Displaying items by tag: Johanna McKenzie Miller

We are inside the Pompeii Club. From everything Charity has told us, the club is the place to be, and as the scene unfolds, it’s certainly no surprise. Costume Designer Cindy Moon does not hold back. The ensemble is dressed to the nines – full of dresses and jumpsuits that firmly plant us in the 60s. Lighting Designer Ellie Humphrys fills the stage with bright color – helping the costumes pop even more.

Then the song begins. Fans of Sweet Charity may recognize the opening notes of “Rich Man’s Frug” as the ensemble starts to gather and dance the original Bob Fosse choreography. To say Choreographer Lauryn Schmelzer’s work astounds is an understatement. The group of 11 performs the chorography perfectly in sync, eliciting cheers from the audience with every curve of the shoulder, adjustment of the cigarette, or of course, pop of a jazz hand.  

Fans of Sweet Charity will of course recognize the famous score. The talented cast soars with all the favorites including “Big Spender,” “There’s Gotta Be Something Better Than This,” “You Should See Yourself,” and “I Love to Cry at Weddings.” The boppy music is sure to leave you dancing along in your seats. However, that which especially pushes this production over the top is Schmelzer’s choreography that accompanies each of the hits – making each number unique while at the same time giving the proper nod to Fosse’s influence.

Directed by Johanna McKenzie Miller, Sweet Charity follows Charity Hope Valentine (Teah Kiang Mirabelli) – an optimistic dance-hall hostess with dreams of finding true love. The musical kicks off with a comical disaster as the man Charity thinks will be her forever soul mate pushes her into a river, stealing her dowry in the process. However, she does not give up hope, and the story invites us into her world as she commiserates with her friends at the Fandango Ballroom and even meets new potential suitors – such as Vittorio Vidal (Eldon Warner-Soriano) and Oscar Lindquist (Dustin Rothbart).

Miller does not shy away from the camp, making the production full of comedy as Charity runs into obstacle after obstacle on her quest. However, you might just find that the element that truly draws you into the story is the heart at the center. Charity’s never-ending optimism is certainly something to be celebrated and brings light to a story that could go quite dark if she gave into the hardships that keep getting thrown her way.

“If My Friends Could See Me Now” is a prime exampling - taking place mid-way through Act One. Charity has found herself in the bedroom of Vittorio Vidal – a famous movie star. He briefly leaves her alone and she simply cannot help but gush at the turn of her luck. Her friends had told her to give up on her dreams, but here she is proving that if you just keep believing, anything can happen. Mirabelli’s voice astounds, but in addition, she exudes positive energy as she performs the number, creating a stage presence that you just might find is impossible not to love. The end of the song elicited cheers from the audience, making it clear that I was not alone in my sentiments.

Full of camp and with a powerhouse cast, Sweet Charity makes for a night of fun. Whether you are a long-time fan of the show or this is your first time with the material, Blank Theatre’s production carries a little something for everyone.

Sweet Charity runs through June 8 at the Greenhouse Theater Center. See the Blank Theatre Company website for more information on tickets.

RECOMMENDED

*This review is also featured on https://www.theatreinchicago.com/!

I had a blast enjoying this production of ‘Footloose the Musical’ based on the 1984 movie starring Kevin Bacon and so did the opening night audience who roared their approval and stopped the show after the rousing rendition by Ariel played with real sass and excitement  by Lucy Godinez of "Holding out for a Hero." I had a blast enjoying this production of ‘Footloose the Musical’ based on the 1984 movie starring Kevin Bacon and so did the opening night audience who roared their approval and stopped the show after the rousing rendition by Ariel played with real sass and excitement  by Lucy Godinez of "Holding out for a Hero." 

Where have all the good men gone

And where are all the gods?

Where's the streetwise Hercules to fight the rising odds?

Isn't there a white knight upon a fiery steed?

Late at night I toss and I turn

And I dream of what I need

I need a hero 

I'm holding out for a hero 'til the end of the night

He's gotta be strong

And he's gotta be fastAnd he's gotta be fresh from the fight

I need a hero

I'm holding out for a hero 'til the morning light

He's gotta be sure

And it's gotta be soon

And he's gotta be larger than life!

Larger than life

Somewhere after midnight

In my wildest fantasy

Somewhere just beyond my reach

There's someone reaching back for me

Racing on the thunder and rising with the hea

tIt's gonna take a superman to sweep me off my feet

This production of Footloose the Musical directed with fantastic energy and humorous insight by Gary Griffin is the PERFECT show to see right now for young and old alike because it is all about real love and communication and doing the right thing in your own hometown even if there is opposition on all sides. 

The surface storyline is about a small town whose church leaders have banned dancing following a fatal car crash following a school dance.

  
Of course, the show is about dancing and there is AMAZING dancing choreographed with great sexiness and joy by William Carlos Angulo throughout this show. 

Aidan Wharton plays Ren, the kid who comes from Chicago and creates a stir throughout the town when he lobbies for the right to dance. With wonderful unabashed enthusiasm and a skilled dancer, Wharton is an even better dancer than he is a singer and that's okay because this show needs Ren to be a super-natural standout on the dance floor. 

This show is all about teenagers falling in love and dancing and being footloose and fancy free for the first time in a long time. In small towns when this play took place people were often wed to their first loves, so relationships between teens were highly monitored. 

When Ren arrives in the small town from bustling Chicago the local kids warn him that "eyes are everywhere” and that every move they make is dissected day and night. There is no place to escape this scrutiny and even explore their own feelings for each other - like a dance party.

This somber and slightly scary dance number really reflects how many teens today feel about growing up in the internet age. They are feeling the constant pressure " to post...or not to post" and either way people are watching them and if they post the wrong thing or don't post anything at all. People are still judging them 24/7 often finding their lives and actions lacking. 

Ren tells everyone he sees that he is restless and can't stop moving, so he dances around all the time - which makes him seem weird or suspect in itself to those observing him for the first time in this reserved town. 

At one point the adorable country nerd and bumpkin Willard Hewitt played (delightfully by character actor Ben Barker) says to Ren in distress about his new hope for a girlfriend - "She scares me! She is the fastest talking woman I've ever met!" Ren says honestly to reassure the awkward Willard, "She talks fast ‘cause she LIKES you! She's just horny for ya!" Ben is insecure because he can’t dance, but later there is a fantastic bit of physical comedy by Ben Barker as he learns that he really CAN dance with his new girlfriend, all he needs is rhythm, sway and a little loving encouragement from Ren and the other kids.

 
Ariel, the town pastor’s daughter, is involved with the town bad boy Chuck Cranston (Ryan McBride) who is slightly mean to her and pushes her around when she doesn't want to follow him.  Chuck claims he is the "best time to be had in this tiny town” and demands that Ariel follow him into his truck whenever new teen Ren is in sight. The chemistry between Ren and Ariel is obvious from the first time they see each other. 

Ryan McBride is a dead ringer for the actor Andy Samberg and has a similarly wry sense of comic timing. McBride is also a solid singer/dancer and stands out well in this production. 

Lucy Godinez is a great singer and actress with real fire in her eyes. Godinez plays Ariel as a strong, independent woman who has a secure sense of her own blossoming sexuality even though her father is the highly judgmental and protective Reverend Moore. 

Johanna McKenzie Miller as Ariel's mother, Vi Moore, is stunningly intelligent in her role as always and emits an essence of spiritual peacefulness that lends the whole play an anchor of calm, and quiet belief in her daughter and in others to do the right thing for ALL in the end. 

To me it is obvious that Ren's character is very much a Christ figure of hope and change in this show. Ren appears without warning in the small town where dancing has been banned by the elders for several years, yet he is so FULL of life and joy that he can't STOP dancing! 

At the crucial moment of judgement by the town as to whether they will allow dancing again, several quotes about the very positive nature of dancing itself are read to the council members from the Bible by Ren in Christ-like fashion: 

Psalm 149:3 Let them praise his name with dancing, making melody to him with tambourine and lyre!

Ecclesiastes 3:4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance

Psalm 30:11 You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; you have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness

Jeremiah 31:13 Then shall the young women rejoice in the dance, and the young men and the old shall be merry. I will turn their mourning into joy; I will comfort them and give them gladness for sorrow.

The whole show reminded me how important dancing really is in relation to feeling a sense of love and joy in your daily life. Director Gary Griffin mentions in the press kit that he chose this show in part due to the current oppressive and depressing political climate especially for young people, which is mirrored in 'Footloose.' 

Dancing is a thing I rarely take the time to do anymore publicly or privately and being reminded in such a colorful and glorious way by this production that dancing is actually "prescribed" as a healthy form of activity by God makes me want to dance around the best I can! 

Highly recommended for all ages. I suggest you see this show and get your Spring on! 

‘Footloose the Musical’ is being performed at Marriott Theatre through June 2nd. For more show info click here.

Marriott Theatre brings yet another high-energy, song and dance production to its audience, this time mounting the regional premiere of ‘Holiday Inn’, a sentimental musical based on the 1942 film of the same name featuring the music of Irving Berlin and starring such great as Fred Astaire, Bing Crosby and Marjorie Reynolds. Directed and choreographed by Tony Award nominee Denis Jones and musically directed by Jeff Award winning Ryan T. Nelson, ‘Holiday Inn’ might just be one of Marriott’s greatest triumphs over the past few years.

“I am completely elated to revisit my work from the Broadway production of ‘Holiday Inn’ at the Marriott Theatre,” says Jones. It’s an honor to celebrate some of the greatest works of Irving Berlin and join forces with some of the most talented actors in theatre. With mesmerizing costumes and equally enthralling performances, audiences will leave with a few holiday surprises and a whole lot of holiday spirit.”

And though classics such as “White Christmas”, “Easter Parade”, “Blue Skies”, “Heat Wave”, “Be Careful, It’s my Heart” and “Shaking the Blues Away” are performed to perfection, it is the dance numbers in this production that truly steal the audience’s breath.

Jim Hardy (Michael Mahler) and Ted Hanvover (Will Burton) are best friends. The two entertainers have found a tremendous amount of success in New York as a song and dance trio that also stars Lila Dixon (Kimberly Immanuel). Lila and Jim are also quite the item and Jim wants nothing more to marry her. But the New York scene has run its course with Jim, so he also wants to hang up his tap shoes and take to the country. He proposes to his Lila, who accepts, and then shows her the deed to a farmhouse in Connecticut that he has just purchased in the hopes she would also want to give up show biz for a quiet life in the country. So, maybe he should have discussed such a major decision with Lila prior to making such a large purchase. When the three are offered a six-month touring engagement, Lila breaks Jim’s heart and hits the road with Ted. So it’s off to the country, alone, for Jim.

Dejected, Jim soon arrives at his newly purchased farmhouse ranch only to find Louise (Marya Grandy), a self-proclaimed “fixit man”, kind of comes with the house. In exchange for room and board, Louise will tend to the farmhouse but her title of “fixit man” extends much beyond the home itself. It isn’t long before the daughter of the previous owners, Linda Mason (Johanna McKenzie Miller), stops by to pick up some of the things that were left behind when the farmhouse was foreclosed upon. It isn’t long before a friendship develops and perhaps a spark ignites between them. It also isn’t long before Jim realizes farming might not be for him and longs for the stage again. And, as it turns out, Linda just so happens to have some performing experience of her own. But why go back to New York when you can bring New York to you? Just after Jim gets a surprise visit from a large group of performing friends, he comes up with the idea of turning the farmhouse into an entertainment getaway. After all, he’s got the floor space and plenty of rooms for guests. When his performer friends cannot commit to regular shows because of their own hectic schedules, it is decided shows will only be staged over the holidays – thus, ‘Holiday Inn’.

As chemistry builds between Jim and Linda, a drunken Ted reappears during opening night who briefly dances with Linda and soon has his sights on her as his new dance partner since Lila has left him for a Texas millionaire. Jim quickly finds himself in a similar situation, so we can only hope things will turn out differently for the all-around nice guy who may have found love once again.

‘Holiday Inn’ is filled with big, spirited dance numbers that are pure visual delights and the highlights are many. Will Burton’s recreation of Astaire’s “Let’s Say it with Firecrackers” is certainly one of them as he brilliantly taps his way around the stage with a bang – several bangs in fact. Johanna McKenzie Miller also leaves a strong impression, beautifully showcasing her amazing voice in such songs as “Nothing More to Say” and “White Christmas”. And throughout the talented dancing and singing offered in this production, Marya Grandy balances out the show with her incredibly funny performance as Louise, adding plenty of laugh out loud moments. A world-class ensemble that includes the familiar faces of Joe Capstick, Adam LaSalle, Laura Savage and Alejandro Fonseca pushes this musical into overdrive, while Lorenzo Rush Jr. as agent Danny Reed is a pleasure to watch in every scene he graces and child actor Patrick Scott McDermott also adds several moments of well-delivered humor.

Marriott Theatre presents a gem of a holiday treat that can be enjoyed by everyone. ‘Holiday Inn’ runs through January 6th and is highly recommended. For tickets and/or more show information visit www.MarriottTheatre.com.

"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 12^th. For tickets and/or more information, visit www.marriotttheatre.com.