Displaying items by tag: Kevin Webb

I’ll admit it: I knew little about “Into the Woods” before seeing the new production at Chicago’s Chopin Theatre. I’m not particularly fond of the composer, Stephen Sondheim. I’d bailed early watching the 2014 film with Meryl Streep. So I challenged myself to find out why it is so popular. And now I know: it’s really good.

At a venue like Chopin Theatre, in the intimate downstairs theater, you’ll have a chance to appreciate the dark humor of the book by James Lapine, and music and lyrics by Sondheim. No doubt you will come away as I did, experiencing the power mined from a most creative mash-up of four familiar fairy tales, and very much liking its dark, funny humor. 

Lapine and Sondheim tap four classic fairy tales—Rapunzel, Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk, and Cinderella—building a cast of characters that for the first time meet each other. And we discover on stage they have a lot in common. 

Among the cast are two princes, Shea Hopkins as Cinderella’s Prince and Jonathan Allsop as Rapunzel’s Prince, who bond in their shared quests. Princessy figures Cinderella (Madison Kauffman) and Rapunzel (Ismael Garcia) share the spotlight. And then there are the younger innocent players, Little Red (aka Riding Hood, Anna Selbert) and Jack (Kevin Parra) of Beanstalk fame. Both get into trouble for not following their mothers’ orders.

And of course we see those mean-spirited characters, The Witch (Stephanie Stockstill) who entrapped Rapunzel in that stairless tower and Cinderella’s Stepmother (Emily Goldberg)—though these two don’t really connect. 

Bits of the classic stories are recounted, but “Into the Woods” faces us squarely with the shadowy parts. Yes Rapunzel let down her long hair for that prince and they fell in love. But there is more in Grimm’s Fairy Tales (I reread them all after seeing the show): The Witch cuts off Rapunzel’s hair, banishes her to wander a wasteland, and tricks the Prince into climbing up. He falls into a thornbush and pierces his eyes. Another element I hadn’t recalled until my rereading of Rapunzel: a couple aiming to have a child are the origins of the long-haired beauty’s predicament. (This couple seems to be drawn from the original tale, in which the husband surrenders Rapunzel to compensate The Witch for his theft from her garden.) In the play, that husband becomes The Baker (Kevin Webb) who with The Baker's Wife (Sonia Goldberg) goes on a quest in order to have a child. 

Sondheim and Lapine take these stories into uncharted territory in Act 2 as the characters suffer retributions unleashed for their selfish acts. As originally told, after Jack sells a cow for those magic beans, he climbs into the Giant’s lair and robs him, then kills the Giant as he pursues him down the beanstalk. The play adds a riff to that tale: the Giant’s widow (Honey West) chases Jack and wreaks havoc in the kingdom in her pursuit of justice. 

The stories are woven together into a cohesive whole guided by Narrator, played so remarkably well by August Forman, who doubles as Mysterious Man. It is the strength of Forman’s performance that makes the many moving parts fit together; they are onstage continuously and tirelessly. It’s truly remarkable to behold. 

Kokandy Productions’ show, directed and tightly choreographed by Derek Van Barham, meets the demands of this funny and inventive book by Lapine, with music and lyrics by Sondheim. Entrances and action are timed with exacting precision. 

A pair of grand pianos are center stage, with keyboardists Ariana Miles and Evelyn Ryan replacing full orchestration, and fully integrated to the action around them. Kudos to these two for their exemplary artistry. 

What’s not to like in “Into the Woods”? Just one thing: that Wolf? His ears are way too round and small. 

At its 1986 Broadway debut, “Into the Woods” was seen by many as an allegory for the havoc wreaked by the early AIDS crisis. It’s easy to see why during Act 2. Sondheim has demurred from that interpretation, and now nearly 50 years later, there is nothing explicitly alluding to AIDS. Our contemporary climate crisis fits aptly into interpretations of the play now. And that is a tribute to the work’s timeless character, and longstanding appeal.

“Into the Woods” runs through December 22, 2024 at The Chopin Theatre in Chicago. 

Amour, playing at the Atheneaum, is a jewel box of a show. This lighthearted musical (technically a comic opera) is profoundly entertaining, without needing to be profound. It is just plain fun.

With nearly no spoken dialog, the nine cast members sing their hearts out for 90 minutes. The music, lively and varied, stays fresh – and the libretto is sharp and humorous. These are all very talented, natural singers, who are well balanced and, with no electronic assist, sing dialog clearly, ever with an ear to a backstage orchestra – though small it is excellent. 

On key and in seemingly effortless harmony, the cast waltzes through a dozen different musical styles that hearken to the play’s roots. It was Tony nominated on Broadway in 2002, adapted from a 1997 Paris production. Numbers run the gamut from cabaret to jazzy Manhattan Transfer, grand opera, and everything in between.

The story line is delightfully simple: an office worker in dreary post-war Paris discovers he can walk through walls, turning his humdrum life into an adventure. Brian Fimoff as Dusoleil brings that Everyman quality to his role. 

Much credit must be given to Black Button Eyes Production for retrieving this treasure from the script vault. Their mission is to bring Chicago seldom-seen works containing elements of fantasy, in which magical and surreal invade reality. Mission accomplished.

Standouts include Missy Wise (as Claire/Whore), with a big voice and plenty of sass. Kevin Webb plays a Gendarme but his performance as a Nazi-like Boss in jodhpurs and riding crop is over the top funny. A real standout is Scott Gryder in three key roles: he is all Newsies as a newspaper vendor; very funny as frightened advocate; but he could give Paul Lynde a run for the money as office clerk Bertrand. 

And then there is THE VOICE: in this show, it's Emily Goldberg (playing Isabelle). Goldberg has it all: trained, expressive, and Broadway beautiful. (Goldberg, playing musical theater al around town, is certainly Broadway bound, so catch her locally while you can.) Fimoff pairs nicely with Goldberg in their duets, but he cannot match the rest of the troupe's volume when he is not belting.  

The Amour production itself is a tribute to what can be conjured up with minimalist but imaginative props and sets. It also is a testament to the audience's ability not just to suspend disbelief, but to join in the fantasy. 

Amour debuted in Paris in 1997, and its original libretto was adapted for Broadway in 2002 by Jeremy Sams. Music is by Michel Legrand, and the French libretto is by Didier Van Cauwelaert here in a witty English adaptation by Jeremy Sams. 

Amour, highly recommended, runs through October 8 at The Athenaeum Theatre. 

Pinterest fails are an internet sensation, with recognizable side by side pictures illustrating the difference between expectations and reality for the everyday crafter, baker, photographer, etc. It seems that no matter how many of these memes we see, it is still commonplace to set high expectations which risk being let down.

“WOZ: A Rock Cabaret” was unfortunately a case of missed expectations. The concept is a cabaret show which tells the familiar story of The Wizard of Oz through the iconic music of the 80’s and 90’s, including hits from Whitesnake, Blondie, Foreigner, Queen and Michael Jackson. Sounds awesome, right!? While the show had its moments and some strong singers, the reality was a production that felt flat, with big moments that lost their steam and performances that lacked the luster and pizzazz expected from a cabaret.

One of the main issues with the show was the venue. Performed on stage at Victory Gardens Theater, this cabaret style show felt out of place. The performers attempted to interact with the audience but it required them to come down off the stage where they easily got lost in this stadium style seating. Had this been set in a truer cabaret setting, where the audience could sit at tables enjoying their cocktails, it could have allowed the performance to work the space both on the stage and on the floor and perhaps made the show more engaging.

The creativity behind the song selection was awesome and very often the start of a new song brought smiles, laughs and a palpable energy to the audience. As the performers sang the full songs however, it often felt like things started to drag and there was not enough happening to hold attention through to the end of the song.

The performers themselves were mostly strong overall. The standouts of the show were the journeying buddies of the Scarecrow (Kevin Webb), the Tinman (James Nedrud) and the Cowardly Lion (Edward Fraim). All three brought different unique but powerful voices to their songs and added some great humor to the show. Heather Currie was a powerhouse and had an odd but quite funny style in how she played the Wicked Witch. The performances of Clara D’Onofrio and Kimberly Lawson, as Glinda and Dorothy respectively, left something to be desired. Both have strong voices but tend more toward the musical theater style which did not always vibe with the other performers. Andre De Shields was the special guest star of the show, bringing star power to the role of the Wizard and he certainly stole the show with his numbers.

While there are some high moments and tons of creativity that clearly went into this show, the performance lacks the excitement that could have turned this somewhat lackluster show into an all-out engaging and exciting cabaret performance.

With only 5 performances, the run of this show is already nearing completion but this was its second run in Chicago, so if you really wish you could have seen it, try clicking your heels three times and say to yourself “there’s no place like WOZ” – maybe it will be back someday, bigger and better.