Items filtered by date: November 2007

Epic tragedy shapes a society. For Chicagoans, there were the Great Fire of 1871 (300 dead, 100,000 homeless), and the 1915 SS Eastland sinking (844 died). Less remembered is the Iroquois Theater, which burned to the ground in 1903. The conflagration killed 602 people, and changed fire safety practices in theaters everywhere.
Just over a month after its grand opening run, on December 30, 1903, the Iroquois Theater was destroyed when an arc light ignited a muslin curtain. (That site is now the home of the Nederlander Theatre, the restored Oriental movie palace.)

The Ruffians theater troupe recounts this tale – seminal to Chicago’s theater communit -  in Burning Bluebeard, in a truly inspired production. The performance incorporates dance, music, mime, acrobatics, in a that evokes the atmospheric gymnastics of Cirque de Soleil, or perhaps even more the defunct Red Moon Theater for those who remember it). Let’s say from the start Burning Bluebeard is entrancing, mesmerizing, and something not to be missed.

The Ruffians have been serving up this unusual holiday fare since 2011, when it was originated with the support of the NeoFuturists Theater. This year Porchlight Music Theatre has placed the show on its stage at the Ruth Page Center (1016 N. Dearborn), supplying plenty of seating for the growing cult following Burning Bluebeard has garnered.

Burning Bluebeard retells the story of the fire from the point of view of cast and crew who survived it – all but one escaped - in a mash-up with scenes adapted from the original Mr. Bluebeard on stage at t he time. In so doing, playwright Jay Torrance (who also plays stage manager Robert Murray) and director Halena Kays provide us a sampling of antique theatrical techniques and practices from the period. Choreographic by Ariel Etana Triunfo is exquisite, and scenic design by Doug Kmiec is wonderful.

The show opens with body bags on the smoldering ruins of the stage, the actors emerging in tattered costumes, and launch into the story – reminding the audience they are playing the role of the original audience – more than a third of whom died. This provocative tease (though it goes on a little too long, giving us multiple false starts)
Running 100 minutes with no intermission, the characters are drawn from real people like stage manager Murray, and Chicago vaudeville comedian Eddie Foy (Ryan Walters), who was in the road show production, and earned acclaim in the disaster for helping keep the audience calm.

Most entertaining is Pamela Chermansky as the Fancy Clown, who plays through various vignettes and comic scenes, then periodically steps out of the clown character to comment as a “master thespian” on the production of Mr. Bluebeard.

“History knew better than the playwright, better than any of us, that it wasn’t any good,” she declaims haughtily. Ticket sales were slow, so the producers kept adding scenes, songs, and production embellishments, which also added fuel for the fire. Objecting to revisions in one of her scene, Fancy Clown ironically tells them to go ahead, “Unless you are bored with petty things, like artistry, and craft!” her a voice dripping with disdain.

At the other end of the spectrum is stage manager Robert Murray (Jay Torrance), who is all about the technical mechanics of the show, and knows this production is a dog. He also provides the specific details regarding locked safety doors, incomplete fire escapes, a burning fire curtain, and hemp-filled seating that magnified the effects of the tragedy.

A realistic touch from from the pantomime style of Mr. Bluebeard is the inclusion of The Fairie Queen, with Crosby Sandoval giving an absolutely arresting performance. In a worn white lace and organdy frock, the hairy chested, mustachioed Sandoval delivers engimatic utterances muffled through a tin can hanging on a string around his neck. (Notes in the progam let us know cross dressing, fairie queens, and purely silent scenic interludes were all part of the pantomime theatrical style.) 

Adding to the woe, the day of the Iroquois Theater tragedy was the show’s first sell out in the 1,650 see theater, with scores more packed in, the overflow filling standing room and even seating themselves in the stairway aisles of the upper balconies.

The mayor shuttered all the theaters in town while the fire was investigated. Afterward emerged building code changes like mandatory exit lights, improved fire proofing and readily accessible fire escapes – and other changes that are now the norm in all public spaces.

Burning Bluebeard runs through December 27 at the Ruth Page Center in Chicago, and is highly recommended.

While I’m familiar with Studs Terkel’s oral of history of workers, titled of course ‘Working’, I came into opening night of Theo Ubique’s production of Stephen Schwartz’s musical adaptation completely ignorant of its content, its music, any of it. I didn’t know Schwartz had originally written and staged it in the late 70s. I didn’t know it featured music by a 70s icon, James Taylor. And I didn’t know it had been refreshed in the past decade with tunes by a more modern musical icon, Lin Manuel Miranda. Sometimes it’s nice to come into a show blissfully ignorant; doing so gives you those rare moments of surprise that come in adulthood.

So, I was surprised by much of it. I was surprised by the musical numbers. And I was surprised by the unevenness of this Broadway giant’s work here. But I was not at all surprised by the enthusiasm and talent on display by the cast assembled at this great little treasure of a theater where Chicago and Evanston meet near the Howard station (its name proudly part of the tasteful set).

The musical numbers were a lot of fun — 70s Broadway stuff since, as I now know, this is 70s Broadway stuff. Musical director and keyboardist Jeremy Ramey (who killed it earlier this year in the same roles for Theo Ubique’s killer Hedwig) has maybe the best time of anyone in the house, channeling his love of music and love of this music through his fingers and his constant movement. His band, featuring Hedwig’s Perry Cowdery on guitar and Carlos Mendoza on drums, as well as Rafe Bradford on bass, are in lockstep the whole way, complementing both the cast and the score.

A couple members of said cast really show off their musical talent here, too. Stephen Blu Allen, who I’d yet to see perform, impressed with his overall talent. Maybe the youngest member of the cast, he moved like a veteran and sang like one, too, possessing a smooth voice that worked as well as a lead instrument as it did when hitting just the right harmonies when accompanying his castmates. The presence of Cynthia F. Carter, who’s quickly become one of my favorite local actors and singers (having seen her shine in the Black Ensemble Theater’s tributes to Mahalia Jackson and Chuck Berry), assured me upon seeing her name in the playbill that I was in good hands. And wouldn’t you know it — I was in the steady and experienced hands of both her stewardess and her streetwalker, and blown away by her cleaning woman’s closing number, “If I Could Have Been.”

And that number’s where I’ll list my gripe — only one gripe, really — a gripe not with the players, but with the piece itself. The show could’ve ended right there, with Carter’s number as the closer. But it kept going and kept preaching. When Schwartz lets the characters and their lives do the talking, ‘Working’ works. But when he tries to sum up what the workers have said, wrapping it up all tidy-like and preaching to the audience, it gets, well, a bit preachy. Any audience deserves the playwright’s respect, especially an audience there to see an adaptation of a book by Studs Terkel. They don’t — we don’t — need to be told what to think. We just need a work that’ll make us think, whatever that thinking might be and wherever that thinking might lead.

In ‘Working’’s first half, there’s more of that preaching going on. A schoolteacher played by Loretta Rezos preaches at us with all the stereotyped gripes about kids these days (especially those in neighborhoods where schoolteachers might be especially harried) — knives and drugs and Ritalin, but no respect and no grasp of the English language (except as a second language). Michael Kingston’s moneymaking and money-worshiping businessman is more of the same — a stereotype of money and business without anything new to say about it. But in the second half, both Rezos and Kingston get characters with more to do and thus more to say. Rezos’ restaurant worker gets perhaps my favorite number, turning the work of waiting tables into an art. And Kingston’s “Joe” brings the feels without the heavy-handed attempts to get them as his elderly titular character monologues about watching housefires and long-ago waltzes and old Sunday drunks with cash hidden in their socks.

I can’t forget the last two members of this talented cast, all of whom play multiple characters. Jared David Michael Grant is the show’s heart, as a long-haul trucker, as a laid-off worker, and especially as the fireman at one of those housefires Joe spends his retirement chasing. The firefighter’s soliloquy, not just about the work of first responders but about the world they respond to, was every bit as meaningful as it must’ve been when Terkel and Schwartz encountered it over forty years ago. And Kiersten Frumkin is sort of the cast’s utility worker — in a play about such folks — nimbly playing a millworker, a lot lizard, a housewife, and more. It’s her last worker, a woman proudly watching the child she’s raising grow, that’s her best, and features a beautiful duet with Allen’s nursing home worker.

So, while the play itself is far from perfect, it gets better after intermission. And while the play itself is far from perfect, its cast perfectly plays the many roles they’re asked to play. And, isn’t an imperfect what workers and their worlds are? As Allen’s southside community organizer says late in ‘Working’, “history is made up of a lot of little people,” and ‘Working’ gives all of those little people a voice and a stage to tell their messy, imperfect, and real stories of ‘Working’ and of life, now through January 26 at what’s become one of my favorite spots, Theo Ubique on Howard in Evanston.

Usually it’s the other way around that a show is developed by Lyric and sent on the road. Scenario Two Ltd. instead brings their critically acclaimed production of ‘Light in the Piazza’ from London to Chicago starring our own Renee Fleming. Those looking to warm their hearts without the glittery holiday schmaltz will enjoy this romantic alternative. 

Fleming would call Lyric her home-base, but what a rare treat it is to see the iconic diva perform in Chicago. ‘Light in the Piazza’ is a bit of a departure from the epic operas Fleming is ordinarily associated with. Composer and lyricist Adam Guettel’s adaptation of Elizabeth Spencer’s novella, is a light opera that’s closer to traditional musical theatre than opera.

 
‘Light in the Piazza’ premiered in 2004 and was eventually nominated for the Tony Award for Best Musical. It’s about a wealthy American mother and daughter spending an idyllic summer in Italy during the 50s. Upon arriving in Italy, Clara (Solea Pfeiffer) falls in love at first sight with Florentine Fabrizio (Rob Houchen). It’s unclear why Clara’s mother Margaret (Renee Fleming) is initially so opposed to the union. It’s revealed that Clara is developmentally challenged as a result of an equestrian accident. Her mother fears she is not capable of rational decision making. 

Guettel is the grandson of renown composer Richard Rogers who at one time had ambitions to adapt the novella in the 60s. Guettel’s score is beautiful, and Renee Fleming’s vocals are incredible, but there’s an emptiness to the lyrics that the heavy amount repetition can’t compensate for.

 
The source material is fairly short for a full two-act musical. The book by Craig Lucas delivers some emotional punches that rise above the flat lyrics. Solid performances by Solea Pfeiffer and Rob Houchen are where the strengths of this production lie. The final emotional conflict of the show is bittersweet and haunting. Miss Pfeiffer’s performance is a hidden weapon here. Such simple choices yield huge emotional response.

 
If ever given the chance to see Renee Fleming, obviously do. Seeing Fleming do a romantic musical is an experience few will have. That said, she is an opera singer and that’s a different kind of acting. It would be interesting to see how an actress with a more traditional musical theatre repertoire would approach this complex character. Fleming’s vocals are full of an unmatched passion for the craft, but the segments of spoken dialogue feel disconnected from the depth of the script.

 
Directed by Daniel Evans, this is a lush and grand production of a musical that is generally done on a smaller scale. The luxurious staging by Scenario Two make this tour comparable to the over-the-top sets Lyric audiences are used to. The plot of ‘Light in the Piazza’ has the makings for a tragedy but the unexpectedly romantic path it takes makes for an enchanting and easily digestible evening at the opera. 

Through December 29th at Lyric Opera Chicago. 20 N Wacker Drive. 312-827-5600

Who doesn’t like Nat King Cole? A band pianist who achieved mega-stardom in the late 1940s and 1950s, Cole’s pitch-true tenor was inflected by a nasal reverb, and that slight rasp that individualized him, making his voice on recordings still fresh, and endlessly interesting.

Because of his immense talent, Cole was immensely popular, and even at the height of Jim Crow, he was the first African-American to have a solo Billboard hit – Mona Lisa in 1950; and to host his own television show, in 1956-1957.

If you don’t know Nat King Cole, that’s him singing Mel Torme’s “Christmas Song” [Chestnuts roasting on an open fire]. Even as the Christmas jukebox cranks up, Cole’s thoughtful, sophisticated interpretations of holiday songs remain a pleasure.

So I was extremely excited to see “An Unforgettable Nat King Cole Christmas,” starring Chicago actor Evan Tyrone Martin. I figured it might be like a television Christmas special. And the venue – in the sleekly appoint 80-seat Venus Cabaret – is a cozy recreation of a posh 1950s night club.

Martin enters the stage, lanky, grey tux with black piping, narrow black necktie, crowned with an Afro, I was not sure what I was gonna get - this didn;t look like Nat. But when he sings, and the band plays, the show becomes “Unforgettable,” to reference another of Cole’s hits – which are plentiful during the evening. (I bought two copies of the recording!)

Rather than a purely Christmas show, Martin sings a representative range of Nat King Cole’s favorites and hits (he recorded more than 100 songs). Martin is backed by a notable jazz quintet (Ryan Bennett on drums; Joshua Ramos on bass; Andy Pratt on guitar; Rajiv Halim on woodwinds; and Jo Ann Daugherty, music director, on piano), who bring us the flavor of the jazz style that Cole fed into mainstream popularity.

Recalling Cole’s story, Martin remains himself, recounting his personal story as well, and contrasting and comparing it with Cole’s – who was brought up in Chicago, the son of a preacher. In the patter between songs, Martin keeps it real; we get the back story on both men (though Martin is much too young to have heard Cole live). 

Nat King Cole died in 1965; he was just 45, from lung cancer. And while he had a television show, it went off the air for lack of a national sponsor, despite NBC’s support. In the story, Martin quotes Cole: “I guess Madison Avenue is just afraid of the dark,” Cole said. 

In singing, Martin interprets Cole, rather than imitating him – and with the band recreates the signature phrasing and color on a number of his hits, notably “Mona Lisa,” “Unforgettable,” “(You Can Get Your Kicks on) Route 66,” “Straighten Up and Fly Right” and “L-O-V-E.” In both the running banter and personal anecdotes, and the music, Martin keeps it authentic. I dearly loved his rendition of "On the Street Where You Live" from My Fair Lady, which was so typical of Cole's interpretive magic.

The band in some respects is better able to capture the sound, because Martin’s voice is so rich, and richly trained, that there is just no restraining it when he holds a note too long, and in certain registers. But at points it is uncannily accurate, and we are immersed in Nat King Cole’s musical genius.
I came away touched by this tender attention to Nat King Cole, by the star of this show, Evan Tyrone Martin.

A production of Artists Lounge Live, you can see An Unforgettable Nat King Cole Christmas at Venus Cabaret Theater on Friday, Dec. 13, Saturday Dec. 14, and Sunday, Dec. 15; and then two last chances on Monday, Dec. 16 and Tuesday Dec. 17 at Writer’s Theatre in Glencoe.

Caitlin Jackson as Bette Midler recreating one wonderful cabaret night at the Continental Bathhouse in New York city is a heartfelt, moving and entertaining way to remember and celebrate Bette's humble and "hungry" beginnings as a performer with the legendary “Tommy” (Tommy Robb) her pianist.

 
I really can't say enough about how talented Caitlin Jackson is as a comedienne and vocalist to be able to carry off this show with such style. Jackson's own vocal stylings are superb and many of the songs were delivered so strongly and such emotional insight into Midler's early struggles as a sexually liberated woman searching for love through her loneliness brought me to tears.

I actually lived in the historic pre-war luxury building, The Ansonia, on 72nd and Broadway showcased in Woody Allen's film Manhattan, for 4 years right after graduating from college. The bathhouse was long gone when I lived there in 1983-1988, but sometimes when I was doing laundry in the cavernous basement of the Ansonia, I imagined I could still hear the sounds of Bette's exquisite voice and the excitement of her loving fans laughing and clapping for her bawdy, yet tender humor.

I think Caitlin Jackson has a marvelous, powerful voice and does Bette Midler's humor and patter (taken almost verbatim from one show) justice without doing a full on impersonation which allows the audience to feel they are seeing the young Bette for the first time. 

I had forgotten just how many of Midler's amazingly moving songs are about her extreme loneliness and heartbreak in love relationships - "Empty Bed Blues," “Long John Blues,” “Do You Wanna Dance?” and, of course, "I Shall Be Released" and "Waiting for my new Friends to Come," so I was really happy to discover that this Christmas Edition wisely pumps up the Joy factor with several fantastic renditions of toe tapping Christmas songs and the ever popular "Superstar," "Baby Please Come Home" and "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy".

Sydney Genco and Allison Petrillo are a delight as her backup singers and bring their bright sexy dame harmonies and dance moves that really help support Jackson - who otherwise carries every minute of this very demanding vocal and theatrical "one woman show". 'Bette: Xmas' is adapted by both Artistic Director David Cerda and Jackson, and Jackson also directs this production along with Marc LeWallen while music direction is handled by Tommy Robb.

I highly recommend seeing this unique and talent-filled Hell in a Handbag production, which has only been improved from its original Summer form by being lit up with Christmas lights and the Joy of Christmas.

‘Bette: Xmas at the Continental Baths’ is being performed at Mary’s Attic through December 31st.

You know it’s that time of the season when Chicago gets blitzed by one holiday production after another. And, while many of them are well done and thoroughly entertaining, there are just a few that really stand out each year. This year, one of them is ‘Irving Berlin’s White Christmas’ now playing at Cadillac Palace on a limited run that holds its final performance on December 15th. So, don’t delay and make your way over to Cadillac Palace before this enchanting, warm and dazzling production packs up for the winter.

The story begins when two talented army buddies, Bob Walace (David Elder) and Phil Davis (Jeremy Benton), entertain the troops with song and dance numbers during World War II. They proudly serve under gruff General Waverly (Conrad John Schuck) who is all business but hints a liking towards the two and their routines. After the war, Bob and Phil take off to superstar status, appearing regularly on the Ed Sullivan show and selling out houses wherever they perform. But they still feel they are in need of a sister act to keep their performance fresh. Enter Betty (Kerry Conte) and Judy Haynes (Kelly Sheehan) – two attractive and gifted singer/hoofers that are looking for their big break. A plan to unite seems to go into action when Bob and Phil hear about General Waverly’s financial woes at the lodge he had purchased years ago called the Vermont Inn. The guests just aren’t coming in like they used to. Through a bit of finagling, the four head out to Vermont to put on a show that is sure to attract guests. They even invite a team of dancers to join them for this holiday extravaganza that will be performed – in a barn.

Concierge Martha Watson (Lorna Luft) is there to greet them as they arrive and soon the plan goes into action. Young Susan Waverly (Emma Grace Berardelli and Kyla Carter alternate) also volunteers to help – and even perform if need be. The fun is just getting started.

The cast is star-infused with Conrad John Schuck (M.A.S.H., Star Trek IV and VI, Curse of the Jade Scorpion and many other TV and Broadway productions) impressively taking on the role of a General who is having a tough time relating to the world after his Army days are over. Lorna Luft (daughter of Judy Garland and Sid Luft) is terrific as inn concierge Martha Watson and is both extraordinary with her vocal talent and her comedic timing.

Jeremy Benton and David Elder dazzle in 'White Christmas' at Cadillac Palace through December 15th

While Schuck and Luft are certainly big plusses, the production’s greatest success might be in its casting of Elder, Conte, Benton and Sheehan as our four leads. David Elder (I couldn’t stop thinking of Ken Berry circa early 1960’s) and Jeremy Benton are like peanut butter and jelly and highly believable as two -long-time best buds. At the same time, Conte and Sheehan are fun to watch together, but when the four are together, it’s like dynamite. They can dance, they can sing and they inject the perfect amount of comedy into each role. Though just about every song and dance number is a highlight, Conte’s “Love, You Didn’t Do Right by Me” is sizzling while Luft’s “Let Me Sing and I’m Happy” is highly enjoyable and showcases her adept singing talent. The enjoyable, high quality musical numbers are endless as favorites “Blue Skies,” “How Deep is the Ocean” and, of course, “White Christmas are performed to perfection. Randy Skinner’s choreography is tough to beat, each routine as impressive as the last, especially the big tap dance numbers.

Produced by Work Light Productions, the creative team is unstoppable with scenic design by Anna Louizos, scenic adaptation by Kenneth Foy, lighting design by Ken Billington and sound design by Keith Caggiano. This production is full of surprises up until its very last scene and is a tremendous ode to the 1954 classic film that starred Danny Kaye, Bing Crosby, Vera-Ellen and Rosemary Clooney.

Highly recommended as the perfect pre-Christmas celebration.

At Cadillac Palace through December 15th. For more show information, visit www.BroadwayinChicago.com.

As Chicago stages turn to Dickens and Tchaikovsky, you can find darker but equally fun fare in Trap Door Theatre’s high-flying production, The White Plague. This imaginative, high-energy show brings us the black-gowned denizens of a futuristic nation in the throes of a plague, with rising fascism and an imminent war as backdrop.

The story is drawn from “The White Disease,” Czech author Karel Capek’s 1937 play (it was also a film by Hugo Haas), sometimes characterized as an absurdist work.

What Trap Door does with this the material is rather miraculous – with the ethos of Terry Gilliam’s "Brazil," it conjures an engrossing tale of a leprosy-like flesh-eating plague afflicting those 45 and older. Terms like "Pandemic" and "Peking Virus" are shouted among the populace. "Death follows in three months - mainly from sepsis," intones one expert solemnly, calling it the "Leprosy of Licentiousness." I had to remind myself this is long before AIDs, because public reactions to its spread were strikingly similar. 

The action takes place in a fascist state (Germany?) where Sigelius (Dennis Bisto) has been running a clinic that is treating the well-to-do as the disease spreads. But he treats just their symptoms, salving their pus-filled sores with ointments that mask the putrid smells, while his minions continue research on a real cure in the laboratory. In a nod to Capek’s robots, Sigelius’s aids, First Assistant (David Lovejoy) and Second Assistant (Emily Nicholson) are Cyborg-like automatons who must dock to recharge when emotions overwhelm them.

Then arrives Dr. Galen (Keith Surney), who has developed a real cure, which he is ready to test on a broader basis. Sigelius, fearful of losing this well-heeled clientele to a real cure, allows Dr. Galen to test his life-saving meds only on the indigent patients, housed, as one might expect, in Ward XIII. Dr. Galen also provides a moral center for the play's action, as he has been asking himself why, as a doctor, he treats people only to see them wounded and killed in war. He is angry about the complicity of his medical profession in war efforts in general. "Preaching against war is against our national interest," Sigelius advises him, but Dr. Galen is unconvinced.

The play also brings us a more middle-class family, and we meet Mother (Robin Minkens, above) and Father (Michael Mejia) and their children who have more conventional struggles with the disease. Minkens and Mejia have developed believable characters who are also caricatures. Mejia does double duty as the conflicted and compromised Commissar, who is loathe to leave his high stature post, even though it will help spread the cure. Likewise, Minkens becomes someone else altogether, as the dictator Baron Krug, and resists giving up her office for the same reasons. 

Soon enough we encounter the powerful leather-clad Marshal (Marzena Bukowska), in steampunk choker and flare collar, riding roughshod over the land, readying the nation for war. Bukowska and Bisto deliver inspired performances, as surely Jeff-worthy as anything I have seen this season. Marshal is the military apparatchik of the dictator Baron Krug. Both drive the war machine.

This rendering of The White Plague is liberally adapted from the spirit of Capek’s script, by director Nicole Wiesner, who says presenting a literal translation would be difficult to follow. Unlike Western Europe and North America, “In Eastern Europe, the director is freer to adapt,” Wiesner says. Capek with his brother Josef were known as science fiction authors, and claim fame for originating the word “Robot” in their other play, a 1920 work called R.U.R. (Rossum’s Universal Robots).

Such works, along with a focus on other European scripts, are the métier of Trap Door – which is celebrated for its wide-ranging dramaturgy (credit to Milan Ribisic for this show). The scene design, Plexiglas and voile partitions by J.Michael Griggs, is intentionally minimalist, but director Wiesner amps up the show by keeping actors on stage throughout (80 minutes, no intermission). Each character periodically retreats behind these see-through partitions, and becomes part of the set, creating a mosaic, miming and mugging in their multiple character roles. Also notable - the sound design by Danny Rockett, who rehearsed assiduously with the cast to achieve precision timing to match blocking and scene changes. Rockett's sound score is on par with the best. 

The character’s on stage are individual personalities, but some like Sigelius and Dr. Galen represent archetypes. These two joust with each other not just verbally, but in psychic power struggles where each bests the other in telekinetic trials much like Dr. Strange - a theatrical expression of role-play type board games.

Highly recommended, The White Plague runs through January 11 at Trap Door Theatre, 1655 W. Cortland in Chicago.

A non-traditional story about Christmas might just be becoming a tradition at Goodman Theatre. No. I’m not talking about Goodman’s masterpiece production of ‘A Christmas Carol’. For its second year in a row comes David Sedaris’ satirical, hysterical AND anything but conventional (see what I did there?) story of a thirty-something’s plight into becoming a Macy’s Christmas elf in ‘The Santaland Diaries.’

Directed by Steve Scott, ‘The Santaland Diaries’ is a fantastically told story that walks us through the holidays when a man, who never realized he needs skills to be marketable in the workplace, searches for a job and stumbles across an ad searching for elves for Macy’s. He scoffs at the ridiculousness of the ad, but then applies – and guess what? He gets the job! Great.

We are then walked through the painfully real, yet very funny, transition of a young man’s journey into elf-dom, as we are told detail by humorous detail everything from elf training to all the silly events that lead up to the big day – Christmas Eve. Each elf can choose their own name – ours chooses ‘Crumpet’. Crumpet likes his smoke breaks.

Steven Strafford excels as Crumpet. Always one of my favorite actors to watch perform, Stafford is wisely cast and delivers an engaging 70-minute one-man show that doesn’t slow down for a moment. His story telling is fascinating, his comic timing executed to perfection and, well, he’s just Crumpet. Strafford was last seen at Goodman in ‘Wonderful Town,’ but has also entertained audiences with his performances at Drury Lane Theatre, First Folio, Marriott Theatre and many more including regional tours and even a European tour of Grease. Though most remembered for his comedic roles, I’ll never forget his dynamic performance in the one-man show ‘Jesus the Jew as Told by His Brother James at Greenhouse Theater Center.

‘The Santaland Diaries’ was a breakout piece for David Sedaris who first read the essay on the National Public Radio’s ‘Morning Edition’ in 1992. In 1996 Joe Mantello adapted the story for the stage where it debuted at The Atlantic Theater Company in New York with actor Timothy Oliphant taking on the role of Crumpet. Since, Sedaris has been on quite the role as a writer/storyteller (Theft by Finding, Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls, Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk, Barrel Fever) and ‘The Santaland Diaries’ has popped up regularly during the holiday season in theatres all over the nation.

Steven Strafford’s performance is airtight and the colorful Macy’s Santaland set is the perfect backdrop for this very fun holiday story.

Highly recommended.

‘The Santaland Diaries’ is being performed at Goodman’s Owen Theatre through December 29th. For tickets and/or more show information visit www.goodmantheatre.org.

For the fifth year in the row, the beautiful Lincoln Park Conservatory has become temporary home to Midsommer Flight’s annual production of Shakespeare comedy ‘Twelfth Night’. Admittedly, this was the main draw for me, as I love visiting the tantalizingly lush greenhouse space during Chicago’s colder months/ most of the year.  To accommodate the show, one of the Conservatory room has been turned into an intimate theatre with a catwalk-like narrow stage and two rows of chairs on either side.  Directed by Dylan S. Roberts, original music by Elizabeth Rentfro, Alex Mauney and Jordan Golding, this highly spirited and energetic play turned out to be a pure delight, amid green plants and ferns, notwithstanding Shakespeare’s witty dialogue.

Love is in the air, and mischief closely follows. A young woman, Viola (wonderfully played by Jackie Seijo), after being shipwrecked and stranded in a foreign land, poses as a man, becomes a servant to a nobleman, but then promptly falls in love with her master, Duke.  Duke’s heart, however, belongs to another – a wealthy woman Olivia, whose servant Malvolio (sassy Erika B. Caldwell, she’s so fun to watch!) gets pranked by his mistress’ household into believing that he, too, can merry into wealth and become a nobleman. Historically, there’s an old Christmas English tradition of role reversal, and it is believed that Shakespeare has written Twelfth Night as an entertainment for this tradition.

All of this role and gender reversal is a source of much confusion, and the actors masterfully act out every nuance and emotion, so, even with Shakespeare’s famously challenging dialogue, the show is highly entertaining and easy to follow. And speaking of dialogue, the actors have no trouble at all with that olden English (partial credit undoubtedly goes to text coach Amy Malcom). There’s a live band that’s part of the play, as musicians are also active participants. With all of that music, knife fighting, and dancing and prancing, it’s an occasional madhouse, but a really-really fun one.  

Highly recommended!

The usual holiday tales that bring us together around the winter season fill us with joy but there has also been a not-so-usual tradition in Chicago that brings a titillating thrill to the holiday season! Who needs the Nutcracker Ballet, when you can have the Buttcracker Burlesque (#buttstuff)! The fantastical holiday show gives a sexy and alternative spin to the traditional Nutcracker tale and you can catch it at at The Den Theater for 4 showings in December (the 5th, 12th, 19th and 26th.)

Join Clara at her holiday party and delight in the wild trip she takes to the Land of Sweets. Enjoy the treats of this partial parody and variety show- as Clara battles the rats, and experiences the thrills of burlesque/boylesque, ballet, body positivity, and circus acts. ‘The Buttcracker is wonderfully directed by Leah Urzendowski and choreographed by Jenn Freeman/Po’ Chop.

Each show will have a new cast of featured dancers and acts, nodding to the traditions of vaudeville, cabaret, and burlesque.

December 5th's introductory show of the season delighted Clara with the following sweet treats as her reward for victory over the Rat King. Vodka (Rockabilly Ronnie), Tea (Brad French - a juggler with brilliant comedic timing), Coffee (Lolita Love- a lady who can work a cape/crepe dress), Chocolate (Sio Bast a stunner with feather fans) and Mother Ginger (Angelica Grace an unbelievable high kicking, high energy dancer). The show is supported by a great ensemble cast - Clara (Nikki Hartung), The Buttcracker (Scarlett Begonias), Drosselmeyer (Miguel Long), Boss/Rat King (Molly Gloeckner), The Sugar Plum Fairy (Mocha Mocha) and the Ensemble dancers (Michael Ashford, Harlie Honeypot, Nicole Amber, and Olivia Cucco.) ‘The Buttcracker’ is hour and a half of exciting costumes, solo performances and group dances with fun that just keeps on going.

Bring your friends and, if you like, bring most of the family! Have dinner and drinks in the Haven Lounge before the show. Bring your drinks into the theater from the bar, refill them during the show. With a variety of seating options: GA $25 (to stand) and $30 (to sit) and VIP tickets available at $55 (which offers early entrance, table seating, cast meet and greet, swag and entrance to Clara’s Late Night Holiday Party), this show accommodates every which way to enjoy theatre. All ticket holders can also stay for Clara’s After Party! For an additional $15 theater goers are treated to another hour of more intimate, scintillating performances beginning at 10:30 after the show.

‘The Buttcracker: A Nutcracker Burlesque’ should be your new holiday tradition. Go to one show or go to all of them for unique holiday memories you will never forget! Each show will be a new gift and different performers to unwrap!

Happy Ho-ho-ho-holidays!