I really enjoyed this unique program of ballet created and choreographed by Dwight Rhoden (formerly of Alvin Ailey) and Desmond Richardson and performed by Complexions Contemporary Ballet company that features an interesting combination of the music of Johann Sebastian and Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach along with the prolific rock icon, David Bowie. The choice to use music of classical composers, Bach, Vivaldi and Beethoven for the first half of this program before diving into the wonderful music of David Bowie was interesting and effective. 

At the sold out, one night only Chicago performance of ‘Stardust: From Back to Bowie’ at Auditorium Theatre, the audience seemed anxious to absorb the quality of this highly trained company's talents while waiting for the David Bowie portion of the show to begin.

I have to say that David Bowie's music was a perfect choice for this beautiful and rare company to perform as they chose to cast many wonderful dancers of all races, genders and sizes, which was refreshing to see rather than the more traditional ballet productions that feature dancers of virtually the same structured dimensions. This marvelously diverse company danced with precision, grace and a high-level of artistry and it was just a pleasure to watch them in action.

I’ll admit I was mostly drawn to see this production because of the use of David Bowie's music, so the second half of the show that featured exquisitely executed dancing to the compositions from the man behind Ziggy Stardust really resonated with me. Bowie’s complex, expansive, modern, and often gender-bending music was a seamless match made in Heaven with these exiting dancers and choreography.

It was in the Bowie portion of the performance that, to me, the dancers all seemed to really come alive, including their facial expressiveness, as some were allowed to or chose to lip sync during their interpretive solos, with each dancer taking turns playing the Bowie lead role. The moment Bowie’s music hit the audience’s ears is when the show really burst into life.

Although the classical, Bach-driven first half of the program was well done, the excitement, DRAMA and exquisite storytelling of the Bowie segment begs the question, why aren't more high-quality ballet dance companies using Bowie's music and/or other modern popular musician’s music to dance to? Bowie’s portion of the show was absolutely inspirational. I saw many child dancers in the audience and could tell they were encouraged and inspired by the use of male and female leads to portray Bowie himself. 

I highly recommend this beautiful and astonishing production by a very unique and well-trained company for audiences of all ages. 

I absolutely adored Golden Girls: The Laughs Continue directed by Eric Swanson, now playing at Broadway Playhouse. Having grown up in Miami, Florida with my working single mom when the show actually began airing, the Golden Girls have always been a nostalgic favorite for me. The only stage creations I've seen of Golden Girls have all been done in drag by some of the best drag actors and actresses in Chicago, so I was pleasantly surprised with this beautifully casted production to see the fantastic accuracy and sense of humor that came alive in this very funny and fast paced take on our four golden heroes. 

“It’s not an old episode, it’s a brand-new show,” said Vince Kelley, who plays Blanche said in an interview with WTTW. “Sophia is out on bail looking to make money. Rose and Blanche have started a new hookup app for seniors to meet. Through the app, Dorothy finds a younger man and experiences a new romance.” Kelley continued, “Did you watch Sex and the City or Girlfriends? They wouldn’t even exist. There wouldn’t even be that four-character type show without the Golden Girls.”

This new play is based on Golden Girls, the mega-popular TV series about four retired women living together that ran from the mid-eighties through the early nineties. The show helped pave the way for women in leading roles and has gained more and more popularity with generation after generation. The wonderful thing about the original TV show created by the brilliant writers Susan Harris and Paul Junger Witt, is the way it brought to light the problems, pitfalls and joys of aging in ways that were insightful, touching and hilarious. This production which is set in 2023 written by Robert Leleux takes the time to illustrate several important issues facing seniors today.

In this story, Sophia has been arrested for selling marijuana brownies and LSD laced cakes to her fellow senior citizens at the nearby senior assisted living facility and gives a wonderful speech about why she should not be sent to jail for "rolling a few joints for those of her friends who have glaucoma" or selling LSD cakes to otherwise terminally bored and serious seniors who want to get over their fear of death.

Rose and Blanche have created a hugely successful app for "horny seniors" called “Creakin’” because the alert sound is hysterically the sound of creaking bones. The girls hope to pay Sophia’s legal fees with the money they make from the app. Blanche declares with a sexy sigh, "You have no idea how many of them there ARE!!" It's a sound idea, actually. My mother spent eighteen years in various senior facilities and dating of any kind let alone sexual contact within each facility was very difficult and limited by their tiny community and inability to meet new people.

Dorothy just happens to use the app and swipes right on a younger man, Burt, who falls in love with her and offers her a whole new life as a star if she moves to New York with him! Dorothy’s younger love interest’s sincere sexual and intellectual attraction to her is not played off as a joke. It is played as a very exciting and mutually fulfilling meeting of minds and bodies in late life.  

This cast is downright stellar. Vince Kelley as Blanche is mind-blowing. Kelley is an absolute scene stealer with all of Blanche's overt sex appeal and unabashed libertine wildness. Adam Graber is an unbelievably beautiful and adorable Rose recreating with seeming ease and beauty the glorious comic timing of Betty White. Ryan Bernier, as Dorothy, has all of Bea Arthur's dry humor and intelligence and wisdom and even her subtle sexiness down pat while Christopher Kamm as Sophie hits on one-liner after one-liner. The transformation Kamm goes through to take on the role of Sophia in incredible in itself. Also commanding a good number of hearty laughs is Jason Bowen who plays dual roles of both Stanley, Dorothy’s ex-husband, and Burt, her new lover. The entire cast should be awarded for their performances which go beyond camp and into sincere tribute to each of the wonderful actresses who created these evergreen characters, Betty White, Bea Arthur, Estelle Getty and Rue McClanahan.

Yes, it takes great writers to create a show with this kind of universal and lasting appeal, but actresses are so often made to feel that they are replaceable, interchangeable and downright un-castable after the age of 35, and Arthur, White, McClanahan and Getty helped change that.

The degree to which these talented actors have recreated and brought back to life the work of four of the  greatest comediennes of ANY generation moved me so much because it demonstrated that the huge and long lasting success of this show hinged not just on the greatness of its writers, it absolutely was the result of the outstanding work of four actresses, who were always irreplaceable, never interchangeable and eminently castable well into their golden years. 

I highly recommend this production.

Golden Girls: The Laughs Continue is being performed at Broadway Playhouse at Water Place through May 26^th. For tickets and/or more show information, click here.   

*Extended through June 9th!

I thoroughly enjoyed this modern and timely play on both the issues of Hollywood stars whose lives are constantly scrutinized by complete strangers and how easily it is for any person now to be fed false information online in ways that can affect their lives either positively or negatively regardless of the intentions of the sender. Highway Patrol is being performed at Goodman Theatre’s Albert Stage and is funny, haunting, and engaging through and through. 

Dana Delaney, who plays herself, is best known for her roles in the TV series China Beach and the hit film Tombstone, and she looks and sounds fantastic. I have always liked her plucky, no-nonsense energy as an actress, and in this true-life story of her work life and internet/social media interactions the audience gets a very accurate glimpse of how lonely a life in the arts can be and also how badly many actors are treated by the industry at the expense of their physical and mental health.

I don't want to give away any spoilers because half the fun of this show is the whodunnit twists and turns her life took back in 2012 that continued for several years, sometimes dominating her private life at all hours... 24/7. The story begins when the actress decides to interact directly with one fan on social media, Cam. Thomas Murphy Molony is a very talented young actor who makes you feel deeply for Cam, a young Twitter fan who is suffering from a chronic and terminal illness, a recipient of two heart transplants who is innocently and adoringly in love with Delaney. While Cam enjoys his conversations with Delaney, his grandmother often provides updates regarding the boy’s health and upcoming procedures to keep her in the loop. Dot-Marie Jones, who takes on the role of Cam’s caretaker, Nan, is a very gifted character actress best known for her work on Glee and Desperate Housewives. Jones really displays her versatile acting range playing such a multifaceted character and does so beautifully with depth and complexity. 

Peter Gallagher’s highly recognizable voice is also strategically used in this production as he plays the true-life friend and confidant of Delaney’s that he has been throughout most of her career. The recognizability of his voice in this show gives real weight to the fact that a human voice is like a fingerprint and gives much more honest information and clarity as to whom we are communicating over the voices we imagine in our minds when reading our own DM's or emails.

Director Mike Donahue does a great job staging the show into two compelling acts and theatre goers should arrive early to see Dana Delaney in character on stage prior to the start of the play. Having Delaney onstage beforehand is a very interesting choice and sets the tone of the play, acknowledging that most people, fans or not, are fascinated by seeing stars in person that they have "known" for decades.

I enjoyed Dane Laffrey’s set design and Yee Eun Nam’s projection designs so much! The colorful and quick changing sets along with large high-definition projections not only help the audience follow along with the digital clues based on the digital archives of actor Dana Delaney (with text curation from playwright Jen Silverman), but they also combine to form beautiful and realistic backdrops depicting the glamorous luxury, palm trees, sunshine, and sometimes loneliness of Delaney’s Los Angeles home and also her work life on set. 

The most fascinating thing I took away from this very enjoyable piece of theatre was not about the necessity of verifying and protecting oneself from the many digital communications we all send and receive every day. What struck me rather was the idea presented to the audience that sometimes we as isolated humans living in this new frontier of instantaneous digital communication, including celebrities who appear to "have it all", can possibly grow to miss fictional love messages and reassurances of digital communication even after discovering their true source. 

Dana Delaney is absolutely outstanding in this production, as is the entire cast. I highly recommend this funny, touching, yet haunting, modern play. 

Highway Patrol is being performed at Goodman Theatre though February 18^th. For tickets and/or more information visit www.goodmantheatre.org.

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.

With so many wonderful dance options to enjoy the classic Holiday ballet The Nutcracker, it is refreshing to find one of such high quality with easy access and parking for families of all sizes and seniors at Northeastern Illinois University Salme Harju Steinberg Fine Arts Center.

Ruth Page Civic Ballet, no longer a full-time company, has a roster that is composed of students and freelance dancers on short-term contracts, however with the original choreography by Ruth Page and additional Choreography by Dolores Long, Larry Long, and Birute Barodicaite, this production demands a high level of skill and all of the principals and children cast really deliver the thrills and magic of ballet that one expects from a professional  company based in Chicago.  

A brief synopsis of the classic Two Act Ballet The Nutcracker: Act I presents a cozy Christmas Eve party, “Party Scene”, at the Stahlbaum home. When midnight strikes, the evening takes a magical turn, and the house is transformed into a battleground. Once the battle has ended, Clara and her Prince are then transported to a beautiful pine forest: the “Land of Snow”. 

In Act 2 Clara, Isabelle Cody-Källén, and her Prince travel to the Kingdom of Sweets. In honor of our heroine, the Sugar Plum Fairy presents a celebration of sweets from around the world in the Kingdom of Sweets!

Isabelle Cody-Källén as the child dancer heroine Clara is absolutely a pleasure to watch! Cody-Källén is a star in the making, her graceful lines and form are absolutely beautiful to see in a young dancer and her angelic face gives off a thoughtfulness and maturity in this role that is exciting to see!

Costume Design by José Verona needs to be acknowledged, as the costumes for every scene and every age performer were lush and beautifully designed to give a truly festive feeling of luxury. 

The two principal adult dancers Marité Fuentes who plays the Snow Queen and American Beauty and Adiarys Almeida as the Sugar Plum Fairy were spectacular! Both ballerinas are Cuban-born and are members of National Ballet of Cuba.  

I highly recommend this full length 2-hour and 15-minute classic, yet fresh and exciting, production of the majestic Nutcracker ballet for audiences of every age to welcome the Holiday season with the love of spectacular ballet! 

Billed as Chicago’s oldest Nutcracker tradition, Ruth Page’s The Nutcracker was performed at Northeastern Illinois University Salme Harju Steinberg Fine Arts Center this past weekend but has additional performances at the College of Lake County James Lumber Center for the Performing Arts Saturday, December 16^th at 1 PM and 5 PM and Sunday, December 17^th at 1PM. For tickets and/or more show information, click here.  

Recommended.

I've been a devoted fan of David Cerda's Hell in a Handbag Productions for so many of the 23 years they have been in Chicago, and I still get the same great feelings whenever I attend one of their award-winning camp comedy/musical shows.

Having grown up in Miami, Florida with my Golden Girl mom, Joanne, during the years in which the TV show was on the air I have a special affinity for all of their Golden Girls adaptations, especially the Christmas Editions. 

The plotline for The Golden Girls Save Christmas - A Lost Parody Episode at Center on Halsted involves a very sexy Blanche who boffs old Saint Nick until his back gives out and the whole gang has to band together to save Christmas. This show is just a nonstop funny reminder that holidays are for loving up your family, friends, and lovers like any other Holiday. 

This year's Christmas production directed by Frankie Leo Bennett features original cast members David Cerda as Dorothy, Grant Drager as Blanche, Ed Jones as Rose, and Ryan Oates as Sophia as the fearsome geriatric foursome - and they are as spot on as ever in their expert renditions of all four great actresses in the TV show. The fantastic performances from these four original cast members are reason enough for me to keep returning year after year for all of the Golden Girls Handbag shows. 

With the leads taking on the famous TV roles - Cerda as Bea Arthur’s Dorothy the dry, cool anchor of comedy, Drager as the flirtatious unabashedly insatiable Blanche, played by so well by Rue Mclanahan and Ed Jones as the naive, scene stealer as Betty White’s Rose, the Handbag company goes way beyond parody and even beyond camp into a realm of musical theatre genius. This talented cast is compelling and endearing to watch as one feels that you are at times witnessing a live theatrical performance from these three grand dames of comedy!

There are fantastic cameos and lots of big laughs and songs coming from the supporting cast this year from Eustace Allen, Kelly Bolton, Terry McCarthy, Michael Rashid, Scott Sawa, Tyler Anthony Smith, Danne W. Taylor, and Robert Williams.

Hell in a Handbag Golden Girls shows always begin with the whole audience singing the theme song, "Thank you for being a friend," which perfectly sets up the audience for an evening of lighthearted, sentimental, yet bawdy, good adult fun. 

If you are one of those people who delight in period costumes from the 80's you will LOVE all of the fantastic hair makeup and costumes and shoes in this show. The production team includes Madeline Felauer (Costume Design), Liz Syd Genco (Make-Up Design) and Keith Ryan (Wig Designer). 

Hell in a Handbag Productions’ The Golden Girls Save Xmas also has a generous intermission for drinking and catching up with your friends that begins and ends with terrific full cast song and dance numbers like the great tune “You Can't Stop Christmas! It's Coming!”, so you feel you've gotten a nice full night out of socializing and entertainment!  

Be sure to pose for a picture with the fully costumed cast of stars after the show and your donation will be given to AIDS-related charities. Also, mark your calendars for Peep Show, the team’s yearly fundraiser on December 10^th at Center on Halsted to support Hell in A Handbag Productions, a Chicago classic camp favorite theater company that keeps on creating compassionate, funny, camp extravaganzas with live singers - not impersonators - who maintain the highest level of comedic expertise! For more information on Peep Show, click here.

The world premeire The Golden Girls Save Xmas - A Lost Parody Episode by Artistic Director David Cerda is being performed at Center on Halsted’s The Hoover-Leppen Theatre through December 30^th. Tickets are just $42 if purchased in advance and $45 at the door, and $36 for group rates of 10 or more. For tickets and/or more show information, visit www.handbagproductions.org.    

Highly recommended!

It was such a pleasure to see a Chicago not for profit dance company, Identity Performing Arts, now in its seventh season, meet such high levels of ballet and modern dance!

With several choreographed pieces by Founder and Artistic Director Ginny Ching-Yin Lo under her belt, the premiere of Enliven will mark her 10th creative work. Lo, born in Hong Kong and trained with the Hong Kong Ballet, is both a choreographer and dancer whose works have been performed in the US as well as in China, France, and Germany.

I can't say enough about the sensual and energizing choreography by Ginny Ching-Yin Lo!

In her own words…

Perpetual

This piece premiered in Spring 2023. Perpetual reveals the delicate balance between our dual natures. Experience the angelic and the demonic, all under the veil of ethereal love, harmoniously juxtaposed and eternally connected. While precisely executed, this piece was beautifully fluid and, in many moments, hypnotic, and was the perfect opening segment for what the rest of the performance was to offer. 

Ginny has a great gift for staging and creating multiple levels of emotional depth and the feeling of synchronicity in action for her talented group of nine dancers.

Kindred

There was an interesting and refreshing 15-minute multi-media short film presentation by director Spence Warren of the premiere of Ching-Yin Lo's piece titled Kindred.

Kindred is a celebration of the merging and new possibilities that arise when individual artists get together to collaborate creatively.  

The short film was shot in one 8-hour day in a sunny private home with dancers striking beautiful and sometimes somber poses on common objects like stairwells, tabletops and even on top of beds, which gave this piece a modern identifiable setting that made you realize that our homes can also be a place for the physical expressions of creative dance.

Enliven

The final third of the program was Lo's premiere of her newest piece Enliven.

I am including the music choices for this piece because they were so striking and perfect with Ginny Ching-Yin Lo’s flowing, powerful and sexy choreography; Enliven Music: “Lemon Tree” by Jingxuan (Guzheng) and Felix Nunes (Cello), “China Wind” by Zhuolin Wang, “Fusion” by Estas Tonne”, “Abundance” by Future of the Forestry, “Glittery Green Vibrations” by Wilson Hicken and “Mortise & Tenon” by Young Yan.

I would like to acknowledge the dancers, all of whom were classically trained and surpassed my high level of expectation for a dance troupe under Lo's direction. The dance ensemble included Josephine Castillo, Mark Gonzalez, Mackenzi Bolyard-Pizaῆa, Amelia Harris, Audrey Hartnett, Wilson Hicken, Hayley Midea, Hanley Simpson, and Tiana Thompson.

While the two male dancers were clearly skilled and dynamic in their own right, it was the seven women in this troupe that really exuded full expression of this stunning and complex choreography and were just fascinating to watch. Also, the use of lighting for both live works performed was perfectly managed to effectively heighten the experience, creating dream-like sequences.

Ginny Ching-Yin Lo states that her mission is to create dance that addresses "universal societal issues and affirms the values of our individual and community diversity with the intent to heal and restore." And I really felt a sense of meditative restoration and exuberance while enjoying this program. Lo has achieved and will continue to achieve her goal of "healing and restoring" the senses by reminding her audiences of the healing qualities of eternal and ethereal love in motion.

Recently performed at Ruth Page Center for the Arts and again this past weekend at Studio5 in Evanston, I highly recommend this exciting, stimulating yet peaceful dance program and future performances by Identity Performing Arts to audiences of ALL ages for dance lovers who are accustomed to seeing high quality ballet and modern dance.

For upcoming events and more information on this wonderful dance company, visit www.identityperformingarts.org.

I thoroughly enjoyed this colorful, sumptuous, and romantic production of Rogers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella at The Drury Lane Theatre from beginning to end.

Directed and choreographed with lively and complex numbers by Amber Mak, with musical direction by Carolyn Brady, I felt that the spirit and female empowering themes of the original Cinderella were kept intact. Cinderella is the unlikely and supernatural story of a girl who is treated like a house servant once her stepmother takes charge after her well-to-do father passes away. No longer protected by her father, Cinderella is at the mercy of her resentful stepmother and her two stepsisters. But much to the chagrin of the stepmother, Cinderella’s inner beauty and strong character does not go unnoticed by the kingdom’s prince, who is seeking a bride.

Lissa deGuzman as Cinderella is a genuine delight as the sensitive and "unique" Cinderella. deGuzman has a beautiful voice and really captures the innocence and ingenuity that Cinderella is supposed to exude. The chemistry between her and Prince Topher, played by Jeffrey Kringer, was palpable and they have several romantic embraces and kisses that might have fallen flat if not for their genuine chemistry onstage. Jeffrey Kringer is a multifaceted Prince with a strong masculine yet sensitive presence as the handsome but confused Prince who is forced by his Viceroy to choose a Queen to marry. Viceroy Sebastian is played with good humor by Jeff Parker.

What I liked about this version of the classic tale is that it included the extended storyline wherein Cinderella is not just a victim of her greedy stepmother and a discovery of the Prince, she actually helps the entire village and the prince resolve a longstanding situation regarding the growing starvation and taxation of his subjects and the Royal families reluctance to address these issues fairly until Cinderella asserts herself and is able to open the prince’s eyes. The prince then deems the kingdom as a village of the people and uses their voice to make decisions regarding its management. 

Cinderella's stepsisters, Gabrielle (Christine Mayland Perkins) and Charlotte (Alanna Lovely) were at first ugly on the inside though some people can change as seen by Gabrielle’s lovely extended storyline where she and her secret boyfriend, Jean-Michel (Christopher Llewyn Ramirez) a villager who cries for fairness among the people, end up helping Cinderella to escape the grasp of the abusive gold digger, Madame/Stepmother, masterfully played by Gisela Adisa. Gabrielle, spoiled and bratty at first, turns out to be very sweet and her evolving character is played with glowing depth by Christine Mayland Perkins, who also lands several funny lines to perfection. 

I also have to acknowledge the superb performance by veteran actress McKinley Carter as the Fairy Godmother named Marie. It isn't until Carter's appearance as the wise and beautiful Fairy Godmother who leaves her beggar woman rags behind and sings the song "Impossible" that the young cast seemingly melts into cohesion and radiates collectively.  At the same time, we as an audience then get our first glimpse of the magical power of falling into true love thanks to Carter’s majestic voice and sparkling smile, conveyed as only a mature award-winning actress can pull off. 

I really enjoyed the flowing and heartfelt group dance numbers by the talented ensemble cast including Emily Ann Brooks, Leah Casey, Sophie Liu David, Margot Frank, Dani Johns, Kevin Kuska, Austin Nelson Jr., Justin Payton Nelson, Nolan Robinson, Elizabeth Romero, David Sajewich, Brian Selcik, Andew Tufano, Shelbi Voss, Amanda Walker.

My favorite songs next to "Impossible" include the adoring duets between Prince Topher and Cinderella "Do I Love You Because You’re Beautiful”, “Now Is the Time” and (I Held You) "10 Minutes Ago," which had a great sense of youthful, loving urgency and graceful romance. I only wish they had included the Disney film song "So this Is Love,” as it is recognizable to audiences of any age and to me represents the ultimate love song between the Prince and new Princess that marks their first dance together as a newly smitten couple falling in love for the very first time. 

Riw Rakkulcon’s scenic design is a tiny bit dark but very large in its scope and complex changes. It is luxurious and grand when it needs to be so you really feel that the castle is a castle. I also enjoyed the way the carriage and horse men portrayed the journey to the castle as even Cinderella needs a ride to attend the ball. 

I loved the costumes by multi–Jeff Award-Winning Theresa Ham for everyone in the cast except perhaps for Cinderella. The unique classic style and colorful well-fitting gowns and tuxedos etc. for the ensemble were very well done and varied. The only problem I had with Cinderella's costume changes was with the big reveal when the Fairy Godmother tells her it is not impossible for her to attend the ball and gifts her with a ticket and gown. The effect to do this this was impressive, Cinderella spinning her way from rags to ball dress, though the dress could have been more fairytale-esque. However, to Ham’s defense, in order to make this "magical" change onstage in full view of the audience, Cinderellas magnificent ball gown needed to be hidden under her day dress and as such lacked the largesse and sparkling, puffy wedding gown feeling that little girls have come to expect from that scene. 

With plenty of humor, impressive special effects, brilliant set and costume design and led by sensational performances from Gisela Adisa, Lissa deGuzman, Jeffrey Kringer, McKinley Carter, Alanna Lovely, Christine Maryland Perkins and Jeff Parker, I highly recommend this lush and well-acted and beautifully danced and sung production of Cinderella for audiences of all ages. Rogers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella at Drury Lane is a show that will lift your heart for the holidays and make you believe that finding true love and making it work is most definitely possible! 

Rogers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella is being performed at Drury Lane in Oakbrook through January 7^th. For tickets and/or more show information, please click here.

Chicago is in for a real treat. And based on the full theater at last night’s opening, I think most expected this production would be something special – and it is. MJ the Musical is a lavish production based on Michael Jackson’s amazing life that engages its audience from beginning to end and it is now playing at the James M. Nederlander Theatre through September 22^nd.  

This MJ Estate approved production mainly focuses on the rehearsals just prior to the wildly successful 1992 “Dangerous Tour” that toured in multiple countries and grossed over $140 million (in the 1990’s!). What some might now know that is explained in the play is that was a make-or-break tour for Jackson. Worried that he was on the cusp of losing relevance with old and new music listeners, MJ put everything he had into this tour leveraging his precious rights to The Beatles songs he owned and eventually mortgaging his prized Neverland Ranch to finance the endeavor, but also pushing his physical abilities and stamina to the limit. When his nervous advisors caution him about the money that is at risk with the magnitude of the tour and that he is “hemorrhaging money”, Jackson simply responds with, “We’ll get it back.” In MJ, we get a firsthand look at the pressures that Michael was under to make this tour succeed while revealed in this musical are the underlying factors that ultimately contributed to Jackson's untimely death – factors which are poignantly touched on regarding his dependency of opioid painkillers that he feels are key in helping him to push on beyond his parameters.

The story really unfolds when Rachel, a fictional reporter well played by Mary Kate Moore, is invited to interview Jackson while he is preparing for his Dangerous Tour in 1992. MJ, along with his handlers, prefer to keep the interview light with an aim solely on his music. But Rachel is determined to get a more in-depth interview stating it’s been years (14 was her estimation) since he’s really opened up to a reporter. In interviewing Michael over the course of two days at his rehearsals, more and more is revealed and the story travels back and forth from the 1992 tour to his past where it all began when he was just a young boy singing with the Jackson Five – a turbulent time for the talented singer, thanks to his abusive father, Joseph Jackson (Devin Bowles). Joseph managed the band comprised of his children and was beyond a perfectionist, pushing young Michael and his brothers to a never attainable standard for most. He is portrayed as strict, a womanizer who had no problem using his hands on his family to get his point across. We clearly see from this production where Michael gets his never-ending drive to perform at the highest level, even if it means taking pills to cope with the stresses of achieving that kind of success.

Roman Banks is STUNNING in his role as Michael Jackson during the 1992 rehearsal scenes. Banks’ voice has an uncanny likeness to Jackson’s and his dancing is nothing less than spectacular. Banks performance as MJ is worth the price of admission alone. Brandon Lee Harris also shines as in between Michael that takes place during his later days with The Jacksons through MJ’s super breakout “Thriller” album. Both Harris and Banks take turns impressing the audience with an astonishing representation of Jackson at different ages, while not to be forgotten is Ethan Joseph and Josiah Benson who share the role of young Michael on alternating show performances – also spectacular.

Four actors of varying ages are perfectly cast to portray Jackson as a child, young adult in The Jackson Five era and during the “Dangerous Tour”.  These actors have mastered Jackson's trademark vocals for their period along with his highly skilled dance techniques. I was absolutely blown away by each actor portraying him.

This play with book by Lynn Nottage is wonderfully directed by Christopher Wheeldon, who also exceptionally handles the production’s choreography. This is a show filled with exciting visuals, sounds and awe-inspiring scenes. The choreography and lighting effects during the scene where Jackson's study of Bob Fosse, Fred Astaire and The Nicholas Brothers are represented during a fantastic mesmerizingly choreographed dance sequence by Jackson and the entire ensemble – just one of so many beautiful moments in this musical.

Jaylen Lyndon Hunter as Little Marlon and Ethan Joseph as Little Michael with cast in 'MJ the Msucial'. Photo by Matthew Murphy, MurphyMade.

The stage design is marvelous and colorful and impressive, with exciting lighting effects created by Lighting Designer Natasha Katz that literally made the audience jump with surprise at least three times during this fast paced and upbeat retelling of Jackson's life. 

The ensemble is rich in talent with tremendous performances led by Devin Bowles who doubles as Joseph Jackson and Rob, the “Dangerous” Stage Manager and impressively switches personalities from that of a controlling abuser to a kind, caring employee of Michael’s almost instantly without a hitch. Also striking in their supporting roles are Josh A. Dawson as Tito Jackson and Quincy Jones, and Anastasia Talley as Ketherine Jackson and Kate. Jaylen Lyndon Hunter's star also shines brightly as Little Marlon.

This is a production that rocks in every way and fine tunes even the smallest details to give us an incredibly memorable experience. This is also a production that was stopped a handful of times throughout the performance as the audience took to their feet in ovation.

With big performances from Michael from the “Dangerous” era to the Soul Train days of The Jackson Five, this is one mind-blowing, highly energetic, colorful, and unforgettable production. Oh, and the soundtrack is as good as it gets with favorites being performed one after another including “Bad,” “Smooth Criminal,” “Earth Song,” “I’ll Be There,” “Man in the Mirror,” and “Thriller” to name a few.

MJ the Musical is a must see that does the King of Pop right and wonderfully honors the superstar’s legacy.

I highly recommend this exciting, inspiring, and satisfying production to audiences of all ages who wish to enjoy a night of Jackson's timeless music performed by some of the most gifted musical theater actors I have ever witnessed on a Broadway in Chicago stage. 

MJ the Musical is being performed at the James M. Nederlander Theatre though September 2^nd. For tickets and/or more information click here.

West Side Story is just as exciting, vibrant, and moving today as it was when it was first created in 1957. Filled with timeless songs and choreographed dance numbers that are as original as they are visually stunning, West Side Story continues to delight audiences old and new, and Lyric Opera House’s latest offering of this musical masterpiece checks all the boxes. Conceived by Jerome Robbins with lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, music by Leonard Bernstein and book by Arthur Laurents, West Side Story is considered to be one of the best musicals ever created. One cannot help but be pulled in by the production’s engaging story, astounding vocal performances and original dance scenes that incorporate a fusion of ballet and modern dance.

Inspired by William Shakespeare’s tragic love story, Romeo and Juliet, West Side Story turns the feuding Monague and Capulet families and love-stricken teens, Romeo and Juliet, into a New York setting that has the white kid Jets fighting to keep the Puerto Rican Sharks out of their neighborhood. Romeo is replaced by Tony, the former leader of the Jets and Juliet becomes Maria, the sister of Sharks leader Bernardo. When Tony and Maria fall hopelessly in love at a neighborhood dance social, the two are immediately thrust beyond the racial barrier that has caused hate between the rivaling gangs and breaking free from their past will be nothing less than challenging.

The cast of West Side Story. Photo by Todd Rosenberg.

In Lyric Opera House’s production of West Side Story we are met with stunning sets designed by Peter J. Davison that take us to a New York City neighborhood that gives us the feel of the musical’s late 1950’s era while implementing many touches of today’s world, as evidenced by the Bad Bunny poster hung on the wall of Maria’s room. Costume Designer Jessica Jahn also sprinkled in a mix of yesterday and today combining the white t-shirts, cuffed jeans, Converse All-Stars and flashy dresses that represented the late 1950’s with today’s skinny jeans, striped basketball pants and hairstyles that include shaved line designs and manbuns. I found the blended sets and costumes a bit confusing at first, but it does work. Perhaps the modern-esque makeover is done to remind theatergoers that racism didn’t just take place way back when but is also present in today’s world and that there is still plenty of work to do.

Brett Thiele as Riff and Yurel Echezarreta as Bernardo in West Side Story at Lyric Opera House. Photo by Todd Rosenberg.

This production has a special cast. Audience members are treated to sensational vocal performances by Ryan McCartan as Tony, Kanisha Feliciano as Maria. Both McCartan and Feliciana have show-stopping moments during their vocal performances and their chemistry feels natural. Lyric hits the jackpot with both and McCartan and Feliciano’s performances. While McCartan’s beautiful rendering of “Maria” is vocally superb and heartfelt, Feliciano’s captivating performance of “Somewhere” also delivers in grand fashion. Both have tremendous range and seem to effortlessly take their voices wherever they need to go.

Maria!
I've just met a girl named Maria,
And suddenly that name
Will never be the same to me
Maria!
I've just kissed a girl named Maria,
And suddenly I found
How wonderful a sound can be
Maria!
Say it loud and there's music playing,
Say it soft and it's almost like praying

Amanda Castro thoroughly embodies the strength of Anita, Bernardo’s girlfriend, and wows us with both her voice and her skilled dancing ability, particularly when leading the Shark Girls in a colorful rendition of “America”. Brett Reile as Jets leader Riff and Yurel Echezarreta as Bernardo also play key roles in making this production as great as it is. Reile’s Riff is edgy and street tough perfectly personifying the “When you’re a Jet you’re a Jet all the way” modus operandi, while Echezarreta gives us a Bernardo who can go toe-to-toe with anyone. Of course, the ensemble is pivotal to the show’s success and this ensemble is just incredible and awes the crowd in one huge dance number after another.

Conducted by James Lowe and directed by Francesca Zambello, Lyric gives us a fresh take on the classic smash hit that audiences have been enjoying for the 60-plus years. West Side Story is a production for everyone. Its message of coming together still resonates today, and its fulgurous dance numbers and song performances will never become dated.

This brilliant production of West Side Story is being performed at the Lyric Opera House (20 N. Wacker Drive, Chicago) through June 25^th. The running time is 2 hours and 30 minutes, which includes one intermission. For tickets and/or more show information, click here.

Highly recommended.