What makes a musical the best ever? According to “Time Magazine”, it is powerful memorable songs, great acting, great voices, dancing, and a great story of characters, complicated ones, This production of "Carousel", by Music Theater Works, has ALMOST all of those.
We attended “Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! The Musical!” at the Marriott Theatre on Friday, July 19, 2024 at 10am in Lincolnshire, Illinois. The musical is based on Mo Willems’ children’s book. My kids enjoyed it and said, “It was so funny!”
“Grease” is the word at the Skokie Theatre || Reviewed by Keith Laggos, PHD. For TSP News
10-9-8-7…… BLAST OFF, TO THE PAST! || MARRIOTT THEATRE PRESENTS “BEEHIVE” A sixties’ MUSICAL REVIEW BY Bob Rubin, For TSP News
60 Years of RSMT took place May 17 and 18 at Reinhart Auditorium in Merrillville, Indiana. RSMT (Ross Summer Music Theatre) known for six decades of quality theatre did not disappoint!
**** Highly Recommended Shire and Maltby, the musical creators, originally wanted to call their show “Baby Baby Baby” because this is the story of three different couples surprised by unexpected babies in their futures. This delightful musical ended up being called, “Baby, The Musical” and its production is being put on by Lake Forest’s Citadel Theatre.
****HIGHLY RECOMMENDED**** Suzan-Lori Parks' play "Topdog/Underdog" has always been a showcase for two supremely talented actors. When it premiered off-Broadway, the 2002 winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama starred Don Cheadle and Jeffrey Wright. During the 2022/2023 season, the Broadway revival was graced with two highly-respected and quite well-known actors, both of whom received Tony Award nominations for Lead Actor in a Play. The production itself went on to win the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play. Now, Invictus Theatre Company is presenting a powerhouse production, under the brilliant and compassionate direction of Aaron Reese Boseman, that features two of Chicago's very own up-and-coming stars that shine ever so brightly. 4 SPOTLIGHTS
My two young sons, my mom, and I attended Roald Dahl’s "James and the Giant Peach" at the Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire. The show was excellent. The wonderful singing, colorful costumes, animated actors, and live action keeps the audience very engaged. I highly recommend this play. Go see how the giant peach sets James free!
***RECOMMENDED*** As with all well-constructed dramas, audiences are often faced with more questions than easy or simple pat answers by the play's end. Such is the case with Raven Theatre Company's world premiere of playwright Paul Michael Thomson's "brother sister cyborg space." Highly relevant and pressing issues -- namely the climate crisis -- are addressed in Thomson's twisty script. You may not be entirely comfortable with the outcome. 3 SPOTLIGHTS
***RECOMMENDED*** Court Theatre's Oedipus Trilogy comes to a fitting and deeply satisfying conclusion with its very daring and bold new production of "Antigone," written by Sophocles. Associate Artistic Director Gabrielle Randle-Bent has directed a timeless classic with such strikingly vivid strokes that the work is virtually reimagined by her visionary choices. Wisely, Randle-Bent has utilized Founding Artistic Director Nicholas Rudall's translation. Rudall, whose career spanned over four decades as a Professor Emeritus in Classics at the University of Chicago, is widely recognized as an expert in making ancient Greek tragedies engaging for modern audiences. Since "Antigone" is a play whose central theme is justice, it seems like true poetic justice that Court Theatre's final offering of the trilogy should exalt in Rudall's translated text. 3 SPOTLIGHTS
