'The Showtune Mosh Pit' for April 20th, 2011
By: Paul W. Thompson Apr. 20, 2011
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:
It's spring, isn't it? (Don't check the thermometer, check a calendar.) And that means it's awards season, doesn't it? At least, the deadline has passed for productions to be considered eligible for the 2011 Non-Equity Jeff Awards, to be handed out on Monday, June 6, 2011 at the Park West. The cut-off date was March 31, and we are three weeks beyond that now. So, when will the nominations be announced? We don't know! But hopefully it's very soon. That's what the Jeff Awards website says, too--soon. So, let's hope it's any day now. With literally hundreds of eligible productions, it's a tough job, to be sure. But we can't wait!
Despite the chill in the weather, word in the Mosh Pit is that there is hotness up at the Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire! Their production of "42nd Street" continues to garner a lot of attention, and some extremely positive reviews. Rachel Rockwell and Tammy Mader have solidified their respective reputations as a top-notch director and choreographer with this pizzazzy production of this crowd-pleasing backstage show, the first really successful screen-to-stage transfer in Broadway history. Catherine Lord stars as the scenery-chewing headliner, Dorothy Brock. Have you seen it yet? It runs until May 29.
Marriott Theatre's 42nd Street
Another show that began performances at the end of March, albeit on a slightly smaller scale, is Jackie Taylor's original jukebox musical "All In Love Is Fair." It got some fairly decent notices for the Black Ensemble Theater in Uptown (running through May 8). Original shows peppered with popular music standards have been this company's bread and butter for a quarter century, and this show apparently doesn't disappoint. It's multi-cultural, multi-stylistic, and 100% based in "Love, Illinois," its fictional setting and the title of its original title tune.
Two of Chicago's more prominent midsize companies are in rehearsal for their big spring shows right now. Bailiwick Chicago is preparing what I believe is the Midwest premiere of the Tony Award-winning "Passing Strange," the autobiographical show by Stew (and Heidi Rodewald) whose Broadway production was made into a film by Spike Lee and subsequently shown on PBS. Lili-Anne Brown directs, Jimmy Morehead musical directs, and the show stars JC Brooks & The Uptown Sound, a Chicago "Post-Punk/Soul Indie band" according to the theater's website. It previews this weekend, and officially opens April 25 (through May 29) at the Chicago Center For The Performing Arts, just off of Chicago Avenue and Halsted Street. "Amsterdam," anyone?
And Porchlight Music Theatre Chicago is preparing a slightly more traditional musical, the Rodgers and Hammerstein masterpiece "The King And I," for performances April 22 through June 5 at Stage 773 on Belmont Avenue. L. Walter Stearns directs, in his swan song for the company, as he leaves to take over the Mercury Theater on Southport Avenue. Brianna Borger stars as Anna, with Wayne Hu as The King, Jillian Anne Jocson as Tuptim and Erik Kaiko (he was in Bailiwick Chicago's "Departure Lounge") as Lun Tha. Kate Garassino gets to sing "Something Wonderful" as Lady Thiang.
Speaking of R&H, and picking up on a theme from last week's Mosh Pit, we may have dueling productions of "The Sound Of Music" coming up this year, though not concurrent ones. The Drury Lane Theatre in Oakbrook Terrace will present the heartwarmer from October 20--December 23, as the end of its 2011 season. And Chamber Opera Chicago is rumored to be in the midst of final casting now for its production as well, happening at the Athenaeum Theatre on Southport Avenue in late spring or early summer, I think. Does anybody know for sure when this is happening? I can't find an online listing for it anywhere!
Drury Lane Oakbrook - Upcoming Season
Like Chamber Opera Chicago, Chicago Folks Operetta fills a niche in the continuum of music theater for local audiences, a little bit more than halfway from contemporary American cabaret nights to old school grand Italian opera. It will be presenting the Leo Fall operetta "The Rose Of Stambul" during the last half of July at the Chopin Theatre on Division Street. As a warm-up to that, its benefit concert, "This Is Operetta," takes place next Friday, April 29, 2011, at the The Pleasant Home in west suburban Oak Park. Michael Cavalieri, Kim McCord, Alison Kelly, Erich Buchholz and Gerald Frantzen, accompanied by Erik Liefrinck, will perform selections from (I think) Viennese and American operettas of the early 20th century. And they've got Julius Meinl pastries! Yum.
In July, a production will hit town that I think wasn't on my radar screen before now. It's "The All New Original Tribute To The Blues Brothers" at the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University, brought to you courtesy of Broadway In Chicago. I think it's a tour, and it will be here (in the city where it all began, of course) for three weeks (July 6-24). It sounds like more of a concert than a play, but there's a lot of shows these days than blur that line a lot ("Rain," anyone, or even "American Idiot," for that matter?). It's "your favorite Blues Brothers moments and songs come to life." Well, ok then.... That's clear....
The All New Original Tribute to the Blues BrothersTM
And as far as up-to-date musicals go, the reigning Tony Award champion for Best Musical, "Memphis," has taken an unprecendented step. A recent performance of the show, taped at New York's Shubert Theatre, will be shown in movie theaters nationwide, on four days only (April 28, April 30, May 1 [matinee] and May 3). That's exciting news for fans of the David Bryan/Joe DiPietro tuner about the origins of rock and roll! Locally, it's showing at River East, Roosevelt, City North and Webster Place, plus suburban locations (note, not every theater is showing it on every date, so check the schedules carefully). Is this the wave of the future, or a one-off? Will it increase sales of tickets to the Broadway production and the upcoming national tour, or siphon sales away? To quote a totally unrelated musical, and a movie one at that, it's "a whole new world."
And last but not least, I would be remiss if I didn't note a heretofore unknown phenomemon: the Chicago Symphony Chorus is full of Mosh Pit peeps! When the Grammy-winning ensemble (of which yours truly is a part) was in New York last weekend, performing at Carnegie Hall with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under Maestro Riccardo Muti, many members took advantage of the Thursday night off in the tour itinerary to catch one of the latest Broadway musicals! I didn't hear one single mention of longer-running shows like "The Phantom Of The Opera," "Chicago," "The Lion King," "Mamma Mia" or "Wicked." Oh, no. These folks joined the long line of Chicagoans heading to New York this spring to catch the very latest in musicals, including "Sister Act," "Catch Me If You Can," "The Book Of Mormon," and "Wonderland," and the revivals of "Anything Goes" and "How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying." And I heard one mention of the aforementioned "Memphis," and one of the now-shuttered version 1.1 of "Spiderman: Turn Off The Dark." Who knew that classical singers were so au courant with the Great White Way? I say, why not? Nothing wrong with stylistic cross-pollination. Glad to be a part!
And so, from awards shows to local productions to various ways of encountering productions originating in New York, we endeavor to bring you the latest news and views of showtunes in Chicago. Thanks as always for clicking and reading! Have a great spring break, if you're one of this week's lucky winners, and I'll see you all very soon, under those video screens.....-PWT
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