'The Showtune Mosh Pit' for July 28, 2010
By: Paul W. Thompson Jul. 28, 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:
This past Sunday night was the big day for "Shrek," his reemergence onto the legitimate musical stage! The official press opening of the national tour of the 2008 Broadway musical, retooled for the road and hopefully made better (and with the addition of Rob Ashford as one of the show's two official directors, joining Jason Moore), took place at the Cadillac Palace Theatre with a red carpet event and the eyes of the showtune world firmly fixed thereon. Running here through September 5th only, the show hasn't produced all of its reviews just yet. However, many observers feel that the dragon puppet is a great improvement over the one seen in New York, and that the cast of virtual unknowns is doing a pretty good job. And Chicago, once again, has shown the world that we are a great place to launch bigtime musical theater endeavors. Way to go, everybody!
Shrek the Musical 2010 (Chicago) Tickets - Broadway in Chicago
Speaking of launches, the musical in development this summer at the American Music Theatre Project of Northwestern University, "Not Wanted On The Voyage," is generating a lot of positive word of mouth (it is halfway through its four weeks of performances, after a two year gestation period). Some major names are working on this project, beginning with writers Neil Bartram and Brian Hill, truly legendary set designer Eugene Lee (the original "Sweeney Todd," "Wicked" and "Saturday Night Live," anyone?) and orchestrator Christopher Jahnke, among others. NU students are getting some tremendous experience. It's a modern take on the Flood narrative. And have you seen the promotional video footage? Check it out! Some day, you may wish you had seen this show at this stage of its life. It's at the Ethel B. Barber Theater on the Evanston campus.
'Not Wanted on the Voyage' : Northwestern University
Also performing on Northwestern's Evanston campus, but not affiliated with the University, is Light Opera Works, which will be ensconced at Cahn Auditorium for the Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II classic "Carousel," from August 14-29. Stacey Flaster, fresh from staging "Jesus Christ Superstar" for Theater At The Center in Munster, directs and choreographs the cast, led by company favorite Natalie Ford as Julie Jordan. She's played both Eliza Doolittle and Anne Egerman there. Something a little darker now, perhaps? And a stretch for Jeremy Trager, too (late of Theo Ubique's "Chess"). He's Jigger Craigin.
Further north, in Highland Park, the Ravinia Festival is readying itself for the big Stephen Sondheim birthday gala this Saturday night, July 31, 2010. The best known Broadway conductor of our time, Paul Gemigniani, leads the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, while Patti LuPone, George Hearn, Audra McDonald and Michael Cerveris perform a plethora of Sondheim material. It's pricey, yes, but we understand there will be screens set up on the lawn, so that those who can't afford or get tickets for pavilion seating will be able to see as well as hear the proceedings. Good call, Welz Kauffman. The four Tony-winning singing actors, by the way, are called "Vocalists" here. Hilarious!
Summer theater is in full swing, if you hadn't noticed! And those who travel the Midwest may encounter musical and residents of the Showtune Mosh Pit in all sorts of places. We understand that the production of Sondheim's "A Little Night Music" that runs at the Peninsula Players facility in Fish Creek, Wisconsin (July 28-August 15) is flush with Chicagoans. In Saugatuck, Michigan, the Mason Street Warehouse has included "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" and "The Marvelous Wonderettes" in its summer season.
And there are many more summer theaters in the area, to be sure. But Chicago's NightBlue Theater may have it all figured out. The company is currently presenting its production of "Little Women" (closing this Sunday, August 1) at the New Buffalo Performing Arts Center in New Buffalo, Michigan, as part of the Harbor Country Theater Festival. But it seems likely that the company will remount the show later this year here in Illinois. Nothing like an out of town summer tryout, is there! Good call.
There was casting news this week! The sizzling Drury Lane Theatre in Oakbrook Terrace announced casting for its production of David H. Bell's "Hot Mikado" (based of course on Gilbert and Sullivan's comic opera and now--can it be--24 years old itself), and Ted Levy and Aurelia Willams will star as the Mikado and Katisha.. Surrounding them will be such local names as Summer Smart (Yum-Yum), Susan Moniz (Pitti-Sing), Stephen Schellhardt (Ko-Ko) and Andy Lupp (Pish-Tush). Heck, Tammy Mader and Tommy Rapley will be hidden in the chorus! Bell (director of the Music Theatre program at Northwestern) directs and choreographs, and multi-talent Michael Mahler musical directs. August 12-October 3 are the dates.
And the tremendously anticipated Goodman Theatre production of Leonard Bernstein's "Candide," reimagined, rewritten (?) and directed by Tony winner Mary Zimmerman, announced its cast this week. Broadway's Geoff Packard ("Rock Of Ages" and Lauren Molina (Johanna in the recent revival of "Sweeney Todd") will be Candide and Cunegonde, and a host of Chicago and Washington, D.C. performers will appear as well. The names Larry Yando, Hollis Resnik, Rebecca Finnegan, Joseph Tokarz, Tempe Thomas and Rob Lindley jump out at me. These are heavy hitters, people! Get your tickets while you can for this production (they go on sale August 13), which will be on the boards in the big theater at the Goodman from September 17-October 24. The production is co-sponsored by the Shakespeare Theatre Company in D.C., where it will run November 30, 2010-January 2, 2011. And then what, inquiring minds want to know? (Tokarz, by the way, was in the show not two years ago at Porchlight Music Theatre. I think he's graduated!)
I do know of a way you can act now to get tickets now for "Candide," as well as for eight other shows (seven non-musicals plus "The Original Grease," the early script for the megahit musical that Chicago will see next spring). You can subscribe to the Windy City Times Theater Series, coordinated by our good friend, actress, podcast host, reporter and personality Amy Matheny. Nine shows, at theaters all over town, for a total price of $265! That's $29 per show, which is awesome! But I'm told that only 22 subscriptions are left for this series, so act now to get "Dirty Blonde," "Hot L Baltimore," "Orlando" and others, at some great venues. And tell them that the Mosh Pit sent you!!
Last but not least, The Call, the Andersonville video bar, is holding itself a "fundraiser" called "Raise Our Stage," this Thursday, July 29th, from 6:00-8:30. Ten bucks gets you a drink ticket and an improv comedy performance, one of the many types of live performance the bar hosts, only now without a proper stage for the performers. If you'd like to see a stage go in there (and what reader of this column would not?), get thee hence. And again, tell 'em I told you about it! And go there when they've got showtunes playing, on Wednesdays from 9:00-2:00. It's showtunes!!!
Well, I will leave you to it! Whoever said there wouldn't be enough to write about each week? Well, nobody said that, but who knew? I bet you did. I hope I see you out and about at the theater this weekend. And pretty soon, I'll see you under the video screens.....--PWT
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