'The Showtune Mosh Pit' for April 14th, 2010
By: Paul W. Thompson Apr. 14, 2010
THE LATEST IN UNAUTHORIZED GOSSIP AND BUZZ FROM THE HEART OF CHICAGO'S SHOWTUNE VIDEO BARS,
AND MUSICAL THEATER NEWS FROM CHICAGO TO BROADWAY
by Paul W. Thompson
Overheard last weekend under the showtune video screens at Sidetrack and the Call:
GLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!! Being shown every Tuesday at Sidetrack, and every Wednesday at The Call. GLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!
OK, now that I've gotten that out of my system, we can move on! Lol
Monday night, the Mosh Pit at Sidetrack was treated to a live performance of two numbers from "The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas," courtesy of Circle Theatre in Forest Park, where the 1978 tuner (with Ann-Margret tour revisions) is playing weekends through June the 20th. "Twenty-Four Hours Of Lovin'" was fun to hear, and the familiar "A Little Bitty Pissant Country Place" fit right in there. The Chicken Ranch girls and the Aggie boys then hung out at the top of Glass Bar for most of the night. Miss Mona would have been proud of them all. And regulars, first-timers and out-of-town guests (New York, even!) had a ball.
There were big doings in Chicago this weekend, with the official opening of "Billy Elliot" at the Ford Center for the Performing Arts, Oriental Theatre on Sunday evening. Sir Elton John, Oprah Winfrey and Jesse Jackson, Sr. were among those who walked a red carpet. Oh, and the show, with Mexican-Canadian youngster Cesar Corrales in the title role (one of four boys rotating in the role) was reportedly terrific. This set has been built to tour (the first BE set to be so constructed) but tickets for the production are on sale until October. So, nobody really knows how long it will be here. But seriously, you have to go......... The reviews are pretty much ecstatic....
Come to think of it, last weekend was like the Great Show Share between here and New York. They sent us a replicated Billy Elliot, and we sent them our production of The Addams Family (which opened there Thursday) and a replicated Million Dollar Quartet (which opened there Sunday, while the production still here at the Apollo Theatre is selling tickets through September). All three shows got tweaked during travel, and hopefully for the better. But you know that MDQ got better reviews from the New York critics than TAF did, don't you? You can't be surprised. That was true with the critics here as well. That was always true. It just didn't sound that way last fall, did it?
Summary of MDQ and TAF Broadway Reviews in The Broadway Pulse
All the bad news about the real estate situation facing Chicago's theaters will hopefully be temporarily quelled with the April 22nd opening of the new three-theater Theater Wit, in the old Bailiwick Arts Centre space on Belmont Avenue. Tickets to their first play, called "Spin," are being offered for free, for performances April 22-May 2. And there's receptions and open houses and tours and whatnot. Sounds crazy, no? Right? Of course right! But awesome. We hope it's lovely. Check out the details..........
And the new Bailiwick, that is to say, Bailiwick Chicago, is offering concert readings of a "musical in development" this very weekend, April 16th and 17th. Called "Bloom," is concerns the economic crisis precipitated by a run on tulips in Holland in the year 1636, no joke! Written by Peter Foley, Matthew Heimer, Andy Siegel and Kevin Mayes (the company's new artistic director), the performances of this very new musical comedy will take place at the Chicago Center for the Performing Arts, 777 N. Green Street. Rus Rainear, Abby Sammons and Ryan Lanning are among the thirteen performers involved.
There seem to be two productions of "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" in our midst at the moment. Well, sort of. Noble Fool Theatricals is producing the Tony-winning script out at the Pheasant Run Resort in St. Charles, Illinois, from April 22-June 13. Kevin Bellie directs, the same Kevin Bellie who staged the "Whorehouse" I mentioned above. And, a little closer to Mosh Pit Central, Wright College's production plays for the next two weekends out at 4300 N. Narragansett Avenue in Chicago. As one of the City Colleges of Chicago, it's in Chicago. And as one of the City Colleges of Chicago, the actors at Wright are probably as near to the ages of the characters in this lovable musical comedy as you can get. Well, at least as near as you can get for productions mentioned in this column........ Jason Fliess directs.
What else, what else, what else? Ah, yes. The House Theatre of Chicago has an interesting project now in previews, opening next Sunday and running through May 29th. It's "Girls Vs. Boys, an "innovative new musical" with book and lyrics by Chris Matthews, Jake Minton and Nathan Allen, with music by Kevin O'Donnell. Nathan Allen directs, with choregraphy by Tommy Rapley and musical direction by drummeister Ethan Deppe. Described as "an exhilarating battle of the sexes," the show comes with a good pedigree, as it was developed in partnership with The American Musical Theatre Project at Northwestern University. It will play at the Chopin Theatre at Division, Milwaukee and Ashland Avenues, and here's a twist--audiences can choose either traditional theater seating or cheaper "pit" tickets, standing room only for 50 theatergoers which is built into the middle of the set, "to put audiences right in the action." Sounds intriguing, methinks.
A unique project opened last Saturday night and will be playing for five more at the Playground Theater, 3209 N. Belmont Avenue. It's "Vaudeville Vivat!" from EP Productions. Described as "an improvised comedy review in the style of 1916 vaudeville," it's being directed by Dave Jennings and choreographed by Jeff Gandy. Music is by Amanda Murphy. Sounds like some neo-roots, post-modern variety act festival, a blend with equal parts circus, Second City, early television and the first act of "Gypsy." I don't know! But you have to admit, you're gonna click on this link:
Vaudeville Vivat! at Halsted and Belmont
We just learned that Route 66 Theatre Company, the Chicago and Los Angeles theater company that's the brainchild of actor Stef Tovar, is holding a gala benefit on Monday night, May 3rd, at Theatre Building Chicago. Called "Mile Markers: Old Roads, New Discoveries," the evening will feature performances by Quentin Earl Darrington, Larry Adams and Tovar (all currently appearing in "Ragtime" at the Drury Lane Theatre in Oakbrook Terrace), Brandon Dahlquist (currently in "Oh Coward!" at Writers' Theatre in Glencoe), Michael Ingersoll (late of Chicago's "Jersey Boys") and singer-songwriter-composers Jess Godwin, Brian Joseph, Michael Mahler, Alan Schmuckler and Jon Steinhagen, among others. This sounds thrilling, doesn't it?
And last but not least, I caused a mini-stir last week when I referred to Sutton Foster as a Broadway legend when I wrote a BroadwayWorld.com news article about her appearance here this coming October. People were shocked! I was talked to. In serious terms. My contention that her rise from chorus girl to understudy to Tony-winning leading lady, her creation of five original roles in new Broadway musicals in an eight-year period of the 21st century, and her absolutely unblemished reputation as a hard worker and great team player, not to mention being both a natural and a well-trained talent, was met with names like Chita, Angela, Bernadette, Barbara, Patti, Julie, Gwen, Mary and Ethel. No arguments from me about their inclusion! But as for Sutton, I think she is, or certainly one day will be, a Broadway legend, even if she never works another day in her life. And she'll be ours for weekend in October! But as always, I would LOVE to hear your thoughts.....
And, in the midst of next weekend's fun and frolic, I'll see you under the video screens...... won't I?.--PWT
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