Rachel Weinberg - Page 15

Audiences looking for a jazzy and celebratory way to get into a holiday mood should look no further than Porchlight Music Theatre's AIN'T MISBEHAVIN'. This Fats Waller musical revue provides plenty of joy and entertainment but remains distinct among the city's holiday offerings because the show's content does not explicitly pertain to the holiday season. Aside from a few sprinklings of holiday tinsel in Jeffery D. Kmiec's set design, AIN'T MISBEHAVIN' revels primarily in its joyful celebration of Thomas 'Fats' Waller's song catalog--and will have audiences toe-tapping along to the music.

With artful direction and choreography from Susan Stroman, Lyric Opera's mounting of Franz Lehar's well-known 1905 operetta THE MERRY WIDOW sweeps audiences into a joyful waltz, complete with exquisite talent and a production with opulence to spare. This production debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in the fall of 2014 with commanding opera diva Renee Fleming at the helm as the titular widow Hanna Glawari. Fleming truly shines in this production, with the equally talented Thomas Hampson at her side as Count Danilo Danilovich.

What does it mean to have agency over our lives and those around us? And what happens when we're unable to fully grasp that which intrinsically controls us? With direction by Ethan McSweeny, the world premiere play FULFILLMENT, in a co-production with The Flea Theater of New York City, boldly examines this theme of agency and the quest to live a 'successful' life. This compelling construct makes for an intense, often uncomfortable, and extremely provocative 90 minutes on the stage.

Timeline Theatre Company's Chicago premiere of Leigh Fondakowski's documentary-style SPILL aims to show audiences the untold side of the story surrounding the April 2010 blowout and subsequent explosion of the Deepwater Horizon, a BP oil rig, in the Gulf of Mexico. The resulting oil spill was the worst in United States history, leaching nearly 5 million barrels of oil into the Gulf, leaving thousands of oiled animals for dead, and disrupting the livelihoods of many who relied on the body of water for fishing. Fondakowski's play aims to accomplish what great theater should: the interweaving of the personal and political. The play shows the human side of a widely publicized issue that audiences may previously have held at a distance. And Fondakowski, a member of the Tectonic Theater Project and the head writer on THE LARAMIE PROJECT, wisely and movingly devotes a good amount of SPILL's material to a lesser-known consequence of this devastating environment event: the lives of the 11 men who were taken in the explosion. These men were fathers, sons, siblings, and husbands who had inherently risky careers - but in the wake of the BP oil rig explosion and subsequent spill, they were soon forgotten by the mass media.

Steppenwolf for Young Adults' production of 1984 opens on Collette Pollard's stark, barren set. No objects are present onstage, except for plain wooden sets of drawers on the perimeter and two prison cell-like spaces up above. The stage itself sets the tone for the narrative of what has been described as a "negative utopia": the regimented society that George Orwell laid out in his classic 1949 aimed to suppress original thought and feeling. Orwell's vision for the future was not ideal and optimistic but rather extremely bleak in its depiction of future society. With direction by Hallie Gordon, Andrew White's adaptation of 1984 effectively and clearly tells the story of this oppressive and startling vision of the fictional nation Oceania (a hybrid of the United States and the United Kingdom). As Joseph A. Burke's clever and expertly executed projections bombard audiences with images bordering on a fitting sensory overload, we certainly have the sense that Big Brother is watching over us all.

In Lookingglass Theatre Company's TREASURE ISLAND, young protagonist Jim Hawkins sails across the stage on Todd Rosenthal's cleverly crafted and all-encompassing Hispaniola. But instead of being propelled by a body of water below him, Jim stands centerstage as the show's ensemble of actors use manual force to, quite literally, rock the boat. These inventive, playful moments characterize Zimmerman's world-premiere production (a co-production with Berkeley Repertory Theatre). Much like the adventurous and curious mentality of young Jim, this TREASURE ISLAND draws on the power of imagination to take audiences on a narrative journey. 

The opening number of the newly revised SIDE SHOW invites audiences to 'Come Look at the Freaks.' In doing so, however, the musical really prepares spectators to look upon the circus attractions in the show with empathy rather than alienation and astonishment. With this intimate production from Porchlight Music Theatre led by Artistic Director Michael Weber, the Chicago premiere of the 2014 revision of SIDE SHOW (seen on Broadway last season) brings the humanity of the show's characters to the forefront. While I enjoyed the Broadway revival of SIDE SHOW at the nearly 2,000 seat St. James Theatre, I also felt that it put me at a distance from the action onstage. The show had a pervading eeriness to it. But with Porchlight's production, audiences are able to come close to the conjoined Hilton sisters - the result is highly entertaining, with a strong dash of pathos and emotional resonance.

Refuge Theatre Project's production of contemporary musical GLORY DAYS may be the only show I ever see that features four male actors drinking Natty Ice onstage. And yet in a musical about four best high school friends who reunite for the first time after their freshman year away at college, this seems like a perfectly natural activity. In moments like this, GLORY DAYS accurately and earnestly captures that in-between space between childhood and adulthood, and the odd feeling when home no longer feels like home but college doesn't yet feel comfortable, either. But like the adolescent characters in the musical, young composer-lyricists Nick Blaemire and James Gardner's musical suffers from some growing pains.

Mercury Theater Chicago's RING OF FIRE: THE MUSIC OF JOHNNY CASH celebrates Cash's life and music, and as performed by the production's cast of immensely talented actor/musicians, it is a celebration, indeed.

In Grand Concourse, playwright Heidi Schreck has skillfully crafted a narrative about what it means to give back- not only in the sense of performing acts of charity but also in the sense of forgiveness. Now in its Chicago premiere at Steppenwolf Theatre Company, an accomplished cast of four actors brings to life Schreck's intriguing exploration of what it means to truly help others and the wearing effects that the striving towards selflessness can bring.

In an artful blend of musical theater glamour and Latin grooves, the world-premiere musical 'On Your Feet! The Story of Emilio & Gloria Estefan' brings that duo to the stage in a colorful and immensely entertaining production. This catchy jukebox musical manages to accomplish that rare feat of incorporating both dialogue and music in a way that makes the two feel of apiece, thanks to Alexander Dinelaris's clever book. With direction by Jerry Mitchell and superb choreography by Sergio Trujillo, 'On Your Feet!' will certainly have audiences in the mood for dancing. And with Ana Villafañe in the lead role as Gloria, the musical has certainly found the superstar that it requires.

While 'Ithamar Has Nothing to Say' is a silent solo sketch show - and the only show of this kind I have seen - I nevertheless must use the written word to describe the happenings therein. Directed by Frank Caeti, Mainstage alum Ithamar Enriquez takes the stage in a one-man show that harkens back to the silent film comedies of the 1930s made famous by such noted film artists as Buster Keaton, and, of course, Charlie Chaplin. Like the latter filmmaker, Enriquez exudes charm and slyness in this 50-minute solo piece. And like Keaton, he relies on sight gags and heavily physical bits to tell the story of each of his sketches. Most of these succeed; the occasional sketch feels like a misstep.

Stable Cable Lab Co.'s production of "Live from the Surface Of the Moon" is certainly far out like the radical 1960s decade in which it takes place…but not necessarily in a good way. Written and directed by Max Baker, this new play takes audiences to a blue-collar home in 1969 Cleveland, Ohio. In this moment, a bizarre cast of characters gathers to view the moon landing on television. Don (Ian Patrick Poake), an ice cream truck driver, and his extremely pregnant wife, Carol (Kate Garfield) have invited over their friends, the pseudo-feminist June (Breanna Foister), and her decidedly sexist, creepy husband Wendell (Brian Edelman). Carol's slightly senile father, Joe (Kevin Gilmartin) and the young, pitiful, and awkward Holly (Lisa Anderson) also join the party.

"One Day: The Musical" exudes an angry, pop-rock sensibility and has teenage angst in spades. Though the show takes the journal entries of real teenagers as its basis, it sometimes feels like a mouthpiece for adolescent issues rather than a show about living, breathing humans. In striving to be a universal stand-in for the struggles of growing up in the twenty-first century, "One Day" becomes a plot-less, occasionally meandering revue. On the musical theater continuum, I'd describe "One Day" as "Spring Awakening" meets "Rent" meets "Hair" meets "Next to Normal." The caveats here being that I personally am not a fan of the first show listed, and "One Day" does not function as effectively as the others. The show does, however, showcase an entertaining pop-rock flare. And when the ensemble launches into composer/lyricist/librettist Michael Sottile's soaring, heavily microphoned harmonies, "One Day"feels gloriously tuneful.

The initial set-up for Pulitzer Prize finalist Rajiv Joseph's 'Animals Out of Paper' at first seems contrived: Ilana Andrews, a down-on-her-luck origami artist who has hit a wall both creatively and personally, finds her life shaken up when a nerdy, overly optimistic math teacher asks her to mentor his brilliant-yet-troubled student. As directed by Merri Milwe, however, the circumstances in YOLO! Productions and The Great Griffon's production of the play feel entirely genuine. This depth of feeling comes in part from Joseph's smart playwriting and also from the three talented actors who take the text from two-dimensional paper to three-dimensional staging. As the play unfolds (pun intended), we see the rawness and honesty underneath the initial scenario that sets the plot in motion.

Like the blockbuster hit about a misunderstood green witch from the West, 'The Woodsman' at 59E59 Theaters introduces audiences to a lesser-known tale from the land of Oz. The production relies heavily on visual spectacle to tell the story of a young woodsman who falls in love with a slave girl, only to be punished by the Wicked Witch of the East, who bewitches his ax to befell his limbs one-by-one until all that remains is tin. Written by James Ortiz and co-directed by Ortiz and Claire Karpen (who is concurrently performing as Cinderella in another forest-centric production of 'Into the Woods' at Roundabout Theatre Company), 'The Woodsman' is a creative delight and distinctive in its use of non-verbal storytelling. The forest in these woods has a very natural feel, as the ensemble employs real branches on the stage. Yet Ortiz's incorporation of his original puppetry designs in the shows adds a mystical element.

Kate Benson's new play 'A Beautiful Day in November on the Banks of the Greatest of the Great Lakes' takes place not on a lake, as the title might suggest, but rather in a gymnasium. The high-stakes Thanksgiving dinner at the center of the play unfolds at Wembley Stadium, where two announcers, # in charge of action and @ color commentary (yes, those are truly their names), quite literally call the shots into microphones from a booth above the stage. Directed by Lee Sunday Evans, this production relies on the ensemble to use heightened physicality and emotionality in order to bring this match to life. Fortunately, the actors who portray the Wembley family are fully committed to the challenged of making theatre into a literal game. In this production by New Georges in collaboration with Women's Project Theater, the unconventional 'Beautiful Day' is brought to vibrant, zany life.

Once upon a time there was a play that showcased fairy tale motifs and iPhones, dollhouses and GPS directional systems. This is Flux Theatre Ensemble's production of Kristen Palmer's world premiere play "Once Upon A Bride There Was A Forest," now running at the 4th Street Theatre. The logic behind the odd juxtaposition of these parallel universes remains a puzzle to me, as does the rest of the play's content. With direction by Heather Cohn, however, the ensemble in Flux's production manages to surpass the bizarre material that they are tasked with performing.

Mac Rogers's New York premiere play "Asymmetric" holds the distinction of being the only live theater thriller this audience member has seen. As staged by director Jordana Williams in the intimate Theater C at 59E59 Theaters, this play about troubled former CIA agent Josh Ruskin and his duplicitous ex-wife Sunny Black will leave audience members on the edge of their seats. Though lacking in emotional resonance, the production benefits from having an original theatrical concept backed by strong acting.

The South African Isango Ensemble's production of 'The Magic Flute: Impepe Yomlingo,' strips away some of the glossy sheen of Mozart's master work, leaving a show that is more down to earth and yet still revels in the joy of the composer's music. Under Mark Dunford May's direction, this 'Magic Flute' transports the show to an African township, showcasing a transposed score for African instruments and encompassing various African dialects (as well as English - the primary language used in the show).