Items filtered by date: November 2007

What's better than a good revenge story? How about a revenge comedy? Better yet, how about a revenge comedy musical? First Wives Club is all of that and then some. Partially driven by a Motown soundtrack, this glitzy musical taken from the 1996 film starring Goldie Hawn, Diane Keaton and Bette Midler presents many memorable numbers - some from hits we all know like “Reach Out…I’ll Be There” and “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)” and some written just for this production.

When three housewives reunite years later after their college girlfriend commits suicide due to an unfaithful husband, they soon realize they have something in common - all their husbands are cheating. Joining together, the three decide to form The First Wives Club and exact revenge upon their unfaithful spouses in bold fashion.

First Wives Club is bolstered by an incredibly talented cast. Christine Sherrill is lights out as “Elise Acton” while Broadway legend Faith Prince and Carmen Cusack also make a huge splash as gal pals “Brenda Cushman” and “Annie Walker”. Sherrill's velvety smooth voice stands out as she belts out one number after the next, especially noteworthy in “Old Me New Me”. Not to be overshadowed, Prince also displays her vocal prowess and even gets big house applause during “My Heart Wants to Try One More Time”. Patrick Richwood is tremendous as the flamboyant “Duane Fergusson” while Sean Murphy Cullen’s physical comedy Jackie Gleason-esque as the cheating, but loveable, “Morty Cushman”. The ever changing set was almost a show in itself. Colorful and dazzling, the set was massive as it was convertible, seamlessly changing from one world to another.

Gracing the red carpet to kick off the new Broadway-bound musical were musical contributors and Motown legends Brian Holland, Eddie Holland, Lamont Dozier, The Four Tops’ Duke Fakir, Martha Reeves of Martha and the Vandellas and two-time Tony Award winner Christine Ebersole along with five-time Emmy Award winner Linda Bloodworth Thomason.

The story is light with just the right amount of campy humor and the dancing and singing fully entertaining to one catchy number after another. With such likeable main characters (three women in their mid-forties) it is easy to see this production finding Mamma Mia-like success. Wonderfully directed by Simon Phillips, First Wives Club: The Musical is a laugh out loud, feel good winner. Revenge is sweet but even sweeter when done by a trio of women that are so much fun to watch.

First Wives Club: The Musical is being performed at The Oriental Theatre through March 29^th before it hits Broadway. For tickets and/or more show information call (800) 775-2000 or visit www.BroadwayInChicago.com. 

Attempting to tackle a slew of tough issues, Picture Imperfect is an emotional drama with good intention that raises awareness to the difficulties of...well, single motherhood, autism, drug abuse, gambling, abandonment, the hardships in dealing with Child Protective Services, spousal manipulationand eventually mental illness. Thoughall important issues, co-writing duo Joel Z. Cornfield and Richard James Zieman may have diluted their intended focus by planting too many different seeds in the garden. Still, as many subjects that are touched upon in its hour and forty-five minute duration, this story, partially inspired from true events, has its share of intense-filled moments, some stemming from sheer misfortune but most from a chain of poor decision making. 

Cole is an autistic boy who expresses his thoughts with a paintbrush and canvas. His mother Mary is trying hard torebound from a string of unwise decisions that puts Cole's future into the hands of the Child Protective Services and, Eric, the eldest son, has all the athletic talent in the world but turns to a life of heroin abuse. George, the boys' gambling addicted father, has left four years ago where he has latched onto a stunning young beauty and convinces her to make pornographic videos for money. After his lengthy hiatus, George soon after returns to his family but with suspicious motives. With the threat of losing her son, Cole, to the system, Mary tries to recreate a healthy family environment. Our George and Mary here are about as far as they could be from the same named beloved couple in It's A Wonderful Life - rich in morale fiber, clean-nosed, thoughtful and family oriented. Perhaps the playwrights purposely played on such a disparity to demonstrate the immense contrast in character and circumstance - the results of love,understanding and sacrifice versus a selfishness to the point of destruction.

This is Dr. Joel Cornfield’s first contribution to the theatre is a tragedy piece but as the writer puts it, “There’s hope springing from tragedy.”

Barring a handful of passionate exchanges betweenmother and son and wife and estranged husband that get pretty penetrating, the two brightest spots in this play are Sarah Bright's demanding portrayal of Mary and Jamie McKinney's heartfelt performance as Eric. Alyssa Thordarson also delivers and is very convincing as Pam, George's seemingly unlikely mistress. The three are able to carry the cast to make this a respectable production along with its story that does just enough to keep it interesting. I do commend the writer's desire to bring to the table so many subjects that warrant concern and more awareness, but in this case slightly less may have been so much more.

Picture Imperfect is being performed at The Athenaeum Theatre through April 4^th. For tickets and/or more show information call 773-935-6875 or visit www.athenaeumtheatre.org.

The “For the Record” series brings John Hughes’ films back to life with a combination of memorable soundtracks and classic scenes from TheBreakfast Club, Pretty in Pink, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Weird Science, Some Kind of Wonderful, and 16 Candles. Dear John Hughes is a Broadway concert that showcases talented actors and actresses as they take on the roles of some of our beloved movie characters, all falling under the Hughes’ teenage classification system of the Basket Case, the Athlete, the Brain, the Princess, and the Criminal.

Despite the band being situated on center stage, the cast still makes it seem like they have all the space in the world to perform. They make the stage their own, utilizing its remaining space to the fullest. Ensemble members also make good use of the theater, pushing their way through aisles and high-fiving excited audience participants.

In the costume department, all the obvious steps were taken to make the era come to life - flannels tied around the waist, while leather jackets, suspenders and John Lennon glasses are as vital as ever. Watts is never without her drumsticks as portrayed in Some Kind of Wonderful and there are plenty of Molly Ringwald-esque floral patterns and floppy hats.

Which classic scenes were brought back to life? “Anyone? Anyone?” Ferris’ romp around Chicago in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off to Andrew Clark’s tear jerking monologue in The Breakfast Club and Blane’s “forgotten” prom date leading to a humiliated Andie in Pretty in Pink.

Michael Thomas Grant perfects Duckie’s solo in Pretty in Pink, “Try a Little Tenderness”. Grant’s voice has that quality which allows him to sing any style of music, and this talent makes him shine. He has the most range from character to character and convincingly delivers the over-confident lines of Ferris, immediately followed by the timidness of Anthony Michael Hall’s classic series of “nerd” types.  

Rumer Willis rocks out on the drums during a medley of songs that includes a haunting rendition of Suzanne Vega’s, “Left of Center”.  Jackie Seiden and Patrick Mulvey, the “narrators”, help in guiding us through Hughes’ catalog of films and add strong vocal performances of their own along with timely comic relief in between the heartbreaking scenes. After a highly colorful and visual journey into the world of John Hughes, the show finally goes out with a bang ending with The Breakfast Club’s signature Simple Minds number "Don’t You Forget About Me”.

Encore! Encore! Dear John Hughes is highly recommended. This is an exciting, all around fun production that actually deserves a larger stage with a larger audience - and a louder round of applause!

For the Record: Dear John Hughes, is playing at Broadway Playhouse (Water Tower Place) until March 15th. Tickets are available at all Broadway In Chicago Box Offices or by calling the Broadway In Chicago Ticket Line at (800)775-2000. For more information, visit www.BroadwayInChicago.com.

*(Note that Evan Rachel Wood will be stepping in for Rumer Willis starting March 12th)

The Diary of Anne Frank - Writers Theatre

According to legend, when Albert Hackett and Frances Goodrich's Pulitzer Prize winning stage adaptation made its German premiere, audiences sat in a state of silent shock after the play ended. Nearly sixty years, countless productions, several films and hundreds of books about Anne Frank and the secret annex have made this story one of the most accessible pieces of Holocaust literature. In 1997, Wendy Kesselman adapted the original script for a Broadway revival that heightens intensity and includes more reference to the family's Jewish faith and to Anne's burgeoning sexuality.

Under the suburb direction of Kimberly Senior, Writers Theatre's production of Kesselman's "The Diary of Anne Frank" is as intimate as a story of this nature must be. Inventive staging immediately places the audience within the confines of the attic, fantastically designed by Jack Magaw. The Writers Theatre book store space is already intimate enough, but what Magaw has done to replicate the secret annex is nothing short of theatre magic. The tight quarters of this set paired with the vibrancy of the cast create an atmosphere in which emotional reaction is impossible to avoid.

What Senior extracts from her actors is a perfect storm of the best and the worst of humanity backed into a corner, in which the stakes really are life and death. Heidi Kettenring has the challenge of turning a mostly unlikeable character, Mrs. van Daan, into one of the show's strongest assets.  Kettenring balances warmth and tension in moments so electrifying that its current is contagious.

The title role is played by fourteen-year-old Sophie Thatcher who is the actual age of Anne Frank at the time of her internment. Thatcher plays the role with such surprising honesty and eloquence for an actress of her age. All her choices seem based on genuine instinct rather than what other historical documents tell us about the person Anne Frank was.

Despite the fact that everyone going into this play knows the tragic ending, and the unfortunate irony that Europe was liberated just a few months after their betrayal, it's easy to catch the show's infectious message of hope. The reason why this story lingers in our minds throughout the generations is its optimism. That no matter how dire the circumstances, faith in the good of people is what keeps the world in balance even when all seems lost.

The Diary of Anne Frank at Writers Theatre. 664 Vernon Ave, Glencoe. 847-242-6000. Through June 28th. 

Five years ago, anonymous graffiti artists caused quite the hubub at the Modern Wing of the Chicago Art Institute when they "bombed" a major wall of the wing. Their message was clear: THIS is modern art. While a clever, powerful statement, and seemingly jabbing at the art that resides within the walls of the modern art wing, it presents a paradox: Isn't graffiti, by definition, a rebellious art? Would graffiti still be as powerful and compelling if it were inside the museum rather than outside?

This Is Modern Art, written by Kevin Coval, attempts to answer these and hundreds of other questions regarding high art versus common art versus street art and so on. The play, while neither a knuckle-whitening drama nor a belly-clenching comedy, merely seeks to educate the viewer on this commonplace, yet mysterious, art form. You'll learn the differences between "tags," "stickers," "throw-ups," and "pieces," short for "masterpieces." You'll learn the names of dozens of Chicago graffiti artists, or "writers" as they're called. You'll see what goes into "bombing" -- spray painting an urban canvas as much as possible without getting caught -- a city location, the preparation that needs to be done, the items to have, the backup plan, the lookout, the logistics... it practically gives you a how-to guide.

We pass by graffiti every day in this city. Some of us may see it as an eye sore that should be scrubbed away, as vandalism, as criminal activity. Conversely, some of us may see it as art that makes the city more vibrant and beautiful, as spontaneous creativity, as colorful accents on a gray urban backdrop.

But what does this art say? What does it do? It wants to be respected and appreciated, surely. It wants recognition from those who decide what belongs in a museum and snub it as low art. But does graffiti even want to be in a museum? In and of itself, graffiti is rebellion. It's anti-establishment. It's instant social/political commentary. And it's fleeting, temporary. If the Art Institute commissioned a graffiti writer to fill a wall inside the museum, could this still be considered graffiti? Or would it lose the essential qualities that make it graffiti art?

Maybe the point isn't to be in a museum; maybe graffiti seeks to dismantle these labels and present the notion that art should be free and accessible to everyone. Maybe, and most likely, it just wants to get us talking, and if we are, then it has done its job.

This Is Modern Art (based on true events) is playing at Steppenwolf's Downstairs Theatre through March 14th. Tickets may be purchased at the box office or by calling 312-335-1650.

The Royal Society of Antarctica is a very unique story that comes equipped with a powerful cast and a rich blend of humor, drama and intrigue that constantly move the play forward without the interest lulls you would think would be found in a three act show with a two hour and fifty-five minute run time. Playwright Mat Smart’s world premiere takes place at the intimate Gift Theatre in Jefferson Park where its forty-something cramped seats (unless you are sitting in the first row) actually adds to the overall intimate experience. The set, though simple, creates a potent illusion of a base site interior used as cover for its workers at the bottom of the world where temperatures are always below freezing and winds can pick up to 100-plus degrees in the right circumstances. We feel cozy and warm in our seats and protected from the cold as the characters feel the same when they enter set from the outside dangerous wintry conditions.  

In The Royal Society of the Antarctica, twenty-something Dee returns to her birthplace at the McMurdo Station in Antarctica to seek answers to her mother’s suspicious disappearance that took place when she was a child. Surrounding Dee’s investigation, many characters are also focused upon with their own back stories. The team is comprised of janitors, utility technicians, scientists and food workers.  Workers are at the station for several month engagements at a time.  As one worker puts it – the first year you are there for the adventure, the second, you are there to see their friends again, the third, it’s probably for the money and if you come back for a fourth year it’s because you no longer fit in with normal society. We see the latter in the social awkwardness displayed by some of the characters. We also find some are there to run from their past.

Considered something of an untouchable holy ground due to its purity and the global agreement not to tarnish its earth by chemicals or otherwise, there is a certain magic present that cannot be found anywhere else in the world. Strict rules are in place to safeguard the sanctity of the land. The sun and snow are so bright it can create a blinding effect and if a blizzard occurs, one could get permanently lost just walking twenty feet due to its zero visibility. Temperatures are so low limited skin exposure is dangerous. A hole in the ozone sits directly above them making it unsafe to remove their sunglasses for even just a minute. Daytime lasts for months followed by endless night time.  

There is a collection of strong acting performances that help in bringing this story to life headed by Paul D’Addario as “UT Tom” and Aila Peck as “Dee”. Jay Worthington is a blast to watch as “UT Tim”, the animated utility tech and team lead, while John Kelly Connolly is flawless as “Ace”, a man who has visited each continent, had sex on each continent and strives to be the first to have sex on each continent with someone native to that continent. Kyle Zornes also gets a lot of laughs with his deadpan delivery as “Jake”, the love-stricken science researcher who just can’t seem to get it right.

As Smart puts it, “I went to the bottom of the world to find this play—working as a janitor for three months at McMurdo Station in Antarctica. It’s perfect that it will premiere in my hometown at The Gift.”

All in all, The Royal Society of Antarctica is an entertaining experience with a distinctiveness to be remembered, opening up a new world that for most would likely go undiscovered.

The Royal Society of Antarctica is playing at The Gift Theatre through April 26^th. Visit www.thegifttheatre.org for show information or call 773-283-7071    

*Photo - Jay Worthington (left) as UT TIm and Aila Peck as Dee                 

Kicking off their 25^th anniversary season, Theatre at the Center makes a strong impression by presenting Ernest Thompson’s touching classic On Golden Pond. This 1979 Tony-Award winning play was later adapted for the big screen where it starred Henry Fonda, Jane Fonda and Katharine Hepburn and won an Oscar. On Golden Pond is a warm and moving story that deals with the challenges an elderly couple are going through during their twilight years and also focuses on a tempestuous relationship between father and daughter. It is also a story of reconciliation and rebirth.  

Each year Norman and Ethel Thayer spend the summer at their quaint home on Golden Pond. Norman, pushing eighty-years-old is quite the curmudgeon and is still armed with a quick wit while Ethel, ten years his junior, finds all the little things in life wonderful. The pairing is super and utterly complementary to each other. While planning out his 80^th birthday party, the often cranky Norman constantly speaks to Ethel as though it will be his last, which is taken with a grain of salt by his always optimistic wife. Norman’s memory is slowly fading and he has heart palpitations, which doesn’t help his outlook on the future. When his daughter, Chelsea, and her boyfriend, Billy Ray, come up to the lake house to join the party, we realize the tension that exists between father and daughter and slowly begin to understand that it stems from Norman’s desire to have had a son. Soon, Norman and Ethel’s summer is interrupted when Chelsea asks that Billy Ray’s thirteen-year-old son stay at the lake house for a month while they travel to Europe. Norman, who was reluctant at first on the idea, quickly bonds with the boy and we see a change of heart and a new attitude on life begin to manifest.

On Golden Pond is filled with many life lessons and we are better for having seen it.

Dennis Kelly is superb as Norman. The veteran actor is able convey a truckload of meaning in just a simple line. Equally as impressive is Ami Silvestre as Norman’s bouncy and vibrant counterpart, Ethel, Silvestre is so cute you just want to shrink her and tuck her away in your shirt pocket. But together the two are simply off the charts. Their playful zinging back and forth and the concern and love for each other they are able to display is not only believable it is magical. Norm Boucher also delivers in a key contributing role as Charlie, family friend and neighborhood mailman by boat.  

Set in the interior of the Thayer’s summer lake home, we get plenty of heartfelt moments and surprisingly a good share of laughs that really balances out the show. This insightful love story is rich and the characters are perfectly layered creating an all-around well-themed, highly entertaining play that anyone of any age is sure to enjoy.

A quick thirty or so minutes from downtown Chicago, On Golden Pond is being performed at Theatre at the Center (1040 Ridge Road, Munster, Indiana) through March 29^th. For tickets and/or more information visit www.TheatreAtTheCenter.com or call 800-511-1552.

*Photo - Dennis Kelly and Ami Silvestre as Norman and Ethel Thayer

As Samuel Beckett once stated, "Nothing is funnier than unhappiness, I grant you that. ... Yes, yes, it's the most comical thing in the world. And we laugh, we laugh, with a will, in the beginning. But it's always the same thing. Yes, it's like the funny story we have heard too often, we still find it funny, but we don't laugh anymore.” Unhappiness and the complete surrender to misery is found aplenty in Beckett’s Endgame now being performed at The Den Theatre and though humor can be found in the dialogue and in the mundane actions of its characters, we can’t help being overwhelmed by the story’s hopelessness.    

The set is almost too good – the interior of a nightmarish, dilapidated house complete with a water-stained ceiling, worn, dirt-filled walls that are peeling, boarded up windows and bottles of urine lined up in the rear of the living room. The characters are as dilapidated and bizarre as the house. It is a dwelling of utter neglect – something you might imagine that has gone terribly wrong in the B.J. Gigglesnort hotel or perhaps a home you might expect the family from Texas Chainsaw massacre to live in. Director Halena Kays explains, “Our design team is full of long-time collaborators who will create an absurdist landscape that will involve and heighten the audience’s experience with this classic.” Not only is the set visually lush in itself but the theatre is decorated with hanging lighted picture boxes, a seating area that closer resembles a birthday party and carnival-like assortments scattered throughout the floor.

This one act, four character tragicomedy stars Kurt Ehrmann as the aging “Hamm” who is blind and cannot use his legs. He is bound to a makeshift wheelchair comprised of a beat up sitting chair atop a wooden cart with wheels that he obsessively insists be placed in the center of the room. He whistles for his caregiver “Clov” (Brian Shaw) to whom he barks one order after another and in his despair of existence is always asking if it is time for his next painkiller. “Clov” too is broken down, a creature of compulsive routine. When asked by “Hamm”, who recognizes the verbal abuse he so often dishes out, why he doesn’t leave, “Clov’s” response is simply “Where would I go?” It’s hopelessness at its best.

Ehrmann skillfully rips into one soliloquy after the next with rampant passion and we laugh at his anguish yet are haunted by his words at the same time. “Hamm” often speaks with his parents who appear from two garbage cans while “Clov” uses a kaleidoscope to check the on goings by the sea through a small, exposed portion of window that he can only access by hobbling awkwardly up his stepladder. In all, we see a frightening story of two decrepit men who have completely lost touch with anything normal about life who are trapped with each other and feed on pain and bleakness. And, in true Beckett fashion, we somehow find humor in that.

The Hypocrites production of Endgame is playing at The Den Theatre in Wicker Park through April 4^th. For tickets and/or more information visit www.the-hypocrites.com.

*Photo - (left to right) Kurt Ehrmann, Brian Shaw and Donna McGough in The Hypocrites production of ENDGAME by Samuel Beckett, directed by Halena Kays.  Photo by Evan Hanover.

Redletter is the latest creation by the Neo-Futurists, this piece written by ensemble member Lisa Buscani and directed by Jen Ellison.  As Buscani puts it, “Everyone’s bemoaning about the ‘death of news’. But the news will never die, not as long as humans do newsworthy things.” That’s true…to a point as we see in Redletter when a news team covers a burrito.

Redletter hits on many media related issues such as how the rise of technology has affected the way news is delivered over the years, the mistakes in reporting and transferring the news along with the corrections that go unnoticed (if corrections are even made), the silly stories that have now become news, story oversaturation and the manipulation of media - it’s cause and effect. What you get in Redletter are samples of each while each issue is worthy of its own story and then some. As a viewer I felt a bit teased by the multiple issues brought to the table rather than watching a story that solely focuses on any of the above mentioned subjects. It’s mentioned at one point that a reporter is asked to make up the news leaving hope that corporate and government media manipulation would be addressed in depth, but instead the story jumps back to another questionable form of news delivery. Still, it’s nice to see attention paid to these unethical media practices that go unnoticed by many due to laziness, ignorance, complacency or simply the belief that our trusted news carriers would never purposely dupe the public. Kudos to Buscani for taking the initiative to tackle such a brave subject.

In true Neo-Futurist fashion we get a nice blend of witty humor and subject matter that we can take home and think about afterwards. Buscani is joined by ensemble members Bilal Dardai, Trevor Dawkins, Lindsay Muscato and Thea Lux who together combine for a very amusing cast, each contributing their own unique comic talent to collectively create a smart amalgam of absurd fun. Projections are plenty used in adding oomph to the show’s story including a comical montage of 1970s Robert Redford who Buscani sees as a real media man.

Trevor Dawkins steals much of the show with his genius transformation into his dad, an overly exaggerated portrayal of a hard-nosed CBS news man from the early 1980s who can be found partying at night in the clubs living it up with cocaine and Jack Daniels, but can also just as easily be found at his own “pity party”. Dawkins performance is as energetic as it is hilarious receiving one belly laugh after another from the crowd and in itself is a good enough reason the see Redletter: The News Done Medium Well.  

The bottom line is this play has plenty of funny moments, and though Redletter might be trying to cram in too many issues at once with news and media, it does raise awareness to this important subject and makes us question what we deem as “news” and question the trust that we so often blindly put in the hands of “professional broadcasters and writers”.  

Redletter is playing at The Neo-Futurarium through March 28^th Thursday through Saturday at 7:30pm and tickets are very reasonable at just $20 ($10 for students and seniors). For tickets and/or more information visit www.neofuturists.org or call (773) 275-5255. 

*Photo - Trevor Dawkins