Spotlight on Reviews

**** Recommended **** The audience for “American Girl Live” seemed to be about 75% girls carrying American Girl dolls, with moms and the occasional dad making up the other 25%. Not surprising then, that the audience was totally into the story, cheering when something good happened, groaning when things went wrong. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a perkier show, but it was fun. 3 ½ Spotlights

★★★★★ Broken Nose Theatre Company is geared for young theater-goers, with limited funds, who seek entertainment that is not what their parents viewed as “theater”. Their works strive to evoke and spark conversation, cultivate empathy and based on the productions I have witnessed in their home at The Den, they do this with ease for their actors and for their audience.

****HIGHLY RECOMMENDED****  There is clearly no question that Porchlight Music Theatre's "A Chorus Line" is definitely one singular sensation. Director Brenda Didier has crafted a highly impassioned production, cast with a combination of plenty of spirited young talent mixed with some seasoned veterans that have given this legendary and iconic 1975 Broadway musical a very contemporary feel while being acutely aware of the sensibility of the original production's impact. The motivational force that was the genius of Michael Bennett -- who not only conceived this seminal work but also was the original director and choreographer -- can be found in many of this production's finest moments. Undoubtedly, "A Chorus Line" connects with its audience, as it ran on Broadway for over 15 years. Porchlight's version proves wholeheartedly just why this particular musical is so popular and essential.  4 BIG SPOTLIGHTS

****HIGHLY RECOMMENDED**** Tough, rare and bloody. These three words are used by the crew members of the ship, The Pequod, to describe the act of killing and subsequently butchering a shark or a whale and the quality of its flesh. It could also be used to define the mettle that was required to be a harpooner on just such a whaling vessel, or the peerless few who could sustain the occupational hazards. But, most aptly, those three words encapsulate Chicago Opera Theater's Chicago premiere of "Moby-Dick." Tough to take Hermann Melville's 1851 sweeping epic and distill it into as gripping and poignant of a libretto as Gene Scheer has miraculously done. Rare to hear a more hauntingly beautiful and stylistically varied score in a contemporary opera than what Jake Heggie composed for this 2010 work which has already been deemed a masterpiece. Bloody? Well, let's just say that this entire production is a bloody brilliant success. The only drawback to this is that far too many people will miss the opportunity to get a chance to see it. Following last evening's opening there is only one remaining performance to experience this essential, very American classic. 4 BIG SPOTLIGHTS