**** Highly Recommended **** A couple of Sundays ago, my friend Helen Garrison and I went to The Second City’s Improv Brunch. The show was completely interactive, with skits based on concepts provided by the audience. Delish food and improv – we had a blast! 4 Spotlights
***** Highly Recommended ***** My first question when I I heard Chicago Shakespeare was turning "The Notebook" into a musical, was, why? After all, Nicholas Sparks’ best-selling novel (which I read more than once) had already been made into an iconic movie (which I’ve seen and didn't love). What a dumb question! Ingrid Michaelson’s melodic, emotional score fits the story perfectly. I thought Bekah Brunstetter’s adaptation was better than the movie! The production is superb, the voices divine! Be sure to bring your tissues, you’ll need them! 4 BIG Spotlights
**** Highly Recommended **** The Goodman Theatre production of Lynn Nottage’s new play, "Clyde’s", which premiered on Broadway just under a year ago, is nothing short of delish! I ended up hungry, what with all the yummy sounding sandwiches being created on the stage. By the way, kudos to the cast for their knife work. I know how hard that is to learn! The story is poignant yet funny – and I found myself ticked off at Clyde, and rooting for the kitchen staff. 4 BIG Spotlights
My two boys, ages two and four, my husband, and I attended the 5:30 pm showing of "Sesame Street Live! Make Your Magic" on Saturday, October 8, 2022 at the Rosemont Theater. We had a great time and our boys had fun. We loved seeing how much our kids enjoyed the show. The show lasted about 90 minutes; this included an intermission about half way through
This reviewer couldn’t get there for opening night but maybe the one-week head start made this production near flawless. The opening set design by Eric Luchen set the tone, drawing applause as the curtain went up.
** Somewhat recommended ** The premise of "Frankenstreisand" was intriguing – Barbra Streisand as a mad scientist determined to clone her dog – but the execution just didn’t measure up. In his post-opening speech, Hell in a Handbag Artistic Director David Cerda called it a fever-dream of a play. Some people loved the show, laughing at everything. I thought it was more like a bad acid trip. 2 Spotlights
***** Highly Recommended ****** After a long absence, "Wicked" is finally back in Chicago for a fourteen week run – and it’s about time! I loved this show so much I hired a limo and took my three sisters and a couple of my nieces to a performance. "Wicked" has everything a successful Broadway musical needs; colorful costumes, fantastical sets, entertaining music, clever lyrics, great choreography and two fabulous female stars. I love "Wicked", a fantastical tale about a pair of unlikely best friends, and I think you will too. 4 BIG Spotlights
***RECOMMENDED*** It is always a joyous experience to attend a musical at Lyric Opera of Chicago. Their stage is so large and their technical capabilities nearly endless that curious theatre-goers often wonder how a design team will approach their particular staging of any given show presented there. Plus, hearing the score of one of your favorite shows performed by a full orchestra is priceless. When the show happens to be one that has not been in the line-up of the regional subscription-based companies for over two decades, like "Fiddler on the Roof," it is an added incentive to seek out this wonderful production.
**** Highly Recommended **** Cabaret ZaZou’s "Luminaire" was an absolute blast!!!! Take the best of cabaret, comedy, cirque, and some terrific jazz, with artists from around the world, add about 50 pounds of sequins, shake it all up, add dinner and drinks served ringside, and that’s Luminaire. The cast and crew will be dressing up to the nines, the audience is invited to dress up to the ‘tens’. If you love a good cabaret – this is the show for you! 4 BIG Spotlights
★★★★★One of my favorite Sondheim musicals is “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” (hereafter I will use “Sweeney Todd”). I have witnessed quite a number of productions, but never as a chamber piece. Kokandy Productions, since its onset, has been great at selecting material to convert from large stage to chamber. For those unaware of a Chamber Piece/or musical, it is an intimate production where more imagination on the part of the audience comes into the mix. The actors are close enough to touch and often, a character will sit at a musical instrument and become a part of the band. The audience is not sitting in what we call theater seats, but rather arm chairs and stools and other pieces of furniture one might find in “Grandma’s living room”.
