'The Showtune Mosh Pit' for April 27th, 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 finally here! After two full years of waiting, prompting the creation of one of the most popular and speculative message threads ever on BroadwayWorld's Chicago Message Board, the national tour of "Next To Normal" has arrived in Chicago! For this week and next, the Bank of America Theatre on Monroe Street is "feel-everything central" for this Pultizer Prize and Tony Award-winning musical about love, loss, modern families and mental illness. Folks are now saying that Alice Ripley's multi-award-winning performance as Diana is "legendary," and nobody who's seen it disagrees. And make no mistake about it--Ripley's appearance here is a rare kind of appearance, indeed. The last time a star toured to Chicago in the show for which they previously won the Tony Award (not counting pre-Broadway tryouts, or Elaine Stritch's 2003 visit in the one-woman Best Special Theatrical Event "Elaine Stritch: At Liberty) seems to have been ... wait for it, wait for it ... Carol Channing in "Hello, Dolly!" ... in 1994! She was great, but (obviously) that was not the original production of the show. And that was 17 years ago. Seriously. I went back that far and nothing else rang a bell. Am I wrong? Help me out. Just how rare is Ripley's appearance here? "Next To Normal!!!" 

Next to Normal: Official Touring Production 

Alice Ripley is playing Stage 773 on her off night, next Monday, May 2, 2011. Her concert, "Daily Practice: The Acoustic Sessions," is at 7:30 pm, and will feature songs from her latest solo album. Apparently, she likes to sing classic rock to keep her voice in shape, and she's letting fans in on the action. Wonder if she'll stop by Sidetrack afterwards, to catch a first-hand glimpse of the Mosh Pit? I doubt it, but I can dream, can't I? It's not that far, you know.... 

Now Playing at Stage 773 

Ripley is not the only performer from the N2N tour who will be performing in a different venue next Monday. Emma Hunton, who plays Diana's daughter Natalie in the show (and gets to sing the awesome song "Superboy And The Invisible Girl"), is in the line-up for a benefit concert May 2nd at 8:00 in the Struble Theatre of Northwestern University's Theatre And Interpretation Center on the Evanston campus. Adam Kantor (from the last cast of "Rent" on Broadway) is also among those performing. It's a benefit for Kantor's charity, Broadway In South Africa. Sounds cool. 

NEXT TO NORMAL's Emma Hunton to Perform at Northwestern 

And "Next To Normal" will not be the only national tour in town for the week of May 3-8! "Spring Awakening" makes its return appearance to our town, playing the Ford Center For The Performing Arts, Oriental Theatre that week. Remember, whereas N2N won three Tony Awards, SA won eight! If you missed it on it first (quick) stop here 18 months ago, you won't want to miss it. Back in 2006-7, it gave the world Jonathan Groff, Lea Michele (original last name, Sarfati) and John Gallagher, Jr., didn't it? What talents will inhabit their roles for us in 2011? 

Chicago Spring Awakening 2011 | Broadway in Chicago 

And Alice Ripley's concert isn't the only thing exciting happening around Stage 773, either. As Porchlight Music Theatre Chicago prepared "The King And I" for its press opening this weekend (the show will run through June 5th), the company announced its selection of a new artistic director, filling the shoes of "King and I" director L. Walter Stearns after his departure to the Mercury Theatre after 12 years. Their choice is veteran actor and director Michael Weber, currently appearing in "42nd Street" at the Marriott Theatre and the former artistic director of Munster, Indiana's Theater At The Center (1998-2004). He also appeared in the Patti LuPone concert stagings of "Gypsy" and "Annie Get Your Gun" at the Ravinia Festival--that's enough credentials right there, don't you agree? Seriously, I have heard nothing but good things about this appointment. How about you? 

Porchlight Names Michael Weber New Artistic Director 

One of the distant progenitors of rock musicals like "Next To Normal" and "Spring Awakening" was "Grease," one of Broadway's biggest hits of the 1970s and the source of one of the most popular film musicals ever made. Few theatergoers may be aware that the show was written and first performed in Chicago, in an eight-month run at the long-gone Kingston Mines Theatre on Lincoln Avenue in 1971. The version that opened on Broadway the following year was sanitized and de-Chicagoized, apparently, and now Jim Jacobs (the show's co-creator along with the late Warren Casey) has teamed with the American Theater Company on West Byron Street to bring much of that original script and score back to life. The fruits of their reconstructive labors is called "The Original Grease," and not only has it been entirely re-orchestrated, but it's rated R! Directed by PJ Paparelli and choreographed by Jim Corti, starring Adrian Aguilar as Danny Zuko and Kelly Davis Wilson as Sandy Dumbroski, the show is previewing now, and runs for two months, through June 26. This is an important production, methinks, and a brilliant idea. It's got Northwest Side ethnic greasers, Foster Beach frolicking, and all things authentically 1959. Fascinating! 

American Theater Company | the original grease 

One of the more recent predecessors of those shows was "Rent," and the American Theater Company and the About Face Theatre have announced plans to bring a co-production of "Rent" to ATC's space in the spring of 2012. It will be co-directed by the two companies' artistic directors, PJ Paparelli and Bonnie Metzger, and they promise to "bring a staggering reality" to the preceedings. Sounds promising, does it not? Though I thought it was pretty staggering on Broadway, even with the "Rent mics" on everybody's heads, and the "Cats" meets "West Side Story" scene design. Like I said, sounds promising. 

Welcome to About Face Theatre 

There's kind of a unique event taking place this Saturday at 9:30 pm at the Wilmette Theatre in that northern suburb. It's a screening of the film version of the musical "Hedwig And The Angry Inch" (yet another rock musical--detect a trend?), with live music played along with the film by the "shadowcast troupe" Midnight Radio. They will lead the audience in interactive fun and live music, "featuring flamboyant costumes," no less. It's just what you'd expect from a wealthy suburb on a Saturday night! It's a movie screening and a rock concert, simultaneously. I bet John Cameron Mitchell would love it! 

Live Events at Wilmette Theatre 

Also in a northern suburb, Northwestern University's annual Waa-Mu show opens this weekend, directed by David H. Bell and conducted by Ryan Nelson, but otherwise written by and starring students. This year's edition of the legendary college musical is called "What's Next?," and it runs through May 8 at Cahn Auditorium on the school/s Evanston campus. I bet the production values are sky-high for this show! 

Waa-Mu, School of Communication, Northwestern University 

Last but not least, Chicago's musical theater scene got a boost this past Monday night from an unlikely corner--Washington, D.C.'s Helen Hayes Awards! The capital's answer to our Joseph Jefferson Awards were handed out Monday, and "Candide," first mounted at the Goodman Theatre here last September before it headed to the stage of its co-producing entity, the Shakespeare Theatre Company there, was named Outstanding Resident Musical! And Northwestern University professor Mary Zimmerman was named Outstanding Director, Resident Musical, and our own Hollis Resnik was named Outstanding Supporting Actress, Resident Musical, for her turn as the Old Lady. (The show won several other awards as well.) But, guess what? "Candide" actually tied for the Outstanding Resident Musical award with the Arena Stage's production of "Oklahoma!," the one that starred our own E. Faye Butler (currently in "Working" at the Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place) as Aunt Eller! It won several other awards as well, though Butler, nominated as Outstanding Lead Actress, did not win. So, you never know. Chicago theater artists, and sometimes our productions, too, work in other cities, and we are proud to welcome them back home. To the Mosh Pit! Well done, everyone. 

Helen Hayes Nominees and Recipients 

So, keep your feet dry from all this rain, and head to the theater of your choice! I'm sure you do, without any prompting from me. Perhaps I'll see you there! Anyway, I know I'll see you under the video screens.....-PWT 

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