Items filtered by date: June 2026

Despite being both a writer and a fanboy of books aimed at readers much younger than I’ve been for what seems like millennia, I never got around to Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson & the Olympians series. Maybe I thought it was a knockoff of the, at the time, immensely popular Harry Potter books. Or maybe I’d had enough of Greek mythology from my own junior high days.

Either way, I came into the Oriental Theatre to see the touring production of The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical with no advanced knowledge, no preconceptions, and no great expectations. But then a thunderbolt hit, the show began, and I ended up very pleasantly surprised by the cast of gods, demi-gods, and enthusiastic actors and musicians who took the stage.

As luck would have it, the titular character’s played by Chris McCarrell, a Broadway vet who actually originated this very role Off-Broadway. So from start to finish, the production’s in good hands, as McCarrell is youthful, confident, and has a Hades of a voice. My date for the evening — my six-year-old daughter, only slightly younger than the audience’s average age, I’d wager — whispered to me after one of Percy’s songs, “Daddy, I think I love that boy who’s singing.” Judging by the applause and squeals, much of the crowd agreed with her.

The cast for this show is a small one, with most members playing multiple parts, and playing them well. Jorrel Javier features as both a trusty young sidekick and crotchety old god of the vine who’s traded in drunkenness, debauchery, and drama to be a camp counselor. Kristin Stokes’ voice filled the theater whenever her Annabeth (type-A daughter of Athena) sang. Like Stokes and McCarrell, James Hayden Rodriguez has been part of this show for a long time, and his experience showed as he played both an adolescent counselor and an ancient deity with charisma and charm.

But the two cast members who had me applauding and near squeals were Ryan Knowles and Jalynn Steele. Knowles is first seen as a stuffy, wheelchair-bound teacher of the classics, but quickly proves his verve and versatility, playing a centaur and a beach bum among many others. But his best moment was as a snaky, strutting, devilish diva of yore. Steele then one-ups Knowles’ diva with her own, bringing the house down to an underworld full of shimmy, shake, and some shoutouts to long-dead musical heroes that the audience’s older members recognized.

And that brings me to the thing about The Lightning Thief that stood out the most to me. While there were bits here and there meant to appease the oldsters — pop-culture references, old-school mugging — this production felt young. It could’ve been the thrown-together (I mean that in a good way) but thoughtful set and costumes designed by Lee Savage and Sydney Maresca. Or it could’ve been the clubby lighting by David Lander. All of those things were fresh.

But I think what made The Lightning Thief seem so new and fresh to me is that it is new and fresh. It’s got the feel of the kids these days (again, meant in a good way). It’s not trying to be cool. It just is cool. It’s not trying to shoehorn ancient stuff like gods and monsters into today’s world. It just does so. I found it fun and inspiring and I’ve gotta say, it proved to be the gateway drug that’ll find my daughter and me checking out the book series on which the stage show is based.

La Ruta accomplishes an impossible feat: drawing a luminous theater experience from a horrific factual account. This premier at the Steppenwolf tells the tale of the scores of young women who have been kidnapped and murdered near Juarez over several decades.

And yet, it is an uplifting and inspiring show. Playwright Isaac Gomez approaches the story by relating the emotional toll these murders have taken on the mothers and families of these young women, who board la ruta, the bus line to the U.S.-owned maquiladoras border factories. Some of these women never return.

It is a startling achievement that Gomez and director Sandra Marquez can present this tale in an entrancing manner, through song and stagecraft, drawing us close so that we will not flee from hearing of an atrocity that, even as it continues, is in danger of being forgotten.

Since 1993 hundreds of grisly murders have taken place of young Mexican women working near Juarez. Peculiar patterns have emerged in these murders, known as feminicidos, and which are monitored by Amnesty International and other groups: slender young women are kidnapped, sexually violated, tortured, then abandoned in the desert or in garbage dumps. These murders have scandalized the world.

La Ruta relates some of this, and depicts the social and emotional toll it is taking in Juarez, in the province of Chihuaha from which many of the women originate, and throughout Mexico. But Gomez and director Marquez adeptly mix music, comedic and tender emotional moments, and political drama, against the gut-wrenching backdrop of this acrid history.

La Ruta opens on what appears to be a lovely evening streetscape, and we hear the transcendentally beautiful voice of Desamaya (Laura Crotte). She is singing an enchanting ancient Mexican fable of La Bruja – The Witch – who as legend holds it steals little children and sucks out their souls – foreshadowing the drama to come. On a closer look we see a dead tree, and not moonlight, but the vapid glare of a streetlamp.

The next morning a mother sees her daughter to the stop for La Ruta, and she will head to the garment factory. Once there, a music plays a central role on the factory floor. The workers scan the dial for pop songs to support their repetitive work, in one scene settling on Son Del Obrero – an upbeat tune perfectly synchronized to the choreographed movements of the women at their sewing machines, singing along as they push work through. We witness the aspirations of the young women hoping for better life through the factory floor.

Gomez also gives us endearing scenes – a young newbie worker Brenda (Cher Alvarez) is shown the ropes by Ivonne (Karen Rodriguez). And later, Ivonne coaches Brenda on how to talk to boys – a delightful scene.

Charin Alvarez is at the top of her game as Marisela, a grieving mother turned political activist who leads others to march to the state capital. She has channeled her grief into action.

And in one of the most poignant scenes in this or any play, Marisela coaxes another mother to join her on the march to Chihuaha. But that mother cannot come, because doing so would mean describing her daughter as being among the dead. She is not ready to acknowledge her daughter is permanently missing. Because her body has not been found, this mother clings to the hope she is alive. Marisela does not push her beyond what she can accept. It is hard not to be moved. 

As the play concludes, the audience rises as one for an ovation. It is well deserved. La Ruta is highly recommended, and runs through January 27 at Steppenwolf Theatre.

The above phrase has become a regular one spoken in my home and in the homes of friends in the village of Skokie, first as an inside joke and now as a communal mantra. A mantra of togetherness. A mantra of character. A mantra of love.

That same mantra kept playing in my mind as the Bartlett Sher-directed touring production of Bock and Harnick’s timeless Fiddler on the Roof created a village on the stage of the Cadillac Palace Theatre. Sure, the sets carried us back to turn of the century Eastern Europe. And sure, those beloved songs and that well-known story transport us to the village of Anatekva. But it’s the people who populate that shtetl — and the talented actors of this production who portray them — that bring the village to life.

From the get-go, the face and voice of the village is Yehezkel Lazarov’s Tevye. An Israeli actor and director, Lazarov brings a similar old-world grit and charm to the character that Topol did in the film version. He’s funny and personable, sure, but also tired and wistful and, perhaps, a bit broken as he lays out his life to his audience and his G-d. My favorite number from Fiddler, and the one I most connect with as a father and as someone in a profession that isn’t as profitable as those held by my peers, is “If I Were a Rich Man,” and Lazarov nails it, hitting the humorous notes and the cantorial ones, as well. But beyond his skill at singing and dancing on a Broadway stage, it’s Lazarov’s ability to flesh out Tevye and bring him to life that did it for me.

Tevye’s daughters, played by Mel Weyn (Tzeitel), Ruthy Froch (Hodel), and Natalie Powers (Chava), are the other standouts. Again, as the father and mother of daughters, my wife and I were all too familiar with the complex mix of side-eye glances, huffiness, and adoration that Tevye’s girls show him. Weyn, Froch, and Powers nail it when it comes to portraying a family. And they nail it, too, musically. Particularly when the trio takes on “Matchmaker, Matchmaker,” their voices blend and their harmonies soar as if they actually are siblings singing together.

The other main roles are adequately filled, as well. Carol Beaugard, as said matchmaker Yente, is a hoot. Maite Uzal effectively plays Tevye’s foil, his acerbic, realistic, and ultimately loving wife, Golde. Jesse Weil, Ryne Nardecchia, and Joshua Logan Alexander all do well as Tevye’s daughters’ suitors.

But it’s the rest of the folks in the cast — the ensemble and the musicians — who really make the village. The bottle dance at the wedding that ends Act I is, for sure, a main highlight. But the village of folks that make up the busyness and beauty behind each of the show’s big numbers is what grabs the eyes and hearts of the audience. Whether it’s the bustling Anatekva of “Tradition,” the drunken Jews and Gentiles who come together if only for a moment in “To Life,” or the specters that haunt “Tevye’s Dream,” the ensemble shines throughout. So, too, does the orchestra, conducted and coordinated by Michael Uselmann and John Mezzio, fill the big shoes that Fiddler’s musical legacy requires. Ionut Cosarca on violin strings us along from the pit, just as and spirited Paul Morland does in his role as the titular Fiddler.

So, to see a new take on a classic this holiday season, and to see a cast of skilled creatives make the village this classic takes, head to the Cadillac Palace Theatre from now until January 6 for Fiddler on the Roof.

The holidays bring many traditions for different people. Some rewatch home alone, some bake cookies, some see Christmas lights, and some watch The Nutcracker with family. To me, it isn’t Christmas until I've seen the ballet at least five times. I've always loved the ballet, especially around the holidays. But tap? When tapped to see Tidings of Tap! I was skeptical. But what could be bad about a holiday dance show?

I never gave much attention to tap. It was the other dance. Sort of like rhythmic gymnastics to Simone biles gymnastics. But I'm a sucker for kitschy holiday shows and one that is family friendly is even better. Tidings of Tap! opened much like The Nutcracker where a young girl, performed by nationally ranked rhythmic gymnast Dasha Merkulov, enters into a mysterious and magical winter wonderland where she meets friends who demonstrate the meaning of the holidays. The tap dancers intricately tapped to familiar holiday carols and tunes, accompanied by a five piece band and live vocals. From winter wonderlands and Christmas to Hanukkah and from Black Friday and New Year's Eve, each number was more charming than the last. The young clara-like girl performed rhythmic gymnastics with grace and beauty. I was surprised by the talent of all the performers. The production was simple yet magical, the choreography intricate yet not overdone. The dancers were expressive and graceful, again nothing what I expected from a tap performance.

Thinking of tap my mind fills with figures like Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire. It's an older dance, one that hasn't kept up with the times. But Tidings of Tap!'s charm and spirit changed this tap-grinch's heart and made her a convert. The whimsical production of two hours and countless numbers offered plenty for the whole family. It was impossible not to smile and it'll be impossible to imagine next holiday season without this in the holiday line up.

Make Tidings of Tap! part of your holiday season next year. It's sure to become a mainstay on the North Shore and a tradition the whole family can enjoy. For more information on Chicago Tap Theater (CTT) visit www.ChicagoTapTheater.com.

Theo Ubique Cabaret Theater has kicked-off the opening of its tailor-built home, with a very good production of The Full Monty – a Broadway musical adapted by Terrence McNally and David Yazbeck from a well-regarded 1997 British film.  The troupe was crammed into the heartland Café and No Exit bar for years before landing at this wonderful space.

Smaller Chicago venues have developed something new in artfully scaling back big Broadway musicals scaled to storefront proportions (for example, this year’s Grand Hotel at Theater Wit). The Full Monty at Theo Ubique is exceptionally fun, partly because of the immersive nature of the new theater.

True to classic cabaret, the performers at Theo Ubique double as servers, waiting on tables and then delivering drinks, even dinner (if per-ordered). The bar is within the theater, and one may watch the show from barstools, around cocktail tables on the floor, or from theater seating on risers up to the back wall. I sat at the bar, a great vantage point for both the band and the stage, and for the bartender (though drinks are served only before after and during intermission.)

That strategy is not only  practical, but it eliminates the fourth wall. The serving aisles double as entryways for actors, who may even deliver lines while sitting next to ticket holders. So, we are in the show, while watching it. So, Five Stars for the theater and its concept. I will definitely do the dinner package when I return.

This version of The Full Monty loses the nuance of the movie, about Yorkshire steelworkers who put on a Chippendales-style strip show to earn bucks to start a new life – aiming to outdo the strippers by taking it all off (“the full Monty”). McNally’s version, set in Buffalo, carries a bit of New York theater world lens which creates characters like the brassy, foul-mouthed piano player Jeanette (though perfectly brought to life by Kate Harris).

The women in these men’s lives are largely supporting characters to their spouses/exes, but when the spotlight hits them, we hear and see real talent: including Molly LeCaptain as Georgie, Dave’s supportive wife; and Anna Dvorchak as Isabel, Jerry’s ex. A standout is young Sean Zielinski as Nathan, Dave’s son, who loans his dad $1,000 to secure the stripping gig.

But the songs by David Yazbek and portraits of these ordinary, gentle American males (they are not Alphas but Betas) - rings largely true especially in the hands of this talented troupe. Matt Frye as Jerry Lukowski is very strong as the mastermind of the scheme for the show. Nick Druzbanski as his best buddy and co-conspirator is great. The men are taught something about stripping by a seriously defined gay professional stripper, Keno (John Cardone).

Another McNally touch is that two of the six males – Malcom (Joe Giovannetti) and Ethan (Neil Stratman) --  come out as a gay couple, but their co-strippers are unfazed. Marc Prince as Horse is without question the best dancer, and brings a vulnerability in his performance as a “big black male” saddled with expectations. As to skin, Horse is the only 10 when it gets down to it, with Malcom and Ethan roughly 7, and the others convincingly ordinary, hairy, married American males.

As for the music, from the first note the seven-piece band led by Jeremy Ramey is polished and pitch perfect – a wonderful footing for the show. And the acting and singing is very good, but it was not so evident opening night due to technical unevenness in the overhead microphone pickups. This resulted in performers being overshadowed by the amplified and mixed instrumentalists. Nevertheless, the acting and singing was really pretty good, and the sound has doubtless been addressed.  

Also noteworthy, the choreography by Sawyer Smith, especially evident in the scene where the men learn to dance by adapting moves by Michael Jordan. That was a truly convincing performance.

Theo Unique Cabaret Theatre is highly recommended. See The Full Monty there through January 27, 2019. www.theo-u.com

It is that time of year again to ring in the daze of the Holiday season with some Cirque Du Soleil Holidaze at the Chicago Theatre (175 N. State St), December 14th -16th. Holidaze is a two-hour spectacular, brightly lit and sparkling holiday themed show that encourages audience members and families of all ages to embrace the joy and color of the season, and enthusiastically support these talented acts.  A combination of Broadway and variety show like no other, featuring sensational performers with countless talents, the show has over 300 imaginative costumes and interactive holiday displays. Cirque du Soleil continues to roll in the holiday season with original music celebrating all the holidays of the season, Christmas, Chanukah, and the New Year. This amazing tour will hit 40 cities and have a range of talents from 5 different casts over its holiday run this year.

As any creative Cirque Du Soleil show, the audience is introduced to an international cast of talented performers from as far as Europe, Ethiopia and Mongolia.  Taking place throughout the production is a collection of air defying aerialists (hoop performers, ribbon dancers), twisted contortionists and talented tumblers (managing 20 flips in a row!), daredevil roller skaters, and magical costume changes, as well as balancing and juggling acts.  It was a surprise that with all this amazing variety, the number of open seats in the theater.

The music and sparkly sensation of each holiday representation lifted the spirits of the children munching on popcorn in the audience, and slowly warmed up the adults in the crowd.  Gingerbread men, penguins, jugglers, the performances of the plethora of circus performers had audience members on the edge of their seats with their high-flying acts and risky tricks. You never knew who would be performing or what amazing talent they would be performing next. 

By the time intermission came around, many of the audience were whooping or whistling their appreciation for the talents of these unbelievable performers, whom of which also smiled brighter and embraced the encouragement of the crowd. Neil Goldberg, director of this holiday extravaganza and Florida native, was one of the first to choreograph circus themed, animal free shows. With such finesse, each song and act transition always had something on the stage that grabbed your attention. Whether it was dancing candy canes, elaborately decorated trees and a cast of interesting holiday characters brought such life throughout the show.

Having attended a Holidaze show in Chicago before, I can say that I was still pleasantly surprised by the variety of acts. Along with the rest of the audience, we were thrilled to the edge of our seats by each amazing new talent and singing along with the songs I knew and loved the original renditions of holiday classics.  Cirque Du Soleil will always give you something you never expect, they will thrill you, and guarantee that it will never watch the same Holidaze show twice.  Melt the Chicago cold, warm your hearts and bring in some sparkly holiday spirit.  This is not a show to be missed!

I’ve gotta admit — as my six-year-old daughter and I entered the Chicago Children’s Theatre’s main stage and took our seats, one of us wasn’t having any of it. One of us, of course, remembered the enchanting play we’d taken in there earlier this year, and could not stop talking about that production and the hopes that this one would be every bit as enchanting. The other one of us griped to himself that the seats were too low, that rabbits are pests and definitely should not be named (Flopsy, Mopsy, Cottontail, or Peter), and that Sunday mornings should not be spent thinking about such things in the first place. And then a bit of magic happened…

That magic came from the Victorian-attired and jauntily British-accented cast of the theatre’s current production, The Beatrix Potter Holiday Tea Party. Welcoming each of the theatergoers, be they little girls in dresses or grumpy dads in baggy-eyed delirium, Lara Carling and Kay Kron began quite the work of transporting us, which is the goal of all good theater, I suppose. They interacted with people, asking them about animals and school and the like. They smiled. They promised that once the play was over, we’d be able to play with whatever things their play would utilize. And then they took the stage, surrounded by closed trunks and cylinders and boxes and backed by Ray Rehberg and his one-man orchestra of stringed instruments and electronic gadgets. And the play began.

In each of the three stories that Carling, Kron, and Rehberg told us (all three based on beloved tales by Victorian magic-maker, Beatrix Potter), said trunks and boxes and cylinders were opened to reveal characters and settings rendered in the style of those beloved Potter books. Mrs. Tittlemouse. Mr. Jackson, the toad. Squirrel Nutkin. Old Brown, the owl. Mr. McGregor. And that rascally rabbit, Peter. Through the use of hand-cranks and props, sound effects and song, each of these well-known characters came to life and their stories kept us all — old and young alike — entranced until the end.

And in the end, after the children rushed the stage to touch and feel the things they had just seen, we were ushered back into the theater’s lobby for hot cocoa and cookies. And, I’ve gotta admit, we enjoyed those Sunday morning treats, the both of us, with smiles on our faces at the wondrous tales we’d just been told.

The Beatrix Potter Holiday Tea Party is being performed at Chicago Children’s Theatre through December 30th. For more show information visit www.chicagochildrenstheatre.org.

In the time I’ve been reviewing theater for this revered publication, I’ve often found myself quietly judging minutiae that’s occurred in productions that coincidentally share personal interests or obsessions of mine. While watching wonderful takes on the Buddy Holly Story or Roger Miller’s Broadway show, Big River, I’ve had to stop myself from critiquing changes made to increase a show’s entertainment and that only offend geeks like me. In a recent example of a show I was not there to review, my wife — as we sat together on a rare date to watch the movie, Bohemian Rhapsody — I was told to stop with comments such as “‘Fat Bottomed Girls’ hadn’t even been written at this point in Queen’s career!”

So, when I entered the Den Theatre to see their holiday musical parody of that Christmas classic, Die Hard, I worried that my personal obsession with said film might color my enjoyment of the show at hand. Thankfully, for you the reader and for the wonderful and enthusiastic cast who are performing Yippee Ki-Yay Merry Christmas from now through January 12, I walked out of opening night with a smile on my face and a spring in my (barefooted and broken-glass-encrusted) step. This show is not only that much fun, but is both enjoyable for the fair-weather fan of the film franchise or those of us who have watched the series’ initial installment (and perhaps some or all of the others) way too many times.

Don’t get me wrong…this is not a careful reenactment of NYPD Detective John McClane’s bloody Christmas Eve high in an LA skyscraper 30 years ago. Instead, it’s an often smart and always smiling holiday sendup of the movie’s most memorable characters, quotes, and moments — all of them done with love, with enthusiasm, and with good humor.

We begin with Bill Gordon as “Bruce McClane” — already barefooted, always sucking down a Marlboro Red, ever reminding us that he’s a hardened New York City cop in California for Christmas and to save his marriage. Gordon’s plays the same gruff everyman that Bruce Willis created in 1988, overplaying it to comic effect. And the same as three decades ago, Caitlyn Cerza’s “Holly Generic” is Bruce’s glass-ceiling-breaking, fax-sending, shoulder-padded-blazer-wearing wife — with her determination to make it in this man’s world no less a point made, even as it makes us chuckle, than it was back then.

The third main character, also defined by the outfit he wears, is Gary Fields’ take on Alan Rickman’s timeless villain, Hans Gruber. The character is renamed here, for the kind of kitschy comic effect that this play’s full of, to poke fun at the overall movie culture of those fondly remembered decades. Fields’ overdone British-doing-German-terrorist accent, his sleek suit (“John Phillips, London,” he reminds us, ad nauseam), and his overall regal ghoulishness not only honor the late Rickman’s genius, but show what fun the original performance was and what an impact it has had on our pop-culture consciousness.

But while the three main characters ground the musical, it’s the rest of the cast (and their songs and shenanigans) that let it take flight. Above, I used the term “enthusiastic” a time or two already. And that’s the word that keeps coming back to me as I remember what I saw on the Den Theatre stage. The cast does show, as so many casts on Chicago stages do, what talent we have in this city of ours. But even more so, the members of this cast show how funny, and how game, our Windy City thespians can be.

I wondered what fun the show might have with Reginald VelJohnson’s Sergeant Al Powell, and I wasn’t disappointed. Terrance Lamonte Jr. plays the character christened “Carl Winslow” (a callout to VelJohnson’s most famous role, and one more bit of pop-culture geekery for the geeks in the crowd), and while he’s fun and funny throughout, it’s a 70s sex jam early on that he sings to a beloved snack cake that brings the house down.

Jenna Steege also steals the show as the movie’s sleezy, mustached cokehead character. Her moment to snort and shine comes with a gospel performance paying tribute to her drug of choice, with powder a-flying, choir a-clapping, tambourines a-clanging and things getting way out of hand in the best way possible.

Nate Curlott as an FBI agent has what could also be the show’s stopper, a boisterous anthem of patriotism, beer, and machismo. And Jin Kim’s Nakatomi landed joke after joke about 80s gamer culture, leaving my gamer brother-in-law who accompanied me nearly on the floor.

But the MVP of this musical is surely Erin Long as tow-headed terrorist siblings, Klaus and Tony. As Klaus, Long is a bundle of constant movement, clever asides, and manic humor. But it’s an early tap-dancing number as Tony where she shows she’s an all-around entertainer.

Again, if you love the movie Die Hard as much as I do, you will love this smart and sassy sendup of it. But if you just want to, in the words of McClane, “Come out to the coast…get together…have a few laughs,” then Yippee Ki-Yay Merry Christmas is also the hilarious holiday play for you. At Den Theatre through January 12, 2019.

What kind of holiday season would it be without ‘The Santaland Diaries’? Old Chicagoans will remember the iconic poster art for the Theatre Building’s production that ran for years at Theatre Wit. This year the gang at Theatre Wit and their usual elf Crumpit played by Mitchell Fain opted not to remount Joe Montello’s adaptation of the David Sedaris essay. Luckily Goodman is filling their Owen space with a new production running alongside ‘A Christmas Carol’.

‘The Santaland Diaries’ has become an NPR holiday classic. Sedaris first read his comedic essay about his short-lived career as a Macy’s elf on NPR in the early 1990s. It was a huge hit and put him on the map. Joe Montello wrote a stage adaptation that has been seen all over the world. Oddly enough Sedaris isn’t a fan.

This new production directed by Steve Scott stars Matt Crowle as a young David Sedaris. For one solid hour we get the inner ravings of a seasonal elf presented in a one-man show rant. Crowle hits all the jokes but there seems to be a raw edge missing from his performance.

Sedaris is known for his caustic wit. In this piece we see him tear Christmas and the whole season apart in a Grinchy monologue. This is a play for anyone who truly loathes the holidays. Though it’s a Christmas play, this is an r-rated play not intended for the whole family. Even with that disclaimer, there are surely those who will balk at some of the more glaringly un-PC moments. And for good reason. Some of the evenings more uncomfortable moments came when jokes lacking a 2018 sensitivity failed to land.

That said, there are plenty of moments that do land. As adults, we’ve all seen the ugly side of Christmas and we’ve all had years where we wonder why we go through with it at all. Sedaris takes those dark moments and spins them into relatable humor. As one theater company passes the baton to another, ‘The Santaland Diaries’ endears as a modern classic for the cynical during this annoyingly cheerful time of year.

Through December 30th at Goodman Theatre. 170 N Dearborn Street. 312-443-3800

Has anyone ever knocked on your door trying to sell you something? Magazines? Cookies? What about religion? No? Me neither. A new Chicago musical-comedy utilizes a familiar character-driven plot line of two Mormon missionaries knocking on doors, only to discover a new friendship, and themselves along the way. It’s not The Book Of Mormon, this is The Book of Merman, the off-Broadway show showing in select cities across the country.

Two missionaries spreading the word about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, they find themselves at the door of Ethel Merman, hilarity ensues in a diva-driven journey featuring original songs by Leo Schwartz. The Book of Merman did not have much substance. There was a familiar story line of a closeted gay Mormon man who secretly loves musical theater who meets one of his idols (and he just happens to have her biography in his backpack next to his bible!). Then there’s something about Ethel Merman (the undisputed first lady of musical theater who died in 1984) is- spoiler - not who she says she is! She’s only pretending to be Ethel Merman. The characters find themselves in each other, complete strangers, and they shimmy and box step their way into no ones hearts while using jazz hands. To top it off, the vocals could hardly make it past the second row of of the 50-person music box theater at Stage 773.

With the The Book of Mormon’s monumental success, it’s easy to see how utilizing a similar character-driven plot could work. But switching out character development for stereotypes and bad vocals does not make a great production. And I have to wonder if religious soliciting is still a thing or if it’s a dying fad. Unfortunately for The Book of Merman, I think it too is a dying fad.

Presented by Flying Elephant Productions, The Book of Merman is playing at Stage 773 through January 6, 2019. Run time: 90 minutes, no intermission. For showtimes and tickets visit https://www.stage773.com/show/merman.