Displaying items by tag: Auditorium Theatre

For so many children of the ‘80s, the revisiting and repurposing of our childhoods’ intellectual and emotional property is comforting. Maybe I’m more cynical, but so many of pop culture’s attempts to cash in on my nostalgia don’t do much for me. And so, when Tim Burton’s beloved tale of a recently deceased married couple and their debauched and equally dead ghostly exterminator became a Broadway musical, I was unsure about yet another attempt to take my fond memories and put them on the stage.

All that to say, I went into the Auditorium Theatre for Broadway on Chicago’s current production of Beetlejuice the Musical. The Musical.The Musical. a skeptic. And I came out smiling like I haven’t smiled in years.

For real, this is the most enjoyable production I’ve seen since before the pandemic.

It began with the set, which won me over immediately. I’ve found that shows put on in the Auditorium face the challenge of living up to such a large, looming, living house as Adler and Sullivan’s 19^th-century masterpiece. Sometimes it can overshadow shows. Sometimes it can swallow them up. Sometimes it’s just too much, itself. Not in this case. The set, designed by David Korins, already faced the challenge of living up to the zany and iconic look of the film, straight from inside Tim Burton’s head. But the set does live up to Burton’s vision—from the BETELGEUSE sign and spooky lighting—designed by Kenneth Posner—that greets you to the ever-changing innards of the soon-to-be-haunted house that hosts the show, as do the costumes (by William Ivey Long), the projections (by Peter Nigrini), and especially the puppets (by Michael Curry). This production not only recreates the brilliance of Burton’s movie, but it also recreates the BIGNESS of it. This Beetlejuice is a real spectacle, as it ought to be.

The music, too, of this 21^st-century reimagining of 20^th-century classic totally works. Going in, I knew the songs would be good, as my daughters have played the original Broadway soundtrack around the house since it came out in 2018. With words and music by Eddie Perfect, these are really good songs. And the orchestra, produced and supervised by Matt Stine and Kris Kukul and directed by Andy Grobengieser and Julia Sunay, is really tight throughout, something as a musician myself I notice and appreciate.

Yes, if the wonderful scenic and sonic experience I had at Beetlejuice was all I had to talk about, it still might rank up there with the shows I’ve most enjoyed. But I haven’t even gotten to the show’s cast yet. And—as they would be filling roles first played by none other than Michael Keaton, Catherine O’Hara, Geena Davis, Alec Baldwin, and Winona Ryder—that was my main area of concern. Could anyone live up to those names and those performances?

This cast does.

Justin Collette takes on the title role with ghoulish glee. While Collette nails the gravelly voice of the original, he doesn’t try to perfectly recreate the grubbiness of Keaton’s spectral chiseler. Collette’s Beetlejuice is a bit more modern, a bit more fun—more carnival barker or social media attention hound than used car salesman—while every bit as irreverent and foul-mouthed (and actually Rated R to the 1988 PG-rated poltergeist). And Collette can sing. He’s on all night long—all over the stage, interacting with the audience like a standup comic, dancing with the ensemble, shaking a leg, breaking off an arm, evading a sandworm, holding a minute-long note—without breaking a sweat. I was out of breath just watching him, but Collette proved himself a real pro.

Also, a real pro—in her professional debut—is Isabella Esler as poor little broken-hearted gothic girl, Lydia Deetz. Now, again, I’m a 1980s kid. And Winona Ryder will always be everything to me—especially as the original Lydia. In fact, in the clips I’d seen of other performances from other productions of Beetlejuice, Lydia was the one who could never live up to the original. But Esler does that. She not only keeps up with an ever-changing set and never-tiring ensemble, but she also leads them. Confident, coordinated, and with a face so expressive it seems to pop right off the Auditorium’s giant stage and right into the seats, Esler was every bit the star of the show as Beetlejuice. And like Collette, Esler can also really sing—always finding another gear and a higher or more emotionally compelling note—sing like someone who’s been doing this for decades.

The rest of this cast, too, are professionals, or even better than the great professionals I’ve come to expect in such productions. Baldwin and Davis were (and still are) reliable, benignly attractive icons in the film. But as recently deceased husband and wife onstage, Megan McGinnis and Will Burton play up the boring and benign, which only highlights how extraordinarily talented the two are. They sing, they dance, they act as ensemble side pieces when needed, but carry whole scenes themselves.

While those two expand on the film’s characteristics, the two other principal characters are much different, and for the better in this case. The book—by Scott Brown and Anthony King—takes license throughout, even referring to the fact that this isn’t the Beetlejuice many old fans like me might be expecting. Because of the big plot changes, the roles of Lydia’s parents completely change. Instead of sleezy Jeffrey Jones’ standard 80s sleaze he brought to this or other film classics, Jesse Sharp’s Charles Deetz is someone you can—or come to—root for. And as Catherine O’Hara (always the perfect film mom from that era) is inimitable, the show doesn’t even try. Kate Marilley’s Delia Deetz is a completely different character than O’Hara’s, and Marilley is a complete hoot—maybe the most fun physical comedian on a stage that’s full of them during this production.

So, yes, this production, wonderfully directed by Alex Timbers, not only won over this old, pessimistic grump (and completely charmed the audience, regardless of age), it wowed me. From the sights to the sounds to the stars on the Auditorium Theatre stage, Broadway in Chicago’s current production of Beetlejuice—running now through November 19—is an event you do not want to miss.

It’s hard to go wrong with ballet. From a toddlers’ class giggling nervously through Swan Lake to the zaniest comic piece by Los Trocoderos, ballet excites, inspires, and delights us. All these occurred at the American Ballet Theatre performance April 14 at the Auditorium Theatre. I was very much looking forward to this performance; American ballet Theatre (ABT) is one of the most celebrated companies in the world. But I hadn’t anticipated just how vigorously and comprehensively they would blow my socks clean off.

The show was in three acts – unusual to have two intermissions in a two-hour show, but as the night unfolded it became clear why it had to be so. Act One was “Songs of Bukovina”. I couldn’t resist googling Bukovina: the region, sparsely populated since the Paleolithic (!), is located on the northern slopes of the central Eastern Carpathians and the adjoining plains, today divided between Romania and Ukraine. The language spoken is Romanian with influences of Moldovan, Transylvanian, and Maramureș. Whew! … try saying that three times fast! Any road, one expects a folk-dance sort of thing, and one would be correct. “Songs of Bukovina”, including ten dancers and led by principals Isabella Boylston and Daniel Camargo, was a celebration of the global genre of folk dance, with brilliantly colored costumes designed by Moritz Junge whirling about the stage. The music in “Songs of Bukovina” is excerpted by composer Leonid Desyatnikov from “Bukovinian Songs [24 Preludes for Piano]”, performed by pianist Jacek Mysinski.

Scene from Songs of Bukovina. Photo by Marty Sohl.

I had noted that the first dance in Act Two, “Touché”, listed Sarah Lozoff as Intimacy Director – a common role in theatrical productions but not, in my experience, customary for dance. I have mentioned in previous reviews my predilection for male pas de deux, and “Touché” gave me the pas de deux of my dreams. It began with Calvin Royal III and João Menegussi standing motionless on the stage and shouting individual words: “No!”, “Come”, “Fuck!”. Slowly they began to move, individually at first but with a gradual transition to synchronicity. Christopher Rudd’s choreography made it progressively more clear that we were witnessing a mating dance, so it was perfectly natural when they began to shed their clothes. Once they were near-naked the dance became more sensual, enhanced by Brad Fields’ inventive lighting – at one point the house lights came up while leaving the stage nearly dark.

In fencing, touché means “touched”. Fencers who have been hit may call out “touché” to acknowledge the touch. If, however, no hit was actually made, the fencer's adversary would say, "pas de touché" (in English: no touch) to indicate that the hit should not be counted. Via Woodkid and Ennio Morricone’s music, and the danseurs’ brilliantly controlled balletic motion, this spell-binding pas de deux was enhanced by the aura of pas de touché, a tempestuous ambience that saturated the dance. The standing ovation continued through three curtain calls.

Touché

There was a brief pause between “Touché” and “Some Assembly Required”, during which I reflected that I did not envy the dancers who would have to follow Royal and Menegussi’s sensational performance. But Katherine Williams and Jarod Curley rose to the challenge. “Some Assembly Required” could have been simply a hetero apologia to “Touché”, but Clark Tippet’s choreography and Amanda McKerrow and John Gardner’s staging did a fine job on its own merits. The brooding atmosphere of “Touché” was lifted by Kobi Malkin and Emily Wong’s performance of William Bolcom’s Second Sonata for Violin and Piano, setting a more frolicsome tone to ready the audience for “ZigZag”, a sprightly medley of Tony Bennett songs (with a very special duet with Lady Gaga).

“ZigZag”, a work for 14 dancers, premiered in October 2021. This performance included four of the original principals, Devon Teusch, Luciana Paris, Cassandra Trenary, and Joo Won Ahn, with the addition of Aran Bell and Blaine Hoven.

“ZigZag” was a perfect finale, a dazzling whirlwind of music and movement. The Tony Bennett medley included such favorites as What the World Needs Now, I Left My Heart in San Francisco, and It Don’t Mean a Thing If It Ain’t Got That Swing. Costumers Wes Gordon and Carolina Herrera dressed the chorus in bumptious black-and-white polka-dot tutus, setting off the principals in bright primary colors. Jessica Lang’s choreography evoked a blooming Spring season with It’s De-Lovely, Blue Moon and Springtime in Manhattan., and Derek McLane incorporated artwork by Bennett in the scenery. The final song, How Do You Keep the Music Playing, brought the audience to its feet, where we remained through several curtain calls.

I’ve made no secret that my favorite piece was “Touché”, and the ovation and curtain calls demonstrated that I wasn’t alone in that. However, the brilliance of “Touché” was intensified by all the works surrounding it, as a diamond’s luster is enhanced by its cut and setting.

American Ballet Theatre is only in Chicago for a brief stay, but where- and when-ever you have a chance to see them perform, you will not be disappointed.

‘Too Hot to Handel’ captures all the majesty of Handel’s baroque music masterpiece, but adds soul, infusing it with the power of equally classic jazz, gospel and blues interpretations. This annual tradition - it ran December 3-4 this year - was launched in 1992, and was first performed at Chicago’s Auditorium Theatre two decades ago, where it returns for two performances each year. It never fails to surprise and delight—so much so this reviewer has seen it six times.

By reinterpreting portions of the classic work with treatments that include varieties of jazz, along with gospel, backbeats, and scat, “Too Hot to Handel” amplifies and highlights Handel's 1741 score. Purists may be tempted to scoff at any meddling with the original, but there are actually many variations in the canon, such as tempo, instrumentation (modern and original instruments), etc.

It is no accident that numerous jazz masters from Keith Jarett to Herbie Hancock move with fluidity between jazz and baroque musical forms. “Too Hot to Handel” shows why. It allows both performers and the audience to respond emotionally to Handel’s inspirational original through the free forms of modern music, relinquishing the intensive restraint imposed by baroque.

Perhaps chief among the numerous powerful performances is that of Rodrick Dickson, an opera star of international renown. His clarion tenor all alone equals in force and magnitude the combined power of the chamber orchestra, jazz combo, and symphonic choirs against which he performs. Dickson’s delivery of “Comfort Ye,” “For He is Like a Refiners Fire” and other sections, carries everything Handel had to have intended for it, and then amps it up with the departures from the work.

Likewise opera soprano Alfreda Burke, whose role hews tighter to Handel’s score, carrying it with clarity and power against the driving backdrop of a swinging orchestra and chorus. An accomplished principal in major productions of Puccini, Poulenc, Beethoven and many others around the world, Burke’s voluptuous voice delights in “There Were Shepherds Abiding in the Field.”

Then there is Karen-Marie Richardson, mezzo-soprano, bringing unabashedly jazz delivery to “Oh Thou that Tellest Good Tidings to Zion” and other sections with a style that contrasts distinctly from Burke and Dickson, and yet is equally as affecting.

There is much more to say about “Too Hot to Handel,” most importantly the tour de force performance by Detroit pianist Alvin Waddles, who at one point must improvise through 18 bars; the sheet music is simply blank, and he runs with it. And each year it seems another star performance emerges, which without question was principal saxophonist Greg Ward, whose stand-up solos were emotionally intense reveries on whatever had preceded them.

Created in 1992 as a collaboration between conductor Marin Alsop with orchestrators and arrangers Bob Christianson and Gary Anderson, “Too Hot to Handel: The Jazz-Gospel Messiah” had its Chicago premiere at the Auditorium Theatre in 2006. The production has returned every year since, formerly during the weekend before Martin Luther King Jr. Day. This year, Too Hot to Handel landed right in the middle of the traditional Messiah season in the weeks leading up to Christmas.

Using the original musical material from Messiah, Alsop, Christianson, and Anderson reinvented the basic melodic and harmonic outlines of Handel’s original by using scat, backbeats, jazz and gospel vocals, and instrumental improvisation. If you missed it this year, mark your calendar for December 2023 when “Too Hot to Handel” returns to the Auditorium Theatre.

Jinkx Monsoon and BenDeLaCreme’s Christmas show truly rocks! And, lucky us, their show just made a quick stop in Chicago at the Auditorium Theatre. There are dozens of holiday drag shows, but this one is Jinkx and DeLa! The above title quote (sung, appropriately enough, to the tune of “Grandma got Run Over by a Reindeer”) captures its spirit. 

Its substance (say wha?) is a time trip with Jinkx and DeLa, back to the 1960’s, reprising fave songs (and, naturally, fashions!) from each decade, searching for the thing that’s wrecking Christmas -- and, just incidentally, the whole fucking world. “We’ll know it when we see it,” DeLa assures Jinkx.

Co-written and created by Jinkx and Dela; BenDeLaCreme Presents does a lot of the rest. Video Production and Visuals come from Trojan Original, Luke Stemberger, Percolate Galactic, Lazy Susan, and Andrew Slade (I just wanted to get those names out there). Erik Andor/Andor Studio and Meredith Youngblood create the (adorable) puppets.

OK, so we go back in time, with appropriate music and fashion. I liked best the numbers that Jinkx and DeLa performed together, especially when they included Hunky the Elf (Gus Lanza). But I know a girl’s gotta get off those five-inch heels! 

The troupe (Chloe Albin, Mr. Babygirl, Elby Brosch, Shane Donahue, Jim Kent and Ruby Mimosa) are phenomenal. I really shouldn’t have been surprised at the pulchritude of their dance [I’ve been saving up that word for a time like this!] This is, after all, BenDeLaCreme Presents and Jinkx Monsoon!

Gotta shout out the costumes by The Lady Hyde, Mr. Gorgeous, Jamie Von Stratton, and Paris Original; also the lights, which were totally amazing. I reeeeelly loved the effect at the end when Jinkx and DeLa stood together and their red-and-green gowns formed a Christmas tree. It may have been a glitch when the tree / dresses lit up and part of Jinkx’ didn’t light: isn’t that what the tree always does when you first turn on the lights?!  Actually, it would’ve been fabulous if it ‘blew a fuse’ and plunged the Auditorium Theatre into blackness for just a second. Consider that, wouldja, Mike Fava?

But the very best part was the very end, when DeLa and Jinkx remind us that there is still a lot of shit out there, and LGBTQ people are not safe on American streets. The antidote is, of course, love. We need more love in the world.

Here’s hoping Jinkx and DeLa return next year for the holidays!

For more show information, click here.

It seems to me the Joffrey Ballet’s been picking literary shows as of late based on books I either never finished or don’t remember. Last season, they presented Anna Karenina, which I admit I never read all the way through, but which delighted me in its transformation to the Auditorium Theatre’s stage. And now, the Joffrey’s 2019-2020 season opens with another 19th century classic, Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre. Now, I know I finished the novel, as every moment in the ballet was recognizable to me, but I can’t for the life of me recall when I read it, whether it was high school or college. Shows that perhaps the book didn’t make that big of an impression. But I’ve got to admit, the ballet did make an impression. Seems to me that a much younger me could have used Joffrey productions of required English class reading as a mix of Cliff’s Notes and nights on the town. Alas, a younger me never had that opportunity, but the older me sure is lucky for the chance.

Just as she played the lead role in the Joffrey’s magnificent Nutcracker last winter, Amanda Assucena takes on the eponymous role of Jane for this production. And boy, does she deliver. But every bit as important to the main character’s story is Yumi Kanazawa, who plays a young Jane through the first couple scenes. Kanazawa matches Assucena in passion and performance, and seamlessly portrays the woman as a girl, handing the part off upon her arrival at adulthood.

Now, the two ballets I’ve mentioned above — The Nutcracker and Anna Karenina — are spectacles, the former by tradition and the Joffrey’s Chicago-centric twist on the tale, the latter because of the source material’s length and depth. Jane Eyre, on the other hand, lacks the marvel and magnitude of those two, instead centering on the experience and personhood of the title character. And, while still delivering some of the sights and sounds of the other productions, this production allows the Joffrey’s performers to shine, just as the characters in Brontë’s book are the reader’s focus, with Jane as both the book and the ballet’s focal point.

When Jane’s classmate Helen, played by Brooke Linford, dies from tuberculosis or cholera or whatever old-timey predicament Brontë killed her off with, we feel Jane’s pain at the loss. When Greig Matthews’ pompous Rochester at last succumbs to Jane’s charm, so do we. While the visual beauty of the set is still there, from the sad-sack orphans Lowood School to the fire that endangers Rochester at his Thornfield estate, of  it is the visual beauty of the dancers that is the star of this show, just as the characters — or the character, of Jane, really, is the star of Brontë’s novel.

So join the Joffrey Ballet at the Auditorium Theatre through October 27, as all its world-class company of talent once again digs deep into a literary classic to turn words into images, memories into reality, and a 19th century novel into a 21st century evening of entertainment.

This was my first time seeing any production of ‘Jersey Boys’ and I was so taken by the music and drama of the show I went to see it again closing night - and I'm so glad I did! 

I learned so much about Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons. Here’s an interesting tidbit - they originally called themselves The Four Lovers! I haven't heard their music on the radio in a long time and hearing their songs performed so well made me realize how many of their hits shaped my view of romantic love as a child. 

“Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You” as done by this tremendous cast was a soaring delight, and one of the reasons I saw the production twice with those spectacularly romantic lyrics of pure devotion. 

“You're just too good to be true

 I can't take my eyes off you

You'd be like heaven to touch

I wanna hold you so much

At long last love has arrived

And I thank God I'm alive

You're just too good to be true

Can't take my eyes off you”

 
“Big Girls Don’t Cry,” “Oh What a Night,” “Walk Like A Man,” “Sherry” and ”Working My Way Back To You" were so much fun to hear again, especially when learning some of the back stories on how they were written and for whom. 

I was sad but not surprised to hear that like most musical groups at that time and now, The Four Seasons were forced to tour so much and were taken advantage of financially in various ways. Pressures like such caused the band of friends to break up prematurely due to the seemingly endless strains of exhaustion, loneliness along with the emotional burdens they took on, from touring in particular, as compared to staying home with their families and recording in the studio.  

The opening night performance was still fantastic! I heard some vocal shakiness here and there and saw some nervous dance energy that made the cast appear stiff in parts when trying to hit their marks with such exactness. So, I attended the next performance and the entire cast blew me away and revealed two "Rising Stars" out of the very talented 15-member ensemble. I later found out that the cast having just flown in from NY were a little tired on opening night but by the time I saw the show again, the show had gelled so well it was almost like seeing a whole new show. Audiences seeing the show from here on out have a special treat coming to their towns! 

All four leads were wonderful with Jonny Wexler as Frankie Valli, Eric Chambliss as Bob Gaudio, Corey Greenan as Tommy DeVito and Jonathan Cable as Nick Massi. The four were in lock step, perfectly executing the demanding choreography needed to recreate the band’s exciting live presence.  

The ensemble members, Ashley Bruce, Tony L. Clements, Rick Desloge, Wade Dooley, Todd DuBail, Caitlin Leary, Kevin Patrick Martin, Jeremy Startin, Chloes Tiso, Kit Treece and Jessica Wockenfuss were all dynamite as well and with production cuts each had to lay several roles and sometimes even play instruments.

The female roles in this show are mostly "thankless" cameos which don't allow for a gal to show off, but every cast member more than pulled their weight. 

Jonny Wexler made the most astounding leap from opening night jitters and by Saturday his falsetto was flawless. The gravitas missing from his dramatic scenes was in play and when I closed my eyes during "Can't Take my Eyes Off of You" I literally felt transported back in time! I felt like I was hearing the glorious impossible tones of Frankie Valli performing in his prime. 

Jonathan Cable, who is from Indiana, actually had the most NY swagger of the entire cast from night one. Cable has an extensive musical theatre background and his smooth yet masculine dance moves, growling low singing tones and wry sense of humor made him a sexy stand out that will make ladies AND gents who see this production chuckle when they remember his interpretation of bass tenor Nick Massi. 

‘Jersey Boys’ is the well told journey of how four Jersey street kids rose from neighborhood trouble makers to one of the great musical acts of their time. It’s also the story of how a teenage kid named Bob Gaudio, who penned the cheeky hit “Short Shorts,” teamed up with Valli and company, matured as a song writer and wrote some of the most memorable songs of the era.  

The pace of the show is leisurely at first then develops nicely as the backstory of each band member comes together with their own unique talents. There is a nice intermission in this two-hour-plus show which makes it a perfect date night for Broadway theater lovers - well worth the price of admission. 

I highly recommend this production of ‘Jersey Boys’ to "Lovers" everywhere for the astoundingly talented cast, dramatic staging and really heart-satisfying renditions of classic love songs that will have you floating out of the theatre on a cloud exclaiming, "Oh, What a Night!" 

'Jersey Boys’ is here on a short run through April 7th at Auditorium Theatre.

All apologies to the teachers and professors who groomed me to be a ceaseless reader and sporadic writer — I never finished Anna Karenina. But while I never plowed through all 900 pages of Tolstoy’s novel, moments from the book have stayed with me. One of them is just a line, one seemingly effortless line among pages full of them, and what a line it is: “All the variety, all the charm, all the beauty of life is made up of light and shadow.”

As I reflect on the variety, the charm, and the beauty I was privileged to behold at the Joffrey Ballet’s world premiere of Yuri Possokhov’s production of his countryman’s classic, I realize I witnessed a whole world of light and shadow being created right there on the Auditorium Theatre’s stage.

The creation of that entire world was, most obviously, performed by Possokhov’s choreography carried out by the Joffrey’s outstanding company, of course. Victoria Jaiani’s Anna navigates said world in both light and shadow — beautiful but damaged, faced with reality but delirious. Her husband Karenin, towers over the stage, as portrayed by the magnificent Fabrice Calmels, as a stately, stern husband and father and statesman. Just as stately, while also boyish and beautiful, Alberto Velazquez’s Vronsky lures the audience just as he lures poor Anna. And parallel to the love triangle and tragedy that envelope those three is the love story between Yoshihisa Arai’s Levin and Anais Bueno’s Kitty. If the former affair gives us the shadow, then the latter relationship brings it into the light.

These lights and shadows do not flicker before us thanks solely to the dancers, however. No, the spectacle of sight and sound beyond the dancing are every bit as stunning. Tom Pye’s sets and David Finn’s lighting navigates from dusky railyards to sunny Tuscany, from opium dreams to canapé flings. Of the many delights dished out by the Joffrey’s Nutcracker, perhaps my favorite was its use of projections, and Finn Ross’ projections for 'Anna Karenina' equal those, coloring the story and conjuring spirits.

But from curtain to curtain, the visual thrills are always complemented and often eclipsed by Ilya Demutsky’s original score directed by Scott Speck. The Chicago Philharmonic’s accompaniment, shifting seamlessly from elegance to dissonance, while always both classic and contemporary, is joined by Lindsay Metzger’s mezzo-soprano — who literally joins the show by the end — to craft this world of light and shadow in multiple dimensions that quicken multiple sensations.

So join the Joffrey Ballet at the Auditorium Theatre for Anna Karenina through February 24, as all of these world-class talents work together to shade and illuminate, to craft and create the variety and the charm and the beauty one would expect from a hefty literary classic written a century-and-a-half ago and half a world away.

I arrived at the Auditorium Theatre — one of my favorite buildings in this city of ours that has so many historic buildings each with so many stories — prepared to enjoy an evening with that old Holiday chestnut, The Nutcracker. Little did I know that for the third year in a row, the Joffrey Ballet would be presenting Tchaikovsky’s work with a twist — as a story by Brian Selznick set in Chicago during the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893. Now, being a history buff, the setting (or settings, since I was already aware of the theatre’s history) perked me up upon reading the program pre-show. And seeing the name of the story’s author, this author of children’s books was excited to see what Selznick, a personal favorite, had in store. I wouldn’t be disappointed with the wonder and whimsy headed my way.

Right away, instead of a bourgeois European Christmastime, we’re transported to working-class Chicago circa Christmas 1892. A Victorian-clad girl played by Amanda Assucena navigates the rough and rat-infested streets of a Windy City that’s awaiting the completion and opening of the great World’s Fair in the coming year, its towering Ferris Wheel overlooking the knot-holed fences and rag-covered rapscallions she passes. A Dickensian rat catcher and the Fair’s Impresario are two recurring characters we meet before Marie arrives at the meager shack she shares with her mother and brother in the shadow of the White City.

There, the family is visited by various other working-people and immigrants for a holiday celebration. And soon, the Impresario himself, played by Miguel Angel Blanco, arrives with gifts, including a Nutcracker for young Marie. From here until the end of Act I, this Nutcracker shares much with traditional productions, with a broken Nutcracker, a nighttime dream, rats and soldiers a-fighting, and a magical gondola arriving to take Marie and the transformed Nutcracker off to a winter wonderland.

But after the intermission, Act II brings a very different wonderland — the White City of 1893 Chicago. First off, the magic comes from the strength of Tchaikovsky’s music. Every time I hear the melody after melody, each of them recognizable, of the second half, I’m reminded of just how ubiquitous this work is. Each piece has become embedded in society’s consciousness ever in the 125+ years since they were penned and premiered. And each piece is played wonderfully by the Chicago Philharmonic (three of whose musicians take the stage in the first half as players at the house party).

The World’s Fair setting, however, allows each piece a new meaning, as what were then (again, 125 years ago) exotic people dance along to Tchaikovsky’s original works. Highlights include Fernando Duarte as a hammy and hysterical Mother Nutcracker (thronged by the children’s ensemble playing hilarious cracking walnuts); Hansol Jeong’s Chinese Dancer, accompanied by the ensemble as paper dragons; and Rory Hohenstein (who was also the rat catcher) as a rootin’, tootin’ Buffalo Bill Cody surrounded by three frolicking showgirls (Lucia Connolly, Dara Holmes, and Joanna Wozniak) who would definitely attract fairgoers in 1893 or today. But the highlight of the Fair’s attractions are the Arabian Dancers, played by Jeraldine Mendoza and Dylan Gutierrez. Mendoza contorts, writhes, and dances as Gutierrez lifts and balances and turns — and the audience erupted when their dance was done all too soon.

The only dancers almost as enchanting as Mendoza and Gutierrez are Victoria Jaiani (who also plays Marie’s mother) and Blanco, as the Queen of the Fair and the Impresario. They close this Nutcracker with the kind of grace and beauty one would expect not just from such a beloved ballet, but from such an accomplished ballet company. So, while the Joffrey’s take on The Nutcracker might be different, it is as enchanting as ever, as professional as one would expect, and the perfect way to begin the holiday season in the White City of Chicago.

The Joffrey Ballet opens 2018-2019 season with the return of choreographer Christopher Wheeldon’s modern re-telling of Swan Lake to the Auditorium Theatre four years after its first premiere in Chicago in 2014.

Composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875-77, it was originally a ballet in two acts, named The Lake of the Swans. Choreographed by Julius Reisinger, it premiered in Moscow’s Bolshoi Theater in 1877 but was poorly received by the critics. Nearly twenty years later, the music score undergone changes by Riccardo Drigo, who added various other Tchaikovsky’s pieces to the original score for the choreographers Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov's 1895 revival of the ballet, consequently re-named Swan Lake and performed in four acts.

Christopher Wheeldon’s masterful re-telling of Swan Lake is based on that latter version of the ballet, as well as Edgar Degas’ paintings circa 1870’s, of the Paris Opera backstage, where ballet rehearsals were often attended by the male patrons of the arts.

In Wheeldon’s version of Swan Lake, the story begins at the Paris Opera during the rehearsal for the opening night of Swan Lake. The Principal Dancer who portrays Prince Siegfried in the classical ballet gets so lost in the ballet fantasy, that his world becomes full of illusions. Fantasy is superimposed on reality until he can no longer distinguish between the two. In love with his beautiful dance partner, he’s painfully aware of the advances of the Patron who is always lurking around during the rehearsals, making unsavory proposals to ballerinas. In his mind, he turns into prince Siegfried, and finds himself at the lake, where he sees a beautiful maiden telling him that she had been cursed by an evil sorcerer to stay in swan form during the day until someone falls in love with her. He imagines that the maiden is his dance partner and the sorcerer is the patron.

The technical skills of Dylan Gutierrez as Siegfried are truly superb; his dancing is as beautiful as it is emotionally charged. Odette/Odlie’s role is danced by the magnificent Victoria Jaiani, who is floating on air, like she always does, effortlessly performing the most highly technically challenging pirouettes.

By the Second Act, the ballerinas so perfectly capture the essence of the swans, they seem to have lost their human form and become transformed into birds. This resemblance and the white costumes of ballerinas separate Siefried’s fantasy from reality in the ballet. In the Third Act, it’s back to reality: the stage comes alive with action; it’s a gala evening to celebrate the new production of Swan Lake. The fancy legwork of the cheerful Pas De Quatre (The Dance of Little Swans) does not disappoint; beautifully performed by Anne Gerberich, Jeraldine Mendoza, Edson Barbosa and Greig Matthews. Followed by the sexy Russian, Spanish, Czardas and Burlesque dances, the colorful costumes (by Jean-Marc Puissant) are in stark contrast to demure lakeside scene; this party is so much fun. Chicago Philharmonic Orchestra led by Scott Speck blends Tchaikovsky’s music with dance so perfectly that not a moment is out of sync; it’s divine.

Joffrey’s Corps de Ballet indisputably consists of world class dancers whose technical skills and ballet mastery make every performance exquisite; every one of their moves is executed with razor-like precision. Combined with brilliant Wheeldon’s choreography and gorgeous Tchaikovsky’s music, Swan Lake is a treat for the senses. In short, it is magnificent.

For more information on this beautifully executed production, visit www.joffrey.org.