'The Showtune Mosh Pit' for October 21st, 2015

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:

It's "Back To The Future" Day! And while no Broadway musical has been made based on the 1985 time travel film or its sequels (yet!), plenty of other films, records, books and plays have been so adapted over the years. So, while Marty McFly and Doc Brown bounce back and forth between the 80s and today, let's catch up on the latest showtune goings on here in the Windy City, shall we? (How's that for a topical intro?)

Of course, the end of this month is Halloween, and that usually brings a mini-festival of holiday-themed stage entertainments to our boards. Local productions we've discussed before, like "Side Show" from Porchlight Music Theatre (at Stage 773 through October 25) and "Goblin Market" from Black Button Eyes Productions (at Collaboraction's Pentagon Theatre through October 31), continue with their various degrees of the creep factor.

http://porchlightmusictheatre.org/side-show/

http://www.goblinmarketchicago.com/

New works like "One Brain More: A Zombie Les Misical" at MCL Chicago and the highly-touted "Ride The Cyclone" at Chicago Shakespeare Theater (Upstairs) have a ghoulish bent as well. "One Brain More" has two performances remaining, on October 23 and 30, of the satire by Chris Gorton and Stephanie McCullough, directed by Michael Shepherd Jordan. "Cyclone," with Canadian origins and a much higher budget, has just announced an extension through November 15, and reportedly has the attention of New York producers and press. It's about six teenagers who were just killed aboard a roller coaster. You know, existential and all that. Does one of them get to live again? Come to this of it, both of these shows show shades of "Forever Plaid!" That's weird....

http://www.mclchicago.com/one-brain-more.html

CST-Extends-RIDE-THE-CYCLONE

Cutting Hall in Palatine has a full production of the perennial Halloween favorite "The Rocky Horror Show" on the boards from October 17-November 1, courtesy of Theatre Nebula. It's directed by Kevin Wiczer and choreographed by Kara Williams, with music direction by Kenny McMullins and designs by J. Spencer Greene.

http://cuttinghall.org/speaker-lineup/rockyhorror/

Come to think of it, Rogers Park's Mayne Stage has something called "The Rocky Horror Revue" on Halloween night, with the neo-rock and soul band Johnny Chastain And The Heartbeats. Featuring JC Brooks as Dr. Frank-N-Furter, this should be something to see! And hear.

http://www.maynestage.com/events/?event_id=6279865

Mayne Stage also has that concert version of the music from Tim Burton's film "The Nightmare Before Christmas" coming up on October 26, a concert benefitting Route 66 Theatre Company. Jackson Peter Evans and Emily Rohm star as Jack and Sally, with music direction by Matt Deitchman and the show directed by Tammy Mader. These are all top people, peeps!

http://route66theatre.org/

Another spooky concert of note is the return of "No One Here But Us Witches," a cabaret that premiered back in June, starring a short list of amazing young Chicago musical theater actresses. It has returned, in expanded form, for two nights only, on October 26 and November 2 at its original home, Uptown Underground. Starring Sydney Charles, Harmony France, Christina Hall, Amanda Horvath, Jasondra Johnson and Danni Smith, the show features arrangements by Aaron Benham and Jeremy Ramey and music direction by Ramey. I'm sorry, I just lost count of how many Jeff Award and BroadwayWorld Chicago Award wins and nominations will be represented during this show. Represent!

NO-ONE-HERE-BUT-US-WITCHES-Returning-to-Uptown-Underground

A well-known witch of sorts will be making a Chicago concert appearance this Friday night, when Broadway ("Wicked"), TV, recording and film star Kristin Chenoweth sings at the Chicago Theatre this very Saturday night, October 24, 2015! This is big, of course. Now, she's performed concerts in Chicago before. But this bundle of Oklahoma dynamite never fails to satisfy an audience, and I'm sure this weekend will be no different. You're going to be there, right? I know that some of you will be singing backup vocals with her (hello, social media!). So I guess I know where you'll all be....

http://officialkristinchenoweth.com/event/the-chicago-theatre/

Also in the Loop that very same night is an evening of music by Broadway composer and famed classical conductor and composer Leonard Bernstein. The Chicago Symphony Orchestra, with conductor Steven Sloane and actor Jonathan Mastro, is presenting a sort of lecture-performance combo called "Beyond The Score: Bernstein In New York City." Included in the evening is the famous overture from "Candide" and the suite of dances Bernstein arranged from his "West Side Story," bookending the concert work "Facsimile." So, I guess you might not be at the Chenoweth concert, after all. Great work in counter-programming, Chicago Theatre and Orchestra Hall!

http://cso.org/ticketsandevents/Production-Details/beyond-the-score

It's not particularly spooky, but "Avenue Q" opened last weekend for a short run by the Highland Park Players in the Northbrook Theatre. There are four performances this weekend, and then that's it for the lovable puppets of Alphabet City. A cast of thirteen has been bringing them to life under the direction of Catherine Davis.

http://www.highlandparkplayers.com/production_detail.php?pid=73

And another show known by its "Q" is "MDQ," aka "Million Dollar Quartet." And the show has announced that it will be closing here in Chicago in January of 2016, after a seven and a half year run. The longest running Broadway musical in Chicago history, our production led directly to the New York one, with Chicago producer Gigi Pritzker heading the proceedings and introducing Tony winner Levi Kreis to the world. Our longest running off-Broadway musical, the aforementioned "Forever Plaid," ran almost the same length in the Royal George Cabaret Theatre in the late 90s, giving the world Sean Allan Krill ("Mamma Mia"), Stephen Wallem ("Nurse Jackie") and Paul Slade Smith ("Neverland"), among others (including "America's Favorite Gershwin Pianist," Kevin Cole). When Chicago gets it right, we get it right.

MILLION-DOLLAR-QUARTET-to-Bid-Farewell-After-Eight-Years-in-Chicago

So that's it for now, folks! Next week, I'll have more Christmas shows, more touring shows, more original local shows, more screen captures of showtune favorites, and all the information you've come to expect from the Showtune Mosh Pit. Thanks for reading! And I'll see you in the lobbies and under the video screens.....-PWT

GO CUBS!!!

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