Items filtered by date: November 2007

I remember the first time I saw The Birdcage starting Robin Williams and Nathan Lane. My mother was judged for "exposing" me to such a "mature story." But today it is still one of my favorite films, as is the original play it's based off of "La Cage aux Folles." Knowing the storyline I jumped at the opportunity to see this and wish I brought more people with me to experience this timeless classic.

La Cage aux Folles tells the story of Georges, the manager of a Saint-Tropez nightclub featuring drag entertainment, and Albin, his romantic partner and star attraction. Things are going swimmingly for the pair until Georges' son, Jean-Michel, brings home his fiancée's ultra-conservative parents to meet them.

From the moment you walk into the theater and are greeted by the actors in drag, flanking a giant pink cage, you are immersed in La Cage. The marquee sign, cafe tables, and tranquil french music transports you to St. Tropez as George welcomes you to La Cage aux Folles. The play opens with impressive drag numbers as though you are an audience member of La Cage. It's part play, part drag show, all entertaining. Zaza (aka Albin), played by Ginger Minj, star of RuPaul's Drag Race, captivates every time she is on stage. She engages the love audience into her comedy bits, and leaves them speechless when she sings 'I am what I am." The relationship between her and Georges, played by Jason Richards, was captivating, and you were truly rooting for this couple as they had to navigate a tricky situation.

There is something timeless about La Cage. It retains the same devastating undertones of having to change yourself in order to appease some people. But it also challenges these notions in a farcical, yet realistic way depicted in the film of the same name. Opening on Broadway in 1983 La Cage broke barriers for gay representation by becoming the first hit Broadway musical centered on a homosexual relationship. The original production ran for more than four years and won six Tony Awards and after seeing this play for myself the awards are completely justified. Unlike the film the play immerses you into La Cage from start to finish, making the near 3 hour run time seem too short. 

From seeing The Birdcage to now seeing La Cage aux Folles on stage, I cannot imagine a better love story. Now we know this is not a play for everyone, but I would challenge those who might be averse to seeing this play to see it. Georges and Albin are deeply in love, as evident in songs such as “Song on the Sand,” and even their witty married quips back and forth. The challenge they face in the play,while farcical, are representative of the challenges same sex couples face every day, hiding the real you to make others more comfortable. It’s still a challenge faced today despite progress. Like life itself, La Cage will make you laugh, it will make you cry, possibly bring you into the stand up act if wearing the wrong outfit, and it will also continue to stand strong as an unabashedly honest portrayal of love celebrating who we are.

La Cage is the exact remedy we need for these crazy times and a welcome reprieve from post-pa democ art blocks. So grab your boa and a Zazatini in the lobby, and escape to St. Tropez. La Cage aux Folles runs through April 3rd at the North Shore Center for Performing Arts in Skokie, get your tickets tout suite!

With the world being what it is, war and rumors of war, racial unrest, and division, it was comforting to see a play where two unlikely people form a friendship. A friendship based solely on basketball, more specifically, LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

“King James” opened with the Marvin Gaye version of the national anthem. It took everything within me to not stand with my hand over my heart. It felt like the opening of a championship game. This was special, the DJ Khloe Janel, playlist demanded that we get involved.

Matt is the manager of a wine bar. Because of bad investments and a need for money, he must sell his seats to the 19 remaining games of a season pass to the Cleveland Cavaliers. In walks Shawn, a writer, who just sold his first short story. He has some extra money and would like to splurge on something he couldn’t afford, season tickets to the Cleveland Cavaliers. The two only haggle over the price of the tickets, they complain about bandwagon fans, the meaning of fandom and the “the problem with America” (a theme that comes up in several scenes) as well as all things LeBron James. Matt & Shawn learn a lot about each other, especially how different they are. Shawn, a graduate of the prestigious private school St. Ignatius and Matt, who barely got by in public school, find common ground in their fandom. By the end of the first quarter, I mean scene, Shawn realizes, after scoring the tickets, he has no one to go to the games with him. Matt offers to go to the games with Shawn. It’s better to go with someone who appreciates the game and not just a bandwagon, fair weather fan.

During the next three quarters, spanning 12 years, these guys have a lot to say, yet they are constantly learning new things about each other’s lives. Matt didn’t know how close his mother is to Shawn. Shawn didn’t know how many girlfriends Matt goes thru. As a matter of fact, the longest relationship either of these guys have is between each other

In a departure from “Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo” Rajiv Joseph’s tale about the psychological weight and horrific circumstances of war, nothing in “King James” will make one feel uncomfortable. Still in all, Joseph has written a quick-witted, sharp tongue play. Issues are brought up and just as easily put to rest because of the friendship of these characters…I wish America was like this.

Renowned Director Kenny Leon has directed this show with an eye on pacing. The ball is always in the air and never allowed to rest for long. Every silence is earned. Great job!

Chris Perfetti known mostly for his role on “Abbott Elementary” plays Matt as a neurotic risk-taking super-fan to wonderful results. It is a great contrast to Glenn Davis’s stoic super-fan Shawn. Watching them together is like watching a championship game of verbal gymnastics.

The game is played on Todd Rosenthal’s realistic set. A wine cellar and a fully realized vintage & upholstery store

King James continues at Steppenwolf Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted St., through April 10. Tickets are $20-$88 for performances Tuesday-Sunday. Running time is 115 minutes with one intermission.

Playwright Eleanor Burgess has delivered one of the best scripts I've read or seen, in ‘Wife of a Salesman.’ While it may be viewed somewhat as a “prequel” to Arthur Miller’s 1949 classic ‘Death of a Salesman,’ it never directly references that play, and is an intriguing and challenging work of art that is an instant classic. Its world premier, running through April 3 at Writers Theatre in Glencoe, IL, is a theatrical event of the first order.

Produced in partnership with the Milwaukee Rep, 'Wife of a Salesman' is set in the 1950s (television is just arriving), the play opens in the apartment of The Mistress (Amanda Drinkall), a young blonde awakening to her day perhaps still basking in the glow of an amorous adventure the night before. When a knock somes to her door, she opens it, giving us a glimpse of a matronly woman with a briefcase, then slams it shut immediately, scurrying to straighten up the room, and pull herself together. A minute later she opens the door to this visitor, The Wife (Kate Fry) of the title.

From that opening moment The Mistress conveys through a gasp that she recognizes this unbidden visitor. Then the door reopens and The Wife enters, posing as a fabric saleswoman.Moments of increasing intensity follow, The Wife unable to open her sample case, and The Mistress deftly managing it for her. The Wife comments on a figurine of the Madonna, noting awkwardly that The Mistress must be Catholic. “My neighbors are Catholic,” she notes, and adds that they are nice people. She begins her halting sales pitch on the various samples. And soon The Mistress takes her to task for her poor salesmanship, offering with ratcheting intensity examples of how a sales presentation should be made. And the frey begins.

The Wife, we learn, has driven from New York to Boston, to confront her husband’s mistress, grist for any soap opera, a story from time immemorial. But Burgess unfolds this telling with precision strikes, and Kate Fry and Amanda Drinkall do not miss a beat in the imaginative script under the tight direction of Jo Bonney.

Burgess, whose plays include ‘The Niceties,’ plays out this examination of women’s roles in the 1950s with master craftsmanship. Every beat of the performances draw us into the story, the conflict, and to contrast contemporary views of women’s status in society with expectations from an earlier era.

Then, with a magical stroke (no spoiler), Burgess allows us to meet the actresses playing the roles, and see ways their personal lives parallel those of the 1950s characters. We listen to a generational divergence, Millennial vs. Genx types, in how to chart careers.

But the playwright goes further: the actresses ask the director Jim (Rom Barkhorder) to restore two powerful monologues that he has cut, and to let them speak to the playwright directly. In this meta transformation, Burgess is naming several of the fraught dynamics of theater: the tendency of at least some directors to view actors as”necessary evils” in staging plays, like herding cats. Jim also has an indifferent patriarchal power, and he fends off with familiar tropes of male disregard the multiple entreaties by the actresses to be given their due.

The creative team has given the show a set that is a delight to behold. Tickets to this outstanding production of 'Wife of a Salesman' are available at Writers Theatre. 

Shakespeare the dramatist is a genius at the craft of theater, and brings a timeless artistry that is unexcelled. So it was with some trepidation that I took my seat at the Edge Off-Broadway Theatre for Idle Muse’s 'Upon This Shore: Pericles and the Daughters of Tyre.'

I can report Shakespeare remains intact, the language there, and the production and performances exploiting the full force of his original. Admittedly I was filled with bias against what might unfold in this adaptation of Shakespeare’s original ‘Pericles, Prince of Tyre.’ In a nod to topicality, perhaps - March is Women’s History Month - Idle Muse’s production offers some characters Shakespeare may not have imagined. Avoiding a spoiler here, suffice it to say the arc of the action and the emotive power of Shakespeare are unaffected by these additions and ticket buyers will probably enjoy them.

Director Evan Jackson, who adapted the script, gives us a very strong rendering of ‘Pericles,’ eliciting strong performances and engaging staging, with low-tech storefront creativity in storms and sword fights that assures “the play’s the thing,' and is not overshadowed by the stage mechnics. 

Particularly strong is the performance of Brendan Hutt as Pericles, who moves convincingly through the stages of the prince’s life from venturer to suitor to grieving widower. Hutt brought me near tears with his loss of wife and daughter, and just as readily my heart tracked his transformation to joy when the happy resolution arrives at the end. 

Laura Jones Macknin as Heilicanus owns the stage each time she appears. Watson Swift in three roles (Antiochus, Simonides, and Philomen) is strong in his physical performances, though I could not always understand him as he moved about the stage in his role as the villainous Antiochus. Caty Gordon is exceptionally good as Marina, Pericles' lost and regained daughter. She communicates the essence of a powerful woman through the trials she weathers in the shifting stations of her life.

'Upon This Shore: Pericles and the Daughters of Tyre' runs through April 3 at Edge Off-Broadway Theatre, 1133 W. Catalpa Ave. in Chicago on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Visit idlemuse.org or the Idle Muse Theatre Company Box Office, 773.340.9438.

How well does a three hour Russian science fiction film translate to stage? Surprisingly well. Griffin Theatre gives the North American premiere of David Grieg’s 2019 adaptation of the classic Tarkovsky film. The intimate staging at Raven Theatre gives audiences the same sense of deprivation one might have on a floating space station.

“Solaris” is a water-based planet around which a space station is orbiting. Strange things begin happening to the crew who live in isolation aboard the space station. Dr. Kelvin (Isa Arciniegas) is sent to the space station after the suicide of a crewmember. Once she arrives, she notices the emotional disturbances for herself. Though Solaris remains a mystery to the three doctors aboard the space station, one doctor is convinced of its malevolent intentions. While Dr. Kelvin starts to become enamored with Solaris, Dr. Sartorius (Nicole Laurenzi) warns that the visions Kelvin is experiencing can’t be trusted.

Director Scott Weinstein keeps the pace moving, divesting the show of some of the film’s more laborious elements. The small cast led by Isa Arciniegas and John Drea (as her manifestation), capture the moodiness of planet Solaris. There’s not much melodrama here, but rather a slow and steady unraveling. In order to believe the relationship between Kelvin and Ray, romantic chemistry is essential. Arcinegas and Drea play well off each other and their flirtation, however unsettling, is palpable.

Original reviews of the 1972 film version of “Solaris” praised the advanced set design. Scenic designer Joe Schermoly rises to the task. Futuristic spaceship can be tricky to do on a theatre budget, but this story doesn’t call for a lot of technological achievement. Schermoly’s set is functional and stylish. The stark backdrop lends to the feeling of coldness.

“Solaris” is a modern love story set in space. It’s less an exploration of the far reaches of the galaxy and more of an exploration of the human subconscious. At the time of the novel’s release, the USA and the Soviet Union were engaged in a highly competitive race to put the first person on the moon. What “Solaris” does is examine the space race from a different perspective. It asks what psychological effect space travel has. Science fiction films about aliens were popular in the midcentury, as humans took to space. “Solaris” bucks this popular theme in that the lifeforms in this story seem to come from a place of love. It’s a variation on the classic alien story, but perhaps a more uplifting, or at the very least more mature.

“Solaris” is an essential story in our futuristic world of personalized operating systems and hyper-realistic video games. A play, even an adaptation, must ask a central question in order to be useful to an audience. The themes at the center of “Solaris” are much more Earthly than the scenario might seem. Love is a powerful emotion and it often clouds reason and judgement. Is it a feeling we can rationalize ourselves out of? Author Stanislaw Lem makes a strong case against rationalizing romantic love. In the end, Lem was a romantic and “Solaris” is ultimately an unlikely romance. Through March 27^th at Raven Theatre.  6157 N. Clark Street - 773.338.2177.

Invictus Theatre delivers the finest acting in Chicago. The current run of Lynn Nottage's 2009 Pulitzer Prize winning play 'Ruined' is no exception.

Originally commissioned by Goodman Theater, where Nottage workshopped it in 2007, 'Ruined' is set in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It tells the story of sexual exploitation and abuse of women, where rape of women is a weapon used by warlords in factions battling within the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The action takes place in Mama Nadi's tavern and brothel, where women are fed and protected by Mama Nadi, but in exchange for accepting a controlled exploitation. As Mama Nadi, Tekeisha Yelton Hunter is on stage most of the play, and rules as an actress who is fully immmersed in her role. Please order the Jeff now. 

But most surprising is Courtney Gardner as Salima, a farmer's wife stolen from her garden, and enslaved at an encampment. Largely silent in her early scenes, Nottage teases out ever more of Salima, as she does with all her characters. In this evolution on stage, Gardner goes from quiet and retreating, to bitingly sarcastic, funny, even wise, and delivers the essence of the play's message in a shattering and tragic soliloquoy.  

The production team includes Rueben Echoles, whose costume design was notable, and Kevin Rolfs came up with a set that is practical and functional, and realistic.  

Goodman mounted the world premier of 'Ruined' in its 2008 season, and Nottage's script does not shy from the brutal facts. As an audience, we are spared directly witnessing the suffering and degradation leveled upon these innocent women, carried off and tied down in their abusers encampments. And yet their words, and the power of the acting in this Invictus show, delivers the story viscerally, bringing this reviewer to tears, to cry out in woe, to bury my head in my arms

This is the third play by Lynn Nottage I have seen. 'By the Way, Meet Vera Drake' was a homerun for me; both 'Sweat' and 'Ruined' seem to have a diffuse first act. But the second act in 'Ruined' is incredible, and at curtain, I realized how I was applauding for a dozen fully-formed characters that Nottage had built right there on the stage. She's good. And so is 'Ruined.'  It runs through March 20 at Invictus new home, the Reginald Vaughan Theatre, 1106 W. Thorndale.

Sons of Hollywood by Barry Ball and Carl Menninger, now receiving its world premiere at Windy City Playhouse, is both a love letter to the Golden Age of Hollywood and an homage to its victims, who survived beyond the ends of their careers, but not without scars. It is also, specifically, about gay Hollywood. More specifically, it is about two gay Hollywood icons, Ramon Navarro and Billy Haines, who rose to the pinnacle of Hollywood in the 1920s and 30s, only to fall to relative obscurity as the Hayes Code reached into the private lives of actors as well as the characters they portrayed. To show how much the Hayes Code affected Hollywood, the new play begins with an earlier Hollywood revolution, talkies, which claimed their share of glamorous matinee idols who could not adapt to sound, and the Hayes Codes, which claimed the careers of more stars who refused to conform to its reactionary idea of morality. The stars at the center of Sons of Hollywood (two sons and a daughter), survive and thrive in the advent of talkies, but struggle to forge careers and lives after the Hayes Code. Spanning four decades, full of period slang and name-dropping, peppered with quotations from the people portrayed, and bolstered by songs that defined the decades and setting, Sons of Hollywood is a zippy tribute that does not have time to delve deeply into the lives of its protagonists, but does give a compelling and entertaining glimpse behind the silver screen.

Though Sons of Hollywood is about the sons of Hollywood, the heart of the play is the decades-long friendship between Ramon Navarro, Billy Haines and Lucille LeSueur, who would achieve fame as Joan Crawford. The three actors who play these roles do a remarkable job of inhabiting them, both physically and emotionally, while growing from relatively innocent Hollywood newcomers, to savvy players, to mature relics of the Golden Age. Haines and LeSueur proved more adept at reinvention, though not without their own trials (though Ball and Menninger’s play wisely eschew delving into Crawford’s Mommy Dearest period and keep the focus on Haines and Navarro), while Navarro became tragically stuck in his past. As Navarro, Trey DeLuna captures the complexity of his character: his blend of self-loathing religiosity and confident embrace of his identity, as well as his increasing desperation. Abby Lee is a glamorous yet unrelenting Lucille, not only doing what she needs to do to advance in her career(s) and marriages, but also steadfast in her support of Navarro and Haines. Adam Jennings brings matinee-idol looks and swagger to the role of Haines, who defied convention and the Hayes code—refusing to enter into a sham marriage with a woman for the sake of his career, then built a flourishing career as an interior decorator. Kyle Patrick brings a charming vulnerability to his role as Jimmie Shields, Billy’s “husband” before this could be legally recognized; in an unconventional yet enduring relationship, Patrick and Jennings capture the loving bond that outlasted tests both internal and external. Acting as Greek chorus, both sung and spoken, the versatile ensemble of Adriel Irizarry, Ben Dow, Jonathan Connolly (whose voice is well-suited to the standards and pseudo-standards he sings), and Max Stewart easily move between roles including lovers, singers, studio executives, publicists and singers. While the quick cuts between scenes do not allow for their roles to have much of an arc, the members of the ensemble create distinctive characters that leave an impression on the audience as they do on the principal characters.

Director David H. Bell emulates the style of early 30’s talkies, in keeping with the quick cuts between scenes. The dialogue, especially in the first act, is effervescent and light (though it could use a little more zing in the pacing). When the play takes a dark turn in the second act, Bell effectively shifts gears, though the switch is abrupt. On Lauren Nigri’s versatile sound stage set, the audience has front row seats (even the most distant “House” seats give an intimate view, while the “Top Shelf” seats are sometimes uncomfortably close to the action) as its members are transported into living rooms, brothels, dressing rooms, sets, and pool-side. Helping make these transitions, providing the right palette and warmth, and guiding the audience’s gaze to the right balcony, stairwell, parapet, and room is lighting designer Anthony Forchielli’s well-executed task, while sound designer Willow James provides a wide-ranging sonic backdrop. Costume designer Sydney Moore perfectly captures the looks of the periods portrayed, as well as the economic shifts in the character’s fortunes from striving to flourishing to worn. Foiles grounds the scenes in the period, deploying phones, cameras and other artifacts and textures of the past in the props design and set dressing. Violence and intimacy designer Max Fabian brings a sense of ease to the intimacy  between actors (important when within a foot or two of the audience), as well as a realistic brutality to the violence, at times by shifting the pacing. Finally, music director Shraman Ghosh does an excellent job of blending recorded orchestrations with live vocals (and of working with the excellent vocalists in the cast).

Sons of Hollywood has some identity crises to work through before it is entirely successful. It has yet to find the right balance between the glib Hollywood gossip-page homage, which seems to project the lives of its real characters onto a silver screen version of themselves, and the more documentary style that delves more deeply into the wrenching emotional consequences of Hollywood’s (and America’s) gender politics. Sometimes the style puts the story at a distance, making it hard to connect to what is truly at stake. It also needs to figure out its musical backdrop. For now, the most successful songs are those that are part of the fabric of the play—the period songs sung in a male brothel and Navarro’s post-screen musical career (though these songs are not nearly as entertaining as some of the others). Some of the introductory songs provide an entertaining counterpoint to the scenes they present, but too many others distract from the emotional connections of the story. Despite these tonal inconsistencies, Sons of Hollywood will appeal to those who are familiar with the Golden Age of Hollywood, whether they know the backstage stories or not. The cast perfectly captures the characters they inhabit, and playwrights Barry Ball and Carl Menninger offer a well-researched glimpse into gay Hollywood and some of its more famous personalities. Adam Jennings as Billy Haines and Trey DeLuna as Ramon Navarro not only look remarkably like their famous characters, but bring emotional depth and intelligence to their portrayals, backed up by an ensemble that is able to shift between time periods and characters and hit their marks every time.

Sons of Hollywood runs through April 17, 2022, at Windy City Playhouse, 3014 W. Irving Park Avenue. Performances take place Wednesday-Thursday at 7:30pm, Friday-Saturday at 8:00pm and Sunday at 2:00pm. Patrons are required to show proof of vaccination and wear masks. Tickets, which includes two seating options, and more information are available at www.WindyCityPlayhouse.com.

Porchlight’s 'Blues in The Night' Makes for a red hot Chicago evening. A musical revue in the strictest sense, it was conceived by Sheldon Epps in 1980 as a late-night companion piece to a jazz play.

It took on a life of its own, and a brief Broadway run followed in 1982, which scored it a Tony nomination for Best Musical. It features popular jazz and blues music from the 1930s. You will be witness to a magnificent evening of musical stylings from the likes of Bessie Smith, Alberta Hunter, Ida Cox, Johnny Mercer, Harold Arlen, Vernon Duke, Billy Strayhorn, Jimmy Cox as well as others. Directed and choreographed by Kenny Ingram, Porchlights’ production of 'Blues in the Night' begins and ends with chill-inducing harmonies from a most impressive musical ensemble.

Set in 1938, three women and one man sing the blues all night long. The three women are guest at a Chicago hotel. Each woman has a story or two to tell, and they are going to tell it. What brings these women together? Men: how they are treated by men, how they should be treated by men, their expectations of men, and disillusionment with men.

Felicia P. Fields, The Lady from the Road, is the older, wiser road-worn veteran in the group. Fields has the pipes to carry the entire show single-handedly. She keeps a steamer trunk packed with memories of her days on the road as a performer, hoping one day to get the call to return to the “chitlin circuit”. She shows her comedic side on songs like “New Orleans Hop Scop Blues” and “Take Me for a Buggy Ride,” songs filled with double entendres that she delivers with sexual indueno and zeal. Fields' gospel-fueled “Wasted Life Blues” puts a stone in your heart and you feel her pain.

Donica Lynn portrays the Woman of the World, once living the high life, she is now renting a room in a cheap Chicago hotel. This is a woman who has known love and lost love. You are transported when she sings “Stompin’ at The Savoy” and “Lush Life,” a song this critic considers one of the hardest songs to sing. Lynn’s voice is silky smooth but sure and direct when she announces her desire in “Rough and Ready Man”.

Sweet and Innocent, the Girl with a Date Clare Kennedy sings “Taking A Chance On Love” and “Willow Weep For Me” songs that reflect her optimism. By Act two she is singing the mournful “Reckless Blues” proving she belongs in the company of these powerhouse singers.

Evan Tyrone Martin, is the Man in the Saloon. Martin’s rich voice complements the women’s voices beautifully. Along with his beautiful voice he possesses the sexuality and charm of a by-gone era. He excites the audience with his “Baby Doll” where he owns the moment.

This show goes into over-drive when all voices are blended together. Kenny Ingram’s direction and choreography made the most of the of talent on the stage. The addition of Terrell Armstrong’s Dancing Man by Ingram was genius. Armstrong embodied the men in the women lives using dance. The most visually pleasing moments occurred when the walls in each woman’s bedroom were backlit as Armstrong danced.

David Fiorello’s musical direction is brilliantly handled the task of telling several stories musically. The vocals were flawless, the harmonies were tight, and the sound perfectly matched the 1930s style. The band consists of Maulty Jewell IV doing double duty as pianist and conductor, Rafe Bradford on Bass, Ricardo Jimenez on Trumpet, Darius Hampton on Reeds and Harold Morrison on Drums. The band mixed seamlessly with the vocalists, creating the perfect atmosphere for an audience to be immersed in jazz and the blues.

A 1930' s era Chicago Hotel was perfectly realized by Angela Weber Miller, creating distinct rooms for each woman, each giving the audience an idea of who the character is: A trunk in Lady’s room, fine clothing in The Woman’s room, and a suitcase in The Girl’s room. Rueben D. Echoles did an excellent job with costumes and wigs.

If a night of great singing and dancing is in order, run, don’t walk and get a ticket to 'Blues In The Night." It will warm you up for many nights to come.

“Blues in the Night” is playing at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn Street, Chicago, extended through March 20th, 2022.
Tickets are: $25-$74.
Performance schedule:
Fridays – 8:00 p.m.
Saturdays – 3:00 p.m.
Sundays – 2:00 p.m.
Thursday, February 17 matinee – 1:30 p.m.
Thursday, February 24, March 3, and March 10– 7:00 p.m.

The 1993 Bill Murray movie comedy, Groundhog Day,is one of those cult classics with millions of fans. Like ‘The Big Lebowski,' people love it, or don’t quite see the appeal. I fall in the latter class on both films: appreciating the concept, but not with a lot of fervor.

So I was hopeful that the 2017 Broadway musical version would help me get into the story. Indeed, ‘GroundHog Day: The Musical,’ is a tremendous musical production. The story tells of cynical, self-centered TV weatherman Phil Connors who balks at being relentlessly assigned to cover the furry forecaster at the annual Groundhog Day in Punxsutawney, PA. You know, if the groundhog sees his shadow, winter lingers; if not, we get an early spring.

Alex Syiek is exceptionally good as the arrogant weatherman Phil Connors, channeling the flavor of Bill Murray’s version but making it his own. And Phoebe González as Rita Hanson, Phil’s new producer and love interest, is terrific.

The full production team has done a wonderful job, with very creative staging: Jim Corti, director; Megan E. Farley, choreographer; Kory Danielson, music supervisor, music director and conductor; Courtney O’Neill, scenic designer; Jordan Ross, costume designer; Greg Hofmann, lighting designer; Adam Rosenthal, sound designer.

In its Midwest premier at the beautifully restored Paramount Theatre in Aurora, IL through March 13, 'Groundhog Day: The Musical' a remount of the Broadway version that garnered seven Tony nominations. One suspects there is a reason it didn't win any. Frankly, the underlying material is pretty bad, in particular, the music. That would be the underlying material.

As in the film, Connors gets stuck in a time loop, awakened by his alarm each day at 6:00 a.m. to cover Groundhog Day. The musical version explores Connor’s desperation to escape the loop, and how he uses his time - for instance, hitting on every woman in town, and taking piano lessons - always “for the first time.”

But the repetitive nature of the morning 6:00 a.m. alarm seems to be incorporated into the music, yielding what basically sounds like endless variations on a single song for an overly long first act. The soporific effect was counteracted in a shorter second act with two distinct songs, one even memorable. And a Two Brothers coffee available at intermission helped.

It would have been hard to predict when this show was originally planned that Omicron Covid would still bedevil us. And in a sense, we are consigned to our own relentless treadmill of masks and constraints. Perhaps 'Groundhog Day The Musical' was chosen only for its coincidence with the real annual Groundhog Day each February. Infusing our masked treadmill wouood have given it more relevancy.

But I wouldn't write off seeing this show, which is a beautiful production, pretty much perfectly executed. But get yourself a Two Brothers in the lobby when you arrive.

Should a tiger take up residence in your bathroom, Trap Door Theater’s new production presents an entertaining selection of likely scenarios to follow. In a fresh translation of an absurdist play by Polish playwright Sɫawomir Mrożek—Poland’s Ionesco—director Nicole Wiesner turns 'The Martyrdom of Peter Ohey' into a highly entertaining, high energy production that feels as though PT Barnum had decided to produce ‘Cabaret.’

This obscure farce by Mrożek was intended to poke fun at contemporary mores and life in the 20th century in communist-dominated Poland. Mrożek probably penned it as a critique of an overweening government seeking too much control over the individual, constraining freedom. Delivering it straight up as Mrożek would have intended it would risk giving us an artifact of historical interest, but not much fun to watch.

Instead, Wiesner has boiled the message down to its essence, and the forces of conformity seem to be not the government, but social expectations. We see the thoughtful, individualistic Peter Ohey (Dennis Bisto) driven to accept a ridiculous proposition—that his bathroom has a tiger hiding in it—and he is forced into a submission of belief by outside forces.

His son is bribed by self interest into asserting the tiger’s existence by an Official (Carl Wisniewski), and his daughter and wife (Venice Averyheart) accept the story in a rapid group think. Ohey is suddenly alone in rational view, and vulnerable, as the Official, then a Tax Collector (Natara Easter) declare the tiger's presence to be incontrovertible fact.

But it is when the Scientist appears (Keith Surney is magnificent) Peter Ohey has met his match. He soon capitulaes, and is transformed into the tiger, under the Scientist’s lashing whip, in a scintillating leather and fishnet encounter with distinct BDSM overtones. All hope is lost for Ohey. Soon another ominous force appears, The Old Hunter (Bob Wilson) who seems hauntingly reactionary and powerful.

After this the show descends into a circus act under The Circus Manager; Matty Robinson gives an exceptional performance in this role. 

Whatever serious themes this work addresses are unimportant, really. Trap Door has produced a remarkable show, and it is very highly entertaining. It runs through March 3, at Trap Door Theater on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 PM and comes highly recommended.