**** Recommended Canterbury Summer Theatre’s production of "A Year with Frog and Toad" is a charming little family-friendly musical. Both adults and children will enjoy it. The songs are clever and light-hearted, with just enough humor to keep the adults in the audience awake. I really enjoyed it. 3 ½ Spotlights
**** Highly Recommended Drury Lane’s production of "Always… Patsy Cline" is absolutely fabulous! Aja Alcazar is brilliant as Patsy! Her voice just fits. Add in Bri Sudia’s comedy and you get a hit! You can’t help but tap your toe to the music. I really enjoyed the show, and so will you! 4 BIG Spotlights
Recommended I’m not quite sure where Steppenwolf’s latest, "You Will Get Sick," fits on the quirkiness scale, but it must be close to the top. My friend and I walked out trying to figure out just what we’d seen. We had questions, so many questions! No kidding, all the questions aside, "You Will Get Sick" is a very good play. 4 Spotlights
**** Recommended Black Ensemble’s latest show, "That’s What Friends Are For: Gladys, Dionne & Patti," written and directed by Daryl D. Brooks, features the music of three musical icons. Although the plot is thin, the music is fabulous. 4 Spotlights
**** Highly Recommended There’s new revue on The Second City e.t.c. stage, "Chaos Theory of Everything." I can’t say this was the funniest e.t.c. revue I’ve seen but it was pretty darn funny. The beginning was a little low key, but the pace did pick up. It wasn’t too long before people were laughing and having a good time. By the way, in case you’re wondering, e.t.c. does not mean etcetera, rather it’s the stage where they can experiment, take chances. 3 ½ Spotlights
Although I didn't get a chance to see the Court Theatre's remount of their 2011 hit, "An Iliad," I thought I'd share my review of the 2013 remount.
The remount of the Court Theatre’s 2011 hit, “An Iliad”, is still amazing! Timothy Edward Kane’s performance as the Poet, a man who tells and retells the story of the Trojan War, is a ‘tour de force’. If you missed it last time – and even if you saw it then - make sure you see An Iliad this go round, it’s a 4 Spotlight play.
**** Recommended I enjoyed watching "Kimberly Akimbo." It was well-written, funny, and ultimately heart-wrenching. Carolee Carmello was brilliant as Kimberly who had to navigate her way through a new high school while managing a rare genetic disease, totally dysfunctional parents and a larcenous aunt. On the other hand, I was appalled when said larcenous aunt provided a step-by-step how-to-commit a crime in Act II. 3 ½ Spotlights
**** Recommended "42 Balloons," the new musical at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre is a terrific summer musical. The story is crazy but true – and straight out of the 80s, so it has some pathos too. The ensemble – an 8-person Greek chorus - is young, attractive and perky. The music is catchy, bright and kind of nonsensical – who sings about 42 balloons and a lawn chair? Loved the 80s choreography. The set and staging rates somewhere between cool and awesome! This was a fun show to watch. 4 Spotlights
Helen Shaw…You’re wrong! Prior to going to see this production at Theo Theater, I checked to see where it had played and looked at reviews. “Diana, The Musical” played in New York City just before the Pandemic closed down live theater. Helen Shaw, an NYC reviewer said this… “ “Diana The Musical” is almost as bad as her (Princess Diana) marriage!” I had low expectations after reading Ms. Shaw’s review. And, what a nice surprise… I loved it!
**** Highly Recommended For once, a play totally lives up to its name. "Iraq, but Funny" is a screwball comedy that had the opening night audience in stitches. I didn’t know what to expect, but this show was so funny I missed lines because people were laughing. Playwright Atra Asdou ties the stories of five generations of Assyrian women into the history of the area by using the British guy as narrator and comic relief to tie it all together brilliantly. 4 BIG Spotlights
