Spotlight on Reviews

**** “Rock of Ages 10th Anniversary Tour” blew into Chicago on Tuesday, but don’t blink, it’ll be gone by Sunday.  The boy-meets-girl plot is almost non-existent, but the music really rocks!  Seriously, the score includes 28 hits from artists like Bon Jovi, Journey, Styx, Pat Benatar, Poison, Twisted Sister, Steve Perry, Europe, REO Speedwagon and more.  I hesitate to use the term ‘cult icon’, but this jukebox musical is something special.  You’ll be dancing in your seat!  4 Spotlights

****HIGHLY RECOMMENDED****  Oh, those memories, how they light the corners of our minds. But, as our narrator in “Buyer & Cellar” quickly points out, the human brain is round, so how could it have any corners, unless it is warped? Well, enough about trying to parse the lyrics written by Alan and Marilyn Bergman to the theme from “The Way We Were.” Instead, let’s focus on the product of the slightly warped and wickedly creative mind of playwright Jonathan Tolins, whose 2013 off-Broadway hit “Buyer & Cellar” is getting a rousing production at Pride Films and Plays that is as thoroughly hilarious as it is genuinely heartfelt. 4 SPOTLIGHTS

****HIGHLY RECOMMENDED****  Upon entering the Harris Theatre, you may have felt that you were actually in a large nightclub, with DJ Prince The Game Changer spinning from a large booth that sat at stage left. This 17-year-old turntablist had the capacity crowd on the main floor moving and grooving in their seats to some pretty impressive throw-back early 1990's beats (think Robin S and Crystal Waters) and mesmerized by some trippy visuals projected onto a large movie screen. The vibe was most definitely chill and not at all what you might expect for an event titled "XQ Super School Live", which is an emerging and flourishing network of "educators, students, families and other civic-minded people who are reimagining high school education in the United States" has partnered with Pop-Up Magazine to bring this well-organized and highly entertaining multimedia storytelling experience to Chicago for just one evening.  4 BIG SPOTLIGHTS

Not Recommended * As my friend and I walked out of the theater after “The Ridiculous Darkness”, she commented that that was two hours she’d never get back. Sadly, that’s exactly how I felt. In the publicity blurbs, “The Ridiculous Darkness” is described as a German-written dark comedy. It was certainly dark, but I didn’t see any comedy. This production had no idea where it was going and it definitely didn’t have a clue where it had been. Don’t waste your time. 1/2 Spotlight