'The Showtune Mosh Pit' for August 14th, 2013

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:

Seriously, folks. This is shaping up to be a big, big, BIG week for musical theater in the Chicago area, as three major local Equity stagings of significant recent Broadway musicals all begin performances this week. It's an incredible alignment of calendar, material and opportunity. These shows are all local professional premieres (the first time we've seen them staged professionally since the national tours came through) and they are all at theaters which concentrate almost exclusively on musicals as a genre. I hope you have plenty of time and money saved up! Super September is getting a head start here this year!

The Pulitzer Prize-winning "Next To Normal," the rock musical that tells the story of the effect of mental illness and its treatment on an otherwise average suburban middle class family, is one of the summer's most anticipated debuts around here, and we're counting on the Drury Lane Theatre in Oakbrook Terrace to not disappoint! Broadway, national tour and Chicago star Susie McMonagle leads the cast as Diana, the role played to Tony-winning fame by Alice Ripley, with Jeff Award winner Rod Thomas as Dan, her husband. Josh Tolle will appear as their son, Gabe, and Callie Johnson portrays their daughter, Natalie ("Superboy And The Invisible Girl," anyone?). Also featured are Skyler Adams as Henry and Colte Julian as Dr. Fine/Madden. Artistic Director William Osetek directs, with choreography by Tammy Mader. Previews begin tomorrow, on Thursday, August 15, and the show runs through October 6, 2013. With songs like "I'm Alive" and "I Am The One" on tap, this is a smoking score. Batten down the hatches, folks!

Susie-McMonagle-to-Lead-NEXT-TO-NORMAL-at-Drury-Lane-Theatre

Dolly Parton's score for the stage adaptation of the hit film "9 To 5" is now on display for the ears at the Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire, as the musical starts performances today, August 14, and runs through October 13, directed by David H. Bell and choreographed by Matt Raftery. Kelli Cramer, Susan Moniz, Alexandra Palkovic and James Moye star as the three women and the one chauvinistic boss who square off in this office-based musical comedy. Supporting leads in the cast include Marya Grandy, Ben Jacoby and Roger Anderson, with ensemble members including Brian Bohr, Robin Alexis Childress, Bryan Howard Conner, Devin DeSantis, Jerry Galante, Ericka Mac, Christine Mild, Natalie Myre, Laura Savage, Holly Stauder, Richard Strimer, Stef Tovar, J. Tyler Whitmer, Brandi Wooten and Melissa Zaremba. What a way to make a living!

David-H-Bell-to-Direct-9-TO-5-at-The-Marriott-Theatre

The third of these local professional premieres is "The Color Purple," a show with Chicago roots in its original Broadway director, Gary Griffin, co-star Felicia P. Fields and lead financial backer, Oprah Winfrey. And a theater in Chicago proper, the Mercury Theater Chicago, has a new production of it in the works, beginning performances tonight and running all the way to October 27. Broadway performer Trisha Jeffrey is Celie, the role which won LaChanze her Best Actress Tony Award, with JaSondra Johnson in the Fields/Winfrey role of Sophia and Adrienne Walker as Shug. L. Walter Stearns directs, with choreography by Brenda Didier. The principal men in the cast are Keithon Gipson, Cortez Johnson and Evan Tyrone Martin, and the ensemble includes Carrie Louise Abernathy, Sydney Charles, Darrian Ford, Aaron Holland, Donterrio Johnson, Donica Lynn, Katrina V. Miller, Ninah Snipes and Crystal Wood.

Trisha-Jeffrey-to-Lead-Mercury-Theater-Chicagos-THE-COLOR-PURPLE

As if this wasn't enough, we also have a well-received production of the legendary musical "Cabaret" that opened last weekend, though it runs only through August 25. It's at Cahn Auditorium in Evanston, courtesy of Light Opera Works, and it stars LOW Artistic Director Rudy Hogenmiller as the Emcee, in his first onstage appearance since 2005. The critics have weighed in quite positively on his performance, as well as the direction and choreography of Stacey Flaster and the Sally Bowles of Jenny Lamb. David Schlumpf is Cliff, with Barbara Clear as Fraulein Schneider and Jim Heatherly as Herr Schultz (they're apparently not too shabby, either). This is billed as the 1966 version of the show, though I believe that "Maybe This Time" is added in. At any rate, there's a large orchestra playing the score that made John Kander and Fred Ebb famous. I'll be in the audience on Saturday night.

Light-Opera-Works-to-Present-CABARET

So, fall is starting early, but there's still life left in our summer productions. Another sign of this is the fact that the original revue "A Cole Porter Songbook," the summer diversion from Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre, announced yet another extension late last week, now running in Rogers Park through September 15. That's six weeks beyond its original eight-week run. That's fourteen weeks in all. Not bad, Cole, not bad. The cast of Chris Logan, William Lucas, Sierra Naomi and Jill Sesso performs the arrangements of musical director Aaron Benham, under the watchful eye of director Fred Anzevino and choreographer David Heimann. It's all at the No Exit Café. And yes, it's around the corner from my house!

Theo-Ubique-Cabaret-Theatre-Extends-A-COLE-PORTER-SONGBOOK

But the Chicago area isn't done with Cole Porter--not by a long shot! For in west suburban Kane County, Fox Valley Repertory is staging another Porter revue, "Let's Misbehave," directed and choreographed by Kevin Bellie and musical directed by Ken Jones. Performances are at the Pheasant Run Resort in St. Charles, weekends from August 29 through October 20. If I'm not mistaken, this revue has the semblance of a plot, aka the Fats Waller Tony-winning "Ain't Misbehavin'. Unless there's actually some dialogue, in which case it's not really that much like "Ain't Misbehavin'. At any rate, Khaki Pixley, Blake Reddick and Heather Townsend star, with Ryan Brewster at the piano.

Fox-Valley-Rep-to-Present-Cole-Porter-Revue-LETS-MISBEHAVE

Circle Theatre has a new Cabaret Series, which kicks off at the end of the month with a one-night only presentation of "The Wonderful World Of Walt Cabaret." It's Sunday night, August 25 at 7:00 pm, in the cabaret and bar at 3160 N. Clark Street in Lakeview. Josh Walker is musical directing and overseeing the evening of songs from Disney films, with a cast including Kristine Burdi, Beth Lanza, Erin Daly, Bobby Arnold and Neil Stratman. The show will cap off a busy month for Circle, with the company's New Works Festival playing last weekend (August 10-11), its Emerging Young Artists presenting "Legally Blonde" (August 8-18) and a "Legally Blonde"-themed fundraiser (this coming Saturday, August 17), plus the Emerging Young Artists' Summer Boot Camp presentation of "Snow White: An Original Modern Musical" this weekend (August 17-18). Ok, now I'm exhausted!

http://www.circle-theatre.org/new/

Back on July 24th, I noted in the Mosh Pit that Chamber Opera Chicago had taken its 2011 original "music drama" "Persuasion," based on the Jane Austen novel, to two theaters in England, on the Isle Of Wight and in Winchester, this summer. What I didn't know then was that the company was going to present the show here in Chicago, for two performances only, in the Royal George Theatre (presumably the mainstage space), on the afternoons of September 7th and 8th. Billed as "A Newly Revised Musical Drama," I'm not sure how much Artistic Director Barbara Landis' show has changed, but if development leads to improvement, then I'm all for it. The show features songs mentioned in Jane Austen's writings, and other songs from the British Isles of the early 19th century, and stars Landis as Jane Austen herself. Sounds like a fascinating sort of hybrid work, doesn't it? (Reader's theater, ballad opera, play with music, theatrical memoir, etc.). And why not?

http://theroyalgeorgetheatre.com/Persuasion

Looking further into September, we now know who will be in the cast for yet another local professional premiere of a significant 21st century musical. The Paramount Theatre in Aurora snapped up the rights to Lin-Manuel Miranda's "In The Heights," as one of the very first theaters nationally to stage the Tony-winning show. And the cast was announced at the beginning of last week for the run, to be directed by Rachel Rockwell and choreographed by Katie Spelman. Lucky enough to be appearing on a set replicating the original Tony-nominated Broadway design by Anna Louizos will be Nick Demeris as Usnavi, Chicago theater legend Paula Scrofano as Abuela Claudia and Christina Nieves as Nina, with BroadwayWorld Chicago Award-winner Lillian Castillo as Carla, Keely Vasquez as Daniela, Ricardo Gutierrez as Kevin, Lucinda Johnston as Camila, Luis Herrera as Sonny, Jonathan Butler-Duplessis as Benny, Caitlainne Rose Gurreri as Vanessa and David Baida as Piragua Guy, with ensemble members Kasey Alfonso, William Carlos Angulo, Mary Joe Duggan, Courtney Landwerlen, Rachel Marie LaPorte, Eric Lewis, Terrance Martin, Tommy Rivera-Vega, Daniel Spagnuolo and Lauren Villegas. Tom Vendafreddo will lead the Paramount Theatre Orchestra. Super September just keeps getting better and better!

IN-THE-HEIGHTS-to-Kick-Off-Paramounts-2013-14-Broadway-Series

And speaking of casts, we can end this edition of the Mosh Pit where we began it, peeps, as the Drury Lane Theatre has announced principal casting for "Hello, Dolly!," its show that will follow "Next To Normal" into the Oakbrook Terrace theater (October 17, 2013 through January 5, 2014). Broadway star and Tony Award winner Karen Ziemba ("Contact") will star at Dolly, Thornton Wilder's matchmaker, opposite David Lively as Horace, Jeff Diebold as Cornelius, Emily Rohm as Irene, Maggie Portman as Minnie, Skyler Adams as Ambrose, Laura Savage as Ermengarde and Lee Slobotkin as Barnaby. (It's just occurred to me that these characters are almost always all referred to by their first and last names, so I didn't do it! Lol) That's a great cast, folks.

Karen-Ziemba-to-Star-in-Drury-Lane-Theatres-HELLO-DOLLY

So, I don't know about you, but I'm as excited as ever about our musical theater community and the great work it puts on! Audiences are the better for all of this extraordinary work. I hope you can get out to see some of your favorite performers and shows in the next few weeks, and I hope I do, too! At any rate, we can talk about the shows as some point, when I'll see you under the video screens.....-PWT

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