"Verboten" with Book by Brett Neveu, Music & Lyrics by Jason Narducy, directed by House Theatre Artistic Director Nathan Allen
Inspired by the True Story of Chicago’s Teen Punks, Verböten Explores the Risks and Relief of Making Music
***** Highly Recommended ***** The Joffrey Ballet’s “Chicago-centric” version of “The Nutcracker”, choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon, is quite simply magnificent. By setting “The Nutcracker” against Chicago’s Columbian Exposition of 1893, Wheeldon gave the city a unique gift. I am in awe! Every movement was graceful, precise and exquisitely performed. This will be the fourth time I’ve seen/reviewed “The Nutcracker” and I love everything about it, including the glorious music played by the Chicago Philharmonic Orchestra. By the way, this is the final appearance of “The Nutcracker” at the Auditorium Theatre. 4 BIG Holiday Spotlights!
***** Highly Recommended ****** The Goodman Theatre’s annual production of “A Christmas Carol”, which remains essentially the same from year to year, is a holiday tradition for many families, spanning generations. The Goodman lobby is festive with decorations and a sparkling holiday shopping area. Now in its 42nd year, “A Christmas Carol” will put you in the holiday spirit with a fabulous cast, lavish sets and colorful period costumes. 4 Holiday Spotlights.
**** Highly Recommended **** Take your family on a nostalgic trip into the past with American Blues Theater’s 18th annual production of “It’s a Wonderful Life: Live in Chicago!”. You ‘ll have a rare opportunity to join a ‘live radio’ audience and watch a talented cast bring the voices of all the characters you love to life. Since this is ‘live’, the actors do the commercials too. It is so much fun to listen to the beloved story unfold. “It’s a Wonderful Life: Live in Chicago” always gets me in a holiday mood! 4 Holiday Spotlights!
**** Recommended **** Drury Lane Theatre’s production of Disney and Cameron Mackintosh’s “Mary Poppins” is even more “practically perfect”. Sure, “Mary Poppins” is still dispensing “A Spoon Full of Sugar”, but there are also new songs and scenes and even technical derring-do. This is a Broadway quality musical; and yes, Mary Poppins does fly! This is a perfect show to introduce your children and/or grandchildren to live theater. Don’t miss “Mary Poppins”, it’s one of my top ten musicals of the year. 4 BIG Spotlights
*** Recommended *** I’ve been struggling with this review for a few days – well more than a few days. After I talked to my friend Helen, who’d been my plus one at the opening, I was finally able to pull my thoughts together and get something written. At the core, Steppenwolf’s production of “Lindiwe” is the story of singer from South Africa who fell in love with a drummer from Chicago. I’d like to say that together they made beautiful music, but that wasn’t quite the case. The plot of “Lindiwe” just doesn’t measure up to the music. 3 Spotlights
Fowler-Today at approximately 7:50 a.m. the Benton County Dispatch was notified of a structure fire at 103 North Polk Street in Fowler. IN.
Porter County- On Thursday December 5, 2019, at approximately 1:10 a.m., Sgt. Dan Avitia was on patrol on I-80 (Indiana Toll Road) in Porter County. As Sgt. Avitia drove west bound near the 22.3 mile-marker, he observed headlights approaching him.
The North Township Fallen Heroes Memorial will be located in Wicker Park in Highland and will be dedicated in September 2020 in honor of the 32 fallen first responders in North Township.
