Home

Displaying items by tag: Max Clayton

Saturday, 23 August 2014 19:00

A Great Way to Spend a Night "On the Town"

"On the Town" with music by Leonard Bernstein; book and lyrics by Tony-winning writing partners Betty Comden and Adolph Green is about to be staged on Broadway but the Marriott Lincolnshire has beat Broadway to the punch with this thoroughly entertaining and beautifully staged rendition which has never before been staged in Chicago.

Three young sailors arrive in New York City with just one night, 24 hours to have fun and find love hopefully in the arms of one young lady named "Miss Turnstiles" for the month of June. "On the Town" really captures the frantic energy of youth and love, when every hour of your life, indeed every minute counts desperately to you as life calls you to return to work, or other duties forcing you to leave your hopes and dreams behind. 

The two young leads, Max Clayton & Alison Jantzie are both very, very talented young dancers and singers.  Alison Jantzie is lovely and is absolutely delightful in her role as "Miss Turnstiles" a struggling actress who is bullied into burlesque dancing as a way to stay afloat in the big city.

Marya Grandy and Johanna McKenzie Miller were perfectly cast as the other two female leads. Grandy and Miller are both mature actresses with great voices and superb comic timing which held the whole show together and gave it real belly laughs and heart as well.

Alex Sanchez’s choreography and director David H. Bell use the intimate space at Marriott Theatre to their full advantage filling the stage with 22 dancers and some of the most exciting and even classically erotic ballet and modern dance numbers I have seen in a long time. 

Nancy Missimi’s period costumes are so much fun to watch on the dancers. I absolutely love this period of fashion especially for the women Thomas M. Ryan’s brightly light New York City  set caught my eye even before I entered the theatre and utilizes a turntable effect to show cabs driving through the city and other action in a fun and exciting way visually.

I highly recommend seeing "On the Town" while it is here in Chicago. "On the Town” is a funny, and romantic way to end the summer and remind yourself that life goes by fast, you have to get out "On the Town" once in a while to really celebrate it!

“On the Town” is playing at Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire through October 12th. For tickets and/or more information, visit www.marriotttheatre.com.

Published in Theatre in Review

Porchlight Shares Dates and Parks for its Free, Summer Concert Series: BROADWAY IN YOUR BACKYARD, June 6 - August 6

13 May 2024 in Upcoming Theatre

Porchlight Music Theatre is proud to announce the return of its free summer concert series Broadway in your Backyard, now in its…

Dance and Sing to the Beat of Life with ‘Last Stop on Market Street’

13 May 2024 in Theatre in Review

Despite the fact that I have never read the Newberry Award-Winning children’s book called Last Stop on Market Street, I…

Review: The Thanksgiving Play at Steppenwolf Theatre

10 May 2024 in Theatre in Review

“Together we created this nothingness,” says Audrey Francis in Steppenwolf’s production of Larissa Fasthorse’s ‘The Thanksgiving Play’. Hot off its…

Bramble Theatre Company presents Festival of Unfinished Work June 26 - June 30

10 May 2024 in Upcoming Theatre

Bramble Theatre Company, is proud to announce the third annual Festival of Unfinished Work at the new Bramble Arts Loft located on the second…

HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD coming to James M. Nederlander this Fall

10 May 2024 in Upcoming Theatre

Broadway In Chicago is excited to announce that individual tickets for the world premiere of the first ever touring production…

Chicago Shakespeare Theater presents The Enigmatist

09 May 2024 in Upcoming Theatre

Chicago Shakespeare Theater presents The Enigmatist, an immersive and captivating experience of illusions, puzzles, and cryptology, written and performed by renowned magician…

Steep Theatre Announces Two New Shows for '24

09 May 2024 in Upcoming Theatre

Steep Theatre will be back on stage in 2024 with two new productions that continue the company's tradition of bringing…

"Boy Genius" Orson Welles meets "War of the Worlds" author H.G. Wells in world premiere WELLS AND WELLES, based on true events

09 May 2024 in Upcoming Theatre

In 1940, the 25-year-old Orson Welles, previously known as a stage and radio actor, had achieved widespread fame for his…

1619: THE JOURNEY OF A PEOPLE to commemorate the arrival in America of the first African slaves and examine the peoples' progress since then

07 May 2024 in Theatre in Review

Fleetwood-Jourdain Theatre's 2024 season of four productions will open with the original musical 1619: THE JOURNEY OF A PEOPLE by Chicago writer…

One Fine Show: Beautiful The Carole King Musical dazzles Paramount Theatre

04 May 2024 in Theatre Reviews

Growing up our radio dial was tuned to one channel, K-Earth 101. In Southern California that station was the oldies,…

'Judgment Day' a Top-drawer Production That Will Leave You Laughing, and Maybe Changed for the Better

03 May 2024 in Theatre in Review

Crowds will flock to see “Judgment Day,” having its world premiere at Chicago Shakespeare Theater on Navy Pier. While many…

Panther In the Sky – “A Moving Tapestry of Grief and Hope"

02 May 2024 in Dance in Review

In "Panther in the Sky," playwright Lani T. Montreal masterfully weaves a tapestry of grief, resilience, and redemption through the…

IDENTITY PERFORMING ARTS PRESENTS FIRST INTL COLLAB May 17 &18 “Lights/9”

02 May 2024 in Upcoming Dance

A collaboration of Chicago dance and Germany lighting sculpture live on stage About the Program: This program, set within an…

PRE-BROADWAY WORLD PREMIERE OF DEATH BECOMES HER, 25TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR OF MAMMA MIA!, AND THE SIMON & GARFUNKEL STORY START TODAY!

01 May 2024 in Upcoming Theatre

Broadway In Chicago is excited to announce the pre-Broadway World Premiere of DEATH BECOMES HER is now playing at the Cadillac Palace Theatre…

Blue in the Right Way's 'Women Beware Women' at The Edge Innovative… radical… courageous… confusing

01 May 2024 in Theatre in Review

Blue in the Right Way audaciously chose for their inaugural production a 400-year-old play, WOMEN BEWARE WOMEN, written in 1621…

Red Theater's 'Hamlet' at The Edge Off Broadway - Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are… hilarious!

28 April 2024 in Theatre in Review

I think my favorite thing – well, one of my favorite things – about Wyatt Kent’s take on HAMLET is…

Review: Joffrey Ballet's 'Midsummer Night’s Dream' at Lyric Opera House

26 April 2024 in Dance in Review

Frolicking season is upon us once again and Joffrey Ballet welcomes summer with the return of Alexander Ekman’s “Midsummer Night’s…

Eerie, Human Mystery In Captivating ‘Jump’ by Shattered Globe Theatre

26 April 2024 in Theatre in Review

As the audience takes its seats we are greeted by an atmosphere of foreboding, a trestle bridge girder to the…

Review: Joe Turner's Come and Gone at Goodman Theatre

25 April 2024 in Theatre in Review

Director Chuck Smith returns to Goodman with another major August Wilson revival–“Joe Turner’s Come and Gone”. This is the second…

THE GIFT THEATRE COMPANY ANNOUNCES 2024-25 SEASON

25 April 2024 in Upcoming Theatre

The Gift Theatre is pleased to announce its 2024-25 season featuring Suzan-Lori Parks' masterpiece Topdog/Underdog directed by Shanésia Davis and the world premiere of Cygnus by Susan Soon He…

HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD TO PLAY BROADWAY IN CHICAGO'S JAMES M. NEDERLANDER THEATRE SEPTEMBER 10, 2024 – FEBRUARY 1, 2025

25 April 2024 in Upcoming Theatre

Broadway In Chicago is excited to announce that individual tickets for the world premiere of the first ever touring production…

Cast and production team announced for BrightSide Theatre production of JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR, June 7-23

25 April 2024 in Upcoming Theatre

Full cast and crew have been announced for BrightSide Theatre's upcoming production of JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR, the rock opera that…

Chicago Opera Theater presents Chicago leg of the world premiere tour of Jake Heggie and Gene Scheer’s newest opera Before It All Goes Dark May 25 & 26 at the Studebaker Theater

23 April 2024 in Upcoming Theatre

Chicago Opera Theater (COT), Chicago’s foremost producer of new and reimagined opera, closes its 50th Anniversary season presenting the final performances of…

Fleetwood-Jourdain Theatre announces 2024 season - celebrates local artists and two of the most significant Black female writers of the past 50 years

23 April 2024 in Upcoming Theatre

Tim Rhoze, Artistic Director of Fleetwood-Jourdain Theatre, has announced the company's 2024 season of four productions. The season will open with…

Comedy & magic collide in RIDICULOUS! with David Williamson, May 16-June 30 at Rhapsody Theater

23 April 2024 in Theatre in Review

David Williamson, regarded as one of the top magicians in the world today, makes his Rhapsody Theater debut with Ridiculous! Known for his tours…

THE 35th ANNUAL RHINOCEROS THEATER FESTIVAL RETURNS MAY 25 – JUNE 30 AT SIX CHICAGO VENUES

23 April 2024 in Upcoming Theatre

Curious Theatre Branch is pleased to announce the 35th annual Rhinoceros Theater Festival, May 25 - June 30 at six venues across Chicago. The…

Oh Baby, Baby: BABY the Musical at Citadel Theatre

22 April 2024 in Theatre Reviews

It’s often said that in the workplace you should refrain from talking about politics and religion; too personal, too easy…

Ballet 5:8's 'Lost Women of Juárez' in a word - evocative!

22 April 2024 in Dance in Review

BALLET 5:8 is a female - and minority-led ballet company resident at Harris Theatre in Millenium Park. Under the leadership…

Northlight Theatre’s BROOKLYN LAUNDRY Highlights Solid Acting and Thought-Provoking Script

21 April 2024 in Theatre in Review

When life’s chaos is full of impossible choices, how are we possibly meant to move forward? Brooklyn Laundry is about…

Babes with Blades triumph over time and space in THE S PARADOX!

20 April 2024 in Theatre in Review

I would absolutely bomb out of jury selection cos I have a very definite bias: I’ve been a fan(atic) of…

 

 

         17 Years and counting!

Register

     

Latest Articles

Guests Online

We have 264 guests and no members online

Buzz Chicago on Facebook Buzz Chicago on Twitter 

Does your theatre company want to connect with Buzz Center Stage or would you like to reach out and say "hello"? Message us through facebook or shoot us an email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

*This disclaimer informs readers that the views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and not necessarily to Buzz Center Stage. Buzz Center Stage is a non-profit, volunteer-based platform that enables, and encourages, staff members to post their own honest thoughts on a particular production.