Items filtered by date: November 2007

Watching the talented, all female cast of The Odd Couple flesh out Neil Simon’s comedy was a refreshing treat.  What a pleasure it was to see so many mature, funny women on one stage at one time. The Odd Couple is currently playing at Greenhouse Theatre on Lincoln Ave.

Kudos to director and producer, Robert Bills, for choosing this hilarious and female friendly 1985 adaptation by Neil Simon of his original “Odd Couple” written in 1965 about men. Even with my Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Theatre History, I was not aware that this play by Simon existed. I recently saw the original by a fine all-star cast at Northlight Theatre and felt that joke for joke, Simon’s female version had more laughs and comedic insights into the difficulties of divorce and the value of real friendship than the all male version we are so accustomed to seeing.

Jeff Citation winning actress, Elaine Carlson, as Florence/Felix Unger was believable and sympathetic, as her character slowly and painfully broke free from her tightly wound ball of nervous tics and OCD inspired cleaning habits. 

The two roles of Florence’s first double date after separation still played by men in the female version were much funnier than the bland/ blonde female dates as written in the original.

Cesar Jaime as “Jesus” and Diagoberto Soto as “Manolo” deadpanned and dropped their few scenes onto the audience like little comedy bombs each one detonating with precision laughter.

I love Neil Simon comedies when they are done well and I highly recommend seeing this rare production of one of his finest, little known comedy masterpieces.

The Odd Couple (female version) is playing through November 10^th and tickets are $28. For more information visit www.greenhousetheatre.org.  

Aspen Santa Fe Ballet is the name of a small but powerful dance company whose company of dancers come from, you guessed it, both Aspen and Santa Fe.

I was thoroughly impressed with the skills and passion of ASFB’s young, and fierce company. The quality of their technique and the choreography of the three pieces presented absolutely rivals that of the bigger, more established companies we are accustomed to seeing here in Chicago. This specific performance took place at The Harris Theater

The three works never before seen in Chicago were, “Over Glow” by Jorma Elo, “Beautiful Mistake” by Cayetano Soto, and “Last” by Alejandro Cerrudo (resident choreographer for Hubbard Street Dance Chicago).

Though I enjoyed them all, “Over Glow” by Finnish choreographer Jorma Elo, really stood out for me as a piece of modern ballet choreography with the most stunning images and subtle messages about human relationships that I have seen in many, many years.

“Over Glow” was set to music by Mendelssohn and Beethoven, yet the dancers were clothed in the simplest modern sea green and pale blue frocks designed beautifully by Nete Joseph.  The women were all in short, modern, sea green, silk dresses and the men, shirtless with pale blue pants set against a bright golden cyclorama that looked like the sun coming up over a western plain.

“Over Glow” begins with six dancers in newly forming couples. Each couple had their own style of meeting and courting.  They couples appear to be awakening each other from a still sleep with the simplest of hand gestures, tiny finger movements that cause their new partner to spark and come to life. The dancers rise up and spin or dance and walk for and with each in the most beautiful organic ways.

Sometimes the couples tease each other and send each other off in the wrong direction, only to pull their partner back in with the most delicate and gentle “kick” or stroke from their partner’s hand or foot.

The brilliance of Jorma Elo’s choreography is how he manages to convey almost an electronic, modern feel to these courtship movements, yet never renders them cold or unfeeling.  The movements imply that the physical awakening occurring between each of these couples is an automatic response of their nervous systems, yet wholly original, naturally beautiful and unique to each of the couples as they occur.

Elo’s stunning and uplifting choreography is both modern and classical, organic and futuristic, almost robotic, at the same time which gives one a marvelous sense of clean, yet vigorous romanticism.

At one point in “Over Glow”, one of the female dancers winds down, or collapses and her male partner falls to the floor and touchingly nudges her lifeless body with his head but cannot reawaken her. Then two of the female dancers come and begin the delicate hand gestures, the finger wiggles, to restart her engine and she does get up and becomes a leader for all of the couples who come back to life fully and dance again as a unified group.

I was absolutely delighted and riveted by this piece and by the passionate technique of all of the dancers in Aspen Santa Fe Ballet Company, which I can only describe as meaty, satisfying and fully engaging to ballet aficionados. ASFB’s dancers are young and few in number and I expect great performances will continuously flow from this carefully selected group.

I highly recommend seeing Aspen Santa Fe Ballet while they are here in Chicago and would actively seek out their performances on tour in the future. For more on this wonderful dance company, visit  http://www.aspensantafeballet.com/.

Patrick Swayze fans brace yourselves. Crazy for Swayze – a Swayzical is here and is running at Studio BE through October 26th. Crazy for Swayze is a fun tribute to the late, great Patrick Swayze – one of our most beloved movie stars in the 1980s and 1990s. Even if you were never the biggest Swayze fan on the planet, New Millennium Theatre Company’s Crazy for Swayze is a hilarious production with big laughs from beginning to end for everyone to enjoy – although it does help to know the movie references.

In this original New Millennium’s production directed by Steven Attanasie, all of Patrick Swayze’s greatest movies and characters are taken and are lumped into one insane adventure – and I really do mean insane. Not only do we see “Bodie” from Point Break, “Dalton” from Roadhouse, “Johnny Castle” and “Sam Wheat” from Ghost, but we are also blitzed with some of Swayze’s most colorful costars like Sam Elliot, Gary Busy and Whoopi Goldberg. Though writer Laura Coleman’s plot itself is a more than a bit nonsensical, it’s absurdness actually lends to its overall effect on the audience, which is simple - laughter at the utterly ridiculous. Theatre goers should not see this show with any expectation that the story is supposed to make sense, but with the intent on taking in an evening of silliness, which the show’s title should have already given away.      

Michael Sherwin boldly takes on the role of Patrick Swayze and though he is far from a mirror-like image of the pop culture icon, he more than makes up for it by capturing the essence of Swayze. Sherwin’s over-the-top portrayal of Swayze undoubtedly makes the show but the well delivered campiness of the supporting cast should also be recognized. Many of Swayze’s most notable moments are relived in this 56-minute show, and most of them work. In fact, you’re probably not going to find another show where crying out “Wolverines” or simply replying with a “Ditto” will make you laugh like Crazy for Swayze can.

In the vein of past NMT productions like The Texas Chainsaw Musical, Police Academy: Insurgency Emergency and Plans 1 through 8 from Outer Space, Crazy for Swayze could be the funniest of the bunch. If you are looking for silly amusement, easy hoots and senseless fun for a reasonable price then look no further. Crazy for Swayze: A Swayzical tickets are $18 but can be had for just $15 by pre-ordering through Brown Paper Tickets. For more show information visit  http://www.nmtchicago.org.    

After watching their live show evolve and progress over the years, Avenged Sevenfold has really surpassed, in many ways, the ranks of other major arena bands with their brand new Hail to the King tour. Though their music is already ripping, blazed with relentless smoking hot Synyster Gates riffs and M. Shadows powerfully gravelly vocals, the show is now coupled with a major stage production that rivals the visually stimulating sets we remember from Kiss, Iron Maiden and Judas Priest. No view is obstructed like the seating charts may suggest by showing towers of speakers on each front corner of the stage. Instead, the speakers are high off the ground leaving a wide open stage for great views from anywhere in the house.

The Hail to the King tour is beefed up with supporting act, The Deftones, one of frontman M. Shadow’s musical influences. “If you younger fans don’t know much about The Deftones, do yourself a favor go out and buy a bunch of their albums,” Shadows yells out to the crowd. Playing stuff off their more recent albums and of course their signature release White Pony, The Deftones delivered and got the crowd primed and ready to roll for an action packed night that was only just beginning.   

Lights off, fans to their feet with deafening cheers.  Avenged Sevenfold kicks off their Chicago show at Allstate Arena with the pounding, drum heavy “Shepherd of Fire” off their latest release Hail to the King. Without a moment to waste, Avenged Sevenfold kept it in high gear with one of their fist-in-the-air favorites “Critical Acclaim”. While the band plays, fire is shot up from the stage floor and out from the set’s backdrop. Fire and explosions continue throughout the show at a rapid rate while a full on lightshow and flowing images are displayed to complement each song with a perfect touch.  As the band takes on the title track of the new tour and album, a skeletal king somewhere in the neighborhood of two stories high emerges and settles in just behind drummer, Arin Ilejay.  

The band plays a good amount from Hail to the King including “This Means War” and the theatrical driven “Requiem” while also taking on several tracks from Nightmare – “Welcome to the Family”, “Nightmare”, “Buried Alive” and an inspired dedication “Fiction” to former drummer James The Rev” Sullivan who passed away in 2009.

Each member had their game faces on and came to play. M. Shadows showed his continuous growth as not only a vocalist but also in displaying a strong presence as unequivocally one of the most commanding frontmen in music today. Bassist Johnny Christ, sporting a black mohawk, thumped his way around the stage fingering one intricate progression after another and riling up the crowd while Zachy Vengeance pulled off one guitar harmony with Synyster Gates showing why they are currently one of the best guitar duos in heavy music. Gates even treated fans to a sizzling guitar solo that turned into an all-out band jam.

Avenged Sevenfold’s set consisted of a majority of newer material from “Nightmare” and “Hail to the King” and I only regretted the band not playing more from their self-titled release Avenged Sevenfold and City of Evil, playing three songs total - “Afterlife”, “Critical Acclaim” and “Bat Country”. Still, no complaints here – the Hail to the King tour is a massive, fist-pumping ride that gets the adrenalin going from beginning to end.

The band did go back in time ten years and rewarded us long timers by cranking out back to back encores from their Waking the Fallen album “Chapter Four” before closing the show with a balls out version of “Unholy Confessions”.

Seeing the Hail to the King tour will convert the curious onlookers and undoubtedly make current fans even bigger fans.

Setlist - Allstate Arena Chicago, IL October 3rd

$11.       Shepherd of Fire

$12.       Critical Acclaim

$13.       Welcome to the Family

$14.       Hail to the King

$15.       Doing Time

$16.       Buried Alive

$17.       Fiction

$18.       Nightmare

$19.       This Means War

$110.   Afterlife

$111.   Guitar Solo / Band Jam

$112.   Requiem

$113.   Bat Country

$114.   Chapter Four (encore)

$115.   Unholy Confessions (encore)

"The Wheel" is best experienced blank. Martha Lavey, the Artistic Director of Steppenwolf which is staging the American premier of the imaginative play, begins her well-penned program note with a Spoiler Alert. "Part of the wonder and mystery of The Wheel" she writes, "is in the unpredictable way the story unfolds." That epic story begins in a peaceful village in Northern Spain, where Beatriz (the talented and majestic Joan Allen) is preparing for her younger sister's wedding. Suddenly, soldiers appear and Beatriz is unwillingly thrown into a quest to reunite a young girl (Emma Gordon) with her father. That mission is the central thrust of "The Wheel," a symbol-and allegory-laden tale of wavering and enduring compassion in the face of tragedy.

In the two-hour play, Beatriz and the silent girl travel through war zones witnessing a panorama of war and bloodshed. Zinnie Harris's rich and layered script lives in the world of magical realism, as the characters pass through time and space without comment, and fantastical powers are a subject of distrust. This fantastical element serves as both a theatrical device, and a sort of balm to the wounds of war – we witness the carnage, but are ever aware these are actors performing in a magical space. Tina Landau's Brechtian staging contributes to this, giving the audience a front-row experience of the tense, visceral, and often irrational world of war.

Blythe R.D. Quinlan's scenic design is powerful playground for the story to shift from agricultural and wooden to industrial and metallic. Her black pipes and scaffolding, hidden by shards of stretched cloth, appear like spears while also contributing to a Brechtian "backstage" aesthetic. Director Tina Landau's often breath-taking staging shines brightest during scene changes, as the story is thrust forward like soldiers storming a battlefield.

The 17-person ensemble fills the epic stage and transports the action, from Spain to France to Germany to Vietnam. As the ensemble members don varied costumes and characters, the similarities between cultures are realized: we are similar – not in an overly sentimental way, but in a visceral, blood-filled way. We have the same capacity for compassion, just as we have the same capacity to harm and destroy one another. And as we spin between evil and good, Harris seems to suggest the human spirit can triumph – but it is work.

"The Wheel" ends where it begins, just as this review will end with the playbill:

In a printed dialogue between Martha Lavey and Tina Landau, Martha asks:

Martha Lavey: Tina, will you speak to how you hope to make this play available to an audience, so that they will take away something this is nourishment for them, and not just a portrayal of the difficulty of life?

Tina Landau… I want to bring out as much light as we can find in it…the lower the play dives the more it also needs to soar.

Be transported to the world of "The Wheel" at Steppenwolf Theatre through November 10, 2013. More information and tickets at steppenwolf.org

There are times that I think the skepticism of my generation prevents me from enjoying a simple play, or at the very least accepting a play and not questioning the ending, the character’s motivations, or poking holes in plot points. My cynicism might have gotten the better of me this Monday at The Raven when seeing The Trip to Bountiful.

Trip to Bountiful is set in Texas in the 1950's where Mrs. Watts is living a life she didn’t choose- a dependent to her son and daughter-in-law in their cramped Houston apartment. If she could just make it to Bountiful, Texas to see her beloved home and friends, she could live the rest of her days in peace.

The description is rather vague, so let me drive home the main storyline: an aging woman wants only one thing in her life, to get to Bountiful. This is seemingly the one thing in the world that will bring her joy and peace and her children are both unwilling and unable to accommodate. Of course the children have their own lives to lead, and there is obvious tension within those small walls. But while we briefly learn of the son and daughter-in-laws motivations, selfishness, various desires, and heartaches, the theme is still focused on this one woman’s desire to get to her hometown of Bountiful, Texas.

While the play was excellently acted, and the story moves along nicely, the issues I developed with the play had to do with the screenplay itself. Written by Horton Foote and performed for the stage over 60 years ago, The Trip to Bountiful, much like Foote’s other plays, tells the story of an ordinary person handling the harsh realities of life and the strength of the human spirit. We are all drawn to these types of plays despite the fact it might mirror many themes within our own lives, it’s not escapism we want, it’s realism. But the reality of Bountiful is that it leaves the audience in a state of questioning when the play ends.

Here is a woman [Mrs. Watts] who so desperately wants to run away to her hometown. Not only is she pursuing a desire 20 years in the making, but simultaneously escaping the oppressive feeling of living under someone else’s roof and live her life as she wants to. You feel the longing of this character, you rue her bitter and nasty daughter-in-law, and you as an audience member empathize with the loving mother-son relationship. You grumble and groan at the obstacles Mrs. Watts must overcome, and hope against hope that she can make it to Bountiful. For the love of Texas, it’s only a bus ride away! And when she’s a mere miles away from her destination, she is stopped once more, seemingly for the last time, and she breaks down, begging, sobbing, the drama building into a beautiful crescendo, and then…skepticism sinks in.

Suddenly, this strong female lead bargains with herself that she is content with only visiting a few hours in the shadow of her home. After 20 years of waiting and veritable “oh-come-on-really?” antics blocking her trip there, you expect the audience to just accept that she is content with leaving as quickly as she had come? That she somehow finds bittersweet peace within those few hours? It’s also important to note that all of the tension the built up within that Houston apartment promise to be resolved when the curtains close. Yes, folks, there is a nice bow on this present of a play.

Call me a skeptic all you like, but The Trip to Bountiful left me wanting an explanation of the sudden 360 of its main character. For a character desiring to get to Bountiful to be contented from a short visit seemed wholly out of character. Where was the bargaining with herself? Where was the inner monologue in which she came to the conclusion of being contented? For me this plot point was a bit of a reach and broke away from the harsh realism Foote was striving towards. A great play begs you to like or dislike a character, and while there’s a possibility of changing your feelings at the end, those feelings shouldn’t change to indifference.

So was the play worth seeing? Completely, if for nothing else than the superb acting The Raven Theatre is known for. The theatre is at its best when they tackle difficult themes with seesawing emotional undertones, and their actors always rise to the occasion. You’ll enjoy the journey to Bountiful, but possibly not the destination. The Trip to Bountiful is at The Raven Theatre through November 17^th. 

You could attribute this week’s hot and humid temps to Chicago’s ever changing fall weather, but anyone who saw the Joffrey Ballet’s performance of “Russian Masters” will definitively tell you it was this performance that brought the heat wave into the Chicago city limits.

“Russian Masters” featured four pieces: “Allegro Brillante” choreography by George Balachine, “Adagio” and “Bells” both choreographed by Yuri Possokhov, and “Le Sarce du Printemps” choreographed by Vaslav Nijinsky. Of the four performances, one will leave you hot under the collar, while the others will simply leave you hot and bothered.

“Allegro Brillante” and “Bells” were beautiful ballets within their own right. For those who don’t know ballet, Balachine is essentially the father of American ballet. In one word, his style can be described as classic. Picture a ballerina in your mind and the way she would dance, yep that’s the style. Flawless, graceful, lithe techniques, clean lines, beautiful and elegant duets, that is a Balachine ballet and “Allergro Brillante” shined on stage, bringing the audience into its gentle embrace. “Bells,” choreographed by Yuri Possokhov was equally graceful and beautiful. Set to seven Rachmaninoff compositions that included some flawlessly executed duets it was all in all was just a good performance, not one that left you wanting more. It is evident within “Bells” that Possokhov is clearly at his best when it comes to duets.

His choreographed duet “Adagio,” performed by husband and wife team Victoria Jaiani and Temur Suluashvili left the entire audience in heat. It is my claim that Jaiani and Suluashvili’s performance required the theater to turn the air conditioning up. Their performance was filled with fiery passion and sensuality, with intricate skills and lifts that would leave a cirque du soleil performer impressed. They were the only performers of the night to receive a standing ovation and once you see the performance live, you too will be ready to jump from your seat and yell “Bravo!”

Cut to the final performance of the night.

Now forget everything you know about ballet, the tutus, the pointy toes, and the gorgeous ballerinas. All of the stereotypes in your head will be torn down and stomped on (almost literally) during the course of this performance. The final piece of the evening was “Le Sacre du Printemps” (Rite of Spring). A brief history: when “Le Sacre” first premiered in Paris in 1913, the performance shocked the sophisticated Parisian audience so entirely that they literally rioted in the theater. That’s right folks, rioted. Russian composer Igor Stravinsky’s haunting music set the audience on edge with loud drumming and bassoons, while Vaslav Nijinsky’s jagged, raucous, and barbaric ‘dancing’ depicting a virgin sacrifice, caused the audience to get so angry that they began catcalling and jeering at the performers, drowning out the orchestra music. In retrospect, it is apparent that Parisians paying to see a beautiful, graceful ballet were not prepared or welcoming to such an avant guarde piece.

While there was no rioting in Chicago on Thursday night, there was plenty of seat shifting, awkward glances from neighbor to neighbor, and an overall uncomfortable air from the audience. But that really was the point of the whole performance. Even in today’s society, with all matter of modern art forms around us, “Le Sacre du Printemps” still leaves audiences questioning what exactly it was they saw. Was it art? Was it ballet? You be the judge.

“Russian Masters” truly was one of the best compilations the Joffrey has put on since I have been in Chicago. The juxtaposition of soft, classical ballet in the first three performances against the brutality and harshness of "Le Sacre du Printemps" highlighted the wide range of talent that the Russian masters possessed. Hurry down to the Auditorium Theater as the show ends on September 22^nd. Dasvidaniya, comrades.

It was a night of great music, big laughs and best yet – it was all for an admirable cause. The Emporium Arcade Bar in Wicker Park was last night’s home a special event to benefit the Alzheimer’s Association - “The Brain Is a Terrible Thing to Waste”. Located at 1366 N Milwaukee, the Emporium Arcade Bar is lined with wall-to-wall 1980s arcade games making it all the more festive and challenging as one could play a quick round of Asteroids or Mortal Kombat before, after and between performers.

“The Brain Is a Terrible Thing to Waste” was organized by Danielle Gandhi to raise money for a cause she holds so close to her heart. Artwork on display was also for sale to raise money for the Alzheimer’s Association. The event was also put together to raise awareness about Frontotemporal Dementia, a rare brain disorder in the Alzheimer’s family. Gandhi was able to put together all the ingredients in order to make the event one to remember – arcade games, art, music, comics and plenty of beer. Commendably hosted by funnyman Andy Fleming, he went on give introductions to local comedians Lisa Laureta, Stephanie Hasz and James Earl Folks before making room for Bigg Picture to take the stage close out the stage entertainment.   

Bigg Picture played an inspired hour-plus long set which included a lively variety of covers such as Dishwalla’s “Counting Blue Cars”, Jimmy Hendrix’ “Foxy Lady”, Talking Heads’ “”Psycho Killer” and Live’s “I Alone”. Guitarist/lead vocalist David Biggs (hence “Bigg” Picture) even riffed out a Joe Satriani favorite “Summer Song” before drummer Jason Royal got to show off his chops in the energetic “Buffy the Vampire Theme”. The trio had a full sound and played with a youthful rambunctiousness that really came to light during one of their four encores “(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right {To Party)”, a Beastie Boys favorite. Bassist Jeff Peterson thumped his way through Bigg Picture’s rockin’ set with polished finesse and command while at the same time impressing with his strong and spot on backing vocals.

The band finally capped off the night with a classic from The Police, “Message in a Bottle”, and though the crowd shouted for a fifth encore, it was time to pass the entertainment baton over to the house music and arcade games.  (Find out future events and info on Bigg Picture at  https://www.facebook.com/biggpicture)

“The Brain Is a Terrible Thing to Waste” was a successful event for a very worthwhile cause that we can only hope is put together again in the future.           

As part of their ongoing campaign to fight boredom and encourage super-fun times, Riot Fest announces a series of great shows taking place post-fest nightly as well as a Sunday matinee. Concord Music Hall will host Sublime with Rome and Cobra Lounge has The Lawrence Arms, Against Me! and Quicksand. Andrew W.K. and Rocket From the Crypt will be rocking Double Door along with Peter Hook and the Light, and the Lillingtons will rise with the sun and hit Beat Kitchen for a special brunch show.

Show info is below, ticketing information is here.

Alice in Chains took the stage as the final act of what had already been a full day of rock and roll fun at the Rockstar Energy Drink Uproar Festival at the World Amphitheatre in Tinley Park. Kicking it off with the command driven, “Them Bones”, Jerry Cantrell and company put on a show worthy to celebrate former frontman, Layne Staley’s, birthday. Powering their way through what was just a thirteen song set, the band was still able to touch on most of their albums playing songs “Again”, “Would?”, “We Die Young”, “Check My Brain” and “Hollow” from their latest release The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here, before capping the night off with an inspired version of “Rooster”.  

This is now the second album tour with the band for singer William Duvall and he couldn’t have had better control of each song performed. Though he may not make fans forget about Layne Staley – not that he would even want to do that – he is sure making a name for himself and has successfully transitioned himself into the shoes of what many thought would be impossible to replace. Duval’s command was impressive and his vocal prowess even more so.

Gloomy and trippy, Alice in Chains, flawlessly drifted from one song into the next aided by a stellar light show and dreamy projected images. With so many bands in the Uproar lineup, their time on the stage was limited. That said, I will look forward to their return to tour the new album to see and hear a more complete set.

Jane’s Addiction also made a noteworthy performance where iconic musical legends Perry Ferrall and Dave Navarro looked to be in prime form. Navarro made his blazing guitar playing look effortless and Ferrall weird antics surrounded his strong and unique vocals. “I love freebase. I love my band. I love the ocean. I love Chicago,” said Ferrall between songs. Ok, so his mid-song banter wasn’t the coolest, but their set was. Songs in their set included “Mountain Song”, “Been Caught Stealing”, “Underground”, and “Ocean Size”. It has been over twenty years since Jane’s Addiction had played at the World Amphitheatre – the site of the very first Lollapalooza, which they headlined.

Alice and Chains were notably that largest acts in the Uproar Festival but it was a full day of loud, rock music starting at 3pm. The talent list was not short as one band impressed after another. The band lineup included Mindset Evolution, Beware of Darkness, Charming Liars, The Dead Daisies, The Chuck Shaffer Picture Show, New Politics, Middle Class Rut, Danko Jones, Walking Papers (featuring Duff McKagen), Circa Survive and Coheed and Cambria.

Bottom Line – The Rockstar Energy Drink Uproar Festival rocked from beginning to end. If you like music on the heavier side that doesn’t lack in quality, there is no reason not to attend such a fun and musically awesome event. I am already looking forward to next year’s lineup.     

For more information on the Rockstar Uproar Fest, visit  http://www.rockstaruproar.com/