Items filtered by date: November 2007

THEATRE-ON-THE-HILL proudly presents Peter Barnes' scathingly brilliant satire, THE RULING CLASS performed indoors April 12-28, 2013. A profoundly witty, oddly dark comedy that has everything: clever dialogue, musical numbers, fabulous sets, serial killers, madrigals and burlesque striptease, opera and aristocracy, romance and insanity, jealousy and drama and theology and much more. Peter O'Toole, star of the 1972 cult film adaptation called it, "A grand comedy with tragic relief."

Produced & Directed by Michael Fudala

Starring
Victor Rachal
Bill Smith
Laurel Kotz
Lorrisa Julianus
Dan Jagodzinski
Kayaun Pierce
Jim Dougherty
Mike Brown
Marcus Gentry
Ruth Bardy
Marie Salvaggione
Matthew Bockus
Gary Patterson
Scott Bovaird
Don Reutzel
Jeff Gamlin

with the additional vocal talents of Caleb Hand, Sharon Hand, Bonnie Bovaird, Campbell Bovaird, Spencer Bovaird

PERFORMED INDOORS

April 12-28, 2013

The Bolingbrook Performing Arts Center (at Bolingbrook Town Center)
375 West Briarcliff - behind Bolingbrook’s Police Station
FRI & SAT: 8pm, SUN: 3pm
TICKETS: $15

Further info at www.tothbolingbrook.com or 630-908-2538

You can purchase your tickets at the box office immediately before the show, or you can reserve your tickets in advance and pay for them when you arrive at the show. We accept cash or personal checks. To reserve tickets, e-mail us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Whether you write or call, please tell us:
· The name you wish to reserve tickets under
· The show date(s) you wish to attend
· How many tickets you wish to reserve

The Raven theatre has never disappointed me. Their performances strike an emotional chord with their audiences and their actors are among the best I’ve seen in Chicago. On a rainy Monday night, A Soldier’s Play premiered with mixed reviews, but from my perspective, this play is timeless and one you shouldn't miss.

When Captain Davenport, a black man with Captain bars in a white man’s army, comes to a segregated WWII-era Louisiana base to investigate a murder, the interrogation of the soldiers uncovers a web of contempt, expectation, and hatred. The play tackles the tough subjects of racism within races in the heat of the deep south. The play was written by Charles Fuller and premiered Off-Broadway in 1981, less than 20 years after the Civil Rights Act passed and less than 40 years after the end of WWII. Through the interactions between white and black soldiers, and amongst the black soldiers themselves, you can cut the tension with a knife and Captain Davenport, wonderfully played by Frank Pete, tries to unravel the mystery of who murdered Sergeant Vernon C Waters, wonderfully played by Antoine Pierre Whitfield.

The story follows Captain Davenport onto the Army base. We know nothing of what transpired other than Sergeant Waters being shot, but through interviews with the Privates on the base and their flashbacks we begin to see the events that led to the murder of the Sergeant and the palpable hatred that flowed in his veins towards his own soldiers and his own race. Waters is in charge of a black unit which is also the baseball team. They are allowed to fight in the war, but demeaned into playing ball for their white peers and, when not on the baseball diamond, cleaning up after them. One of the most tense and trying scenes of the play is told in a flashback by Private James Wilkie (Bradford Stevens), in which Sergeant Waters recounts his time spent as a black soldier during WWI, and his venomous thoughts towards a "typical" black Private under his command. Waters hatred stems from his inability to understand why people of his own race refuse to want to better themselves by learning to read, write, or anything else that would help them compete with their wither "superiors".  The flashback makes your skin crawl and Whitfield does a superb job portraying the character, in fact you’d actually believe he had those feelings himself, but that, after all, is the craft of the actor.

Director Michael Menendian had quite a task on his hands. A Pulitzer Prize winning play, with an original cast that originally included Denzel Washington, Samuel L. Jackson and Adolph Caesar, the feat to bring A Soldier’s Play to life at The Raven was no small task. But the director succeeded with an excellent cast, seamless set design, and impeccable blocking. Menendian really brought the WWII Army base to life. At times, we were so enthralled with the scene, that you would forget characters blacked out on stage, though they were the characters recounting the scenes we were watching. The fight scenes were so realistic, you’d forgotten it was just excellent fake stage combat. Much of that is written in the play already, but this cast and its Director brought a fresh energy to the performance.

A Soldier’s Play had quite the challenge: a rich play pedigree, sensitive material, a challenging emotional depth, but I believe it met that challenge, and most definitely earned its stripes. A Soldier’s Play is playing at The Raven Theater (6157 N. Clark Street, Chicago, IL 60660) through March 30^th. Enlist today and see this play while it lasts.

Fela! is based on the biography of Fela Kuti, a Nigerian superstar singer, musician, and composer who became an iconic spokesman for the country's underclass against the brutal and corrupt Nigerian military government in the 1970s and 80s.

Playing at the Arie Crown Theatre in McCormick Place through Saturday, Fela! is a magnificent show that should be seen and celebrated by everyone.

The first thing that really blew me away about this show is the incredibly beautiful and sensual style of dancing with the live onstage drummers and band to delicious expressive music termed "Afro Beat".

I've said in the past that the very best dancers are also very expressive actors, and the entire cast of dancers in FELA are absolutely in this A+ class. Directed and choreographed by Bill T. Jones, each dancer shows such remarkable individuality and style. While other musicals are increasingly strict and rigid in their dance styles, FELA's dancers remain completely free and unique, almost as if they are dancing for their freedom and the freedom of Nigeria's underclass right now on America's stages.

Adesola Osakalumi is absolutely electric as the Nigerian icon, Fela, and gifted vocalist Michelle Willaims of Destiny's Child is a stunning addition as Sandra, one of Fela's true influences during his formative years.

I really think everyone, young and old should see FELA! to realize how horrific it is for anyone to live under a military regime, and that in some ways we as Americans are also being held down and manipulated by our own government's corruption on many levels of our daily lives.

There are a few terrifying and powerful scenes though that should be explained to younger viewers in advance, like the 12 year old girl sitting next to me with her mom who needed consoling after the show.

When Fela Kuti describes his brutal interrogation by the police and says, "See this blade? It is to slice up your face. See this broken glass? Well, it is to shove up your A--!"

Later, when Fela's family camp is surrounded by 1000 police officers, who then proceed to gang rape and torture Fela and his wives and throw Fela's mother to her death from an upper story window, it is portrayed as calmly as possible but is still very disturbing, as it should be.

I have already made plans to see FELA! For a second time because the music and dancing and message of overcoming unspeakable violence and human rights violations is so uplifting and empowering.

FELA! produced by Jay Z and Will and Jada Smith, is a MUST SEE and of all the shows I personally have seen in Chicago this year, FELA, really is the most exciting and important of all by far in terms of music and dance originality and political relevance for the entire nation.

Inevitably, in every ballet review, you’ll find some keys words: genius, perfection, flawless. Throw in a few lines about choreography, music, and storyline and you’ve got yourself a puffed up piece that radiates with fabulosity about the performance. Unfortunately, I don’t think I can use any of those words or puffy pieces to describe the Joffrey ballet’s new American Legends.

Ballet enthusiasts and Joffrey loyalists will say American Legends is wonderful and they will recommend it to everyone they know. But if you see one ballet in your life, this should not be it. Most ballets have a single story told, or at the very least an underlying theme throughout the entire performance. It not only makes the performance easy to follow and understand, but it allows you to really enjoy the dancing.  American Legends did not offer any of these things.

American Legends made its world premiere at the Auditorium Theatre on February 13^th. The show was made up by four dance pieces each about 20-40 minutes in length: Interplay, Sea Shadow, Son of Chamber Symphony, and Nine Sinatra Songs. Interplay was the first ballet, and was an upbeat, West Side Story-like, playground romp. You could easily imagine Interplay as an interpretation of children playing at recess (if those kids were talented ballerinas). They even had a dance battle! The whole thing was fun, and best of all, it didn’t take itself too seriously (as some contemporary pieces can).

Sea Shadows was the best piece of the night, and could be enjoyable as a full length ballet. It was a duet which told the story of a man on a beach falling in love with a sea nymph. The ballet screamed sex, and the performers did an incredible job. But it ended about as soon as it started, much to the chagrin of some of the males in the audience. What followed after the intermission made me wish I had simply left.  Son of Chamber Symphony was an ultra-modern contemporary piece that had no storyline, no purpose. If it were a piece of art it would be a solid black canvas; trying so hard to be deep and meaningful, but falling just shy. The ballet was all over the place. Dark, moody, abrupt, and set to music straight out of a horror film. The whole ballet seemed like a ballerina’s bad dream. It couldn’t end soon enough. After another intermission, the curtain rose and a disco ball hung above the stage. It was time for Nine Sinatra Songs. Sinatra. A disco ball. How could this ballet possibly be bad? Oh, but it was.

Nine Sinatra Songs featured, you guessed it, nine songs by Sinatra. Each song featured a duet of ballet dancers dancing an unusual ballroom-contemporary style. You could tell the dancers were not too familiar with ballroom and awkwardly transitioned from traditional ballroom steps to contemporary segments. The dances didn’t interpret the Sinatra songs very well and after about three duets, all three couples would come back on stage, each dancing their own styles to Sinatra’s ‘My Way.’ It was another ballet in a string of ballets that night that was all over the place, lacked any sort of consistency, and overall was just disappointing.

Ballet is classic, timeless, and beautiful; no one in Chicago does classic better than the Joffrey. But contemporary is not their strong suit.  Overall, American Legends was a disappointment that won’t deter me from seeing the Joffrey again, but it definitely gave this reviewer second thoughts. American Legends runs through February 24^th at the Auditorium Theater. 

Lookingglass Theatre’s “Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo” is a dark comedy that questions human nature, the existence of God and explores living with the decisions we have made. Directed by ensemble member Heidi Stillman and written by Rajiv Joseph, “Bengal Tiger” takes us to Baghdad and centers around two U.S. Marines, an Iraqi translator and a tiger.

Greed and disloyalty are present in this land of ghosts. This play shows the world to which the spirits of those one kills stay with them, often driving one crazy. At the same time, we are also shown the unfortunate behavior of some American soldiers who take advantage of a country taken over for a gluttonous cause guised as a mission of liberation.

Troy West is delightful as the Bengal Tiger, who delivers one question on human nature and beliefs after another, adding profound observations on man from one looking in from the outside. JJ Phillips is sensational as “Kev” and lights up the stage with a dynamic performance while Anish Jethmalani anchors the terrific cast as “Musa”.

“Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo” is playing at Lookingglass Theatre through March 17th and is well worth seeing. For more information and/or tickets, visit www.lookingglass.org or call 312-337-0665.     

“The Birthday Party” at Steppenwolf’s new upstairs theatre, is theatre in the round at its best, with the living room set in the middle of the room amidst the audience, almost giving us the feeling that we are part of the play. With Chicago theatre heavyweights filling the cast, including John Mahoney, Ian Barford and Francis Guinan, we are treated to rich and passionate dialogue, making the show fiery and heartfelt. Harry Pinter’s “The Birthday Party” takes us from the dull times of daily living to a fast-paced, intriguing and often uncomfortable situation to which all hell breaks loose.

The story revolves around a boarding house in England run by Petey (Mahoney) and Meg (Moira Harris) where there single guest of nearly a year Stanley (Barford) has been hiding out from a past “organization”. Everything has been calm and relaxed until two mysterious guests arrive, members of this organization, to confront Stanley. Stanley, normally cocky and rather rude to his hosts, takes on a scared and fragile demeanor once confronted by the guests. But it’s Stanley’s birthday and Meg has a party planned, inviting the two guests, Goldberg and McCann. Goldberg and McCann are on their best behavior in front of Meg and Petey, while Stanley is obviously enveloped with impending doom. While Petey picks up the gravity of the situation, Meg is oblivious and is as overbearingly sweet as usual.

I enjoy watching John Mahoney in live theatre every chance I get, though I felt his tremendous gift of acting was a bit wasted here. While John Mahoney’s vast talent was harnessed by a less challenging role, Francis Guinan plays Goldberg and is just magnificent. He hammers his lines with the intensity of a wrecking ball making contact with a dilapidated building. Also to note that Sopia Sinese, daughter of actors Gary Sinese and Moira Harris, makes her Steppenwolf debut in strong fashion as “Lulu”.    

“The Birthday Party” is a dark comedy that may not get you in a birthday mood, but will get you to laugh at times and uncomfortably stir in your seat at others. Directed by ensemble member Austin Pendelton, “The Birthday Party” is playing at Steppenwolf Theatre through April 28^th.   For more information visit www.steppenwolf.org. 

In a small and unassuming theatre on a low traffic corner in Chicago rests a playhouse that offers some big surprises. We ventured into this playhouse to see, unbeknownst to us, a world premiere production. Southbridge, written by Reginald Edmund and directed by Russ Tutterow was as unassuming as the playhouse it was performed in and left this writer wanting to see what else the playwright and the theatre have in store.

Set in Athens, Ohio in 1881, Southbridge tells the story of a white, widowed woman who is brutally attacked and killed. An angry mob is at the jailhouse door demanding the sheriff lynch the accused murderer, a young black man called ‘Stranger,’ wonderfully played by Manny Buckley. The only way to untangle the truth is for the accused to relive the events that led him to the jailhouse. Stranger’s flashbacks weave a creative who-done-it web filled with surprises, subtlety, and just a touch of sorcery. The stories of the characters intertwine throughout the play and constantly surprise the audience. And while there is an underlying theme of racism throughout the play, as to be expected of a play set in 1881 America, it doesn’t throw it in the audience face. The story feeds off of that tension but is not eclipsed by it, allowing the audience to get fully engrossed in Stranger’s story. The wonderfully cast five person production featured Ashley Honore as Nadia, Stranger’s wife that gave up her dreams, Lance Newton as a slick African-American businessman, Edwin, Wendy Robie as the widow Lucinda, and Gene Cordon as the alcoholic Sheriff Ward, who looked as though he stepped right out of the 1800’s, complete with white handlebar mustache. The cast brought this American play to life and showed what a great group of people, from production to performance, can bring to the stage.

The play was performed at Chicago Dramatists, an organization in Chicago with a single mission: to find and nurture plays and playwrights that bring a new voice to the American stage. It’s a safe and encouraging environment where actors, playwrights, producers, and directors can come together to bring American features to life. It’s a refreshing concept in our oversharing, judgmental, sometimes overly critical society. And while Chicagoans have a plethora of playhouses and stages to choose from, Dramatists offers a raw originality that you can’t find at some of the larger production houses. And if Dramatists continues to have plays like Southbridge grace its stage, then you better reserve some permanent seats in the small theatre; you might just find yourself sitting in front of the next great American play. Southbridge runs through March 3^rd at Chicago Dramatists (1105 W Chicago Ave) Run Time: 2hr

It's 2004 and a violent war is raging in the desert. In Afghanistan, young, fatigued soldiers fight against terror, but in a secluded West Coast mansion, a war of word wages between a strained family. Brooke, the daughter of two prominent old-school Republicans - Ron and Nancy are among the dropped names - has just written a new book. This should be cause for celebration -- she's a brilliant writer who's just emerged from a 6-year depression-fueled writer's block, but it's not the novel Mom and Dad think it is. Her brother and aunt know it's a memoir, exposing a dark, family secret, sending the five-member family into a Christmas from hell in the humid desert heat.

Whether Brooke's new work is an expose for profit or her therapeutic life's work is a question that hangs like smoke in the Chicago premier of "Other Desert Cities" at Goodman Theatre. Lauded during its Broadway debut in the fall of 2011, Jon Robin Baitz's Pulitzer Prize finalist "Other Desert Cities" is a strong exploration of the modern blurring of the public and the private lives and how money complicates the matter even further. But this blurring has become faded in its translation to the Goodman's Albert Theatre. Perhaps the bi-coastal themes (East Coast academics versus West Coast relaxers) resonate more strongly on the coasts, or perhaps the cast doesn't quite carry the firecracker power of the NYC debut, but the Chicago show doesn’t live up to the potential the script holds.

Tracy Michelle Arnold's depressed Brooke is a bit one-dimensional, and not until the final scene does it really feel as if she has fallen into her character. Deanna Dunagan and Chelcie Ross Lyman, both connected with August: Osage County (a similar family drama fueled by heat) are strongly suited to play the aging GOP matriarch and patriarch of the family. John Hoogenakker is delightful as the brother trapped in the familial crossfire. A Los Angeles reality TV producer, he is on the front lines of profiting off a family's fights, and Linda Kimbrough's eccentric substance-abusing Aunt Silda provides much needed comedic relief in the tense family drama.

But Henry Wishcamper's direction has the cast swimming around the stage throughout the one-setting play - aimless, often lacking purpose, which seems to spill over into other character choices. Further, at the opening of the play, I felt something I'd never before in a theatre: I couldn't quite hear the actors. Whether it was a technical amplification question or not, it felt like it symbolized a soft understanding of the characters rather than fully inhabiting them and sharing them with the audience. Jon Robin Baitz's script is funny and smart, and his jokes are able to overcome their sometimes soft delivery in the Chicago premier, but I couldn’t help but imagine what New York audiences saw and responded so passionately to.

Other Desert Cities is through February 17, 2013. More information at http://www.goodmantheatre.org

Simply put, Christine Sherrill puts on one of the best all around performances I’ve seen in some time. Playing “Norma Desmond” in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Sunset Boulevard”, Sherrill clearly shows why she is a top stage talent with her brilliant use of dramatics, comedic timing and, maybe most of all, her commanding range of vocal finesse. Sung with power and Flair, Sherrill is beyond perfection in numbers “Salome”, “As if We Never Said Goodbye” and “Phone Call”. If for nothing else, “Sunset Boulevard” is worth seeing on Sherrill’s performance alone, but a well-rounded cast and blazing orchestra make this a show that runs on all cylinders.

Taking place in the 1940’s, this film noir-to-stage classic is the story of how Joe, a young writer waiting for his break, meets up with Norma Desmond, an ultra rich silent film star who has been out of the scene for some time, but has delusions of making a strong comeback.  As Joe (who initially stopped by because of car trouble) helps Norma rewrite her script, the two become close and in many ways dependent on each other. Norma is controlling and Joe desperately needs work and though the two are worlds apart emotionally and physically a strange romantic relationship occurs between the two to benefit each other’s needs.

With a slew of songs, mystery romance and even murder, “Sunset Boulevard” is a fully functional musical that evokes emotions of anger, sadness and pity, as the characters are well-defined and the story nothing less than tragic.

Will Ray is fantastic as “Joe”, both acting and singing his way into the hearts of audience members, while Don Richard deserves kudos for handling his role as “Max”, Norma’s loyal, pride and true butler.

Sunset Boulevard is playing at Drury Lane in Oakbrook through March 24^th. For tickets and/or more information, visit www.drurylaneoakbrook.com.