**** Highly Recommended **** I have to confess, I am a Cub fan, so, of course. I loved “Miracle”. If I were a Sox fan – or a fan of any other major league team - I doubt if I’d be so excited. “Miracle” is the perfect musical for Cub fans of all ages, because the 2016 World Series win meant so much to so many people. I am here to tell all of those fans that for me, watching “Miracle” was like watching the World Series all over again! 4 BIG Spotlights
****HIGHLY RECOMMENDED**** What a joy it is to have the supremely talented director David Cromer back at Writers Theatre. The North Shore native, who has been living in New York City for the past decade, returns to direct his sixth show (but the first in the new Writers Theatre building) with a touching and simply sensational rendering of the 2009 musical "Next to Normal." Chicagoland audiences once again have a chance to see the very special magic that a director as gifted as Cromer can bring to a show, and all of this only a year after Cromer's Broadway production of the musical "The Band's Visit" swept the 2018 Tony Awards ceremony, winning Cromer the coveted Best Director trophy. 4 SPOTLIGHTS
**** Recommended **** I enjoyed everything about the Goodman Theatre’s production of “The Winter’s Tale”, which is so rarely produced I’d only seen it once before. “The Winter’s Tale” is not one of Shakespeare’s comedies, although it has some rather hilarious comedic elements. On the other hand, it’s not a tragedy, either. This tale of lost children, star-crossed lovers, murder and mayhem might just qualify as a rom-com. 4 Spotlights
Highly Recommended **** Sometimes, I just can’t get to our local theaters on opening weekend, even though that’s always my preference. Excuses, excuses, you might say, but I really couldn’t see the Towle Theater’s production of “Mama’s Boy” until later in the run. On the other hand, I was there for a Talk-Back session with the cast, crew, and playwright, Rob Urbinati, who’d flown in from New York to see the show. I wish I could have gotten this review written before the show closed, because it was so very well done. Maybe because I remember watching Jack Ruby shoot Lee Harvey Oswald on live TV, this play really resonated for me. 4 Spotlights
**** Recommended **** If you’re looking for something fun to do, then Theatre at the Center’s new musical comedy, “Dames at Sea”, is the show for you. “Dames at Sea”, a 1969 off-Broadway hit, is an old-fashioned ‘boy-meets-girl, girl-becomes-star’ tap dance show, kind of. At any rate, this campy mash-up of “42nd Street”, “Anything Goes” and “On the Town”, this is the show that made Bernadette Peters a star! 4 Spotlights
****HIGHLY RECOMMENDED**** If you have never seen "West Side Story" on stage before, the current production at Lyric Opera of Chicago, part of their Broadway at Lyric series, may just be the most definitive version of this beloved musical that's available and you are highly encouraged to seek it out. Conversely, if you feel that you have seen this show too many times before, well, you have never seen it like this. Get your tickets now or you will be missing out on a unique opportunity to see it on such a grand scale. Regardless of your history with this show, Francesca Zambello's production of "West Side Story" is stellar for three very distinct reasons. 4 BIG SPOTLIGHTS
****HIGHLY RECOMMENDED**** If you have never seen "West Side Story" on stage before, the current production at Lyric Opera of Chicago, part of their Broadway at Lyric series, may just be the most definitive version of this beloved musical that's available and you are highly encouraged to seek it out. Conversely, if you feel that you have seen this show too many times before, well, you have never seen it like this. Get your tickets now or you will be missing out on a unique opportunity to see it on such a grand scale. Regardless of your history with this show, Francesca Zambello's production of "West Side Story" is stellar for three very distinct reasons. 4 BIG SPOTLIGHTS
** Somewhat Recommended ** I was really disappointed in “August Rush: The Musical”, the new production at the Paramount Theatre in Aurora. Although the music was gorgeous, the story was curiously unfinished and confusing. It wasn’t a big, showy, ‘ready-for-Broadway’ premiere, it was more like the first workshop of a new musical. The cast made the most of what they had, so I give “August Rush: The Musical” 2 ½ Spotlights.
Highly Recommended **** One thing is for sure! When you go to a theatrical production at Timeline Theatre, not only will you be entertained, you will be educated! In their lobby, they always feature items and stories that help with the education portion of the evening ( or afternoon, for a matinée), but it is onstage where they shine. They are currently offering a Chicago “premiere”, a drama that goes back to the 1960’s and the Civil Rights movement. For many in the audience tonight, a time we lived through and for the younger audience members, a “message” in history that they may not have known about.
***RECOMMENDED*** There are certain drinking establishments that have a signature cocktail or are known for specializing in a specific type of alcoholic beverage. Upside-down margaritas in a barber's chair, anyone? Ray's, the Chicago tavern that is the setting of Leonard House's new play "One 4 the Road" and produced by MPAACT has one such tradition. Here, at this Southside bar, any patron who can stomach more than one shot of Malört, the extremely bitter liquor produced by Chicago's very own Carl Jeppson Company, gets to have their name proudly etched upon the wall of fame. 3 SPOTLIGHTS
