Displaying items by tag: Chicago

Chicago Danztheatre Ensemble (CDE) in collaboration with Duncan Dance Chicago has put together a production that undoubtedly will tap into one’s inner most feelings by way of a stunning presentation of interpretive dance, storytelling and art exhibition. Meditations on Being, performed at Danztheatre’s home in the Auditorium at Ebenezer Lutheran Church is, according to the Executive Director and Founder Ellyzabeth Adler, inspired by the difficulty the arts community has faced over the last four year but focuses on reflection, and reconnecting – rebuilding a sense of community. Meditations is a stunning collection of eight pieces that also include contributions by author and playwright Timothy David Rey and fellow artist/performer Courtney Reid Harris who has worked with Adler on past projects The Wasteland and This Is Not a Pipe.

Chicago Danztheatre Ensemble opens the show with “Meditations on Nature: Birth, Decay and Renewal,” a segment co-created/performed by Wannapa P. Eubanks, that paces us nicely for what is to come after Adler sets the tone with heartfelt poetry that touches on the many frustrations we face in today’s society while offering a suggestion to reset by relinking with others to focus a peaceful mindset that revolves around the often overlooked, gift of the moment.

The production moves gracefully from one scene into the next. I was very touched by the two-woman dance piece by Duncan Dance Chicago titled “Street Salvation” with music by Chopin. The choreography was originally designed by company namesake Isadora Duncan. Duncan herself was simple and expressive. Artistic Director and Jennifer Sprowl performs beautifully as does Lila Rubin who portrays a young girl, down and out laying in the street, when an angel comes and tries to help her blossom and open up in the end. The angel walks towards Heaven and the young street girl finally able to get up and follow her.

“Confluence” created by Siwei Xu and Daria Jin is a lovely piece danced in complete silence. A beautiful girl is trapped in a maze of red velvet ropes suspended from the ceiling and her lover tries desperately to pull her out, so close at times yet so out of reach until the two are finally united.

Of the many poignant pieces the production delivers, “Elyse” created, and performed by Eileen Tull may have resonated with me the most. “Elyse” was a very well written monologue with interpretive dance about a young friend of hers who recently died of a heart attack. Tull’s delivery is compelling and her words, beautifully said in this lovely tribute to her dear friend, ever so moving. Connected to this piece, as part of the show’s visual art demonstration, one corner of the church space displays an art exhibit created by Tull, entitled “The Grieving Corner”. At one point in the piece, Tull asks the audience to call out the name of a person they were mourning, which I felt was very touching and effective.

“RIA” with choreographer and performer Anniela Huibobro and production by Gabriel Mercado with music by Victor Moris, Collen and Mercado is a stunning piece of modern dance while “Meditations on Walden” by CDE with text by Henry David Thoreau is a delightful and intriguing play on words and life. The act is summed up in the song “Who Knows Where the Time Goes” charmingly performed by Courtney Reid Harris to ensemble members Kerry Valentine Taylor, Jen Benjamin and Peyton Hooks.

The final presentation ends the show with expressive imagery that effectively sums up the program creator’s destined vision. “Meditations on Nature” includes beautiful video along with projected images of flowers and plants growing and unfolding while blossoming, as a woman donned in a wedding gown with a forty-foot train slowly walks up into the nature scenes. Her train becomes the final touch to the structure that houses a community rebuilt and reconnected.

Meditations on Being presents a powerful message thanks to inspired direction and its talented group of performers, writers and choreographers. I really enjoyed the way Chicago Danztheatre Ensemble employs so many different styles of dance from Isadora Duncan to modern along with the art installations that are available to look at during the intermission. This is a very lovely and touching, politically affecting night of entertainment and art. I highly recommended this production for audiences of all ages.

Mediations of Being is performed at Auditorium at Ebenezer Lutheran Church, 1650 W. Foster Ave through March 9th. Tickets are a suggested $10-$20 donation and running time is about one-hour and forty minutes, which includes a ten-minute intermission. For tickets and/or more information on this production, click here.  

Published in Dance in Review
Thursday, 29 February 2024 12:06

Chicago Theatres celebrate Women's History Month

Throughout Women's History Month this March, many Chicago theatres are presenting productions that encourage and celebrate the vital role of women in American history.

Additional details about each of the Women's History Month offerings are available at ChicagoPlays.com and HotTix.orgChicago's local, discounted ticketing service.

"We invite Chicagoans to celebrate women this month by taking in one of the many shows on our stages," comments League of Chicago Theatres Executive Director Marissa Lynn Ford. "Women's History Month is a reminder of women's strong voices and triumphs today and throughout history. In addition, we have a tradition of uplifting women both on and off our stages. We salute the women artists in the industry and the excellent work they create on our stages."

The following is a selection of work in Chicago available in February in celebration of Women's History:

Dracula: A Feminist Revenge Fantasy, Really, Wirtz Center at Northwestern University

Through March 3, 2024

In this thrilling new adaptation that bounces between horror and humor, playwright Kate Hamill confronts the sexism in Bram Stoker's original work. By upending the familiar tropes of damsels in distress and dashing villains, Hamill reimagines the vampire classic as a full-throated feminist battle cry driving a gleeful stake through the heart of toxic masculinity.

Mothers, The Gift Theatre

Through March 3, 2024

Three moms, a stay-at-home dad, and a nanny watch their kids play at Mommy-Baby Meetup. One mom is the queen bee and one is here to shake things up. The dad just wants to fit in, and the nanny doesn't say a word. When catastrophe comes, the five of them have to figure out how to survive a war and each other. MOTHERS examines the primal heartache of raising children in a disintegrating world.

Richard III, Chicago Shakespeare Theater

Through March 3, 2024

Tony Award nominee, Paralympic champion, and bilateral above-knee amputee Katy Sullivan makes her Chicago Shakespeare debut in Edward Hall's first production as artistic director. Full of scathing dark comedy and high-stakes family drama, a divided kingdom provides fertile ground for the charismatic, unscrupulous Richard to seize power and exact revenge—and no one is safe from his tyranny. This marks the first major US production of Richard III to feature a woman with a disability in the title role.

Plays for Women!: A collection of overlooked suffrage plays, Ghostlight Ensemble

Wednesday, March 6, 2024

Ghostlight Ensemble presents Plays for Women!: A collection of overlooked suffrage plays — a reading of short suffrage works, most of them largely unknown and rarely performed, to coincide with March as Women's History Month. This is a co-production with the Richard H. Driehaus Museum and is part of Ghostlight's For Your (Re)Consideration series.

WIPEOUT, Rivendell Theatre Ensemble

Through April 6, 2024

Chicago's only Equity theatre dedicated to advancing the lives of women through the power of theatre, presents the world premiere about three women, friends for decades, who throw themselves into their first-ever surfing lesson with the help of a young instructor. As the women learn how to paddle and navigate the currents of the Pacific Ocean, they also learn how to navigate their friendships, their fears, and just how hard it can be to let it all go. Set on surfboards, WIPEOUT is a poignant comedy about friendship, grief, and the unpredictable tides of life.

Mother Courage and her Children, Trap Door Theatre

Through March 9, 2024

Mother Courage becomes a parasite of war as she, hell bent on her own survival, celebrates the Thirty Years War as the source of her prosperity. Considered one of the greatest plays of the 20th century, Wartime virtues become fatal to their possessors in this stark, anti-capitalist, and music filled play.

Flood, Shattered Globe Theatre

Through March 9, 2024

An apartment on the 19th floor. All Edith wants — it's not too much to ask, is it? — is to sit and have some tea with her husband, someday, when he's done with building his masterpiece. The kids don't call enough, and when they do, they seem full of accusations. Meanwhile, outside their apartment, the waters are rising, rising, rising... This Chicago Premiere is a dynamic comedy about love and companionship across gender and generational divides.

Meditations on Being, Chicago Danztheatre Ensemble

March 1 - 9, 2024

Stories from and about our community. It is told through dance, storytelling, poetry, music, video installations, and art. What do we know about the people we see every day, the nature that surrounds us, and the gift of the moment? What do we remember? Playing with our friends on the playground, the sound of water or the beating of our heart when in solitude.

ECHO, Chicago Sinfonietta

March 15-16, 2024

Join the Chicago Sinfonietta in celebrating Women's History Month with ECHO, a stunning program featuring a lineup of works that highlights the artistry and creativity of women in music.

Pretty Woman, Broadway In Chicago

March 12 - 17, 2024

Pretty Woman: The Musical, based on one of Hollywood's most beloved romantic stories of all time, springs to life with a powerhouse creative team led by two-time Tony Award®-winning director and choreographer Jerry Mitchell (Hairspray, Kinky Boots, Legally Blonde).

My Fair Lady, Broadway In Chicago

March 12 - 17, 2024

Boasting such classic songs as "I Could Have Danced All Night," "The Rain in Spain," "Wouldn't It Be Loverly" and "On the Street Where You Live," My Fair Lady tells the story of Eliza Doolittle, a young Cockney flower seller, and Henry Higgins, a linguistics professor who is determined to transform her into his idea of a "proper lady." But who is really being transformed?

La Pinche India, Aguijón Theater Company

Through March 17, 2024

Gigi is an upper-class girl who one day wakes up turned into an indigenous woman. Given her new appearance, her life changes completely and she begins to realize all the privileges she had as a green-eyed blonde. Her search for a new identity leads her to discover a great secret that had always been there: racial discrimination.

Silent Sky, Citadel Theatre

Through March 17, 2024

When 19th-century astronomer Henrietta Leavitt began work at the Harvard Observatory in the early 1900s, she wasn't allowed to touch a telescope or express an original idea. Instead, she joins a group of women "computers," charting the stars for a renowned astronomer who has no time for the women's probing theories. As Henrietta, in her free time, attempts to measure the light and distance of stars, she must also take measure of her life on Earth, trying to balance her dedication to science with family obligations and the possibility of love. SILENT SKY explores a woman's place in society during a time of immense scientific discoveries, when women's ideas were dismissed until men claimed credit for them.

On Your Feet!, Broadway In Chicago

March 19 - 24, 2024

ON YOUR FEET! is the inspiring true story about heart, heritage and two people who believed in their talent—and each other—to become an international sensation: Emilio and Gloria Estefan.

Notes from the Field, TimeLine Theatre Company

Through March 24, 2024

This strikingly intimate piece presents snapshots from a variety of real people, documenting their intersections with the American dream and the obstacles that work to block them from it. Utilizing verbatim dialogue pulled from more than 250 accounts from students, faculty, prisoners, activists, politicians, and victims' families, Notes from the Field takes audiences on an emotional journey through the faults and injustices of an American criminal justice system that seems more focused on incarceration over education. Deeply human, profoundly moving, and full of moments of humor, compassion, and resilience, it's a masterful work that asks you to observe, be present, and join the call for urgent and necessary change.

Party at the Pantheon: A Modern Greek Stoner Comedy, The Factory Theater

Through March 23, 2024

Orpheus is still big mad after his girlfriend, Eurydice, died. It wasn't his fault. Good thing his friend, Dionysus, can throw a sick party. Hopefully Sisyphus can keep these two on speaking terms long enough for the disco ball to drop. Now all they gotta do is find some food, some drink, and some music for this thing. Peep them and a cast of characters straight out of English Class, in this modern take on the ancient classics.

The Penelopiad, Goodman Theatre

March 2 - 31, 2024

It's her turn. Penelope has waited 20 years for her husband to return from the Trojan War. Now, as authorial control shifts to Odysseus' long-suffering wife—and the 12 faithful maids who have long tended to her—we discover a new perspective on the domestic vigil. This ancient tale told anew by "one of the most admired authors in North America" (NPR) gives voice to those left behind.

Love Song, Remy Bumppo Theatre Company

March 21 - April 21, 2024

Beane has always been different. Joan, his sister, is his only real bridge to the outside world, but she is consumed with her own life, climbing the corporate ladder and sparring with her husband, Harry. When Beane falls madly in love with Molly, Beane's world suddenly expands, and the seismic shift forces all of them to reexamine their own relationships and discover new facets of human connection. An off-kilter romantic comedy, Love Song by John Kolvenbach is a quick-witted exploration of the countless complexities of love and the endless capacity of the heart.

The Good, Curious Theatre Branch

March 29 - April 20, 2024

What is goodness? How are we supposed to be good and interesting? Is the pressure to be good, to be proper, to not hurt others, to not transgress, actually a way to hold one down? Can someone be not good but in tiny ways no one might notice? And what about the word, "virtue"?

Inanimate, Theater Wit

March 22 – May 4, 2024

Erica has never quite fit in. She was never popular in high school and—as the years have gone by—she's felt more and more disconnected from the people in her life. Even her sister seems more preoccupied with her political ambition for town counsel than their mother's recent passing. Normally, that would be just fine with Erica, but she's been asking herself if this was all she could expect: a job at the local grocery and evenings alone.

A Streetcar Named Desire, Paramount Theatre

March 13 - April 21, 2024

NEW ORLEANS. The heat is sweltering; the liquor flows, and the secrets are thick as humidity. Pull up a chair and join the high-stakes game of cards. To your left is Stella Kowalski, married, loves her husband and will do anything for him. On your right is Stanley Kowalski, hard drinking, hard playing and hard fists that get used a lot. Across from you is Blanche DuBois, vulnerable, alone and ready to break. Streetcar confronts us with the tenuous relationship between reality and illusion, hope and despair and the brutal battle for beauty and tenderness when the world feels like it's conspiring against you. The players are in place. The cards are dealt. Hold on for your life.

Improvised Jane Austen, iO Theater

Saturday Evenings at 8pm, Tickets currently on sale through June 1

Improvised Jane Austen tells a tale, on the spot, in the style of the most beloved 19th-century author. In each original story, you may be introduced to headstrong heroines, steadfast suitors, meddling mothers, charming cads, auspicious aunts, silly sisters, boisterous brothers, verbose vicars, fastidious fathers, and any number of Austenesque auteurs! The audience can expect to laugh heartily, be wooed to tears, and be made to think on how much, and how little, has changed in two hundred-plus years.

For a comprehensive list of Chicago productions, visit the League of Chicago Theatres website, ChicagoPlays.com. Available half-price tickets will be listed at HotTix.org. Chicago theatres prioritize safely gathering. Patrons are encouraged to confirm current protocols at each theatre. Shows and protocols are subject to change.

About Chicago theatre 

Chicago theatre is the leader in the U.S. with more than 250 theatres throughout Chicagoland, comprising a rich and varied community ranging from storefront, non-union theatres to the most renowned resident theatres in the country, including 6 which have been honored with Regional Tony Awards, and the largest touring Broadway organization in the nation. Chicago's theatres serve 5 million audience members annually and have a combined budget of more than $250 million. Chicago produces and/or presents more world premieres annually than any other city in the nation. Each year Chicago theatres send new work to resident theatres across the country, to Broadway, and around the world. For more information, visit www.chicagoplays.com.

The League of Chicago Theatres' Mission Statement

Theatre is essential to the life of a great city and to its citizens. The League of Chicago Theatres is an alliance of theatres, which leverages its collective strength to support, promote and advocate for Chicago's theatre industry. Through our work, we ensure that theatre continues to thrive in our city.

Published in Upcoming Theatre

Chicago Shakespeare Theater presents a perfect introduction to Shakespeare's work for young audiences with a 75-minute abridgement of Romeo and Juliet, adapted and directed by Mikael Burke. This production reimagines Shakespeare's tale of young love found—and tragically lost—in the 1980s. During a four-week run of weekday matinees, Chicago Shakespeare welcomes thousands of middle and high school students from across the region to the Courtyard Theater. In addition, performances are open to the public on Saturdays at 11:00 a.m., through March 16, 2024. After each performance, the actors remain on stage for a question-and-answer session about the production. Tickets for public performances start at just $26 for students ages 18 and under.

 

Verona burns under summer's heat—and the division of two prominent families. Against a backdrop of violence and an endless cycle of vengeance, this adaptation of Shakespeare's text poses a profound question—can true love survive in a divided community? Combining Shakespeare's original verse, dynamic staging, and a high-energy 1980s setting, Short Shakespeare! Romeo and Juliet offers a new lens for young people to experience this enduring tale.

 

Adapter and director Mikael Burke said, "It's a cautionary tale that proves if we can't figure out how to disentangle love from violence in our world, violence will always win. And every time it does, we stand to lose the greatest and purest things in life. That was true 400 years ago and is certainly still true today. Love and violence are scarily and upsettingly tied together in this play in a way we don't always consider, but Shakespeare really commands us to pay attention to how closely these two things are related—and hopefully compel us to action."

 

Burke is a Princess Grace Award winner and Jeff Award nominee, with credits at Goodman Theatre, TimeLine Theatre Company, Remy Bumppo Theatre Company, and more in Chicago, as well as regionally with Yale Repertory Theatre, Theatreworks Hartford, Forward Theatre, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre, Indiana Repertory Theatre, and more. He previously served as the associate artistic director at About Face Theatre and is an adjunct faculty member at DePaul and Roosevelt Universities.

 

The company of Romeo and Juliet features Kenneth La'Ron Hamilton as Romeo and Felicia Oduh as Juliet. The company also includes Adeoye (Prince/Apothecary), Bobby Bowman (Gregory/Lord Montague), Ronald L. Conner (Lord Capulet), Jack DeCesare (Paris/Abraham), Barbara Figgins (Nurse), Rasell Holt (Mercutio), Carolyn Kruse (Lady Capulet), Ian Maryfield (Tybalt), Alex Benito Rodriguez (Benvolio), Donovan Session (Sampson/Peter), and Jonah D. Winston (Friar Laurence). Understudies include Benjamin Jenkins, Diego Longoria, Carlos Olmedo, Bradford Stevens, Priscilla Torres, and Sarafina Vecchio.

 

In addition to Burke, the creative team for Romeo and Juliet includes Scenic Designer Alyssa Mohn, Costume Designer Gregory Graham, Lighting Designer Eric Watkins, Sound Designer and Composer Ethan Korvne, Intimacy Director Courtney Abbott, Fight Choreographer Rachel Flesher, Choreographer Frankie DiCiaccio, Verse Coach Tyler Meredith, Assistant Director Christina Casano, Casting Director Bob Mason, Costume Design Assistant Janelle Smith, Stage Manager Danny Fender, Assistant Stage Manager Lucy Whipp, and Production Assistant Gianni Carcagno.

 

Chicago Shakespeare's Short Shakespeare! series is part of the Theater's nationally recognized Team Shakespeare education programs, which have impacted two million students to date. Chicago Shakespeare brings Shakespeare's work to life in the school curriculum—through live performance, professional learning for educators, comprehensive teaching resources, and opportunities for students to perform Shakespeare. These initiatives—in concert with the free citywide Chicago Shakespeare in the Parks tour and summer family musical series—exemplify the Theater's steadfast commitment to young audiences.

 

Accessible and enhanced performances for Short Shakespeare! Romeo and Juliet include:

  • ASL-Interpreted & Open-Captioned performance
    Sat, March 9, 11:00 a.m.

    All dialogue and lyrics are translated into American Sign Language by two certified interpreters. Also, a text display of the words and sounds heard during a play, will be synced live with the action onstage.

More information at www.chicagoshakes.com/romeo or on social media at @chicagoshakes.

 

Short Shakespeare! Romeo and Juliet is presented to the public on Saturdays at 11:00 a.m. from February 24–March 16, 2024, in Chicago Shakespeare's Courtyard Theater. Single tickets ($26 for audience members age 18 and under; $42 for adults) are on sale now. Special discounts will be available for groups of 10 or more. For more information or to purchase tickets, contact Chicago Shakespeare Theater's Box Office at 312.595.5600 or visit the Theater's website at www.chicagoshakes.com.

 

ABOUT CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE THEATER

Regional Tony Award-recipient Chicago Shakespeare Theater produces a bold and innovative year-round season—plays, musicals, world premieres, family productions, and theatrical presentations from around the globe—alongside nationally recognized education programming serving tens of thousands of students, teachers, and lifelong learners each year. Founded in 1986, the Theater's onstage work has expanded to as many as twenty productions and 650 performances annually. Chicago Shakespeare is dedicated to welcoming the next generation of theatergoers; one in four of its audience members is under the age of eighteen. As a nonprofit organization, the Theater works to embrace diversity, prioritize inclusion, provide equitable opportunities, and offer an accessible experience for all. On the Theater's three stages at its home on Navy Pier, in classrooms and neighborhoods across the city, and in venues around the world, Chicago Shakespeare is a multifaceted cultural hub—inviting audiences, artists, and community members to share powerful stories that connect and inspire. www.chicagoshakes.com.

Published in Upcoming Theatre

I’ve loved the Joffrey Ballet for almost its entire lifetime (it was begotten just two years after I was). My first memories of seeing the Joffrey Ballet in performance date back to … the Eighties? Seventies? Any road, I’m not a joanie-come-lately fan of the Joffrey Ballet.

The Joffrey never disappoints. I’ve reviewed Joffrey Ballet several times here at Buzz Center Stage and my reviews reflect this: Joffrey Ballet never disappoints. But saying the Joffrey Ballet never disappoints is inadequate to the task of launching a review of STUDIES IN BLUE. I was transported; I was captivated; I was ensorcelled and entranced. In short, STUDIES IN BLUE is the finest program I’ve ever seen Joffrey Ballet perform. 

But I can’t just say that and go on about my day, yeah?  Right then: STUDIES IN BLUE, how do I love thee?

Hungry Ghosts - The Joffrey Ballet Ensemble

The program is three acts, Yonder Blue, Hungry Ghosts, and Hummingbird. I’ve seldom seen three ballets more dissimilar, yet each in its own unique way uplifted and harmonized with the other two to compose a perfectly unified program. Wowie.  

I’m going to snatch this opportunity to thank Artistic Director Ashley Wheater, CEO Greg Cameron, and anyone else who played a part in re-homing Joffrey Ballet at the Civic Opera House. I’ve been seeing and loving shows at the Auditorium Theatre since the early 1970’s, and it’s still a magnificent venue. I, however, have gone a bit to seed over the years, and find the Aud just a leeetle bit challenging to navigate. COH is far more user-friendly now I’m no longer quite so spry. Thank you!  

Yonder Blue was choreographed by Andrew McNicol, premiering in 2019. Yonder Blue’s music was composed by Peter Gregson, performed by the Lyric Opera Orchestra, directed and conducted by Scott Speck. It was delightful, joyful and vivacious but without straying into cloying or syrupy. McNichol reminds us that ‘yonder’ is a word that wobbles, tangible yet hard to grasp.  Yonder implies distance – from here to there – yet it remains imaginary, as once you reach ‘there’ it becomes ‘here’, and ‘yonder’ again withdraws. Jack Mehler (Scenic and Lighting Designer), captures this from the opening curtain – the dancers are silhouetted against a misty sky of blues which is slowly covered by a solid backdrop, creating the illusion of the horizon receding into the distance 'over yonder' as we are drawn deeper into the piece. 

We feel that shifting sense of space and place through both McNicol's choreography and the exquisite execution of the dancers. At one moment their movements are creaky, fractured, straining, and the next they float weightlessly through impossible lifts. If you know me, you’ll know I’m very partial to boy-on-boy dance; McNicol did one better for me with a perfectly splendid pas de trois featuring Jonathan Dole, Alberto Velazquez and José Pablo Castro Cuevas.  

‘Blue’ is another mercurial word, referring now to nature, now to human qualities and even emotions, from ‘feeling blue’ to bawdy ‘blue humor’. Yonder Blue encapsulates these many and disparate associations. The piece ebbs and flows, including an extended full-ensemble unison section which builds from a simple start of stationary forms to a full-stage cascade of whirling exuberance. 

An aside here: reading the program, I was marveling at the company’s diversity:  from Cincinnati to Jacksonville, Indiana to Utah, from Cuba, Japan, China, Estonia, Brazil, Russia, Australia. This diversity was visually evident during Yonder Blue, exposing all that winter-white skin!   

I was excitedly anticipating Hungry Ghosts, choreographed by Stina Quagebeur, as this is the first performance art I’ve attended that is inspired by ‘one of the most seismic human tragedies of modern times’: America’s opioid epidemic. See, opioid addiction is my thing – for 35 years I’ve been an addiction psychiatrist working on the streets with needle exchange programs and other outreach to the human beings ravaged by this unspeakable disease. Unspeakable indeed – there is no advocacy for addicts, and a death toll exceeding 100,000 annually elicits much editorial handwringing but virtually no direct action: jail is still, by several orders of magnitude, the standard (affordable/available/accessible) treatment for addiction.

Sorry, I just couldn’t hold that in. I’ll step down from my soapbox and return to Quagebeur’s far more eloquent litany. Her fittingly titled Hungry Ghosts has it all:  hope and longing, failure and despair, ambivalence and impotent rage and resignation. The disease is embodied by Anais Bueno and Hyuma Kiyosawa in a running pas de deux while the company animates the course of the disease: the swoop to dizzying heights and the inevitable plummet into the Slough of Despond. Jack Mehler’s brilliant Scenic and Lighting Design made ingenious use of vertical scrim panels to portray the addict’s isolation, the urgent necessity but lack of community; hunger and destitution and craving and loathing … all so poignantly expressed by Quagebeur’s choreography and the dancers’ mastery. 

Jeremy Birchall’s music was absolute perfection: alternately discordant and mellifluous; simultaneously strident and harmonic. I trust I’m not trespassing when I say that clearly neither Quagebeur nor Birchall learned about addiction by reading about it in a book – their intimate sophistication can only be gained the hard way. Thus, Quagebeur doesn’t succumb to the banal platitude of wrapping it all up with a pretty bow; rather, the ending reflects the ambivalence and uncertainty of the disease itself; death is the sole unequivocal outcome.  I was leaking tears by the end and was so glad for the standing ovation Quagebeur received for this world premiere performance – may her work advance to stages worldwide!

I was grateful for the intermission as I definitely needed time to recover after Hungry Ghosts, and my ballet buddy and I agreed to be underwhelmed by the final ballet, Hummingbird. I guess Hungry Ghosts rattled us enough to forget the cardinal rule: the Joffrey Ballet never disappoints.

Hummingbird - The Joffrey Ballet Ensemble

Liam Scarlett choreographed Hummingbird, and Lauren Strongin staged it a bit differently to the first two offerings. While Jack Mehler was Scenic and Lighting Designer for both Yonder Blue and Hungry Ghosts, David Finn’s lighting and John MacFarlane’s Scenic and Costume Design imparted a very different tableau for Hummingbird. Check out the photo – your eyes are not deceiving you; the stage truly is tilted up sharply at the rear, creating unique entrances and exits against the abstract backdrop.

Philip Glass’ music animates nine couples, in pas de deux and in company, into choreographed movement that comes from deep within: “Like an earthquake epicenter it ripples out… It has a human quality because it’s using everything you have.” Scarlett plays with our expectations – like an actor breaking the fourth wall with an aside to camera, he 'breaks' the dancers into unexpected movement. The ensemble entering with gracefully pointed limbs, only to crouch into a quick, flat-footed run-in-place garnered quite a few chuckles. Ending a fraught and emotional pas de deux with the dancers bent over and gasping for breath rather than perfectly poised added an emotional punch of realism.

I mentioned at the outset how these three pieces harmonized with each other - the treatment of the pas de deux by each piece offers a prime example. In Yonder Blue it was thematic, in Hungry Ghosts, narrative. In Hummingbird, the pas de duex sits somewhere in between - evocative, intertwining, and emotional as they thread their way in and out and around and through the ripples of movement around them.

Joffrey Ballet will perform STUDIES IN BLUE until February 25 on Thursday, Friday, Saturday evenings, and matinee shows on Saturday and Sunday, so you have no excuse to miss it! 

JOFFREY BALLET STUDIES IN BLUE at the Civic Opera House through February 25

VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!

Review by Sarz Maxwell with thanks for assistance from Eva Hare

Published in Dance in Review

Why do we learn about history?

This question has been asked for ages and is often met with the response: So that history does not repeat itself. When it comes to plays about history, that question is often met with some version of the same answer. We witness historical events in a live, theatrical setting so that among other things, we can learn to do better.

Playwright Anna Deavere Smith invites us to consider that question, but adds another layer: How are we meant to learn about our mistakes in history if we do not first get to know the people involved? As with many of her other plays, Notes from the Field is documentary theatre, and comprised of verbatim dialogue pulled from more than 250 accounts from students, faculty, prisoners, activists, politicians, and victims’ families. Smith conducted these interviews during President Barack Obama’s term, and while this may not quite be present day, the subject matter is certainly contemporary. Over the course of the play, we meet 19 individuals – all fighting to overcome and change America’s educational and criminal justice systems – especially with the tendency to focus on incarceration.

The catch? This play does not feature 19 actors, but rather three women – Mildred Marie Langford, Shariba Rivers, and Adhana Reid. Skillfully directed by Mikael Burke, the transitions between characters feel seamless, and every individual whom one of these actors embodies feels distinct and specific. While Smith brings humor into the script, many of the stories reveal heartbreaking memories, and the three actors fill each of these moments with an authentic balance of compassion and anger.

And so, we return to this question: How are we meant to learn about our mistakes in history if we do not first get to know the people involved?

One of the many individuals whom Langford embodied in this performance was Denise Dodson, an inmate who detailed what she learned from prison. Scenic Designer Eleanor Kahn has left the space fairly minimal – allowing the text to do its work as we hear each individual’s story. Langford is alone on a chair, and Lighting Designer Eric Watkins fills the space with just enough light to cast a large shadow behind her. Nothing is hidden as Dodson reflects with the audience on how education could have given her (and many young people like her) a different path. She explains:

“They have to see’em as people. They have to see them as the future. They have to see them as people who are gonna go out and be their next-door neighbors… ‘Cause they’re… at that stage where they absorb everything. And if they not absorbing all the right things, then… yeah. That’s… barbaric.”

Smith creates an opportunity for us as an audience to learn from a first-hand account how this country’s system has failed so many young people. We have created a system that forces them to so many to see themselves in a specific way. Langford’s matter-of-fact approach to the material is at times hard to hear. However, based on the silence surrounding me at this performance, it’s clear that I was not the only one hooked on every word, listening to this personal story unfold.

Dodson shares a warning. A desire for us as a country to offer stronger support for young people so we can change this school-to-prison pipeline. In the process, you may also notice that Smith is succeeding at something else. It’s one thing to write a story about incarceration and the failings of the education system. It’s another to look a human in the eye and hear their story – their personal account of how their life could have been different, a plea that we listen. Smith’s approach brings light to 19 of these accounts that may never have been heard otherwise – of “broken people’ as she puts it in her play. You may just find that this hits a little different. That Smith invites empathy in a different way. Maybe this approach can lead to the change that we as a country so desperately need.

Powerful performances and a hard-hitting script make this play an experience to remember. To put it simply, Notes from the Field is a must-see.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Running through March 24, 2024 at Timeline Theatre – 615 W. Wellington Avenue.

Published in Theatre in Review

I thoroughly enjoyed this modern and timely play on both the issues of Hollywood stars whose lives are constantly scrutinized by complete strangers and how easily it is for any person now to be fed false information online in ways that can affect their lives either positively or negatively regardless of the intentions of the sender. Highway Patrol is being performed at Goodman Theatre’s Albert Stage and is funny, haunting, and engaging through and through. 

Dana Delaney, who plays herself, is best known for her roles in the TV series China Beach and the hit film Tombstone, and she looks and sounds fantastic. I have always liked her plucky, no-nonsense energy as an actress, and in this true-life story of her work life and internet/social media interactions the audience gets a very accurate glimpse of how lonely a life in the arts can be and also how badly many actors are treated by the industry at the expense of their physical and mental health.

I don't want to give away any spoilers because half the fun of this show is the whodunnit twists and turns her life took back in 2012 that continued for several years, sometimes dominating her private life at all hours... 24/7. The story begins when the actress decides to interact directly with one fan on social media, Cam. Thomas Murphy Molony is a very talented young actor who makes you feel deeply for Cam, a young Twitter fan who is suffering from a chronic and terminal illness, a recipient of two heart transplants who is innocently and adoringly in love with Delaney. While Cam enjoys his conversations with Delaney, his grandmother often provides updates regarding the boy’s health and upcoming procedures to keep her in the loop. Dot-Marie Jones, who takes on the role of Cam’s caretaker, Nan, is a very gifted character actress best known for her work on Glee and Desperate Housewives. Jones really displays her versatile acting range playing such a multifaceted character and does so beautifully with depth and complexity. 

Peter Gallagher’s highly recognizable voice is also strategically used in this production as he plays the true-life friend and confidant of Delaney’s that he has been throughout most of her career. The recognizability of his voice in this show gives real weight to the fact that a human voice is like a fingerprint and gives much more honest information and clarity as to whom we are communicating over the voices we imagine in our minds when reading our own DM's or emails.

Director Mike Donahue does a great job staging the show into two compelling acts and theatre goers should arrive early to see Dana Delaney in character on stage prior to the start of the play. Having Delaney onstage beforehand is a very interesting choice and sets the tone of the play, acknowledging that most people, fans or not, are fascinated by seeing stars in person that they have "known" for decades.

I enjoyed Dane Laffrey’s set design and Yee Eun Nam’s projection designs so much! The colorful and quick changing sets along with large high-definition projections not only help the audience follow along with the digital clues based on the digital archives of actor Dana Delaney (with text curation from playwright Jen Silverman), but they also combine to form beautiful and realistic backdrops depicting the glamorous luxury, palm trees, sunshine, and sometimes loneliness of Delaney’s Los Angeles home and also her work life on set. 

The most fascinating thing I took away from this very enjoyable piece of theatre was not about the necessity of verifying and protecting oneself from the many digital communications we all send and receive every day. What struck me rather was the idea presented to the audience that sometimes we as isolated humans living in this new frontier of instantaneous digital communication, including celebrities who appear to "have it all", can possibly grow to miss fictional love messages and reassurances of digital communication even after discovering their true source. 

Dana Delaney is absolutely outstanding in this production, as is the entire cast. I highly recommend this funny, touching, yet haunting, modern play. 

Highway Patrol is being performed at Goodman Theatre though February 18th. For tickets and/or more information visit www.goodmantheatre.org.

Published in Theatre in Review
Sunday, 17 December 2023 16:48

STOMP – A DEEP DIVE INTO THE LIFE OF A STOMPER

For three decades, STOMP has captivated crowds with its dynamic percussion beats and mesmerizing performers. The sensational stage show is presently on a National Tour across the United States and has made a stop at Chicago’s Broadway Playhouse! By seamlessly combining dance and performance with music generated from ordinary found items like matchboxes, brooms, garbage cans, plastic barrels, and even the kitchen sink, STOMP offers a truly unique and unforgettable experience that you absolutely shouldn't overlook.

Buzz Center Stage had the unique opportunity to interview John Gavin, a long-time member of the STOMP cast. He holds a Bachelor of Music Education from the University of Central Florida and a master’s degree in music from New York University. He has been with STOMP since 2017.

Drummer/percussionist John Gavin stars in STOMP now being performed at Broadway Playhouse.

John, thank you for agreeing to this interview. How did you get involved in STOMP?

Sure. I took an audition for STOMP in 2017 in New York. I had recently moved to New York the year before to start grad school at New York University. Halfway through the year my professor sent out an email to the percussion studio saying the producers were holding auditions at the theater, and strongly encouraged the percussion studio to audition. I knew a performer who had previously been part of the show, and thanks to the NYU network, I managed to connect with them. They shared insights about the show, highlighted key aspects to focus on during the audition, and provided some helpful pointers. Despite the guidance, I had to put in the effort, attend the audition, and showcase my abilities. The support from NYU's alumni network and community played a significant role in facilitating the entire process. I auditioned and progressed through multiple rounds of the audition process. They had me work with additional props to see how well I did as well as in different situations with different performers to stretch my ability to adapt and think ahead and retain information. From that audition process, I moved through the rounds and got offered a rehearsal contract where I was taught the show by rote and learned piece by piece from the training cast. They taught me the parts of the show and I learned my role while still getting evaluated. This happens before you get put into a show.

You're finally put into a show after weeks and months from the very first audition. It takes a long time to get it into your body and learn the choreography and learn the music. If you're lucky enough to have made it that far, you'll keep developing your show and keep honing your craft. And I've been doing that since 2017, still learning new roles and learning new characters, still having just as much fun as the first day I picked up a broom.

So, the show evolves on a regular basis?

That's the thing. It will start with an idea. They will start an idea with a prop or an object, and how can we make sound out of this? Where is the sound? And then from that sound, how can we elaborate on it? How can we change it? How can we make it more interesting? What are other ways we can play it or flip it or spin it, or exhaust all the sound capabilities and visual capabilities of that object into the show? And that's what keeps people engaged. If they're longtime fans of the show, if they see it again, they'll see these new props. We have two new numbers since the last time we were in Chicago. Even the old numbers are always getting edited if a new performer comes in and maybe puts their own spin on it.  That's how the show has new life and every generation that comes in, every new cast will have their own background and have their own experiences that they will put into the show as well. And that keeps it fresh.

Great. The show seems very energetic. A lot of energy is expended on stage. Do you have any kind of workout regime to keep your energy up?

We put a lot of emotion and passion into the show because first and foremost. We have a lot of fun with it. We really love our jobs. We really love bringing this kind of art form to the people of Chicago, to the people of the United States, Canada and Mexico. As soon as I get on stage or as soon as the lights come up, or as soon as I hear the music, I can't explain it, but it still gives me energy.

These same rhythms I've been hearing for years that I've been playing for years are just as exciting as the first time I heard them.

For me and other performers going to the gym, lifting weights, running, a lot of stretching, and yoga or maybe Pilates helps the body move more naturally and ergonomically in the show. I like to go to the gym at whatever hotel we're staying at and lift weights. Nothing too extreme of course, but something to allow me to build up a little bit of strength and stamina and endurance so that when I get into the show, my body is not totally exhausted. I still always want to have a little gas in the tank for the very end of the show. It builds and climaxes in this big number that I still must have something to give. Musically, I'm always practicing. I always travel with my drumsticks and drum pad.  I have a bunch of books with different exercises, and I play with the metronome. I'm always working my hands.

That's always a part of my routine, it keeps me focused and interested and always trying to develop new things, like I'm going to try a new stick trick tonight, or I'm going to try playing a different solo. Keeping it interesting for us as a performer also makes it feel fresh.

Tell me, who are some of the people you look up to, the people that molded you?

For sure. Well, first and foremost, I've always had a great family. I was blessed with two loving parents and an amazing sister who always instilled love in my life and made the world feel so accepting, loving and fun. Even with my extended family, my aunts and uncles, I'm very close with my cousins. I still have a grandmother and I love every moment that I get to share with her. The foundation I had growing up with allowed me to go at life without really being afraid of anything because I knew I had their love and support no matter what.

From there, I've been blessed with some amazing educational opportunities. I've had some great teachers in my day from English class, even to math class, music and band. I had some great professors in college that really expanded my mind and repertoire and abilities and really pushed me in the right way.  I attribute all the knowledge I have to any teacher that was patient enough with me and was able to give me a chance to see my potential. Having a good teacher is pivotal or having a good mentor as we grow up is important for young people. My cast, I feel very lucky to be working with them. It doesn't feel like work. It feels like fun because they're laughing and we're having a good time with each other. We're playing off each other's choices on stage, and it really feels like a family and a community.

 

How long is this tour and how do you manage being on tour for so long?

Sure. Oh, I'd also like to say I have a wife. I got married last year. I have an amazing support system in my wife that also answers this next question. Her love and acceptance for what I do and her patience with my career is also extremely pivotal and important in my life to give me that backbone and give me that foundation. We started the tour in October, and we're going until the middle of June. This is long as far as STOMP tours go in North America, hitting various cities, both big and small from both coasts, a couple of cities in Canada as well, we're really looking forward to being with our northern neighbors.

We'll have what we call layoffs. So, for example, after this run here in Chicago, we're all being sent back home to our point of origin, which is different for each cast member. Some of us are from New York City, like me, some are from San Diego, some are from Fort Lauderdale, some are from North Carolina... At home, different people will do different things. Some people will take a break to rest their mind and body. Some of us might pick up some temp work. I like to teach and spend time in classrooms on my time off. Some people will practice or can continue to network during those times off. And it's typically about a week or two weeks, and it's a great time to kind of connect with loved ones and allow yourself to heal and freshen up and get a lot of errands and chores done.

It can be hard. Traveling is tough on the body. Air travel can be stressful nowadays. We are often on the bus for a long time if the cities are a far distance. In a lot of cramped quarters, making sure that you don't lose anything. You're bringing a lot of your valuables with you, passports, laptops, these things can get lost or stolen. That all adds to the stress of tour life and it's on you. Even though we're traveling as a company, and a company does a great job at taking care of that, you still must navigate a new city. You must be safe and thoughtful about your surroundings. During those layoffs, it is nice to reset and take a breath for yourself before you go out for maybe another six or eight weeks or however long it is.

Sounds interesting.

But it's an adventure too. It's an adventure, which makes it fun and gives life, because we all know it's not forever. We can't do this until we retire. There's no way. It's too hard on the body. So, all of us are very grateful, myself included, for these opportunities, for these moments and connections. We’re really looking forward to our time here in Chicago.

You mentioned something I find interesting, what do you plan on doing after STOMP?

Great question. Yeah, so I still have a lot of dreams and music and goals within music. I still have a whole career ahead of me in terms of performing arts. On the other side of that, I'm really interested in teaching. I have a degree in education. I think education is very important in our society and in daily life, and I have a great respect for it and admiration for great teachers and the work they do. So, I would also like to be a part of that, and hopefully one day have my own classroom and have my own private studio and have my own set of students that I can shape and mold and impact in a positive way for them to go and take something in their life and make something special on their own. That's another project that's down the road, but what I'm hoping to continue after STOMP.

That's beautiful, John. Thank you so much. Have a wonderful tour. Happy holidays to you, your family, and your friends.

Don't miss STOMP!

When: Through Dec 31, 2023

Where: Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place

Running time: 1 hour 45 minutes – no intermission

Tickets: $35-$80                    

https://www.broadwayinchicago.com/shows/stomp/

Published in Theatre in Review
Wednesday, 13 December 2023 13:12

Review: The Hip Hop Nutcracker at Cadillac Palace

As someone who has seen Tchaikovsky’s timeless holiday classic, The Nutcracker, performed many times over, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect last night at the Cadillac Palace’s presentation of The Hip Hop Nutcracker.

But after experiencing the grandeur and soaring beauty of Tchaikovsky’s magical musical tale of a young girl and her Nutcracker prince reimagined as a modern-day love story set in a gritty urban backdrop and performed by a very talented and athletic ensemble of hip hop dancers, I was completely sold.

Yes, there still is Maria-Clara and her Nutcracker prince, the Mouse King and his gang, and the mysterious Drosselmeyer cast as a magical toymaker, but under the skillful direction and choreography of Tony and Olivier Award-nominated Jennifer Weber, Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker is completely turned on its head – figuratively, and to be honest, literally.

Rather than the breathtaking leaps and twirls of ballet dancers, the audience was riveted by the gravity-defying breakdancing moves with performers springing from one-handed handstands to another and then spinning on their heads. The choreography was so cleverly intertwined with Tchaikovsky’s familiar orchestration that you could almost imagine that he actually intended his famous opus for hip hop.

The tone of the evening was set by special guest MC Kurtis Blow, one of hip hop’s founding fathers, with a brief homage to this genre’s 50th anniversary. Along with DJ Boo, a New York-based performance DJ, Blow masterfully invited the audience to sing and dance along as he moved through a mix of hip hop classics through the years. The audience loved it.

In this retelling, Maria-Clara (Halima Dodo) is upset by her parents’ constant bickering during the annual uptown holiday street party. Drosselmeyer (Tumelo “Melo” Khupe) appears, bringing magical toys to the party and introducing Maria-Clara to a street vendor (Anthony “Omen” Cabrera) selling roasted nuts, appropriately called the Nutcracker. The party breaks up, and while Maria-Clara is on her way home, she runs into the menacing Mouse Crew. Aided by a pair of magical red sneakers hanging on a lamp pole, the Nutcracker springs to her defense and the two enjoy winter’s first snowfall.

Drosselmeyer returns to magically take Maria-Clara and her Nutcracker back in time to the Land of Sweets nightclub, where the couple witness the New Year’s Eve revelers showing off the dance styles of that time. It’s then that Maria-Clara realizes that she is witnessing the night when her parents first met and fell in love. She is overcome by their love, and when they return to present day, Maria-Clara and the Nutcracker – with a bit more magic – help her parents reconcile.

The story is brought to life not only through the performers’ incredible hip hop dancing and choreography, but also by their amazing acting ability. Through their gestures and facial expressions, the ensemble brought the audience along into the story.

For me, one of the evening’s highlights was the powerhouse violinist Marissa Licata, who introduces the familiar opening strains of The Nutcracker and then appears strategically throughout the performance to move the musical narrative forward. A star soloist, she has appeared with the likes of Alicia Keys, Ben Harper, Jethro Tull, H.E.R., Ringo Starr, and Gloria Estefan, to name a few.

The set design was minimal, but skillfully done with a huge video cast on the stage’s backdrop. We’re taken right into the street scene, walk into Drosselmeyer’s toy store, and then cast back into time appropriately via a time-traveling subway, all through the magic of video. At first, the scenes and costuming are all cast in shades of black and white with only Drosselmeyer’s magical touch in red. But when we go back in time, the past comes to life in a spray of colors.

The Hip Hop Nutcracker is only at the Cadillac Palace for a limited engagement through Dec. 17, but tickets are still available. For families and children of all ages, this is a wonderful introduction to The Nutcracker, and even for those well acquainted with this holiday tradition, The Hip Hop Nutcracker is an imaginative and exuberant retelling of this classic worth seeing.

As MC Blow told the audience, “I’m sure Mr. Tchaikovsky would enjoy this performance.” I quite agree. 

Published in Theatre in Review

It’s a truth universally known that the holidays aren’t always a great time for everyone. Holiday traditions and expectations can often leave us feeling emotionally void or overwhelmed, particularly with how bleak 2023 has been for so many. But in every darkness there is joy to be sparked and light to be found, if one is willing to look for it. This holiday season I discovered a shining light in the The Jinkx & DeLa Holiday Show at Auditorium Theatre. 

The Jinkx & DeLa Holiday Show is an internationally acclaimed holiday variety show returning to Chicago following the massive success of their previous holiday tours. Co-written, co-created, and starring global drag icons and RuPaul’s Drag Race stars BenDeLaCreme and Jinkx Monsoon, fans braved the winter cold to witness a fabulous spectacle, whip-smart comedy, and creative song parodies embodying and cleverly critiquing holiday traditions. 

The holiday show harkens back to classic comedy variety shows that used to dominate television and stage. Jinkx and DeLa are an iconic and dynamic duo, with quick and witty banter and humor that is conflict free, a rarity in today’s comedic world. Even more impressive is that the show is entirely helmed by the queens themselves, with BenDeLaCreme in the producer and director’s chairs.  Too often, queer and drag stories are written and produced by people outside of the community. The Jinkx & DeLa Holiday Show and BenDeLaCreme Presents are reminders why authentic queer storytelling is not only necessary but should be widely celebrated. BenDeLaCreme says, “With all the hatred, darkness, and misinformation flying around our world today, it is an honor and a privilege to spend the holidays with tens of thousands of audience members each year, creating joyous community spaces where we can gather strength through laughter and celebration. Whether you consider it the most wonderful time of year or the most troubling, we’re here to tell you… you’re right! So let’s make it our own.” Monsoon adds, “It’s been a wild year, so let’s end it wildly. DeLa and I strive to entertain while we enlighten and enliven. The Jinkx & Dela Holiday Show is not only a moment of respite, but also of community, at a time where we need our chosen family and community most of all. So add us to your holiday plans, or let us BE your holiday plans— either way, you’re welcome to join us.”

DeLaJinkx 23050663 snow 8x10

The Jinkx & Dela Holiday Show is a shining light within the darkness, and truly a magnificent experience. The Auditorium Theatre audience were loyal followers of Jinkx and DeLa, many having seen their 2023 show in multiple cities on their tour, while others were back for their yearly tradition of seeing the iconic duo perform. In talking with Jinkx and DeLa, we learned this year’s holiday show changed the formula of the variety show, pairing the usual sweet vs. spicy duo as a united front, emphasizing the core message of togetherness and unity amidst an ever divisive and polarizing world. At the end of the show, the stars beseeched the audience to carry the joy, laughter, and love exuded and felt throughout the show out into the dark world; to spark that light within others and be the light so needed in the darkness. With everything that has happened in 2023, and the last few years,  Jinkx and DeLa have channeled their worry, frustration, and anxiety into a beautifully crafted show filled with lightness, and have created an enduring and worthwhile holiday tradition sure to be enjoyed for years to come.

Though the tour only visited Chicago for one night, this show is sure to become a staple in Chicagoland, only growing and getting better with time. One of the prevailing themes of this year’s variety show was that while our traditions anchor us to the holiday season, we can consistently look within ourselves and our communities to create new traditions or adapt and grow our old traditions. And most importantly, if we cannot find a light within the darkness, we ourselves can be the light for those around us. I cannot wait to add The Jinkx & Dela Holiday Show a must-see holiday tradition and I’ll see you all there in 2024.

This year’s tour will run through December 30 across the US, UK, and Canada with the show that proves they’re still the reigning “queens of Christmas'' (Entertainment Weekly). Tickets are available at JinkxandDeLa.com

Published in Theatre in Review

Going through the doors of the Rhapsody Theater on Morse Avenue is like stepping through a time portal. The 1919 theater was gorgeously renovated last year from a wedding and events venue back to the stunning theatre it was meant to be. There is a large dark mahogany bar serving specialty drinks appropriately named for the show you are about to witness. Drinks with names like Digital Elixir, Amazed & Confused, and Sleight of Spice are a tip-off to the feats of magic you are about to witness. You are guided through a door to a theatre with cabaret style seating.  There are mahogany tables and chairs situated around a large stage.

This magic show is like nothing you’ve ever seen while being very familiar. It is aptly named “Amaze”, but you will be so much more than amazed. “Amaze” is the brainchild of magician Jamie Allan. With a name like Jamie Allan, you just know he’s English, born in 1977 in the United Kingdom. The performance showcased the talents of a modern magician who skillfully married the charm of classic magic with the wonders of the digital age. During the show we learn Jamie’s childhood hero is the late Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple. This is not your standard magic show.

From the moment the lights come up, the audience is transported into a realm where the old and the new coexist in perfect harmony. The magician began with classic card tricks captivating the audience with expert sleight of hand that harkened back to the golden era of magic. The execution of these timeless tricks was flawless, demonstrating the magician's mastery of the fundamentals.

What set this show apart, however, was the seamless integration of modern technology. Throughout the performance, the stage came alive with dazzling visual effects. The combination of traditional magic and state-of-the-art technology created an immersive experience that left the audience in awe.

One standout moment involved magician Allan asking everyone in the audience to take out their cell phones. I am sworn to secrecy, but this innovative use of technology not only added a layer of astonishment but also engaged the audience in a way that traditional magic alone might not achieve.

The lighting and music complemented the magic show, creating an atmosphere that enhanced the overall sense of wonder. The synchronized play between the magician's movements and the technological elements showcased a meticulous attention to detail in both performance and production.

Jamie’s charismatic stage presence and engaging storytelling further enriched the experience. The show was not just a series of tricks but a narrative journey through his childhood.

"AMAZE" succeeded in delivering a magical experience that appealed to both traditionalists and tech enthusiasts. It showcased the enduring charm of classic magic while demonstrating the limitless possibilities that technology brings to the art form. This captivating blend of tradition and innovation left the audience with a sense of wonder that lingered long after.

Top of Form

When: Through Jan 7, 2024

Where: Rhapsody Theater 1328 W. Morse Avenue

Running time: 2 hours –1 15 intermission

Tickets: $35-$100 at 888-495-9001 and This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Published in Theatre in Review
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