Displaying items by tag: CIBC Theatre

Nostalgia-inducing unforgettable hits! Broadway In Chicago is delighted to announce that the internationally acclaimed hit theater show, THE SIMON & GARFUNKEL STORY will return to Chicago for a limited one-week engagement at the CIBC Theatre (18 W. Monroe St.), April 30 - May 5. Tickets will go on sale on Monday, March 4.

The immersive concert-style tribute show recreates the magic and authenticity of Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel on stage and chronicles the amazing journey shared by the iconic, GRAMMY-award winning folk-rock duo. It tells the story from their humble beginnings as Tom & Jerry, to their incredible success as one of the best-selling music groups of the '60s, and to their dramatic split in 1970. THE SIMON & GARFUNKEL STORY culminates with the pair's famous The Concert in Central Park reunion in 1981 which had more than half a million fans in attendance.

The show features a set list of nearly 30 songs and uses state-of-the-art video projection, photos, and original film footage. A full live band will perform all of the hits including "Mrs. Robinson," "Cecilia," "Bridge Over Troubled Water," "Homeward Bound," and many more complete with the unmistakably perfect harmonies that will transport audiences down memory lane.

With more than 100 million album sales since 1965, Simon & Garfunkel's unforgettable songs and poetic lyrics poignantly captured the times made them one of the most successful folk-rock duos of all time. Over the years, they won 10 GRAMMY Awards and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990. In 1977, the Brit Awards honored their "Bridge Over Troubled Water" album with Best International Album. In 2003, Simon & Garfunkel were awarded a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and the following year saw their "The Sound of Silence" awarded a Grammy Hall of Fame Award.

More information about THE SIMON & GARFUNKEL STORY can be found at http://www.thesimonandgarfunkelstory.com.

ABOUT RUCKUS ENTERTAINMENT (Producers): 

Ruckus Entertainment, based in Los Angeles and formed in 2022, brings together veteran entertainment producers Alison Spiriti, Justin Sudds, Dean Elliott, and Ralph Schmidtke who are collectively responsible for producing over 100 touring productions seen by millions around the world. Their burgeoning production company brings audiences world-class concerts and live events and is focused on celebrating the history and music behind iconic, globally recognized musical artists. Current productions include THE SIMON & GARFUNKEL STORY, RESPECT, The Life and Music of George Michael, and The British Invasion. For more information, visit www.thesimonandgarfunkelstory.com

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE

Tuesday, April 30 at 7:00 p.m.

Wednesday, May 1 at 1:00 p.m. & 7:00 p.m.

Thursday, May 2 at 7:00 p.m.

Friday, May 3 at 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, May 4 at 2:00 p.m. & 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, May 5 at 1:00 p.m.

TICKET INFORMATION

Individual tickets for THE SIMON & GARFUNKEL STORY will go on sale to the public on Monday, March 4 and range from $25.00 - $85.00 with a select number of premium tickets available. Tickets are available now for groups of 10 or more by calling Broadway In Chicago Group Sales at (312) 977-1710 or emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. For more  information visit www.BroadwayInChicago.com.

ABOUT BROADWAY IN CHICAGO

Broadway In Chicago was created in July 2000 and over the past 24 years has grown to be one of the largest commercial touring homes in the country. A Nederlander Presentation, Broadway In Chicago lights up the Chicago Theater District entertaining up to 1.7 million people annually in five theatres. Broadway In Chicago presents a full range of entertainment, including musicals and plays, on the stages of five of the finest theatres in Chicago's Loop including the  Cadillac Palace Theatre, CIBC Theatre, James M. Nederlander Theatre, Auditorium Theatre, and just off the Magnificent Mile, the Broadway  Playhouse at Water Tower Place.

For more information and tickets, visit www.BroadwayInChicago.com.

Facebook @BroadwayInChicago ● Instagram @broadwayinchicago ● TikTok @broadwayinchicago ● #broadwayinchicago

“May God bless and keep you always
May your wishes all come true
May you always do for others
And let others do for you
May you build a ladder to the stars
And climb on every rung
May you stay forever young
May you stay forever young”

For many, if they are unfamiliar with the music of Bob Dylan, they have at least heard the one. As the opening cords of “Forever Young” start to play, Elizabeth (Jennifer Blood) takes center stage. She sits on the bench and sings – backlit by a screen of light blue. Aside from her husband, Nick (John Schiappa), who sits frozen by her side – the stage is empty. The room is silent save for her stunning vibrato. We are left with nothing but her and the lyrics on which to focus, allowing us to join in her somber, reflective journey.  

Juke-box musicals can often run into challenges. In trying to fit an entire score of pre-made material, it can become tough to craft a story that flows and feels authentic. Girl from the North Country is a Bob Dylan juke-box musical, and you may just find that the creators found the perfect balance of storytelling to match his folk/rock genre.

Written and directed by Conor McPherson, Girl from the North Country centers on a group of wayward travelers in Duluth, Minnesota in 1934. When these characters meet at Nick’s old guesthouse, we catch glimpses into their lives – past relationships, hopes for the future, and all of the regrets leading them to this moment. Much of McPherson’s musical is told in a vignette style – moments in which we see these characters briefly interact before moving on to their rooms for the evening. Scenic and Costume Designer Rae Smith heightens the theatricality with her design. Rather than featuring a full house on stage, we see the structure in segments – with walls dropping in various places as a way to highlight the characters’ interactions before moving to a different space in the house. 

The musical showcases a list of famous songs by Bob Dylan including “Forever Young,” “All Along the Watch Tower,” “Hurricane,” and “Like a Rolling Stone.” With the story moving so quickly, Dylan’s slower musical style allows the audience to catch up as the songs unfold – giving us just enough pause to catch a window into the characters’ true feelings before speeding back up again. This especially rings true in the more heartbreaking, romantic storylines of the show.

“Tight Connection to my Heart (Has Anybody Seen My Love)” appears early in Act One and features Marianne Laine (Sharaé Moultrie) – the adopted daughter of the innkeeper. We learn that she is pregnant but refuses to let anyone know the identity of the father – including her parents. As we see her break away after guest after guest pushes for that answer, the music starts to play. The lights shift. Moultrie is backlit by a bright green screen as she begins to sing – creating a haunting presence as her powerful belt rings throughout the theater. After seeing so many characters move in and out of the space, you may find that Marianne’s isolation on stage almost feels like a shock, but also offers a much-needed moment of backstory before quickly moving on to the next.

A moving story and jaw-dropping vocalists alone make Girl from the North Country a night to remember Conor McPherson and his artistic team celebrate Bob Dylan’s music in a way that I can only imagine is exciting for long-time fans to experience first-hand.

RECOMMENDED

Running through February 25, 2024 at the CIBC Theatre – 18 Monroe Street.

I remember Betty Boop the cartoon character because she was my mom's favorite female cartoon as the sexy, saucy 1930's flapper who had men chasing her around town in her voluptuous, tight-fitting dresses - and this wonderfully staged musical does a brilliant job in bringing her to life! Jasmine Amy Rogers as Betty Boop is a star on her way to Broadway with her outstanding vocals, solid dancing skills and an air of innocence mixed with womanly wisdom that gives the entire story a warm grounded presence despite the cartoon's previously conceived air head version of her. 

In BOOP! The Betty Boop Musical, Betty gets to time travel from the black and white cartoon world she lives in to 2023 real world New York city in full color where she feels herself to be both "Real and Free!" There is a slight resemblance in plot there to the Barbie movie when a fictional character from a sexist TV or toy world becomes "real” in today's much different, progressing world - and this plot is also very well executed. People of all ages will identify with that feeling of having their lives go from blah, gray days to bright rainbow colors with one exciting leap of faith! 

When arriving in New York via time travel Boop lands at Comic Con and luckily meets her mate, Dwayne, played with flair by Ainsley Anthony Melham, a struggling young jazz musician with whom she falls in love. Together they perform some fantastic duets like "Why Look Around the Corner" in which the two lovers decide to stop waiting for what "might be around the corner" and decide to love each other in that very moment before their worlds are separated forever. Melham also sings the passionate and exuberant “She Knocks Me Out!" a song that describes how falling in love with Boop at first sight has knocked him off his feet with love for her and all her lively energy and sexual beauty causing him to fall hopelessly in love.

The exciting score by composer David Foster and lyricist Susan Birkenhead includes several hit songs, some of which include "Something to Shout About" sung by Rogers. In the well-performed number, Boop describes that after experiencing both her cartoon world and unrequited love in the real world that she is still waiting to find something really thrilling in life to really live her life to its fullest and not for other "human causes" like that of the politician Raymond Demarest played with great humor and jazz style by Erich Bergen. Demarest, a former sanitation worker now running for office, tries to use Boop’s popularity to con citizens of New York into voting for him so he can con them into using his "Doo Doo Solid Waste System". Nor is Boop looking to find more fame or money in the real world. In fact, from the beginning of the show her character expresses her deep desire to be somewhere, anywhere where she is "not famous" and is free to be her own unique self. But guess what, she's still as famous as ever in 2023, ninety years later - a true Comic Con star. 

This show has everything we’d hope to see in a big stage production. In Boop! The Betty Boop Musical aka The Boop-Oop-A Doosical, the full stage of excellent dancers, singers, and actors swirl to life with brilliant color. The creative costume design is credited to Gregg Barnes while David Rockwell has designed a huge and constantly changing set that dazzles the eye and enhances the storytelling, with equally colorful dynamic and complex lighting by Philip S. Rosenberg. The show also includes some real eye-popping New York-style hoofing comprising of full cast tap dancing numbers by the talented director/choreographer Jerry Mitchell that rival the Rockettes. This fast-paced, musical, and visual gem also gets a lift thanks to wonderful performances by Angelica Hale as Trisha, Boop’s newfound teenage friend in the real world, Tony Award Winner Faith Prince as Valentina and Stephen DeRosa as the highly and overly animated, Grampy.

Phillip Huber operates the one puppet in the show, Pudgy, Boop’s chubby, white Maltese puppy with adorable huge black eyes who time travels as well. This is a very cute bit of comic relief and the whole audience enjoys this little treat of excellently done puppetry.

Though a fan favorite for decades, let’s face it, the Betty Boop cartoon was littered with discriminatory, narrow-minded views of women. But, thankfully, the problem of the sexist subtext of the times when this black and white cartoon was written in originally, which has survived in cult pop culture, is finally resolved in this fantastic new musical. Upon returning to her own world, Boop’s eyes, now opened from her visit to today’s real world, the 1930’s cartoon starlet tells the director of her "talkie shorts" that she will NOT allow those plotlines to ever be shot again if they include leering men chasing her around desks only to be hit by her with a frying pan. 

BOOP! is based on an old cartoon yes, but its cast and producers combine new ideas about love and womanhood with modern and classic dance numbers that fill the stage with constant movement. Boop’s show stopping and catchy songs, belted out with great range, power and joy by the fabulous Jasmine Amy Rogers, are the Boop oop a doop! 

I highly recommend this sparkling, upbeat World Premiere production for audiences of all ages! 

BOOP! The Betty Boop Musical runs through December 24th at the CIBC Theatre, 18 W. Monroe St. For tickets and/or more show information, visit broadwayinchicago.com.

By the time Charles Fuller’s “A Soldier’s Play” debuted on Broadway in January 2020 it was already a classic in American theatre. It premiered with the Negro Ensemble Company in 1981, winning the Pulitzer Prize in Drama in 1982. It was adapted to film and was nominated for Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor for the Late Great Adolph Caesar at the 1985 Academy Awards. After 40 years it finally graced the Broadway stage just before the death of its playwright. According to Fuller, his refusal to change the line “You’ll have to get used to Black people being in charge.” at the producer’s demand, prevented the show from going to Broadway sooner. I personally believe the universe was waiting for just the right director to bring the majesty of this play to Broadway. The only director filling that role is the talented Kenny Leon.

The play opens on an U.S.  army base in Louisiana in 1944 during World War II. Tech Sergeant Vernon C. Waters, (an excellent Eugene Lee) drunk and staggering out of his mind, has been brutally murdered.. Waters is a self-hating, sadistic evil man. He takes out his anger on his men. He hates his white comrades for who they are and his Black comrades for who they are not.

To investigate this crime, the Provost Marshal General’s office in Washington sends Capt. Richard Davenport (the debonair Norm Lewis), a Black lawyer. The white officers are shocked at the sight of a Black officer they may have to answer to. The Black recruits are bursting with pride to see one of their own in a position of leadership.

Davenport, despite roadblocks to his investigation prides himself on following the clues and getting to the truth of the murder. He meticulously interviews enlisted men both Black and white to understand why Waters would be a victim of murder. Based on interrogations and flashbacks we learn the murderer can be anyone even the very men in his charge.

Director Leon gets the best from this uniformly stellar cast.  Among the standout performances are the exuberant Alex Michael Givens as Corporal Ellis, our very own Sheldon D. Brown as Private C.J. Memphis, a simple guitar playing man and William Connell as the skeptical Captain Charles Taylor.

The two-level scaffolding set with bunks and footlockers works well, showing present action up front while when necessary showing what’s happening in the background. Scene changes were effortless and clean. The flashback effects were greatly assisted by Lighting designer Allen Lee Hughes lights. World War II military attire were realistic thanks to Costume Designer Dede Ayite.

Although it did not affect my enjoyment or enthusiasm for “A Soldiers Play “it must be stated, one of the major themes in this play is COLORISM.  “A Soldiers Play” is not just a murder mystery as Roundabout Theatre Company’s production would have you believe. Omitting colorism does a disservice to the script.  Fuller was extremely clear about casting. “A Soldiers Play” is Fuller’s exploration of Blacks’ attitudes toward each other as well as toward the white military community he was once a part of.   Rule of thumb, if you must ask a playwright is it alright to do something, you probably shouldn’t be doing it.

“A Soldiers Play” is a classic from the Negro Ensemble Company demonstrating fearless writing, professional execution and top notch acting, for that it should not be missed.

When: Through April 16

Where: CIBC Theatre, 18 W. Monroe St.

Running time: 2 hours, 15 minutes

Tickets: $35-105 at 800-775-2000 

www.broadwayinchicago.com