'The Showtune Mosh Pit' for June 19th, 2013

THE LATEST IN UNAUTHORIZED GOSSIP AND BUZZ

FROM THE HEART OF CHICAGO'S SHOWTUNE VIDEO BARS,

AND MUSICAL THEATER NEWS FROM CHICAGO TO BROADWAY

by Paul W. Thompson

Overheard last weekend under the showtune

video screens at Sidetrack and The Call:

And the day is finally here! The biggest musical theater event of the summer in Chicago is upon us, as Tony winner Mary Zimmerman's new production of "The Jungle Book" begins performances on Friday night, June 21, 2013, now running until August 11th in the Albert space of the Goodman Theatre in the Loop. (This is a co-production with Boston's Huntington Theatre Company, which won this year's regional theater Tony, and will present the show in the fall.) Zimmerman is directing the show, and has written the book, "based on the Disney film and the stories of Rudyard Kipling," as the official by-line puts it. Zimmerman's former student at Northwestern University, Doug Peck, is crafting the music for the show, which includes music from the 1967 animated film by Richard M. and the late Robert B. Sherman, as well as "trunk" and other songs by The Sherman Brothers and the Oscar-winning "The Bare Necessities" by Terry Gilkyson.

The two aspects of this show which have garnered the most discussion on social media (and there has been A LOT of international attention) are Peck's fusing of jazz and Indian musical styles, and speculation over the look of Mara Blumenfeld's costumes. Let's not forget that Tony-winning choreographer Christopher Gatelli ("Newsies") is performing those chores here, or that the cast includes performers like Andre De Shields (King Louie), Larry Yando (Shere Khan), Usman Ally (Bagheera), Kevin Carolan (Baloo) and Anjali Bhimani (Mother Wolf), all of whom have major theater credits under their belts. New York's young Akash Chopra is Mowgli, with Chicago's Roni Akurati listed as "Mowgli Alternate." Oh, and I can't forget the recent dust-up about the role of race in Zimmerman's work, and how her statements on that topic have been interpreted by others in the theater world. Let's just say that this production has created a great deal of interest, entirely apart from whether it will have a life beyond Huntington. Folks are talking. Boy, are they talking! See it, peeps!

http://www.goodmantheatre.org/season/Jungle-Book/

Adding to the publicity surrounding "The Jungle Book" are a whole series of special events throughout Chicago. The show will take part in three neighborhood outdoor festivals: Summer Pride at Southport and Waveland (June 29-30), Taste of Lakeview at Lincoln and Belmont (July 6-7) and Taste of Chicago at Grant Park (July 10-14). You can dance to songs from the show as part of Chicago SummerDance, on Friday, July 5th in Grant Park, starting at 6:00 pm. Ten Chicago Public Libraries are participating in "Jungle Book Days" on July 11th at 6:30 pm, including interactive story sessions. And at the Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park, you can watch the original film on the celebrated new LED screen there on July 23rd at 6:30 pm. And all of these events are FREE.

http://www.goodmantheatre.org/season/Jungle-Book/?tab=5

This past Monday was a pretty high profile day for New York theater artists here in Chi-town. In mid-day, five-time Tony winner Audra McDonald was honored by our very own Sarah Siddons Society in a soiree at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel. The Sarah Siddons Award goes back to 1952-53, when the first honoree was Helen Hayes. Musical theater luminaries have been among those feted since Beatrice Lillie in 1953-54, and include Shirley Booth, Anne Rogers, Carol Channing, Celeste Holm, Lauren Bacall, Angela Lansbury, Ann Miller, Lucie Arnaz, Liza Minnelli, Bernadette Peters, Julie Andrews, Heather Headley, Chita Rivera, Elaine Stritch, Patti LuPone and last year's honoree, Barbara Cook. Whew! That's quite a list.

http://www.sarahsiddonssociety.org/web/

And on Monday night, McDonald joined Jason Danieley, Marin Mazzie and Chicago theater stars in honoring eight-time Tony Award-winner Stephen Sondheim at the Chicago Shakespeare on Navy Pier, as he and former Chicago mayor Richard M. Daley were give the "Spirit of Shakespeare Award" at the theater's annual gala. Many of Sondheim's musicals have been presented there, directed by Gary Griffin, including the recent award-winning productions of "Follies" and "Sunday In The Park With George" and the highly acclaimed 2001 staging of "Pacific Overtures." "Gypsy," with lyrics by the young Sondheim (it was written 54 years ago!) will be presented there February 6-March 23, 2014, and his most recent staged work, "Road Show," will also be presented there March 13-May 4, 2014, both directed by Griffin. Do you have your season subscription yet?

CST-Celebrates-with-Stephen-Sondheim-Audra-McDonald-and-More

As I mentioned in last week's Mosh Pit, Chicago Shakespeare Theater's summer family show is a 75-minute version of "Shrek," directed by Rachel Rockwell and starring Michael Aaron Lindner. (That's his voice that sings "The Bare Necessities" on the Goodman Theatre website, by the way.) Well, kids, former Chicagoan Stephen Wallem (I understudied him in "Forever Plaid," back in the 20th century) has just been tapped to play the lead in the full-length "Shrek" at the Muny down in St. Louis, the huge outdoor venue that is one of America's leading summer musical theaters. Original cast member John Tartaglia is directing the show, which begins June 24. Those who don't remember Wallem from his Chicago stage, Ravinia Festival and cabaret days may know him as Thor on the Showtime series "Nurse Jackie," which just finished its fifth season. Julia Murney is his Princess Fiona for the next couple of weeks.

http://www.stephenwallem.com/home.html

New on the boards in Chicago is a tour of "Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story," in town for two weeks (through June 30 at the Cadillac Palace Theatre). I believe this is a new tour of this successful 1989 London musical, starting just last week in St. Paul, Minnesota. Meet Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, The Big Bopper and more in this show that gives you the lifestory of Holly, a key figure in the rise of rock and roll, and recreates his last performance in Clear Lake, Iowa, the night of that ill-fated plane crash (i.e., "the day the music died"). "Jersey Boys" meets "Million Dollar Quartet"? You decide.

http://www.buddythemusical.com

Another key figure in American popular music history is the subject of a very well received production at Black Ensemble Theater in Uptown, "Ain't No Crying The Blues (In The Memory Of Howlin' Wolf)" (running through August 11). This production, a revival of a hit 2003 show at BET and starring the same lead, Rick Stone, has gotten great reviews. Newly directed by Rueben Echols, Jackie Taylor's book and the music of Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters and other greats at Chicago's legendary Chess Records is recreated, including, yes, "Wang Dang Doodle," "Back Door Man" and "If I Can't Sell It, I'll Keep Sittin' On It." I think that Sam Phillips is a character here, as he is in "Million Dollar Quartet." Wonder how many bio-shows he could be a character in!

aint-no-crying-the-blues-in-the-memory-of-howlin-wolf

There's a fun event this Friday, June 21, at 11:00 am. That's when the "Broadway And Opera Sing-Along" takes place in Daley Plaza (50 W. Washington Street), part of the annual, all-day, "Make Music Chicago" festival. Events are happening all over the city on that day, part of the international "Fete De La Musique" that happens every year on the day of the summer solstice. I'll be there, won't you?

http://www.makemusicchicago.com/

From the operetta genre (halfway between Broadway and opera, perhaps) we have Franz Lehar's "The Land Of Smiles," a work which travels from Vienna to China and is being presented in English by Chicago Folks Operetta at Stage 773, June 28-July 14. Elizabeth Margolius directs, with choreography by Todd Rhoades and musical direction by Kim Diehnelt. 2013 Jeff Award winner Kate Kamphausen is handling costume design duties for the cast of 22. (I'm not sure what the orchestra of 10 is wearing.) This show first premiered in Vienna in 1923, but was significantly revised for a successful 1929 production. If you know of a legit tenor, he more than likely has sung "Dein Ist Mein Ganzes Herz" ("You Are My Heart's Delight") more than once. Geoffrey Agpolo gets to do the honors here.

http://www.chicagofolksoperetta.org/

Built as a great venue for live performances of all kinds, but used in its early days as an opera house, is the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University. The auditorium's 2013 Summer Cabaret Series kicks off on Saturday, July 20 with "Life Is A Cabaret: The Words And Music Of Kander And Ebb," as singer Scott Gryder, pianist Nick Sula and drummer Phil Martin branch out from their usual venue at Club 3160 in Lakeview and perform in the Katten/Landau Studio inside the landmark Sullivan and Adler Auditorium building. On August 10, The Greg Spero Trio takes to the same Studio with a diverse collection of standards old and new. And on the big Sollitt Stage itself, Judy Roberts, Frank D'Rone and Denise Tomasello, three of Chicago's best-known veteran cabaret performers, will team up August 24 for "On Stage With...Chicago Music Legends." Once again, what's not to love?

Auditorium-Theatre-Summer-Cabaret-Series

And in case you didn't hear, a certain Idina Menzel, Tony winner and film/TV star, will be performing in Aurora, Illinois on July 19, outdoors at the brand new RiverEdge Park. There are seats with prices and there are seats for free, but everyone gets to enjoy this new venue (which looks great from the photos I've seen) in downtown Aurora on a summer Friday night. Sources indicate that Menzel will start the evening with an arrangement of "Over The Rainbow" and "The Wizard And I," venturing through showtunes, standards, new material and songs from "Rent" and "Wicked," before ending with "Somewhere" from "West Side Story." And where will YOU be on July 19th?

Idina-Menzel-Concert-at-RiverEdge-Park-7-19-2013

So that's it for a busy edition of the Showtune Mosh Pit! I'll see you back here next week for my twice-yearly run-down of the Top Ten Hot Topix in the Mosh Pit, this time covering the first six months of 2013. And it's been an exciting time, too. Friend of the Mosh Pit Christopher Pazdernik, the fellow who actually brought out Stephen Sondheim's award to the Chicago Shakespeare Theater stage on Monday night, has reminded me that the popular hashtag #MTproblems is now available for your use on various types of social media, every time you can't decide what showtune to quote from when writing a birthday greeting, or which original cast album to listen to during your workout, or which musical theater character should be your Halloween costume this year. There is so much to carry in our musical theater/showtune brains! Between hashtagging your Broadway-style quandaries and keeping abreast of the latest Chicago goings-on in the Mosh Pit, your work is cut out for you! The best of times is now, I'm sure, and I will see you soon, under the video screens.....-PWT

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