Items filtered by date: November 2007

Murder’s a hoot in Court Theatre’s revival of Joseph Kesselring’s “Arsenic and Old Lace.” Lighthearted and stylish, director Ron OJ Parson’s production makes for a charming season opener. Court Theatre was awarded a Tony award for best regional theatre and it feels fitting for a well-known classic to be this year’s kick-off. Slapstick humor and sinfully crackling dialogue are brought to life by an excellent ensemble of some of Chicago’s favorite performers.

It's hard to imagine this subversive comedy finding a mass audience in a less cynical era, but the 1941 Broadway production of “Arsenic and Old Lace” ran for years spawning a successful West End run as well. Boris Karloff, a major star of the 1940s, featured in the original Broadway run, contributing to its success. Frank Capra directed the popular film version starring Carey Grant.

According to lore, Kesselring had set out to write a serious play about the famed serial killer Amy Archer-Gilligan, but during the writing process found the story played better as a farce. The current popularity of murder-related podcast and docuseries makes this an especially relevant play to remount. It serves as an ironic satire of one of our nation’s favorite subjects—murder.

“Arsenic and Old Lace” tells the story of two sweet old spinster sisters who live in a Brooklyn mansion, they just happen to poison some of their guests. Hijinks ensue when their two nephews pay them a visit and discover their grizzly hobby.

In Parson’s production the Brewster sisters, Abby and Martha are played by Taylar and Celeste Williams. Their stage chemistry is fun to watch as they’re chased around the set by their adult nephews Mortimer and Jonathan (played by Eric Gerard and A.C. Smith). The latter, A.C. Smith, turns in another stage-filling and hilarious performance as the deranged long-lost nephew who returns to the family home with a secret to dispose of. Eric Gerard masters physical humor as he balances his frightening older brother, his murdering aunts and his engagement to the minister’s daughter Elaine (Emma Jo Boyden).

The action of the play is contained to the living room of the mansion. John Culbert’s set is the perfect backdrop for the door-slamming, stair climbing romp. Rachelanne Healy’s costumes transport us back to the 1940s and the absurd funeral costumes worn by the Brewster sisters play their own role in the laugh-out-loud spectacle.

Appealing to the popular anti-hero tropes in today’s pop culture, Court finds a pleasant way to welcome back audiences with an amusing production of a beloved classic. Thrills and laughs abound in this refreshing yet traditional staging. Ron OJ Parson nods to heartfelt film director Frank Capra, famous for ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ and many other classics in his endearing production. Comedies in the “farce” style have mostly disappeared from new work, so plays like “Arsenic and Old Lace” are a nice trip down memory lane to a simpler time. Though the play is about murder, there’s a sweet natured charm to the tongue-in-cheek candor of the lines and plot. Seeing this excellent cast counter physical humor with witty banter is sure to bring a smile to your face.

Through October 2^nd at Court Theatre. 5535 S Ellis Ave. www.courtthreatre.org

Ken Ludwig has adapted the beloved Agath Christie whodunit 'Murder on the Orient Express' in a rich and wonderful way. The play revolves around the murder of a wealthy businessman aboard a luxurious train. Detective Hurcule Poirot is on the case and there is no shortage of suspects aboard the Orient Express. 

I know a murder mystery by Christie is done really well when I can not remember how it ends even though I may have seen the play countless times, and that is exactly how Drury Lane's production had me - on the edge of my seat desperately trying to guess who the murderer was the entire time!

Going in, I had concerns about how the train and its movement would be represented, but all were dismissed the minute Andrew Boyce’s scenic design was revealed in a series of spectacularly luxurious and well lit projections by Anthony Churchill in train compartments that started revolving on the stage. The audience gasped and applauded for each one and the projections of snow and other movement in the windows of the train was really a fun and exciting way to recreate the movement and style of the sumptuous Orient Express for a live audience. 

This was a true ensemble cast with solid performances all around. 

Of course Larry Yando (Poirot), a mainstay of Chicago theater, was the heartbeat of this classic production and the audience hung on his every word. Yando's parting speech wherein he ponders the  philosophical correctness of his part in solving the mystery was Tony worthy, and though brief, really ended the play on a genuine note of sympathy with all of the depth and emotional honesty one would expect from such an accomplished actor. 

Janet Ulrich Brooks as Helen Hubbard was pure delight in this show as she plays a brassy American with such great physical comedy and impeccable comedic timing that every scene she appears in draws laughs and comparisons to great comedians like Lucille Ball and Phyllis Diller. 

I also thought Sean Blake as the young lover with a thick scottish brogue was very funny and got laughs out of lines that otherwise would have been throwaways to a less talented actor. 

Yes, there was a bit of a slow start in getting the action and dialogue moving but I think the actors were trying to wring every bit of humor out of each moment onstage and the whole flow of the show got going at a nice pace once the opening night jitters were quelled by the enthusiastic audience response.

I can highly recommend this exciting and suspenseful production to audiences of all ages to enjoy a real night at the theater with beautiful costumes, ingenius stage settings and the ensemble of mature and very gifted actors all giving their best performances at the lovely Drury Lane Theater.  

‘Murder on the Orient Express’ is being performed at Drury Lane Theater in Oakbrook through October 23rd. For tickets and/or more show information, click here.  

RICHARD III tells the story of Richard of Gloucester, Shakespeare’s cruelest yet most compelling protagonist.

Richard III was the last king of the House of York. He was the last English king to die in battle, at the last battle of the Wars of the Roses, marking the end of the Middle Ages in England.

RICHARD III depicts this last of the Plantagenets as merciless, almost demoniacal – several characters call him ‘devil’. In his mania to be King, Richard uses intelligence, deception, and serial murder; though most of the murders are actually committed by his retainers and minions.

Shakespeare delves into the historical account to find what we would now call a psychological autopsy, probing beneath the gory facts to explore Richard’s mindset and motivations. What is thus exhumed is a driven man, ravenous for total domination. 

Babes with Blades Theatre Company (BWBTC) uses stage combat to elevate the voices of underrepresented communities, allowing both participants and patrons to experience every person as exciting, vivid, dynamic people. BWBTC Shakespeare casts actors of marginalized genders, providing a new lens to perceive these classic stories. In RICHARD III, BWBTC partners with UIC’s Disability Cultural Center, Department of Theatre, and Bodies of Work in a project called “Making Inclusive Theatre: RICHARD III as Disability Art”, challenging the obstacles that actors face around accessibility. The cast of RICHARD III crosses barriers of gender and ableism to explore othering and disability culture.

Jillian Leff, Aszkara Gilchrist, Lauren Paige, Genesis Sanchez, Kristen Alesia, and Pat Roache in “Richard III” from Babes With Blades Theatre Company

Artistic Director Hayley Rice (s/h) says: “This production represents so many aspects that are priorities for BWBTC: focusing on marginalized stories, telling complicated tales of flawed humans, and our signature of stage combat as a storytelling tool. This team is ready to tell Richard III’s story in the manner it should be told, with the artists who should be telling it, but are so often left out of the conversation completely”.

Any production of RICHARD III will flourish or founder on the actor playing the title role; this production totally nails it with Aszkara Gilchrist (s/h), whose intonation and especially countenance are vivid, persuasive, and expressive, displaying the full range of Richard’s unsavory character. Her smirk and her sneer (both integral to Richard) are particularly satisfying. Her white cane becomes functional as a pikestaff, a club, a truncheon, and (occasionally) a visual aid.

Gilchrist’s Richard would fail without a surrounding cast of equal talent; happily, BWBTC has assembled a truly stellar troupe. Most actors play multiple roles, but kClare McKellaston (s/h) (Costume) and AJ Morely (h/h) (Props) use simple articles to define characters so effectively that each was clear. This is often difficult in Shakespeare’s extensive companies, but I was also assisted by the live streaming captions – just one aspect of the production’s commitment to accessibility. Various performances will include adjustments for sensory needs audiences, ASL interpreters, touch tour and audio description. See the website for dates of these special performances. This commitment to inclusion is very impressive. I attended with an autistic friend who was able to enjoy the standard performance but is definitely interested in going back to attend one of the sensory access shows.

Another standout performer was Pat Roache (th/th) as Queen Margaret; their over-the-top emoting could be called overplay, but it SO worked for me! I adored every one of Queen Margaret’s appearances, and Roache was just as fabulous (if less melodramatic) as Brackenbury. Kristen Alesia (s/th) (Lady Anne/Lord Hastings) and Lauren Paige (s/h) (Queen Elizabeth) are terrific, and the three Queens had a chemistry that catalyzed each appearance.  I also want to make a shoutout to Xela Rosas (s/th), an understudy who shone as Rivers / Bishop of Ely.

In many large casts, particularly with multiple parts, individuals may get lost in the swarm. Not so here! Kim Fukawa (s/h) (Catesby/ King Edward IV) and Genesis Sanchez (s/th) (Richmond) were outstanding; Madison Hill (th/th) great as Ratcliffe and Duke of York, as was Leah Nicole Huskey (s/h) as Grey and the Duchess of York. Kayla Marie Klammer (s/h) (Lovell/ Archbishop of Canterbury), Jillian Leff (s/h) (Duke of Buckingham), Jennifer L Mickelson (s/h) (Duke of Clarence/ Stanley / Mayor) and Symonne Still (s/h) (Dorset/ Prince Edward) complete the truly extraordinary troupe.

Loud kudos to the production team! Richard Costes (h/h), a deaf BIPOC actor, is Director, working with Margaret Fink (s/h), Director of UIC’s Disability Cultural Center and UIC Partners Bianca Frazer (s/h), Carrie Sandahl (s/h), Rachelle Palnick Tsachor (s/h), and Keyana D Robinson (s/h) (also videographer). Gabrielle Owens (s/th) is Stage Manager, assisted by Esau Andaleon (h/h). Dramaturg Claire Alston (s/h) and Carrie Hardin (s/h) as Text Coach are responsible for making Elizabethan language user-friendly. Scenic Designer Sydney Lynne (s/h) built a set whose intriguing horizontal and vertical levels were accentuated by Lighting Designer Becca Venable (s/h).

Post-2020 a COVID Compliance Officer (Tab Mocherman (th/th)) is part of the crew; this production uses Matt Lauterbach (h/h) as Accessibility Coordinator, and Line Bower (th/th) as Technical Director [thanks for the streaming captions!]. Rose Hamill (s/h) pulls it all together as Production Manager. Jesse D Irwin (h/h) (Sound Design) achieved the amazing feat of making every word from every actor audible.

These last members of the production team made very special contributions to RICHARD III. Music Director Gail Gallagher (s/h) added depth of meaning and touches of humor (“Happy Together”!?!). Kat Pleviak (s/h) did Puppet Design -- I was unsure about puppets for the Little Princes (Edward V and Richard, Duke of York), but BWBTC made it work! It required an actor, sometimes two, to animate the little figures, but they quickly disappeared, and the winsome ragdolls took on character and life. And when they were being taken to the Tower and the two tiny manikins embraced, an audible “Awww” wafted across the house.   

Last but not least – How ‘bout them Babes with Blades?! Stage fighting is, after all, the raison d'être for BWBTC, their signature for twenty years. Maureen Yasko (s/h) is Fight and Intimacy Director, with Asst Fight Director Jillian Leff (s/h) and Asst Fight Captain Madison Hill (th/th). Their choreography is a symphony, with various subthemes playing simultaneously to form a cohesive ensemble.

The fights at beginning and end could have been a mishmash of noise, and each does begin with a general melee, but then certain dyads come to the fore and the other fighters go into slowed motion, so one still sees the enormity of the entire battle but is able to concentrate on one particular duel after another. My companion commented on this being particularly helpful with their tendency to hyperfocus.

I plan to see RICHARD III again, maybe at one of the special performances – it’s two and a half hours (including intermission) very well spent!

Sweet is the best word for GIRLFRIEND for several reasons. First, it showcases the songs of Matthew Sweet, and the book is by Todd Almond, to get another flavor in the mix.

‘Sweet’ also describes the era that GIRLFRIEND is set in – 1990’s: pre-9/11; before cell phones and PDAs; the decade of HAART and hope; and drive-in movies!  This last is crucial in GIRLFRIEND, as Mike and Will spend a considerable amount of time there.

‘Sweet’ is a good descriptor for the cast of two: Joe Lewis as Will, who narrates the story between songs, and Peter Stielstra as Mike, the boy of Will’s dreams who makes those dreams come true. Both actors and characters are totally toothsome. And Matthew Sweet’s songs invoke the bittersweet stage of adolescence, with all the routine adolescent trauma magnified for queers by isolation and too-well seasoned with desolation.

Lewis as Will does a particularly good job of portraying the excruciating emotional turmoil of being eighteen years old and queer.  We all remember the awkwardness and self-consciousness of that age, and the mortification when we say or do the ‘wrong’ thing, particularly when it relates to courting and things carnal. I recall only too well just how urgent and significant everything was. It’s exhausting when every action, every word, is so meaningful! I hate when people tell teens, “These are the best years of your life”.  I tell them “This is the worst time of your life. Once you ‘re into your twenties everything gets much easier.”

Mike’s conflicts are more externalized, worrying about ‘what people think’, especially peers. When Mike spots a carload of teammates while at the drive-in with Will, his furtive response is both hilarious and heartbreaking.

And, oh yeah! GIRLFRIEND is a musical!  Both Lewis and Stielstra have excellent voices, backed by Robert Ollis and Kyra Leigh on keyboard, Berkett Shertok and Bob Potsic on Bass, Cesar Romero and David Kelley on guitar, and Anthony Scandora on drums. Robert Ollis is Music Director and Kiera Battles Sound Design/Engineer.

Jay Espano directs, assisted by Stage Manager Hannah “Blue” Morris; Megan Hoppe is Costume Designer. Isabella Noe (Scenic Design), Kael Meno (Props Design), Maggie Meyer (Lighting), and Magdiel Carmona (Projections) devise a spare set, adroitly constructed to roll out a bedroom at one end, the seat of a car at the other. This design frees most of the space for the performers’ revels, choreographed by Hannah Greenfield (Movement) and Kayla Menz (Intimacy). Production Support Staff include Taylor Pasche (Asst Director),Keira Leigh (Asst Music Director), Megs Flannery (Asst Stage Manager), Isabella Noe (Tech Director) and Emily Blanquera (Master Electrician).

I just have to interject here that when I began reviewing theatre for WBEZ in the 80’s, half of those jobs didn’t exist!

Lewis and Stielstra are both talented vocalists but it was difficult to hear them over the band at times – due to the acoustic challenges of the space, and auditory challenges in the elderly [me!]. However, I do think the sound could use a bit of fine tuning, 

“Sweet” is the word for GIRLFRIEND. It’s cotton candy, light and airy without much substance. It’s flavorsome, but not nourishing.

With MY BROTHER LANGSTON, Black Ensemble Theatre continues its 2022 Season of Excellence: The Season of Healings. This third of four world premiere musicals showcase the power of music to heal. Jackie Taylor, BET’s Founder & CEO, says: “… through these outstanding plays, the spirit of the music, the hope and faith experienced through our stories—we proclaim that Black Ensemble Theater is in the healing business!"

Playwright and director Rueben D. Echoles says of Langston Hughes: “I am honored and grateful to pay tribute to the legacy of such a brilliant and prolific writer”. In My Brother Langston Echoles tells Langston’s life story through his poetry and the evocative music of the age. “T’ain’t Nobody’s Business If I Do”, “Take the A Train”, “In my Solitude” and of course “God Bless the Child” are only a few of the songs performed. Poems include Countee Cullen’s “I Have a Rendezvous with Death”, “In the Morning” by Paul Lawrence Dunbar, and “I Sing the Body Electric” by Langston’s idol Walt Whitman. All the rest are by Langston, including gems like “Dreams”, “The Negro Mother”, “Harlem”, and (my personal favorite) “The Negro Speaks of Rivers”. 

Chris Taylor plays Langston, with an ensemble of four portraying the key figures in his life and serving as a Greek chorus. Reneisha Jenkins as Lady Day singing “God Bless the Child” gave me chills, and she is equally brilliant as both Langston’s disinterested mother and devoted grandmother. Nolan Robinson plays Langston’s brother Gwyn, and Andre Teamer is Countee Cullen. De’Jah Jervai completes the quartet, and together they use dance and music to make pure magic.

Langston Hughes, born 1901, was one of the earliest innovators of jazz poetry, and a leader of the Harlem Renaissance.  His writing – prose, poetry, plays – expresses the racial pride and commitment to activism imbued in him by his grandmother. From 1942 to 1962 he wrote a weekly column for The Chicago Defender promoting the emergent civil rights movement.

The use of ‘Brother’ in the title both evokes the racially definitive use of the term, and acknowledges Langston’s close relationship with his half-brother Gwyn. The brothers initially appear quite unequal: Langston is the idolized Big Brother that Gwyn boasts of. But later, as Gwyn consoles a deeply-discouraged Langston, their connection equalizes.

Langston finds his spiritual home in Harlem. He moves to New York to attend Colombia – grudgingly financed by his father – but the bigoted campus is a non-starter against the Cotton Club. There Langston hears Billie Holiday, Dizzy Gillespie, Ella Fitzgerald… and meets fellow poet Countee Cullen. Biographers may waffle over Langston’s sexuality, but not Echoles! Langston’s relationship with Countee Cullen unmistakably blends Eros and Agape, and Langston is crushed when he returns from a year’s absence to find Countee married. Clearly, both his race and his queerness are intolerable to America’s white supremacy.

I have to say that the best parts were when Langston himself speaks. His poetry is magnificent, and is presented very well, particularly “The Negro Speaks of Rivers”. The music is superbly performed as well by the ensemble. 

The production depends on the musicians: Oscar Brown Jr (guitar), Myron Cherry (drums), Mark Miller (bass), and bandleader Adam Sherrod on keys. Robert Reddrick is musical director, and adroitly intertwines the Jazz Age music and jazz poetry.

Playwright Rueben D Echoles is director, choreographer, and costumes, supported by Pamela Avery as Assistant Director, Jessica Moore as Stage Manager, and Producing Managing Director/Equioty Stage Manager Daryl Brooks. My Brother Langston is a multimedia production utilizing the talents of a full team of designers: DJ Douglas (sound), Denise Karczweski (lighting), Sydney Lynne (set), and Dre Robinson (projection).

My Brother Langston is deeply satisfying on many levels. As they say, “It’s Almost Like Coming to Church”!

Recommended

Smear tactics are nothing new in politics; Octavian became Emperor of Rome by distributing coins printed with negative slogans against Mark Anthony. The printing press provided a more easily reproduceable vehicle for misinformation, with the written material later reinforced by manipulated (long before Photoshop!) photographs. And now, of course, we have social media, click bait, troll farms, and ever-darker forms of fake news.

But we can pinpoint the birth of fake news with an extraordinary upsurge in political invective at the 1934 California gubernatorial race.

Playwright Will Allen examines this race in CAMPAIGNS, INC, playing at the TimeLine Theatre through September 18. CAMPAIGNS, INC was originally slated for release in 2020, to inject some much-needed humor into that anxious year and its contentious presidential election. But the play’s impact is even weightier now, after two more years of unscrupulous politics.

CAMPAIGNS, INC is based on a true story about carnival promoter Leone Baxter (Tyler Meredith) and journalist Clem Whitaker (Yurly Sardarov).  I would love to admire Leone Baxter – 1934 didn’t have many women in the political arena until she pioneered the field of political consulting by co-founding Campaigns Inc. Her tactics, however, proved less than admirable. Campaigns Inc unquestionably spawned the phenomenon of fake news and propelled opposition research to new depths of depravity.

CAMPAIGNS, INC portrays Baxter and Whitaker’s debut campaign, representing Frank Merriam (Terry Hamilton) in his bid for Governor of California against Upton Sinclair (Anish Jethmalani). Staunch Republican Merriam and Socialist Sinclair vie for support from an array of celebrities, from Sinclair’s friend Charlie Chaplin (Dave Honigman) and Lieutenant Governor George Hatfield (Mark Ulrich), to Franklin Roosevelt (David Parkes). Parkes also joins the electioneering as Louis B. Mayer, Douglas Fairbanks, Kyle Palmer, and a photographer. As ultra-conservative Merriam buys Roosevelt’s endorsement by affirming the New Deal, Eleanor Roosevelt (Jacqueline Grandt, also as Mary Pickford, a reporter and a waitress) defies her husband by publicly approving Sinclair. The entire election becomes a comprehensive calamity of deceit, demonization, and decidedly dirty politics.

Director Nick Bowling cleverly employs a multi-media presentation for CAMPAIGNS, INC. Scenes from Shirley Temple’s “Stand Up and Cheer!” and Clark Gable in “It Happened One Night” flicker on the screen as we take our seats. The stage is positioned between two facing banks of audience seats; the sets are assembled during blackouts, wheeling in Sinclair’s office at one end or Merriam’s at the other, with FDR’s Hyde Park residence and the offices of Campaigns Inc popping up in center stage. The live acting is interspersed with 1930’s film clips projected on a mobile screen.

This hurley-burley design resonates perfectly with the play’s general atmosphere of hectic absurdity as CAMPAIGNS, INC examines the power of deceit in the U.S. electoral system via humor. In truth, comedy is probably the best way to consider these insights, lest we succumb to despair. And the show truly is hilarious!

CAMPAIGNS, INC (the play) watches Campaigns Inc (the firm) exploit the newest media techniques for their nefarious purposes. Billboards and massive direct-mail marketing present quotes from Sinclair’s novels (“One of the necessary accompaniments of capitalism in a democracy is political corruption,” from The Jungle), deliberately obscuring his true values and principles. Leone Baxter later admitted the quotes were irrelevant, but she just wanted to keep Sinclair from winning.  Note: the goal was to defeat Sinclair, not to elect Merriam. Disparaging the other guy is so much easier than trying to identify a candidate’s virtues!

Is any of this sounding familiar?

MGM’s Louis B. Mayer, threatened by increasing unionization of Hollywood, churned out scripted commentaries discrediting Sinclair.  These contrived clips were aired before feature films, so audiences naturally thought they were genuine newsreels. And the best part is that the fake news was funded by garnishing MGM employee’s paychecks.

WH Hearst’s LA Times printed daily front-page articles smearing Sinclair. As political editor Kyle Palmer told a visiting NY Times reporter, “We don’t go in for that crap you have in New York – being obliged to print both sides.”  

CAMPAIGNS, INC is brilliantly written (Will Allan), masterfully directed (Nick Bowling), and splendidly acted by the entire cast.  In such an elaborate production, I think the crew deserves special notice. Scenic, lighting, and projections designers Sydney Lynne, Jared Gooding, and Anthony Churchill skillfully weave the multimedia mélange together. Sally Dolembo, U.S.A., Katie Cordts and Megan E. Pirtle design convincing period costumes, wigs, and hair. Sound designers Forrest Gregor and Andrew Hansen, dialect director Sammi Grant and dramaturg Maren Robinson replicate the ‘30’s with crackling radio broadcasts and vintage jokes. The entire collage is brought together by stage manager Miranda Anderson, artistic director PJ Powers, and executive director Mica Cole. And I want a shoutout for properties designer Rowan Doe: I loved the period radios and typewriters … and where did you find that magnificent wheelchair for FDR?!

CAMPAIGNS, INC is perfect for 2022, letting us scrutinize our preposterous times while providing comic relief from the lunacy as well.

*Extended through September 25

Midsommer Flight is a not-for-profit company that believes ‘Shared Joy and Flights of Fancy’ are for everyone, and that ‘BIPOC, LGBTQ, disabled, gender-diverse and body-diverse people are integral to our community.’ They are therefore the perfect troupe for A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM, and last night was a midsummer night to dream about.

Midsummer Flight does an amazing job with a challenging project: they must make iambic pentameter comprehensible, not to mention audible in an outdoor environment. It’s hard work to perform outdoors with no backstage and with a picnicking audience spread Ravinia-style across the wings, and filling the extensive cast of A MIDSOMMER NIGHT’S DREAM is no picnic. Amazingly, Midsummer Flight not only pulls this off, but they offers it for free, in keeping with their commitment to inclusion.  Last night’s performance was in Lincoln Park, but the troupe rotates across the city, performing all summer in Lincoln Park, Gross Park, Lake Meadows Park, Chicago Women’s Park & Gardens, and Touhy Park.

A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM is one of Shakespeare’s most beloved comedies. The play intermingles several subplots, centering on the wedding of Duke Theseus of Athens to the Amazon queen Hippolyta. Three other couples are involved: Hermia, whose uncle Theseus opposes her match with Lysander; and her best friend Helena, who loves Demetrius – who fancies Hermia!  Then there’s the third pair of lovers:  Oberon, King of the Faeries and his majestic Queen, Titania.  And ass if this isn’t enough mayhem, we also have a troupe of actors: Snug, Snout, Quince, Francis Flute and Bottom, who refers to the troupe as a band of ‘rude mechanicals’.

The real trouble starts when King Oberon orders his playful minion Puck, a "shrewd and knavish sprite" to create a potion which, when applied to the eyelids of a sleeping person, will make them fall in love with the first living thing they see.  Oberon wants to make Demetrius return Helena’s love, but Puck mistakenly gives the elixir to Lysander, who obligingly falls in love with Helena, much to Hermia’s dismay. Puck then comes upon the actors rehearsing their play and assumes Bottom’s name to be synonymous with Ass, so he transforms Bottom’s head into that of a jackass. 

Meantime, Oberon is angry with his wife Titania, who won’t give him her lovely Indian changeling. Convinced by these experiments with mortals, he uses the magic potion on her.  Sure enough, Titania awakens to the countenance of Bottom. While she lavishes devotion on the donkey-headed actor, Oberon gleefully absconds with the lovely changeling boy. 

Okay, have you got all that? The play continues to embellish, elaborate, and obfuscate this tangle of subplots into a hilarious rumpus.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM. It’s always delightful:  a forest full of faeries and infatuated folks; what’s not to love? But Midsommer Flight’s production of this old favorite was particularly enchanting. Their mission is evident in its delightfully diverse cast and their success eminently warranted by their talent and craft. Joshua Pennington is a regal (and gorgeous!) Oberon, a terrific foil for Meredith Ernst’s Titania. Manny Sevilla as Demetrius is a terrific comedic partner to Richard Eisloeffel’s Lysander, and Hermia (Alice Wu) and Helena (Koshie Mills) shine as alternating bosom buddies and fierce rivals.  Jack Morsovillo is engaging as Bottom, and his crew Hannah Mary Simpson (Snug), Elizabeth McAnulty Quilter (Snout), Travis Shanahan (Francis Flute), Kat Zheng (Starveling) and Barry Irving (Quince) are marvelous. In the fictional troupe’s performance of Pyramus and Thisbe, I’m not sure which of them played the part of Wall, but it was brilliant. These actors also play Titania’s faerie retinue Cobweb, Mustardseed, Moth and Peasebottom, respectively.

[BTW, it’s an extensive cast and most of the actors play multiple roles, so if I’ve gotten any names awry I deeply apologize!  You can refer to the program here.]

No, I haven’t forgotten Puck, I’m simply saving the best for last. Puck is usually a favorite character, but Ebby Offord is an exceptionally enchanting Puck and brings special charm to the character of that naughty little pixie. Her frolicsome performance is a lagniappe for a character that’s already prized.

OK, I’m wearing out the thesaurus here, and I need to save a few superlatives for production staff.  Director/Founder Beth Wolf has brought Midsommer Flight triumphantly through a decade of productions. Assistant Director Devin Christor prefers to focus on “plays that explore tests of morality in the human experience.” Stage Manager Hazel Marie Flowers-McCabe and her assistant Anna Zaczek , with Scenic/Props Designer Nina Castillo-D’Angier have their work cut out for them, working without a stage! but they pull it off brilliantly, wisely keeping sets and props to an absolute minimum. The same spare approach works perfectly for Costumer Lily Grace Walls – particularly as the actors covering multiple roles must change in the open. Production Manager Giselle Durand ‘relishes diversity and strives to be a theatrical Swiss-army knife’, which is precisely what is needed for this sort of production. Lane Anthony Flores and Amy Malcom as Text and Vocal Coaches do a great job helping the actors make sixteenth-century English accessible.  The cast shows terrific physical comedy, thanks to Fight Director Chris Smith, who has been with Midsommer Flight from its inception, and Assistant Fight & Intimacy Director Maureen Yasko, a member of Babes with Blades.

The Bottom [sic] line here:  Recommended! Bring chairs/blankets and a picnic, and don’t bother with a babysitter – the show moves fast enough that the kids won’t need to understand this play to love it.

When George W Bush won his second term in November 2004 Larry Kramer delivered the watershed speech The Tragedy of Today’s Gays, a speech that was “the most difficult I’ve ever had to give”. Director David Zak worked with Kramer adapting the speech for theatrical performance, continuing after Kramer’s death in 2020. THE KRAMER PROJECT is the result; its world premiere is the first event for Open Space Arts, a new non-profit dedicated to works of social relevance. The six performances of THE KRAMER PROJECT, July 22 through 31, benefit Center on Halsted.

Larry Kramer would be first to agree that most of his performances involve yelling at people, particularly other gays. David Zak modifies the speech for performance by having the cast – Tom Chiola, Keith Butler, Elijah Newman, Hailey Hance, Roberto del Rio, Alexandria Moorman and Ryan Quade – deliver the speech to one another, against a video background designed by Magdiel Carmona and including original music by Elijah Newman.

THE KRAMER PROJECT was a flashback for me personally.  I completed my psychiatric residency at Rush Medical Center from 1984 – 1988, as the Plague swept through Chicago. During those four years I watched helplessly as sparkling young men shriveled and died in unspeakably horrible ways. When my training was complete, my National Health Corps Scholarship required me to pay back with four years of practice. I went all the way up to the Surgeon General, C. Everett Koop, begging to complete my payback service at Howard Brown Health Center. In April 1988 I received a letter from Dr. Koop stating that “AIDS is not a national health care priority”. So, yeah … THE KRAMER PROJECT was a flashback, both bitter and sweet.

By the time Kramer delivered the speech in 2004 the Highly-Active Anti-Retroviral Treatments (HAART) had been available for nearly ten years, and AIDS had morphed from an immediate death sentence (90% dead within six months of diagnosis) into a chronic, treatable disease. The Tragedy of Today’s Gays was addressed to the latest generation of young gay men, for whom AIDS is “just a bad STD””, condemning their disregard for social activism in favor of orgasms.

The Tragedy of Today’s Gays had much to say about the Bush administration’s endorsement of “moral values”. Kramer quotes extensively from Bill Moyers’ research on the alliance of conservatives that were transforming America into a “classist, racist, homophobic, imperial army of pirates”.  AIDS was a gift to this cabal: "Their wildest dreams started to come true. The faggots were disappearing, and they were doing it to themselves".  

Kramer’s confrontational style, criticizing the promiscuous gay relationships common in the 1970’s, earned him severe ostracism from the gay community. Undeterred, in The Tragedy of Today’s Gays Kramer directs his censure toward the younger generation of 2004 gays. 

Today, 20 years later, it is shocking – and deeply alarming – to see how accurate his indictments continue to be in 2022.  

Zak’s technique in THE KRAMER PROJECT, having the cast address one another, works brilliantly, transforming Kramer’s recriminations from a tirade into a discussion. The cast ranges in age from early 20’s to late 50’s, lending still greater depth to the ‘discussion’, and enhancing the validity of Kramer’s charges. 

At the post-performance discussion David Zak described his dismay as one segment after another of The Tragedy of Today’s Gays anticipated today’s anti-trans legislation, supreme court decisions, and ‘Don’t Say Gay’, adding: “…and now here comes monkeypox, right on schedule.”

Each actor spoke of their personal journeys with THE KRAMER PROJECT. A younger cast member admitted that, though they already knew much of the history, it had been difficult to ferret out the information. There are no straightforward [sic] sources for queer history, and many will abandon efforts to piece together the hodgepodge of implausible accounts with questionable provenance.

Yes, in 2022 Kramer’s words prove clairvoyant. We have just (barely) unseated a President who makes George W Bush look like James Baldwin, we have a brand-new viral onslaught on men who have sex with men, and many of today’s queers seem mired in political apathy.  Without an overwhelming upsurge in activism, Kramer’s ominous predictions will continue to foreshadow our dwindling gay rights.

I highly recommend THE KRAMER PROJECT, but expect to leave the theatre feeling deeply unsettled.

I doubt I’m alone when I say that Jesus Christ Superstar is one of the greatest musical productions of all time. It’s easy to love. It has all the elements that make a potent stage experience from marvelous music to compelling leads to an engaging storyline to explosive dance numbers. When it was first staged fifty years ago, the brilliance of composer Andrew Lloyd Weber and the on-target lyrics of Time Rice coupled with the performances Ted Neeley (Jesus), Yvonne Elliman (Mary Magdalene) Carl Anderson (Judas) and a talented ensemble were nothing short of magical. The edgy production shot its way through the 1970’s with critical acclaim where it still packs theaters today with new generations of vocally gifted actors taking on the classic roles. The musical, which was first staged in 1971 was inspired by the 1970 album with Deep Purple’s Ian Gillan singing the part of Jesus.

As decades have since flown by so have the different variations of this staged phenomenon. And really, it's as simple as this – for a musical production of Jesus Christ Superstar to be successful – and memorable, the show must have a strong Jesus, Judas and Mary. The current touring production of Jesus Christ Superstar, which is in the midst of a two-week run at Chicago’s Cadillac Palace, has just that. Aaron LaVigne is a wonderful choice to fill the sandals of Jesus. His guitar-playing presence is warm while strong, his vocals gentle while powerful, peppered with impressive range. Omar Lopez-Cepero as Judas must have been an easy casting choice as he is one who cannot only belt with the best of them, but effectively takes us down the dark road travelled by Jesus’ skeptical right hand. Jenna Rubaii rounds out this trinity of talent with an amazing performance that theatregoers will long remember. The performances of these three carry the show with such ease and command that it’s talented ensemble can freely do their thing to make this an incredibly stunning production Jesus Christ Superstar fans will not want to miss.

The musical centers around the final days of Jesus that lead to his crucifixion. As his popularity rises with the large number of people who see him as the Messiah, enemies emerge from both church and state that want him out of the picture. This period deals with the many complexities and human emotions, that he may have experienced, but also focuses on Jesus’ complicated relationship with Judas and Mary.

The music is timeless, and the musicianship is nothing short of incredible thanks to an inspiring performance by LaVigne (especially, during his rendition of “Gethsemane” – Wow!), and a flurry of praise-worthy vocal performances including Rubaii’s show-stopping “I Don’t Know How to Love Him” and Lopez-Cepero’s “Damned for All Time”.  

Outside of its main characters and its energetic, well-choreographed ensemble, Jesus Christ Superstar also gets a boost with several other standout performances. Tommy Sherlock is outstanding as Pilate while Paul Louis Lessard dazzles in the always crowd favorite sequence of “King Herod’s Song”, a number where the colorful king mockingly tests Jesus’ restraint. Alvin Crawford as Caiaphas leads the disturbed Pharisees with booming authority. 

In all, this production, holds its own and then some while maintaining the integrity of the hit musical staged fifty years ago. With admirable direction by Timothy Sheader and brilliant choreography by Drew McOnie, this production is topped with a uniquely crafted set and a commanding orchestra that compliments so well the stage musicians scattered about.

But let’s get back to Jenna Rubaii. As a vital component to making this touring show the smash that it has been over the past few years, it takes a special someone to pull off the role of Mary to the extent where not only audience members are clearly captivated by each note she sings, but to also have the ability to fully immerse us into this loving, caring dynamic between herself and Jesus. Within the first couple bars of “Everything’s Alright” it was apparent this production really found something in Jenna Rubaii.

Jenna Rubaii in the North American Tour of 'Jesus Christ Superstar'. Photo by Matthew Murphy, Evan Zimmerman - MurphyMade.

After such a wonderful performance, we wanted to find out a bit more about Jenna and had the chance to toss a few questions her way.

Buzz Center Stage: It seems like the cast is really tight and works well together. What is the chemistry like off stage? 

Jenna Rubaii: We are like family. Most of us have been a part of this since 2019. We were brought into a show where the subject matter is really deep and challenging and the show itself is really demanding and requires an emotional presence - vocal and physical presence. Beyond that, I feel that we as a company are all really close because we know how important this piece is, how much weight it carries with it being the 50th anniversary. I think artistically, it already meant so much to every single one of us. But as you see in this production it is very much an ensemble piece. And the mob mentality… and I’m thinking that everyone being a part of that just amplifies the importance that every single person feels. And I think that off stage, as artists and individuals, that’s an important weight to carry. So, I think that we as human beings, we’ve been so supportive of each other on and off stage. And because of what we have gone through together- Covid - this show was really the only constant in our lives for the past three years and has made us even stronger. I think, I hope, that is clear to the audience. We had that unique experience of going through that really challenging time and the subject matter really amplifies that a bit.

Buzz Center Stage: The work of Andrew Llyod Webber is timeless…. Since you mentioned the mob mentality in this production, how do you think Jesus Chris Superstar is still relevant today - with everything that has been going on…  Is this show still as relevant? 

Jenna: Absolutely. People are always looking for a leader. Someone with some sense of direction. Someone to look to. Something to look to. Obviously, you get that with Jesus. But we have also talked about how much community is too much community? Communities are always bringing people together, but what happens when there is too much of that, it can be destructive as well. So hopefully that point gets across in our production. And obviously with the climate of everything around the world, this piece really stands true no matter if you are religious or not. 

Buzz Center Stage: About yourself… How did you start out? And can you share how your journey as an artist took you to your role in an international production of Jesus Christ Superstar? 

Jenna: I grew up in Clearwater, Florida. When I was six years old, I auditioned for an all girls song and dance troupe. It was kind of like Glee meets the Mickey Mouse Club. From six years old to eighteen - for twelve years of my life - I had the unique opportunity to perform about 30 shows a year for different corporate conventions, events, we even sang for two presidents. In my hometown, there is a lot of spring training, so I sang the National Anthem all the time for sporting events. I grew up wanting to be a pop star - and we could use handheld mics in this show. It was really fun. I didn’t get into theater until after high school. Then I decided to go to the University of Miami for college - the school for theater. After school, I immediately ended up booking the national and international tour of Green Day’s American Idiot. And I actually have a picture and need to do a side-by-side screenshot because we performed at the Cadillac Palace about 9 years ago. It’s fun to revisit some of the places that you have already been on tour. So, I did American Idiot and then I booked another show that took me abroad for a while. So, I've done a handful of tours. And I ended up booking Groundhog Day and made my Broadway debut with that. And something else that is a fun little mention is that my first introduction to musical theater was performing in the children’s chorus of Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat - when that touring company came through my hometown. So, I’ve come full circle with Andrew Lloyd Webber - different biblical musicals. 

Buzz Center Stage: Wow. So, the stage is no stranger to you. You have lived much of your life on the stage. You mentioned the holding of the microphone in this production - this was an interesting choice for the show because little mic pieces are always used these days. But I didn’t miss it. I loved that they had certain characters holding the mic. It presented way more authority and more of a rock atmosphere. And I loved that touch by the director.

Jenna: Thanks! It is definitely an avenue of power. When somebody has the mic it’s an action of “this is my time, this is my story.” Of course, I think the most obvious choice for that is they wanted to bring the rock concert element to it. Everyone has opinions about the mic stands the microphones, but I feel that without them it would just feel like another theatrical piece. Whereas this blends the rock show vibe into the production. 

Buzz Center Stage: Were you a fan of the show before you were cast? 

Jenna: Of course! To be honest, I only knew the Mary material and I wasn’t super familiar with the rest of the show. But my dad is a huge fan and knows every single lyric to the show. I grew up listening to “I Don’t Know How to Love Him”. Of course, you don’t realize how much the show has impacted people. The show is 50 years strong. There was a time at the beginning of the tour when I started reading comments on Facebook and I realized just how many people were saying “this is my favorite show of all time. This is my favorite music”. And that is really when it hit me on how important a show like this is. 

And you don’t really get the opportunity to do that kind of stuff all the time. It’s really special. 

Buzz Center Stage: I’m sure your dad was thrilled when you got the role. 

Jenna: Yes! He’s been to the show many, many times. 

Buzz Center Stage: Yvonne Elliman, who plays Mary Magdalene in the original production, was she an influence? Did you try to interpret the role in your own way? How did you attack the role? 

Jenna: I try very hard to not watch or listen to other productions because I don’t want to feel like I’m copying anybody. Also, in this particular, the way Timothy (Sheader), our director, approached this production - he very much did not want us to play with any idea of who these people were. He did not want us to put a hat on it and say, “this is what I think Jesus is like,” or “this is what I think Mary is like.” So, we really approached it by bringing ourselves the piece. That made it really exciting as a performer because you don’t really get tired of the piece. But it’s also really challenging because you are being asked to bring yourself - however you are - to the table authentically every single night. And that is difficult because you still have to get the same story across and have the same intentions with the song, but you are not the same person every day. It was a very organic “bring yourself” approach. It’s a weird challenge and in a strange way makes it easier because I’m not trying to be someone else. I’m simply being me trying to convey the intent behind the song. 

Buzz Center Stage: I felt your performance was absolutely stunning. I really enjoyed your voice and your take on Mary. 

Jenna: Thank you! I really appreciate that! 

Buzz Center Stage: Ok, final question. Jesus Christ Superstar is a big deal, especially to someone like me who puts it in the top musicals of all time - What are you thinking for after this? What are your aspirations beyond Mary? 

Jenna: Oh gosh! It is a big question. I think, and I think I can speak for most of my cast members too, that this show really fulfilled me in an artistic and personal way that I hope I can continue to do more art like this. The production feels more like an art piece than a theater piece. I always want to be part of something that is thought provoking – that is really human - really brings an aspect of humanity to the table. And something that is new. I would love to be able to work on a new musical. Something with a lot of meat in it - complex and interesting. And I think that is what most of us really want to be a part of. Something that challenges you in that way and fulfills you in that way and that can also translate to audiences and make them think too. So, nothing specific, but that is what I hope to put out into the universe. But the goal is to find something that is challenging for you, exciting for you, and that fulfills you in whatever way you personally need. Everyone has their own artistic journey.

Buzz Center Stage: That sounds great. Well said. You really seem to seek out challenges. And you have accepted and met the challenge in this production as Mary. The audience can just feel it - that you aren’t just up there doing the show, but that there is a passion within you projected throughout the house

Jenna: Thank you. 

Buzz Center Stage: Thank you for talking! 

*Running through July 31^st, this is a well-crafted, must-see musical production that longtime fans and Jesus Christ newbies are sure to cherish. For tickets and/or more info click here.

Arriving at the quaint Mercury Theater—a century-old nickelodeon turned comfy neighborhood cabaret—for Priscilla Queen of the Desert, the excitement of the other theatergoers coming and going, outside near the Music Box Theater and inside the Mercury’s cabaret room sipping their drinks, hinted at the show I was about to see. And what a show…

The Mercury’s cast and crew, led by director and choreographer Christopher Chase Carter, have gone all out in their production of the musical based on Stephan Elliott’s 1994 hit movie. The colorful posters outside, the flashing disco ball cocktail cups one can get filled with the cabaret bar’s signature punch, and the audience’s bright attire only hinted at the lights and dazzle onstage.

From the moment the first actor steps onstage, it’s a spectacle. Costume designer Bob Kuhn’s dressed a cast of all body types in the flashiest drag costumes and the dustiest duds from the Outback (and even a wrestling singlet or two, which made me LOL) as Tick/Mitzi, Adam/Felicia, and Bernadette waltz across Australia in Priscilla, their bus. What a feat to costume such a varied cast and make every member stand out, and stand onstage as confidently as the three leads.

Said leads are all wonderful. Josh Houghton’s Tick is a paradox of towering cool and nervous angst, professional and polished onstage as Mitzi and the story’s protagonist who brings the others along on his own adventure. Shaun White plays the beautiful young Adam/Felicia, whose exuberance and humor keep the trip interesting. And legendary Chicago cabaret performer Honey West is perfect as Bernadette, her talent and mere presence lending the performance gravitas.

But the rest of the cast proves the leads’ equal. Darren Patin’s Miss Understanding starts off the show right, and Patin continues throughout in a killer ensemble featuring Ayana Strutz, John Cardone, Michael Kingston, Brittany Parker, Marcus Jackson, and Matthew Weidenbener. The show’s divas—Lydia Burke, Jessica Brooke Seals, and Heather J. Beck—sizzle in Kuhn’s outfits and stun with their vocals, under Eugene Dizon’s musical direction. But perhaps the vocals that most astounded me came from Gabriel Solis, a young actor making his professional debut on the Mercury Theater’s stage.

And if you have not seen it yet, make your own debut through the Mercury’s doors for this spectacular production of Priscilla Queen of the Desert, playing through September 11.