtful, it has tension, it never drags. It’s about small stories and a big picture. For most of us, it makes us think about things we may never have thought about before.

It also leaves us wondering about some things about the characters, but that’s okay. I don’t need a sequel. Neil Simon pulled that off with his Eugene Trilogy, but how many people remember Bring Back Birdie, the sequel to Bye Bye Birdie that closed after four performances on Broadway.

I kept thinking that the male lead in English looked familiar. I was correct. Pej Vahdat played Arastoo Vaziri on Bones for eight years.

A fair amount of the play, which takes place in a classroom in Iran where adult students are learning English, is in Farsi, except not really. If you go see it, you’ll understand what I mean, though it may take you a couple minutes, as it did for most everyone at the performance. In any event, don’t think that you have to spend a year learning the language before seeing the show, though you could brush up before the play’s anticipated Broadway arrival in December.

Judgment Day – Chicago Shakespeare Theater – May 22, 2024

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Part Defending Your Life, part Here Comes Mr. Jordan/Heaven Can Wait and part Michael, Judgment Day (not to be confused with the Terminator movie) gives Jason Alexander free rein to ham it up comedically on stage and he doesn’t disappoint, though I wondered whether the flap at the back of his toupee was on purpose. Even when you see the joke coming, he hits a home run.

As does the whole cast, in particular Candy Buckley as an Angel with an attitude.

With great humor, the play presents the audience with profound things to think about, but the only message I chose to take from it related to sleeping on your stomach.

Right near the end of the show, it occurred to me that the trajectory of Alexander’s character, Sammy Campo, reminded me in a way of Sky Masterson’s journey in Guys and Dolls, though Masterson was never the low-life that Campo was.

In terms of sleaze per square foot, Campo, through much of the play, more closely resembles the lawyer Alexander played in Pretty Woman. By the end, however, speaking of home runs, (spoiler alert) he’s more like Roy Hobbs in The Natural returning home to play catch with the son he never knew about.

Chicago Sings Broadway Pop II – House of Blues – April 15, 2024

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I wasn’t even at the venue yet and already was having a good time as I walked past the post office and saw the long line of last-minute tax filers, of whom I joyously was not a member, nervously double-checking their precious cargo with only 45 minutes before closing to get their valued postmarks.

The annual Porchlight Music Theatre spring event once again hit all the right notes and was an even better experience than last year’s first exploration of Broadway Pop.

The food, which was excellent, was easier to obtain this year, set out on a buffet table so that we didn’t have to huddle near the door to the kitchen to intercept staff as they emerged with trays of appetizers that were voraciously attacked and emptied within seconds. It also allowed for something other than finger food, which sounds cannibalistic. As a side note (like almost everything I write), we ate off bamboo plates, a first for me, for the full panda experience.

The performances were, as always, first rate. I’ll mention a few. Billy Rude, whom I last saw in Pump Boys and Dinettes, once again put his rock ’n’ roll talents on display with a rousing rendition of Johnny B. Goode, currently featured in the stage musical version of Back to the Future.

Nik Kmiecik also broke out his axe in Pinball Wizard (Tommy), a turn that only lacked a Pete Townsend-like demolition at the end, problem due to budget constraints and the fact that he needed it again later to lead the audience in a participatory rendition of Sweet Caroline (A Beautiful Noise), as is the custom with this classic, perhaps more so than with any tune outside the Star Spangled Banner.

The dancers made me dream of what it must be like to be flexible, but, my one disappointment, which carries over from last year, was that there was no tapping. I recovered from that psychological trauma thanks to the great mood that pervaded the room.

The star of the night for many was Kelly Felthous, whose The History of Wrong Guys (Kinky Boots) put her singing and comedic talents on full display. She even threw in a dance split in the middle of the song for no discernible reason other than she could. Bonus points for that.

The Band’s Visit – Writers Theatre – March 23, 2024

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Here I go again, being heretical.

The Writers Theatre production of The Band’s Visit was highly recommended, across the board, except by me. I am, however, willing to recommend it, especially now that the run is over.

I’ve not seen other versions, so I have nothing to compare it against. I’m told I should see the original movie, that it would help me to better understand the play. I probably will, as I had high hopes for the show, but should that be necessary?

On Broadway, it won the Tony award for Best Musical, but the competition was Frozen, Mean Girls and SpongeBob SquarePants, enough grains of salt to fill a shaker.

I thought the action was disjointed, harmed by multiple subplots, that, from my perspective, went plotz.

And, though I usually have no problem with nontraditional casting, it made no sense to have a woman portray a man, telephone guy, in an underplot that could have used a burial plot.

I would like to praise the lead, Sophie Madorsky. Hers was by far the most interesting character and she easily held my attention, except, in a couple scenes, when I was distracted by a large screen behind her showing a live video of her movements, for no apparent reason.

I did leave the theater on a high note, literally and figuratively, provided by The Concert, for me the best part of the show.

Mrs. Doubtfire – Nederlander Theatre – March 3, 2024

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Mrs. Doubtfire is fun. Rob McClure isn’t Robin Williams. But vice versa. McClure is one of those Broadway stars we often don’t get to see in Chicago unless it’s in a pre-Broadway tryout, which can be disappointing (I think back to when I saw Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth in a easily-forgotten production of The Addams Family) or the performer is somewhat past their sweet spot in terms of Broadway demand (too many examples to mention), having been replaced by the next generation of ubertalent.

Speaking of the next generation, Giselle Gutierrez, a sophomore in college, as Lydia Hillard, displayed a voice and stage presence that will undoubtedly take her to Broadway some day.

McClure has more energy at age 41 than I had at age 17. When he isn’t acting (with his real-life wife as his stage wife), singing, dancing (in a variety of styles, with an awesome ensemble around him), nailing jokes, and doing at least eight or ten different voices, he’s busy getting in and out of the Mrs. Doubtfire mask, wig and costumes, and sharing the process with the audience, so that I can confidently say that he puts his pants on one leg at a time, but quickly, and without falling on his face.

The show has a somewhat checkered past, having started previews three days before all Broadway productions were closed for a year-and-a-half due to Covid, and then shutting down again for two months after only a month of performances due to more Covid concerns. McClure finally got enough stage time to get nominated for a Tony Award, but the show had lost all its momentum and didn’t last long on Broadway, which led to McClure’s interest in doing the national tour, to our great benefit.

Anything Goes (Take 2) – Porchlight Music Theatre – February 16, 2024

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I raved about Anything Goes when I saw it on opening night. It was even better the second time around, so I felt the need to expand upon my earlier praise.

Emma Ogea graced us with her beautiful voice again, and this time she seemed even more comfortable in her role as Hope Harcourt, settling in while she continues to attend Columbia College!

I am continually amazed (I’m apparently a little slow) at the new talent coming out of our local schools and performing like veterans. Among the rest of the cast, Logan Becker also is a student at Columbia and Rachael Dec just graduated Northwestern last year. Gabriel Solis has three other plays under his belt and probably hasn’t even started high school yet.

Among the more veteran performers, Luke Nowakowski (as Billy Crocker) impressed me even more than I already was with his vocal range.

Ciara Hickey was a treat and I now realize I saw them perform at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre’s 2022 It Came from Outer Space, which I loved.

Steve McDonagh (Moonface Martin) gets to ham it up big time, and does so very successfully.

Jackson Evans (Lord Evelyn Oakleigh) still gets to display some wild dance moves, but they tightened his choreography up a little to allow him to shine even more.

And last, but never least, there isn’t much I can say about Meghan Murphy that I haven’t said many times before, but I would suggest that she has taken what was already a star performance and upped her game even more, if that’s even possible, with what seemed like an increasing array of facial reactions and physical gestures that could be their own highlight film.

Meghan has been nominated six times for a Jeff Award, but never won. I ‘m guessing that this will be the seventh time and the charm.

Anything Goes – Porchlight Music Theatre – January 18, 2024

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In Porchlight’s aptly-named production of Cole Porter’s hit-filled Anything Goes, it does.

Meghan Murphy (aka Big Red) doesn’t just enter a stage, she commands it, as is only right in a broad comedy. And her fans in the audience, which now is all of them, hooted and hollered in acknowledgement every time.

Original book writers, Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse (and subsequent revisers Timothy Crouse and John Weidman) and lyricist Porter throw everything and then some against the wall, and most of it sticks. Am I the only one who thinks the character name Elisha (Eli) J. Whitney somehow relates to his constant consumption of alcohol, which I assumed to be gin.

In a bizarre way, related to his manipulation of the English language, Yale graduate Porter reminds me of Harvard graduate Tom Lehrer (who, coincidentally, had a roommate named Crouse – no kidding, no relation). And then throw in the fact that I last saw Jackson Evans, who plays Lord Evelyn Oakleigh, when he portrayed Princeton in Avenue Q in 2014, and you’ve got more ivy than the outfield walls at Wrigley.

Speaking of Evans, his limb-splaying comedic dance moves reminded me of Squidward’s dancing in The SpongeBob Square Pants Musical, only Evans only needed two legs, not ten.

And speaking of dancing, watching tap dancers strut their stuff on a big Broadway stage is one thing, but watching the same number of them fly across the compact Ruth Page space in a synchronized frenzy of fun is a whole different level of entertainment.

And then there are the beautiful singing voices of Luke Nowakowski (Billy Crocker) and Emma Ogea (Hope Harcourt), who, ridiculously, is still in college.

But back to Murphy, who held her pose and smile for so long every time the crowd gave her an extended ovation at the end of her songs that I thought her face would freeze in that position like that of Mr Sardonicus in the 1961 William Castle film.

If all that isn’t enough for you to run out and buy a ticket, one last thought, the band alone, nailing the memorable Porter tunes, is worth the price of admission.

Boop! The Musical – CIBC Theatre – December 17, 2023

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There are 25 cast members in Boop!, if you don’t count the character Pudgy (real name unknown), the dog marionette, but you should. It’s a star (as is its marionettist, Philip Huber).

There could have been no better way, on a Sunday afternoon, to avoid watching the Bears tie the NFL record for the most 10+ point 4th quarter leads blown in one season (three and counting).

Twenty-three year-old Jasmine Amy Rogers, as Betty Boop, is a star. And her 16-year-old accomplice Angelica Hale, as Trisha, has a singing voice beyond her years.

Neither of them was even born when castmate Faith Prince won her Tony in Guys and Dolls, but she’s still got it (not the cold).

As in any pre-Broadway run, tinkering continues, even after rave reviews, and cast members perform flawlessly as if nothing has changed.

One song, She Knocks Me Out, has been added since the program was printed (as evidenced in the insert), and I imagine some dialogue has been altered. What probably hasn’t been touched is the great choreography and dancing and the bonanza of technical aspects of the show.

The cost of the costumes alone probably exceeds the GNP of several small countries.

And even someone with cataracts might be blinded by the palette of colors once Betty enters the real world.

As a further bonus, one song even gives us a little captioning, ala Mitch Miller, with the aid of a bouncing ball, which never hits the ground (unlike the tragically-comedic Hail Mary pass at the end of the Bears game).

The Hip Hop Nutcracker – Cadillac Palace – Dec. 13, 2023

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While Tchaikovsky waited in the wings, and I let my mind wander, the show opened with special guest emcee Kurtis Blow doing a bit of an opening act, as if we were in Las Vegas.

Then Marissa Licata walked out, violin in hand, and got things going in a direction more to my tastes, the first act culminating, as stated in the program, when the “Nutcracker, aided by a magic pair of sneakers, defeats the Mouse King.” As Mars Blackmon told us in 1989, as if he were watching the dancing on the stage, “it’s gotta be the shoes.”

The beginning of the second act goes back in time to a nightclub, in 1984, using cool video effects that convinced me that time travel, via a very fast subway train, apparently is possible.

That setting provided the opportunity for the cast to show off their acrobatic dance skills, one-by-one, as if they were competing in an Olympics gymnastic floor exercise. I awarded each and every one of them a ten. Simone Biles would have been hard-pressed to keep up with this crew.

There were lots of moves that should be physically impossible, demonstrating remarkable strength and flexibility, all to the beat of the music, but I was most intrigued by Jessie Smith’s ability to move six or seven body parts simultaneously in different directions.