'The Showtune Mosh Pit' for September 15th, 2009

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

Sidetrack and Cattle Call showtune video screens:

 It's Glee, Glee, it's all about "Glee!" The much-anticipated (and much-hyped) one-hour series made its official series debut on FOX-TV last Wednesday evening, and we apparently loved it! Between the rapping, the humor, the fun characters and situations, and the all-around good musical vibe of the show choir show, denizens of the showtune mosh pit are thrilled to have a hit on our hands! Cory Monteith and friends have done no wrong so far. Stay tuned for further developments-get your iTunes, YouTube, Hulu, TiVo and neighborhood bar TVs ready now! 

http://www.fox.com/glee/

But among all the joy, there were several bit of sadness this past week, weren't there? First among these is the news that our newly-beloved Chicago "Jersey Boys" will be closing on January 10, 2010, after a run of two years and three months. When it opened at the LaSalle Bank Theatre in 2007, who knew that the venue would be renamed the Bank of America Theatre while the same show was still running there? And that it would make almost as big an impression on us as "Wicked" did? The bad news is that the Loop will have no major "sit down" production in late winter, until "Billy Elliot" begins performances on March 18, 2010 at the Ford Center for the Performing Arts, Oriental Theatre. But we'll just want "Billy" that much more!

http://www.broadwayinchicago.com/shows_dyn.php?cmd=display_current&display_showtag=jerseyboys07 

http://www.broadwayinchicago.com/shows_dyn.php?cmd=display_current&display_showtag=billyelliot

Even sadder, perhaps, was the news that Apple Tree Theatre in suburban Highland Park has ceased operations, effective immediately. The brain-child and life's work of local theatre legend Eileen Boevers, Apple Tree began in the same basement space which had nurtured the Steppenwolf Theatre Company. Many musicals and comedies, and milestones in the careers of director Gary Griffin and actors Ross Lehman and Jessica Boevers, among many others, saw the light of day there during the last three decades. Even recent strong productions of "Wings" and "The Mistress Cycle" were not enough to sustain the theatre during these hard times. Apple Tree will be sorely missed. 

http://www.appletreetheatre.com/splash/index.html

One bit of sad news that turned unexpectedly happy was word that the Broadway production of "Avenue Q," which closed on Sunday, will be re-opening Off-Broadway next month, at New World Stages! Thought to be an unprecedented move, it bodes well for the creativity of producers and for those many Chicagoans who travel to New York on a regular basis. The show that made "Only For Now" a catch-phrase has given itself a jump-start back to life. Woo-hoo!

http://www.avenueq.com/index.html 

A big event for many mosh pit residents was the series of U2 concerts at Chicago's Soldier Field over the weekend. Forward-thinking readers know that band members Bono and The Edge have written the score to the upcoming Broadway musical "Spider Man: Turn Off the Dark." The show is still planned to begin previews in late February, 2010, at New York's Hilton Theatre, despite some admitted financing difficulties. Directed by "The Lion King"'s Julie Taymor, the show will be an eye-popping feast, if it is anything like the U2 spectacle we just saw here! 

http://www.u2.com/index/home/

http://spidermanonbroadway.marvel.com/ 

In local theater happenings, we are hearing good things about audiences for Porchlight Theatre's production of "The Fantasticks," which opened over the weekend at Theatre Building Chicago in Lakeview. 

http://porchlighttheatre.com/current.htm 

And a home-grown Chicago favorite from the 1990s, "Schoolhouse Rock Live!," is back from Theatrebam Chicago for another run of this popular children's television homage, this time in Mary's Attic in Andersonville. 

http://www.schoolhouserocklive.net/index.html 

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=135668460263&ref=mf 

Two independent film musicals making the round of film festivals this fall have caught our eye. The first is "The Big Gay Musical," starring (among many others) Brent Corrigan, Daniel Robinson, Joey Dudding, John Hillner, Jim Newman and Marty Thomas. It concerns a contemporary Off-Broadway "Adam and Steve" romance, and includes showtunes, televangelists, tap-dancing angels and a cast whose credits reputedly include nearly fifty Broadway musicals! It will premiere in Chicago at the Reeling Film Festival on November 5th, 2009, and it seems like our folks will be all over it! 

http://www.thebiggaymusical.com/ 

The other film, a more serious work directed by former Chicagoan and Northwestern University graduate Elizabeth Lucas, is "Clear Blue Tuesday," about the hopes and dreams in the lives of eleven New Yorkers on six Tuesdays in September, in the years after September 11th.  Told in unconventional style, the film was developed over an extended time period, with the actors creating the songs they perform onscreen. Including in its large cast Greg Naughton, Jan O'Dell, James Naughton and Kelli O'Hara, the film premiered last Thursday at the New York Musical Theatre Festival. We are keeping an eye on this one! 

http://www.clearbluetuesday.com/ 

/article/CLEAR_BLUE_TUESDAY_Comes_To_The_NY_Musical_Theatre_Festival_910_20090910 

And last in this column, but first on many minds, is the untimely death of stage and film actor Patrick Swayze. Many folks are unaware of his impressive ballet and stage resume, including appearances with the Eliot Feld Ballet and in "Grease," "Chicago," and "Guys and Dolls" in New York and London. But everyone knows him from the film "Ghost" and as Johnny Castle in the 1987 film "Dirty Dancing," a role reasonably likely to make him immortal. He's like the wind....

/article/Patrick_Swayze_Has_Passed_Away_20090914 

So, as the first few leaves begin to fall from the trees, that'll be all until next week's column! But before then, I'll see you under the video screens.....--PWT

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