A LITTLE BIT OF THIS, A LITTLE BIT OF THAT – Part II
Some More Potpourri
After a wonderful month of having our energetic, bright, and delightful granddaughter,
Esme, with us, it's time to return to going down memory lane. I still have a
huge pile of recent programs that have yet to be filed, so let's do another
potpourri of shows. Today's six offerings include a new adaptation of an
early-18th century French farce, an unexpectedly delightful holiday musical, a
bracing world premiere, a pre-Broadway musical tryout, a long-running
performance art piece, and, finally, a curiously and surprisingly unsatisfying
production of an iconic musical. Six different shows, but they all have one
thing in common: they were all Chicago area productions.
A farce, you say? Let's begin there.
December, 2015. An old, decrepit grandfather clock chimed to start the
play, but alternating with the expected chimes, the clock also made fart
sounds. And we laughed. Yep. Childish, I know. Immature, certainly. But, c'mon,
it was funny. And, thus the tone of
David Ives' The Heir Apparent, based
on Jean-François Regnard's 18th century farce, Le Légataire universel, was set. Chockablock with references to
bodily functions, cheerful anachronisms, scheming servants, mistaken
identities, young lovers, sex-driven old people, and some audience
participation thrown into the mix, this frothy brew was written in rhyming
couplets and served up in a production that was tightly directed, sensationally
acted, and beautiful to look at. The plot had something to do with inheritances
and wills and who marries who, and, like most farces, paper-thin, but I laughed
so hard and so frequently, it didn't matter one whit. Leading the cast was the
estimable Paxton Whitehead, who seemed to be having the time of his life.
Jessie Fisher, Cliff Saunders, Nate Burger, Emily Peterson, Patrick Kerr, and
Bob's friend, Linda Kimbrough ably rounded out the cast. We were on the extreme
far side, which at the Shakes can be problematic, but John Rando's direction
made sure all three sides in the ¾ thrust Courtyard Theater were treated
equally and we missed nothing. (Take note, Gary Griffin!) A jolly way to spend
a cold December evening. – at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Chicago
ELF – Marriott
Theatre, Lincolnshire
October, 2015. It will probably surprise no one that I'm not a fan of
holiday-themed entertainment. I loathe It's
a Wonderful Life. The thought of singing Christmas carols makes me cringe.
And, frankly, my dear, I don't give a flipping crap about Tiny Tim. So, taking
all that into account, I was expecting Marriott Lincolnshire's Elf to be just filled-to-the-Marriott-rafters
with gooey good cheer and holiday icky-ness, but free tickets are free tickets, so off we went. And, gasp, I
was delightfully surprised. I'd never seen the movie, so I didn't know the
story. As presented on the Marriott stage, Elf
was a breath of fresh air with a bracing amount of tartness, yet with a satisfying
dollop of heart, bolstered by a really
good score, a solid production, terrific production numbers, and fine
performances by all involved. Special kudos to Alex Goodrich who worked his
butt off as a just-right Buddy. Even though at a few days before Halloween,
this was a bit early to be watching holiday fare, this was absolutely worth the
drive up to Lincolnshire. After City of
Angels and then Elf, I officially
forgave Marriott for the previous year's Cabaret.
– at the Marriott Theatre, Lincolnshire
THADDEUS AND SLOCUM – Lookingglass Theatre, Chicago
July, 2016. In 1908, when this fascinating work takes place, many
theatres in Chicago were segregated, including the Majestic (Shubert) Theatre.
Blacks had their own box office (in the alley) and were relegated to the upper
reaches of the house. (I didn't know this. Discovered this sorry fact during
our Conclave, which ended the day before we saw this.) "White" houses
were allowed only one "colored" act and many African-American
performers of the day performed in blackface, I assume to make the whites more
comfortable. This is all explored in this wonderful new work that will have you
talking about it long after the play is over. Wonderfully directed and acted by
a terrific group of actors (special props to Samuel Taylor and Travis Turner as
the eponymous duo), this was bracing and involving. We were seated on the floor
at cabaret tables and were literally in much of the action. Very cool. The tag
for this show is "A Vaudeville Adventure." Indeed it was. With
vaudeville acts intermingled with the plot, it was unlike anything I'd seen and
more than just a show within a show. The Lookingglass people, however, really
need to do something about the VERY un-period white-bristled nylon push broom
they use at one point in the show. Drove me bats and really was the only period
misstep in the whole show. Our first Lookingglass production. I really liked
this one. - at the Lookingglass Theatre, Chicago
GOTTA DANCE – Bank
of America Theatre, Chicago
December, 2015. Preview performance. Pre-Broadway tryout. Lightweight
fluff with endearing, sparkling performances, an often very funny book, and a
pleasant, if forgettable, score made for an enjoyable evening out. Based on a
true story about senior hip-hop dancers as half-time entertainment for a NBA
basketball team, this was brightly designed, energetically played by the
orchestra, and directed and choreographed by Jerry Mitchell with his customary
skill and panache. Andre de Shields demonstrated with ease why he is still a
formidable force to reckon with. The always-wonderful Lillias White provided
the show's soul. Jennifer Hart, I mean Stefanie Powers, still lithe and stunning
at 72, provided the glamour. It was Lori Tan Chinn's Mae, however, who gave the
show its heart with her understated and quiet performance culminating in her poignant
and moving song about Alzheimer's, "The Waters Rise," which visibly
moved the audience. Second-billed Georgia Engel, though clearly the audience
favorite, rather underwhelmed me. Her performance in Gotta Dance was pretty much the same performance she gave in The Drowsy Chaperone, which was pretty
much the same performance she gave in The
Mary Tyler Moore Show. Yes, she's very funny and has flawless comic timing,
but I feel she's one-note, all wide-eyed and squeaky voice. Entertaining, but
one-note. I know lots and lots of people will disagree with me on this. Just my
opinion. The reviews were very mixed, but almost everyone felt it had
potential. I agree. The show overall needs to deepen to make it involving.
Right now, it's a breezy, uncomplicated show, a solid "B" musical, enjoyable,
but not one that will survive the harsh economic reality that is Broadway today
without some serious revisions. It's scheduled to open on Broadway in Spring,
2017. I wish it well. – at the Bank of America Theatre, Chicago
BLUE MAN GROUP –
Briar Street Theatre, Chicago
June, 2016. Free tickets to paper the house on a slow Monday night. Blue Man Group, an international
performance art sensation, opened at the Briar Street Theatre way back in 1997
and it's been chugging along there ever since. (Good for the theatre itself,
but, in a way, bad for the theatre community since it takes a lovely space out
of commission for plays, musicals, and concerts, i.e. what was done at Briar
Street before the Blue Men set up residence.) This was my second visit to the
show; the first being shortly after it opened, when it was a hot ticket. And,
frankly, I was lukewarm towards it. My reaction towards it this time was much
more positive. It seemed fresher, more energetic, but it's still a bit of a
mixed bag. The guys in blue themselves were excellent and did more with just
their eyes and facial expressions than many actors can do with dialogue. Often
side-splittingly funny, and visually and technically stunning, it also has some
really dead spots. The opening sequence, before the Blue Men even enter, goes
on for too long. Ditto a segment onstage with an audience member. Same goes for
a "backstage" bit where an audience member supposedly does a painting by slamming his body against the canvas. It clocks in at about 100
minutes, perhaps shorter, but could be easily trimmed by ten minutes. I enjoyed
it, but was glad when it was over. Curiously, even though the house was maybe
50% full, tops, the ushers didn't move everyone closer to the stage. I'm good
for another 10-15 years before I see it again. And it will probably still
be at the Briar Street. – at the Briar Street Theatre, Chicago
CAROUSEL – Lyric
Opera House, Chicago
April, 2015. Preview performance. Many consider Carousel to be Rodgers and Hammerstein's finest work. I'm not among
them. Never have been. No quibbles about the score. It's pretty much flat out
gorgeous, though the most famous song, "You'll Never Walk Alone,"
reeks of gooey sentimentality and "June Is Bustin' Out All Over"
makes me want to slap people. Ironically, both songs are sung by the character
of Nettie Fowler, the Aunt Eller of this piece, but without the spunk and sass.
As sung in a wooden, lifeless, lyrically-mumbled performance by opera diva
Denyce Graves, these were almost intolerable to sit through. No, my dislike of
the show stems from the plot. Sorry, I just can't get behind a show that says
it's okay to smack someone around as long as you love them. (Yes, I know I just
typed that "June Is Bustin' Out All Over" makes me want to slap
people, but I'm a complicated man. I wouldn't really slap them. The song just
makes me want to slap them.) The
reason I went to see Carousel, as
produced by the Lyric Opera of Chicago, was for its stars, Laura Osnes and Steven
Pasquale. More on them in a bit. For whatever reason, director/choreographer
Rob Ashford reset the show, which originally takes place in 1873 Maine, to the
1930s. This just doesn’t work. It makes the entire show seem off. The rhythms
of the show, the characterizations, the very essence of the show doesn't speak
to depression-era New England. The scenic design wasn't very Maine-ish, either,
and the costumes, while era appropriate, were lackluster. The Lyric Opera House
is vaunted for its acoustics, so the amplification system muddied the sound and
worked against the singers. But all could have been forgiven, even Ms. Graves'
performance, had the cast simply been better. Laura Osnes' Julie Jordan
actually was quite lovely and showed a nice amount of spine, and she sang the
crap out of her songs. Steven Pasquale's Billy Bigelow, however, and bewilderingly
since Bob and I thought he was sexy and sensational in The Bridges of Madison County, was a pouty, dull, and not very
charismatic antihero. The high point of the show should be his
"Soliloquy," but Pasquale just didn't put it across. It was sung with
the right notes, but without a lot of fire and passion, and was very oddly
staged where the set actually seemed to be the focal point and not the
performer. No excuse, Mr. Ashford! Because of the imbalance of the two leads,
the acting honors fell to supporting players Jenn Gambatese, as a fiery and
delightful Carrie Pipperidge, and Matthew Hydzik, as a stalwart and prim Enoch
Snow. For me, though, the absolute high point of the show was Charlotte
d'Amboise's sizzling, sexually-potent dance in the dream ballet which gave us a
tantalizing tease of what the show could have been and reaffirmed my belief
that d'Amboise is possibly the theatre's finest dancer, full stop. For the
record, veteran actor Tony Roberts played the Starkeeper and Dr. Seldon. Well,
it was a paycheck. Admittedly, I was predisposed to have a tepid response to the
show, but I just didn't understand the raves many of the Chicago critics gave
it. Was the performance on opening night that different from the preview
performance we attended? – at the Lyric Opera House, Chicago
More later. Stay cool.
©
2016 Jeffrey Geddes
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