Items filtered by date: November 2007

What can be said about a show that's been running every Christmas in Chicago for forty-one years? Other than it must be pretty good if it continues to play to sold out audiences year after year. There have been theatre versions of 'A Christmas Carol' nearly as long as the novella has been published. Goodman Artistic Director Robert Falls introduced his signature production in 1978. While nearly everything has remained the same, over the years some minor changes have been made to reflect current times.

The little changes year to year are what make this a fun Chicago holiday tradition. Director Henry Wishcamper made a more significant change this year by changing Scrooge's nephew Fred in Scrooge's neice, Frida. A welcomed change with Ali Burch cast in the new role. The revised character has a certain empathy that's been unknowingly missing from Dicken's version. Ali Burch makes Frida an emotional anchor of this telling, and that almost gives Fall's production a new story arc.

What has always been impressive about 'A Christmas Carol' are the special effects. It's a ghost story after all. There's plenty of high gloss staging to suspend even the more ardent disbelievers. Some genuinely frightening images and moments conjured in the first act.

It's easy for an institution like 'A Christmas Carol' to become worn out. What keeps Goodman's take on Dickens fresh is casting. Larry Yando will likely play Scrooge until they tell him to stop, and why shouldn't he? He's a delight. With that exception, Goodman mostly recasts each year. New actors in the roles allow for discovery on both the creative side and the audience side. You'll never see the same production twice.

There are so many holiday theatre options in Chicago, and many are legacies. Some companies make a significant portion of their yearly operating costs from their Christmas shows. The competition can be stiff, but for the family-friendly standby, Goodman is always a solid bet. 'A Christmas Carol' adaptions can feel like a dime a dozen, but Goodman sets itself aside by managing to give a faithful but also refreshing take on the classic tale.

Through December 29th at Goodman Theatre. 170 N Dearborn. 312-443-3800

Patsy Cline was only 30 years old and at the peak of her career when she died in a plane crash in 1963. But her sweet voice and music lives on in Firebrand Theatre's 'Always...Patsy Cline', a story written by Ted Swindley and based on true events.

After hearing a Patsy Cline (Christina Hall) record on the radio, housewife Louise Seger (Harmony France) became an immediate and avid fan of Cline's and she constantly called in to the local DJ to play Cline's records on the radio.

In 1961, when Louise and her friends show up early to see Patsy Cline sing live, it’s only by fate that Cline shows up early too.

The two women hit it off and the meeting culminates with Cline spending the night at Seger's house. Over a few too many drinks, the two women shared stories (happy and sad) late into the night. Shortly after Cline left, Seger received the first of many letters from her. The two exchanged letters over the next two years, right up until the plane crash that ended her life. Featuring over two dozen songs, 'Always…Patsy Cline' is both a musical and a concert rolled into one. While Louise Seger narrates the story, Patsy Cline moves on and off the stage singing tunes that still evoke emotions today.  “Walkin' After Midnight”, “She's Got You”, “Sweet Dreams”, and “Crazy” are just a few.

Actress Christina Hall brought Patsy Cline to life. She perfectly captures Cline’s emotions, accents and sound. She shows off her strong vocal chops with "It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels" while also perfectly capturing the heartbreak in "She's Got You."

Harmony France shines equally bright as Louise Seger. She pulls off the difficult task of being both a character and narrator in this story. Her transition from star struck superfan to close friend and confidant felt real and believable.

Growing up in a home where Patsy Cline’s records were in constant rotation, I really enjoyed this walk down memory lane.The only “problem” with this production of 'Always…Patsy Cline' is that you’ll want to see it a second time since France and Hall swap roles on alternating nights.

Extended through February 23rd, 2020 at The Den Theatre. This is an excellent show which I highly recommend.

Drury Lane Theatre has put together perhaps the most visually stunning and vocally finessed production of ‘Mary Poppins’ one could possibly see.  An imaginative, ever-changing bright and colorful set with loads of special effects surrounds a most remarkable cast, highlighted by Emilie Lynn who wows theatre goers as Mary Poppins.     

Now, fifty-five years after the release of the classic Disney film starring Dick Van Dyke and Julie Andrews, comes this new heartwarming and spectacular production of ‘Disney and Cameron Mackintosh’s Mary Poppins’ directed and choreographed beautifully by Marcia Milgrom Dodge.

A family is in trouble, the children are spoiled and bored and as troublesome as can be. Their mother, Winifred Banks (Alexis J Roston), is neglected and feels unappreciated. Winifred’s husband George (Matt Crowle) is cold and overworked and pays little mind to his wife and two children. Completely consumed by his work, life at the bank has been stressful for Mr. Banks. They could use a little help. They need a nanny – a new nanny. They have had many before, but none have ever been effective.  

The children, George (Hunter Dimailig or Sebastian Merlo) and Jane (Grier Burke or Nicole Scimeca), write a list of the qualities they’d like in their new nanny. Nothing too outrageous, they ask that she be kind, care about them, give them candy and be rosy cheeked and pretty to look at. Mr. Banks does not take his children seriously and destroys their little help wanted ad. However, not long after, Mary Poppins appears quite magically at their door ready for work – with the handwritten ad. She is stern and no-nonsense but is kind and good-hearted. 

She quickly wins over the children – and audience - with the charming number “Practically Perfect (I Am Perfect in Every Way!)”. From there the story is one fantastic adventure and life lesson after another as Mary Poppins works to get the household in ship shape despite dealing with a cranky Mr. Banks, a frazzled housekeeper and clumsy, but loveable butler who just wants to help. 

We really see who Mary is when she and the children run across Bert (James T. Lane), a friendly artist who sells paintings in the park. He knows who Mary is and is aware of the magic she brings.

Mary Poppins has true supernatural abilities that she uses to convert the children. A game she plays called “walk in the park” shows them the wonder of simple things from being out in nature. The simple, yet joyfully enchanted “walk in the park” also introduces the children to the concepts of accepting others of lower social standing like the chimney sweeps, and the poor old lady who finds joy in feeding the birds from a park bench.

In time, maybe Mary can bring out the child in Mr. Banks once again.

Emilie Lynn is splendid as Mary Poppins. She has the poise and rosy-cheeked prettiness to carry the role in itself, but it is Lynn’s sensational voice that really gives Drury its perfect Mary Poppins. Charming and graceful, as well, Lynn epitomizes the characteristics one would expect to see as Mary Poppins. She even channels Julie Andrews with her vocal prowess. At the same time, Bert is well cast with James T. Lane a true delight to watch. Lane’s singing and dancing are impressive, but it’s his energy and sense of kindness felt throughout the theatre that really gives us our Bert. Together, Lynn and Lane are unstoppable. 

This delightful musical has so many star performances that cannot be overlooked. To name a few, Matt Crowle brilliantly captures the essence of Mr. Banks to precision while Alexis J Roston is the ideal counterpart to Crowle as Mrs. Banks, both delivering vocally and adding a nice comedic touch when asked upon. Joe Capstick gets to show off his ability to take on a humorous role as the Park Keeper as does Sawyer Smith as Robertson Ay, the house staffer.

But not only are we treated to an extremely talented leading cast and ensemble that amazes from one scene and song/dance number from beginning to end, the set itself is a spectacular sight and the special effects are many and will fascinate adults as much as they will children.Filled with many classic hits that include “A Spoonful of Sugar,” “Step in Time,” “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” and “Let’s Go Fly a Kite”, this production does not stop entertaining from the word “Go”.        

‘Disney and Cameron Mackintosh’s Mary Poppins’ is being performed at Drury Lane Theatre in Oakbrook through January 19th, 2020.

For tickets and/or more show information visit www.drurylanetheatre.com.

Goodman’s treasured director Robert Falls directs the Lyric Opera’s new production of Don Giovanni, the tale of that lustful, destructive Spanish sexual predator, Don Juan. Falls has wisely exercised restraint in this production, letting the sumptuous music of Mozart prevail. The musical high points will be familiar to anyone who has seen the movie or listened to the soundtrack Amadeus.

The story is another matter – in contemporary #MeToo society Don Giovanni does not quite fit the Weinstein-Epstein model of using leverage and power in his conquest of women. The dramaturgs struggle to find some way to explain Don Giovanni’s behavior to us. But there is none; he is not exactly a realistic character, but an exaggerated fiction who lays waste not to the objects of his desire, but to his posse of servants and friends as well. But there is a contemporary realism to Don Giovanni's destructive force and his entitlement to forcing himself on women. He doesn't accept that no means no, and we are still trying to change that heritage of patriarchy in the 21st century. 

In his day, Don Juan was a libertine. He also seems to be a sociopath and sex addict, cataloging the hundreds of women he has seduced, country by country. Like Epstein he seems to inspire profligacy and among his cohorts, but he takes advantage of them a few too many time. He is stalked by one double-crossed lover - - who makes it her mission to warn other women away from him. All this builds up to generating an enmity that finds an angry crowd of vigilante’s out to kill him.

Mozart’s formal full title of Don Giovanni is “The Rake punished, or Don Giovanni.” This indicates the story was conceived as a moral fable (the libretto in Italian is by Lorenzo da Ponte). Fall’s key touch, aside from a perfect closing scene (more on that later) was to reset the time frame from the 1600’s to the 1920s. This allows the women to reasonably be a bit more empowered, pursuing their own sexual destiny. But the original libretto clashes with this revisionist approach, since loss of reputation and fall from respectability is among their chief complaints against Don Giovanni. The 1920s setting is almost laughable during a ball in which the deco-inspired gowns (knockout costumes here and overall) when the flappers do minuettes rather than Charlestons. But it's opera. 

The music redeems it largely, though the garden bacchanal and Don Giovanni’s machinations are frankly, boring and drag on. Mozart’s music carries on a masterful counterpoint, with the characters given complexity expressed through this most lush score. The Lyric Opera Orchestra is reliably excellent, and this production is no exception. They just know how to play in support of the opera– a full, rich, underpinning for the great singers. 

Finally comes the climactic scene in Don Giovanni is his retribution for all this bad behavior – he is dragged down to hell. Falls did this so powerfully, opening a smoking pit on the stage and upending the banquet table, with Don Giovanni struggling against his fate as he slides into oblivion. It is one of the most satisfying final scenes I have witnessed, and helps cap the story of Don Giovanni, The Rake Punished. It runs at the Lyric Opera in Chicago through December 8.

*Ryan McKinney will portray Don Giovannio December 3rd through 8th

I am from Miami, Florida and after moving to Chicago there was a time when I genuinely looked forward to the first snow of the year. I’d also wish for snowfall each year to bring us a white Christmas here in Chicago and this lovely production of ‘White Christmas’ at Theatre at the Center brought that joy back into my mind for the first time in years.

The story is about two servicemen, Bob (Matt Edmonds) and Phil (Justin Brill), who become big time entertainers after their army days. From performing in USO shows for fellow military troops during World War II to becoming a featured act on the Ed Sullivan show, the two pals are now looking for a "sister act".  It isn’t long before the two stumble upon Judy and Betty (both played wonderfully by Casiena Raether and Erica Stephan) and wind up not only finding two talented women to perform with but also finding true love. The tale is a timeless one thanks to Irving Berlin's classic music – and this cast does the book and lyrics of Berlin justice.

When Bob and Phil run across their old General, Henry Waverly (Neil Friedman), they happily offer to help out by lending their star presence by performing at his lodge in the hopes of attracting more guests. The retired General is on hard times having sunk his entire life saving into the lodge. Thankfully he has been keeping his head just above water thanks to the help he receives from his ever-loyal lodge hand Martha Watson (brilliantly played by Glory Kissel). It isn’t long before Bob and Phil enlist Judy and Betty and a host of fantastic dancers to put on the show of a lifetime at the General’s lodge. It is nothing short of touching to see the dedication Bob and Phil have towards General Henry Waverly.

I would totally see this production twice just to hear the everlastingly touching “How Deep is The Ocean”:

"How much do I love you? I'll tell you no lie

How deep is the ocean? How high is the sky?

How many times a day do I think of you?

How many roses are sprinkled with dew?

How far would I travel to be where you are?

How far is the journey from here to a star?

And if I ever lost you, how much would I cry?

How deep is the ocean? How high is the sky?"

“Blue Skies” was another showstopper with the entire cast tapping in blue and white to Irving Berlin's classic song about the very real exciting effects of new love taking place on the loving new couples:

"Never saw the sun shining so bright

Never saw things going so right

Noticing the days hurrying by

When you're in love, my how they fly

Blue days

All of them gone

Nothing but blue skies

From now on!"

(from lerft) Erica Stephan as Betty and Casiena Raether as Judy. Photo by Guy Rhodes

There was a palpable chemistry in the humorous courtship between the wry, dry Phil and slightly uptight and business-oriented Betty, which the whole audience picked up on and really enjoyed watching develop scene by scene.

Director Linda Fortunato is wisely able to draw out the fun in her own unique way from each song and also includes a few numbers cut from the motion picture, like "Falling Out of Love Can be Fun,” sung by Martha, Betty and Judy. The song gives the thoroughly modern advice, way ahead of it's time, that if you are heartbroken by one man you can pick yourself up and try again without shame.

"When you've find your lover has gone

Get your second wind and go on

There's an old affair that is there for renewing

In your grief, do you know what you're doing?

Falling out of love can be fun

Soon, you'll be swinging in a hammock on a porch

One arm wrapped around someone else

The other arm carrying a torch

Love can give a lady a clout

And she may be down but not out

Get yourself a date, don't you wait for the count of ten, then

Falling out of love can be fun!"

Talented Artistic Director Linda Fortunato wears multiple hats not only directing this production but providing its dazzling choreography. William Underwood gives this show its musical direction. 

Special kudos must go to Glory Kissel as the rowdy Senior hotel concierge for her entire performance and especially the showstopper "Let me Sing, I'm Happy." Kissel shows the youngsters in the cast just how it's done with her amazing dance and superb physical comedy skills while singing out about the pure Joy of being alive and happy.

The super talented ensemble blows everyone away with one fantastic tap or dance number after another.

It is truly thrilling to watch all those tapping feet moving in perfect unison. Other great numbers include “Heat Wave,” “I Love a Piano” and of course, the title song “White Christmas”, a song that Matt Edmonds sings to perfection as he captures the period so well with both his singing and acting.    

I can't recommend this production highly enough for audiences of all ages who are looking for a happy, fun-filled and joyous celebration of LOVE and of course SNOW, during this cold and oft-strenuous Holiday season. 

‘White Christmas’ is being performed at Theatre at the Center in nearby Munster, IN through December 22nd. For more information visit www.theatreatthecenter.com.

Heart warming musicals aren’t exactly what Steppenwolf Theatre is known for. While not an outright musical, ‘Lindiwe’ is a new play with live music in collaboration with Ladysmith Black Mambazo. Co-directed by Jonathan Berry and playwright Eric Simonson, this marks the second time Steppenwolf has worked with Ladysmith Black Mambazo.

‘Lindiwe’ is a modern fable of two star-crossed musicians Lindiwe (Nondumiso Tembe) and Adam (Erik Hellman). The story is told in a fourth wall-breaking, casual tone by Lindiwe, a South African singer touring the US with Mambazo. Her life changes when she meets American drummer Adam one evening at the historic Kingston Mines blues club here in Chicago. Their affair is passionate and when Lindiwe gets deported by back to Durban, South Africa, Adam joins her. After a car crash, the pair finds themselves in a fantastical limbo with spiritual keeper played by Yasen Peyankov. In order to join the land of the living, the two must re-tell the events leading up to the tragic car crash.

‘Lindiwe’ honors the tradition of oral storytelling through a riff on Eurydice and other tales. The fable aspects of the story lend itself well to the Greek chorus role taken up by Ladysmith Black Mambazo. Few members of the singing group have stand-out spoken dialogue but, instead provide a musical through-line for the play that heightens the emotions. Not to mention, the harmonies and irregular rhythms created by the group sound incredible.

Fantasy can be hard to relate to for some audiences, but ‘Lindiwe’ offers deeply human themes on love and loss. Nondumiso Tembe is captivating in the titular role in both voice and performance. From the moment she appears on stage you can’t take your eyes off her. She has an undeniable charm and a contagious quality to her smile. The on-stage romance between her and Erik Hellman is endearing even as it turns tragic. Though their circumstances are cloaked in fantastical elements, there’s truth in their love story. Combined with music and dancing, all makes for a pleasing evening.

Steppenwolf Artistic Director Anna D Shapiro remarks in her playbill note that theatre is ephemeral. And when considering whether this play could be reproduced elsewhere, it would seem like a longshot. This play was commissioned by Steppenwolf and through music and plot, ties the Chicago blues scene to sister city Durban, where Ladysmith Black Mambazo resides. ‘Lindiwe’ is a unique opportunity to see the iconic world music group perform with the Steppenwolf ensemble. It’s one of those special Chicago productions that would be tough to accurately describe its beauty to anyone who wasn’t there for it.

Through January 5th at Steppenwolf Theatre. 1650 N Halsted St. 312-335-1650

The Niceties is a play that engages the intellect. But in so doing, sets up a tug-of-war with our gut, addressing a visceral issue for today: race.

Like the puzzler plays Proof or Seminar (both also set at a university campus) The Niceties leads us to think through ideas, in this case the customs and intellectual practices of the erudite precincts of academia. Instead of a puzzle, though, we are faced with a compelling case, made by college student Zoe, that some of the pedagogical and research practices of university professors are mired in the past. And because of this, academia misses out on on the cultural train departing the station. The plain of this discussion takes place on how racially grounded cultural orientations shape how we see and describe the world - and record its history. 

Zoe (Ayanna Bria Bakari) is a college student working on a senior paper in Political Science, and thinking through plans for graduate school. During office hours with her professor Janine (Mary Beth Fisher), they review Zoe’s history paper on The American Revolution. After offering a broadly positive comment on the paper’s worthiness, Janine provides cursory advice on grammar and a missing comma (“You can’t proof on the screen,” Janine admonishes Zoe).

That little aside provides the first whiff of a divide between the two – digital, political, and cultural – that playwright Eleanor Burgess lays out for us in this engaging 2017 work. Zoe is African-American, a political activist, and like her peers in the millennial generation, schooled in online research.

Boomers like Janine (and me) keep stacks of volumes around and can remember where those passages are, if they can just find that book. Zoe, meanwhile, digs up the same citations on her smart phone pronto. 

After Janine mentions her son Zachary is a student, Zoe lets her know that he is in her poetry class. This sparks a self-ironic discourse in which Janine makes an unflattering revelation about herself. Having Zachary on campus, Janine says, has “forced me to see my students as something other than walking theses statements…which is very disorienting.”This bit of self-deprecation does not take away from the truth behind that statement. 

Janine recognizes that Zoe is quite a brilliant student, but is dismissive of her paper's primary contention – “A successful American Revolution was only possible because of slavery” – because it isn't backed by formal citations that support some of her assertions. Zoe instead cites websites and Wikipedia entries. 

But we suspect Janine's criticisms are based on something more. We learn that the action takes place prior to the 2017 election, as Janine confidently predicts Clinton will be the first woman President. In this detail Burgess reveals an arrogance about Janine, one borne of certainty about her world view. How much her confidence would be shaken by Clinton's loss we can only imagine. But the playwright has a preciipitous fall in store for Janine - which we will not spoil.

Suffice it to say the debate between the two builds in intensity, with Zoe challenging her professor’s demands for published, footnoted revidence of reference material.

“If you need evidence, you are excluding the people who couldn’t leave history behind,” Zoe asserts. (Current thought in academia now accepts “imagined history” from those without records - indigenous peoples and slaves.)

Janine is less used to receiving such impassioned pushback. “I like that you stick by your opinions,” Janine tells Zoe. But she doesn’t really. The scene becomes heated, and the argument builds to a crescendo.

“Your thesis is fundamentally unsound,” charges Janine, telling Zoe to rewrite the work, or take a lower grade. Once the gloves are off, Janine invites Zoe to illuminate her supposed shortcomings as a professor. When Zoe reads verbatim from Janine's lectures, she notes her unmitigating praise of Washington and Jefferson may not work so well for the five students in class who are descendants of slaves. 

The language of the dialog is razor sharp, and very much reflects the characters.  The matter ends in a crisis as Act 1 closes, and you will be anxious to find out what happens in Act II, though I confess to being a disappointed in the lack of a dramatic resolution at the final curtain.

Director Marti Lyons has coaxed out great performances in a production that is smart and fast paced. The Niceties runs through December 8 at Writers Theatre in Glencoe, IL.

So…a theatre, a rock band and a production company got together and decided to put a show together. Only this wasn’t just a theatre, it was Den Theatre, one of the most experimental and influential theatres in Chicago today. Nor was this just any production company. Jacaranda Collective is a theatre company, led by the out-of-the-box vision of artistic Sam Bianchini and associate artistic director Halie Robinson director, both who thrive on passionate and provocative storytelling, and the team responsible for this year’s outstanding production of “My Name is Rachel Corrie”. And The Family Crest is not your average band. Instead they are an orchestral indie rock band, led by Liam McCormick, that takes its listeners on a different journey with each song. Together, we have the perfect team of collaborators to pull off ‘Romeo and Juliet: The Spectacular Retelling of the World’s Greatest Love Story’. 

Performed in the largest of Den Theatre’s spaces, the audience is seated to form a three-quarters theatre-in-the-round, a stage for the band sitting at one end. The actors flow freely, not neglecting a single space in the theatre, as the Shakespeare’s story of Romeo and Juliet is beautifully told in both acting and in songs performed by The Family Crest. 

‘Romeo and Juliet: The Spectacular Retelling of the World’s Greatest Love Story’ revisits the classic tale of two young lovers, Romeo Montague (Alex Quinones) and Juliet Capulet (Halie Robinson), that fall in love despite the hatred that lies between their families. The unique play received an added boost with a live band accompaniment that really takes the story to another level. Several scenes had the San Francisco-based band perform wistful songs from their Beneath the Brine and The War: Act I albums, as the actors would join in with choreographed dance movements that perfectly synced with the dreamy sounds, creating a multi-sensory sensation that can only be had in this one-of-a-kind production. In all, we get a masterpiece of a story that is executed to perfection in its own original way thanks to its talented direction, cast and band.

The production also injects its own modern twists and sense of humor into the play’s dialogue - crowd favorite Mercutio (wonderfully played by Kade Cox) donned in drag and sharp, whimsical musings often spewed from the mouth of Juliet. Yet, at the same time, the play never loses the integrity of Shakespeare’s work of art as it was intended. The love was as refreshing as we have always experienced and the tragedy just as heartbreaking.

Here as a special three-day event, ‘Romeo and Juliet’ ends on a much higher note that we are accustomed, the theatre transforming into a concert hall as The Family Crest treats the audience to a live performance that includes songs from previous recordings and upcoming album The War: Act II. 

Theatre and Family Crest fans can only hope this production returns in the not-so-distant future – and maybe, just maybe that will happen. Near the show’s end, the fantastically Family Crest frontman, Liam McCormick asked attendees if they would like to see this show return to Chicago.

The answer – an unequivocal, enthusiastic “HELL YES!”

Rink Life is a dance performance with a difference: these dancers also speak. And sing. And act.

Dance is said to have five elements - body, action, space, time and energy. But creative director Julia Rhoads (she was once part of Red Moon) adds voice as another component to that repertoire.

Over the course of 75 minutes (no intermission) Rink Life features a series of vignettes – perhaps one-act playlets – performed by seven dancers (Kara Brody, Michel Rodriguez Cintra, Melinda Jean Myers, Jacinda Ratcliffe, Rodolfo Sánchez Sarracino, A. Raheim White, Meghann Rose Wilkinson), roughly following the rise and fall in emotional dynamics that might flow through any social group.

The vignettes are interwoven – opening with a duo (Myers and Cintra) rehearsing a pas de deux to Madonna’s “Like a Virgin,” that quickly devolves into a discussion between the two of whether Madonna’s line is “for the very first time” or, “for the thirty-first time” as one dancer mistakenly has it. These two are interrupted when two other dancers arrive, announcing they have the space reserved. Then others appear until the full complement of the troupe is on stage.  

While Rink Life uses roller rink culture of the 1970s as a jumping off point, it is only loosely tied to its song playlist from the period.
What would otherwise be hackneyed music choices – Hey Jude, Stayin’ Alive, Total Eclipse of the Heart - are completelyrefreshed here. Rather than threadbare recordings, the dancers voice and interpret the songs, drawing out the beats they need to keep the dances in rhythm. Bethany Clearfield, who has worked with Music of the Baroque, is vocal collaborator and coach. 

Rink Life’s staging and choreography are said to be built from the spatial rules and social codes of a roller rink. Its script or libretto is samplings of those and other songs, and of “passing conversations, distant whispers, pop-song earworms, and found scripts” as Lucky Plush Productions describes it. 

In successive scenes one or another of the dancers isolates themselves from the group, or is ostracized – and we watch the familiar dynamics of rapprochement and resolution. This may all be expressed in very 1970s catch phrases – “I wasn’t feeling it” is a recurring concern as the dancers mount numbers - but the scenes depict fundamental constancies in human social dynamics too.

Each of the performers has a distinct personality on stage and several moments in the spotlight. But Cintra and White stand out, while Melinda Myers reminded me so much of a dancing version of comedienne Kristen Wiig.

Refreshing as an Italian ice, Rink Life brings a continuously unexpected take how people get along in groups. Rink Life runs through November 17 at Steppenwolf Theatre’s cozy 1700 space.

The first time I ever saw Oliver!, it was the 1960s movie version. I saw it at one of those old-timey theaters where an “old” guy (this was the 1980s and I was a wee lad, so the organist very well could’ve been a pimply teen keyboard prodigy and I’d have still pegged him as a geezer) played the pipe organ and they showed “old” movies (I remember seeing Laurel and Hardy there, too) and it was supposed to make you feel like it was the good-old days. Well, I know I didn’t recall much of the plot, but that Oliver!’s characters and musical numbers sure made a big impression — a big enough impression that my reintroduction to them, all these years later, by the Marriott Theatre’s current production, made it feel like being reacquainted with shabby old Cockney chums on the Victorian London streets in which they make their questionable livings.

When my date for the night, my six-year-old daughter who’s already a Broadway kinda gal, asked me what Oliver! was about, I told her it was “Annie with boys.” That explanation appeased her beforehand, and it made even more sense as we watched the show, because in Oliver!, it’s the kids who do the heavy lifting. From the opening number, “Food, Glorious Food,” the urchins whose lives are spent in either the poorhouse or on the London streets are the focus whenever they’re onstage. And the boys (and yes, unlike Annie’s female orphans, these kids are all male), despite their coal-smudged cheeks and their ratty rags and hand-me-down threads, light up the stage whenever they take it, especially in big numbers like the afore-mentioned “Food, Glorious Food,” as well as “Consider Yourself” and “You’ve Got to Pick a Pocket or Two.”

The two young stars of the play do as much shining as any of their peers. In the performance I saw, Kayden Koshelev played the eponymous orphan (he’ll be alternating performances with Kai Edgar). Koshelev is a little guy, tiny in comparison even to the other kids. But that makes him stand out, actually, and makes the audience care for him even more. Patrick Scott McDermott’s Artful Dodger steals each scene he’s in, his Cockney accent on point, his top hat held high, his eyes twinkling through the gloom and doom of his homeless, criminal existence.

And the adults who force this existence on their youthful stage mates are every bit their younger peers’ equals. In the movie version, I remember being terrified of Fagin. But in this production, William Brown brings the heart he recently brought to Into the Woods — sure he’s a crook and takes advantage of the boys who are his wards, but he’s a vulnerable villain. The same cannot be said for Dan Waller’s Bill Sikes; I wish Waller had a bigger part, because while he wasn’t the imposing figure, size-wise, I remember the film Sikes being, Waller’s demeanor and attire sure made a dark impression. Matthew R. Jones’ Mr. Bumble was also a daunting adult for the poor kids to deal with, although he was allowed some humor thanks to Bethany Thomas’ Mrs. Corney (Thomas, too, displays her range, this time as a character actress after carrying the recent Into the Woods).

But it was yet another star from Into the Woods who shined brightest in Oliver! — Lucy Godinez’s Nancy. Godinez starred, of course, as Little Red Riding Hood, and helped make that production. But, if it’s possible, she’s even better here, showing just as much warmth as Brown’s Fagin for the ragamuffins, and providing the highlight of the show with her take on “As Long as He Needs Me” — her performance of that song alone will have me looking for any future productions she’s in.

So, just like the film version’s plot made little impression on a little me, while its cast and music did, I can say the same for the Marriott Theatre’s current production of Oliver! — come for the charming Cockney characters and the tunes, glorious tunes. You won’t leave with an empty belly.

At Marriott Theatre through December 29th. For more information visit https://www.marriotttheatre.com/.