If you've never seen Cats before, or if like me you have seen Cats many times over the years, this is the production of Cats you should make the effort to take your whole family to enjoy. This production was skillfully and joyfully directed and choreographed by Marc Robin. Robin does a fantastic job of bringing Cats, the second longest-running musical in Broadway history to life.

The Marriott Lincolnshire Theatre is hands down one of the best venues to see musical Theatre in the Chicago area. The space is cozy and houses an intimately sized ‘Theatre in the round’ and director Robin uses every single inch of the space to bring the mystifying and heartwarming movement of real cats to life. I was completely enamored by the way cast members mingled with the audience throughout the show just as cats mingle and cuddle and caress us at home. By leaving some groupings of seats empty and allowing the performers to perch and watch the goings on from the carpeted aisles at our feet and even in our laps occasionally, we got to feel both part of the show and as though the performers had truly become the graceful and mystical creatures they were portraying.

The dancing and choreography is spectacularly playful and impressive. This production really captures the magical quality of cats. If dogs reflect the qualities in human beings that are childlike and innocent throughout life, then cats surely reflect human beings when they reach maturity and progress into old age. The variety of cats portrayed from plump, round and lazy to skinny, aged and falling apart really help humans identify themselves as loveable, and salvageable even with all their odd foibles, scars and matted fur.

The enchanting and complex lyrics of Cats are all based on poetry, the enchanting poems of T.S. Eliot. The “Jellicle Songs” introduces the audience to the wonderful cast of cat characters who are about to attend the mystical tradition of a cats-only “Jellicle Ball”. At this magnificent dancing cat ball held in the middle of night by the light of a full moon, their elder cat, Old Deuteronomy selects one worthy cat to be re-born.

The hit song, “Memory” is sung by Grizabella, the chosen cat. It is essential that this song, which is the catharsis and climax of Cats, is sung by a mature vocal performer whose voice really soars and Heidi Kettenring (with six Jeff nominations, Man of Steel) really knocked it out of the park with her vocally rich and moving rendition in this production.

There is a universal appeal to this show, which has maintained its second position in popularity on Broadway for 23 years between Phantom of the Opera and Chicago. “Cats” makes you feel good about being who you are no matter what odd type of cat you have matured into when you attend the “Jellicle Ball”.

Cats and their mysterious, unpredictable feline natures are often identified with the female human, and sometimes in negative ways like the terms ‘catty’, ‘cat fight” or the myth that black cats bring bad luck.  In a way, “Cats” has a wonderful underlying feminist message to embrace the female, the changeable, and the vulnerable in our psyches.

 “Cats” the musical, with its challenging dance numbers throws all those negative myths right out the window and reminds us to embrace the marvelous grace, the ballet of acrobatics, that cats hypnotize us with and not to fear it.

Kudos to EACH of the talented dancers in this production, and also to set designer Thomas M. Ryan, and costume designer, Nancy Missimi, for bringing the exciting, loveable and playful nature of actual cats to life so fully in this production.

“Cats” is being performed at Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire through May 25^th. For tickets and/or more information, visit www.marriotttheatre.com.

What an honor and delight to see Alvin Ailey’s American Dance Theater return to the historic Auditorium Theater during its 125 Anniversary year with our First Lady, Mrs. Michelle Obama serving as Honorary Chair for the 2014-2015 season!

Chicago is not only the groundbreaking company’s home; the Auditorium Theater is host to the longest run of domestic performances by Alvin Ailey’s American Dance Theater outside of New York city.

The program changes each night of the run except for the performance of Ailey’s seminal work “Revelations”. I have seen “Revelations” in the past and it never fails to deeply move me and inspire great hope.

“Revelations” truly does “explore the emotions of deepest grief and holiest joy in the soul”. Ailey uses classic songs like “Didn’t My Lord Deliver Daniel” and “Sinner Man” to paint with his superbly trained dancers many expressive and poignant pictures of hopelessness leading to deliverance in the African American tradition.

The program I viewed also featured the refreshingly modern “Chroma” and “Four Corners” which stunningly portrayed the four Archangels guarding the four corners of the earth, holding in their angelic hands the four winds.  It was breathtaking and beautifully performed.

I highly recommend seeing as many of the different nights of dance Alvin Ailey’s American Dance Theater bestows upon its beloved Chicago audiences. The spectacular strength and beauty of Ailey’s dancers as directed by Robert Battle since 2011 will be a great source of inspiration and joy to all the members of your family, especially little girls and boys who dream of dancing with this exceptional troupe one day.

Alvin Ailey’s American Dance Theater will be performing at the Auditorium Theater (50 East Congress Way, Chicago) through March 9^th. For tickets and/or more information, visit http://www.alvinailey.org.  

Watching the talented, all female cast of The Odd Couple flesh out Neil Simon’s comedy was a refreshing treat.  What a pleasure it was to see so many mature, funny women on one stage at one time. The Odd Couple is currently playing at Greenhouse Theatre on Lincoln Ave.

Kudos to director and producer, Robert Bills, for choosing this hilarious and female friendly 1985 adaptation by Neil Simon of his original “Odd Couple” written in 1965 about men. Even with my Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Theatre History, I was not aware that this play by Simon existed. I recently saw the original by a fine all-star cast at Northlight Theatre and felt that joke for joke, Simon’s female version had more laughs and comedic insights into the difficulties of divorce and the value of real friendship than the all male version we are so accustomed to seeing.

Jeff Citation winning actress, Elaine Carlson, as Florence/Felix Unger was believable and sympathetic, as her character slowly and painfully broke free from her tightly wound ball of nervous tics and OCD inspired cleaning habits. 

The two roles of Florence’s first double date after separation still played by men in the female version were much funnier than the bland/ blonde female dates as written in the original.

Cesar Jaime as “Jesus” and Diagoberto Soto as “Manolo” deadpanned and dropped their few scenes onto the audience like little comedy bombs each one detonating with precision laughter.

I love Neil Simon comedies when they are done well and I highly recommend seeing this rare production of one of his finest, little known comedy masterpieces.

The Odd Couple (female version) is playing through November 10^th and tickets are $28. For more information visit www.greenhousetheatre.org.  

Aspen Santa Fe Ballet is the name of a small but powerful dance company whose company of dancers come from, you guessed it, both Aspen and Santa Fe.

I was thoroughly impressed with the skills and passion of ASFB’s young, and fierce company. The quality of their technique and the choreography of the three pieces presented absolutely rivals that of the bigger, more established companies we are accustomed to seeing here in Chicago. This specific performance took place at The Harris Theater

The three works never before seen in Chicago were, “Over Glow” by Jorma Elo, “Beautiful Mistake” by Cayetano Soto, and “Last” by Alejandro Cerrudo (resident choreographer for Hubbard Street Dance Chicago).

Though I enjoyed them all, “Over Glow” by Finnish choreographer Jorma Elo, really stood out for me as a piece of modern ballet choreography with the most stunning images and subtle messages about human relationships that I have seen in many, many years.

“Over Glow” was set to music by Mendelssohn and Beethoven, yet the dancers were clothed in the simplest modern sea green and pale blue frocks designed beautifully by Nete Joseph.  The women were all in short, modern, sea green, silk dresses and the men, shirtless with pale blue pants set against a bright golden cyclorama that looked like the sun coming up over a western plain.

“Over Glow” begins with six dancers in newly forming couples. Each couple had their own style of meeting and courting.  They couples appear to be awakening each other from a still sleep with the simplest of hand gestures, tiny finger movements that cause their new partner to spark and come to life. The dancers rise up and spin or dance and walk for and with each in the most beautiful organic ways.

Sometimes the couples tease each other and send each other off in the wrong direction, only to pull their partner back in with the most delicate and gentle “kick” or stroke from their partner’s hand or foot.

The brilliance of Jorma Elo’s choreography is how he manages to convey almost an electronic, modern feel to these courtship movements, yet never renders them cold or unfeeling.  The movements imply that the physical awakening occurring between each of these couples is an automatic response of their nervous systems, yet wholly original, naturally beautiful and unique to each of the couples as they occur.

Elo’s stunning and uplifting choreography is both modern and classical, organic and futuristic, almost robotic, at the same time which gives one a marvelous sense of clean, yet vigorous romanticism.

At one point in “Over Glow”, one of the female dancers winds down, or collapses and her male partner falls to the floor and touchingly nudges her lifeless body with his head but cannot reawaken her. Then two of the female dancers come and begin the delicate hand gestures, the finger wiggles, to restart her engine and she does get up and becomes a leader for all of the couples who come back to life fully and dance again as a unified group.

I was absolutely delighted and riveted by this piece and by the passionate technique of all of the dancers in Aspen Santa Fe Ballet Company, which I can only describe as meaty, satisfying and fully engaging to ballet aficionados. ASFB’s dancers are young and few in number and I expect great performances will continuously flow from this carefully selected group.

I highly recommend seeing Aspen Santa Fe Ballet while they are here in Chicago and would actively seek out their performances on tour in the future. For more on this wonderful dance company, visit  http://www.aspensantafeballet.com/.

Steppenwolf Theatre

Becky, a 17 year old, played by Rae Gray, is involved with the death of a mentally handicapped friend at a party in Massachusetts. She is sent to visit for one week with her reclusive uncle, Sterling, played by William Petersen, at his cabin in a remote jungle in Costa Rica.

Greg Pierce has written a near perfect two-character play with a brisk 90-minute running time with no intermission. The dialogue is funny and touching in turns but never falls into melodrama or even sentimentality. During the course of the play we learn that Sterling is also struggling to forgive himself for a financial crime that caused a friend to be incarcerated for 15 years, by hiding out in the jungle. Sterling justifies his jungle lifestyle with daily meditation/penance by walking the path of his own man made labyrinth.

William Petersen’s performance is subtle and well crafted at the same time, Petersen acts with his whole body, from head to toe, his every hand gesture is rich with meaning and humor. Even Petersen’s silences onstage resonate passionately with the fullness of a seasoned actor whose senses have thankfully not been dulled by the 10-year stint on his hit TV show CSI.

Rae Gray does a great job of holding her own opposite Petersen in a demanding role. Gray has good comic timing and handles the more difficult scenes with sensitivity and intelligence.

The sound design is wonderful and becomes a sort of third character in the show, as the sounds of the jungle and it’s creatures remind Sterling and Becky about the great power of nature, life and death and destiny that is beyond their control. 

The most rewarding part about this production is the way it unfolds and it’s message about self forgiveness creeps up on you without hitting you over the head like an after school special.

The spaciousness and sparing exactness in which “Slowgirl” was written allows the audience room to consider instances in their own lives that required huge leaps of understanding and compassion to overcome. “Slowgirl” gently and easily leads the audience to feel that forgiveness, no matter what the circumstance, no matter how late, is always practical if not mystical and always possible.

“Slowgirl” is playing in Steppenwolf’s upstairs theatre through September 1^st. For tickets and/or more information, visit www.steppenwolf.org.

 TBS Just For Laughs

The crowd at The Chicago Theater Just for Laughs Festival welcomed Russell Brand with a warm roar much like they would a rock star. Although Brand reissued much of his old material in the show he also got some huge laughs working the crowd spontaneously and on a bit about outdated Illinois laws.

Brand has an astute, yet poetic grasp on the issues of politics as they relate to the exploitation of the masses including Gays, women and minority issues. Brand also delivered some great material about Hitler’s class photo and Che Guevara.

But his most entertaining bits were about sexuality.

"I worship women," he said. "I see them as my way back to God. There is power in the elegance of female sexuality."

Along those lines, I actually thought his riff on “Ass Jazz for the ladies” was very positive and feministic in nature.

“Referring to a woman’s anus as “a perfect aperture, so delicate and sweet it could’ve been penned by Walt Disney, so perfectly sanitary it could dispense nothing more toxic than little pink tic-tacs,” he went on to demonstrate and sing his sexual tactic of “Ass Jazz” on a lady and her beautiful screams of pleasure. Then Brand states how unfair it is to women that the guy then says to his lady turning his ass to face her,” My turn!” and began belching out  German Oompah music instead of Jazz.

Russell Brands comments on Jesus “being a nice, mellow guy who was all about kindness to women and promoting peace and love but who has been misappropriated by Christians and Catholics” was right on the money.

I would have liked to hear more comedy penned about The Messiah in his tour branded The Messiah Complex. That joke reminded me of the classic Jesus joke penned by Woody Allen in Hannah and Her Sisters, “If Jesus Christ came back to earth today and saw all of the evil that was being done in his name, he would never stop throwing up.”

At one point Russell left the stage and had the house lights turned up so he could search the crowd for an available lady to sleep with, “You might be a woman from the Chicago area thinking ‘oh, I’d love to have sex with Russell Brand but he’s so erudite and great I’m probably not good enough for him.’ Give it a shot. You probably are good enough. Have some confidence in yourself!”

Then saying to one woman who jumped up at him, “No, not you, no reason to plead or push, it’s already been decided (waving his hands over his crotch area) down here!”

Russell Brands freewheeling, psychedelic, high energy style of comedy and delivery is very much what younger generations need in order to enlighten them in a funny way to all of the ways they are being repressed sexually, spiritually and financially by our government, mass media and organized religions. My only suggestion for him is that he take some time now to write more into his Messiah Complex material about the Messiah.

2013 Back to Bass Tour at Ravinia, IL - Sting and his musicians effortlessly delivered another satisfying performance of his stripped down “Back to Bass Tour”, playing his music spanning 25 years. Sting was joined by his longtime guitarist Dominic Miller, Vinnie Colaiuta (drums), David Sancious (keyboards) Peter Tickell (electric fiddle), and Jo Lawry (vocals).

It was a beautiful, crisp night under the stars at Ravinia Park and Sting charmed the mostly middle aged, wine drinking, Highland Park crowd with straightforward yet heartfelt renditions of most of his greatest hits. Sting opened with “If I Ever Lose My faith in You” and kept it going with a strong set list that included “Demolition Man”, “Message in A Bottle”, “Shape of My Heart”, De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da” AND “Roxanne” before coming out for encores “King of Pain”, “Every Breath You Take”, “Next To You” and “Fragile”.              

At 61, Sting looks fit as ever in his skinny jeans, flashing us all a great “gun show” under his short sleeved t-shirt, but the best thing about this concert was Sting’s voice, still strong, rich, full and capable of  hitting all the high and low notes including his trademark howls and growls.

Each of Sting’s current minimalist rock band lineups continue to perform to the high level of perfection he demands.  Peter Tickell, a 23-year-old prodigy from the UK, delivered a mind bendingly complex, fast and furious electric fiddle solo that made me laugh out loud with wonder at his youthful skills.

Sting first started this tour back in 2011 and now he is making another go round with it before releasing his first new album in 10 years, titled "The Last Ship", which will be released on Universal Music Group's Polydor Records. The Last Ship will feature 12 songs and be produced by Rob Mathes.

Even more exciting Sting news is that he will be bringing a musical production with the same name to Broadway next year. Sting (Gordon Mathew Sumner) spent nearly three years working on the story that is focused on relationships, family, and community, collaborating with Joe Mantello, the director of the hit musical "Wicked" and John Logan, co-writer of the latest James Bond film "Skyfall".

Sting seems to bend time and the quickly passing years in his favor picking up “The Back to Bass Tour” exactly where he left off in 2011 as if to say to his fans – “Get your fill of my hits, I’m still here playing rock and roll but next year I will treat you to something new and I hope you will welcome it as much as you welcome my classic catalogue.”

No word yet on if Sting will be performing in his Broadway production but I have always considered him a fine actor on a par with another brilliantly gifted, rocker and songwriter, David Bowie (The Elephant Man).

Sting fans can’t miss by seeing the Back to Bass Tour 2013 again when it hits their towns over the next 8 weeks; it is a warm, fun evening of solid hit music sure to satisfy hungry Sting fans from every generation.

In the meantime, Ravinia Park is a fantastic place to see some of our favorite musical artists and 2013 has a great schedule which includes The Go-Go’s, Journey, Jewel, Matchbox 20, The B-52’s, Natalie Cole and so many more. Be sure to check out the show listing at  http://ravinia.org/. And if you are in Chicago, don’t forget that Ravinia is one short Metra ride away and you are literally dropped off at the front gate.   

“Still Alice” tells the story of a highly intelligent, respected Northwestern professor of linguistics and cognitive psychology who begins having the symptoms of early onset Alzheimer’s at the age of 49. At first, she has small problems of forgetfulness, and attributes them to menopause but after getting lost on a morning run and then going to work at 4AM in her pajamas, Alice realizes that she is losing all of the memories that make her who she is as a person.

The play directed by Christine Mary Dunford, which was adapted from the bestselling book by a Harvard trained neuroscientist, Lisa Genova, seems light and humorous at the start but effectively brings the audience directly into the center of Alice’s own family life and experiences as she begins the long, dark journey not into madness but into something that feels much worse, the absence of self, almost an animal like existence of childlike dependence on those around her.

Dunford introduces a very effective character called “Herself” who is dressed like Alice and represents her inner monologue. At one point  Alice and “herself” sit center stage like two ragdolls with their arms wrapped around each other and Alice asks if “herself” will remember her when all of her memories are gone, Herself hugs Alice and says, “I will always remember you, I LIKE you!” 

I was also impressed with the way the play dealt with the idea of suicide in the face of this monstrous disease. After progressing in a relatively short time to a point where Alice can not remember her own daughter right after seeing her perform onstage Alice writes a computer note to herself named “ butterfly”. The file instructs Alice that if she can no longer answer four simple questions like where do you live, and how many children do you have, she is to go to a drawer in the living room and swallow of the pills she finds in there and go to sleep without telling anyone. But by the time she finds the “butterfly” file Alice and “herself” have digressed so badly that they cannot follow the simple instructions.

This play really shows the impact and horror of this type of “forgetting” on the family as they struggle to spend meaningful time with their still young and otherwise healthy mother who is quickly becoming lost and frustrated in a world with no meaning like a child. A poignant and striking example of this is when Alice runs back into her house to use the bathroom before jogging with her husband but ends up wetting herself because she can not remember where the bathroom is in her own house.

Eva Barr who plays Alice does a wonderful job of playing the athletic, super intelligent “everywoman” who is totally caught unaware by the devastating progression of her disease.  Maryann Mayberry who plays “Herself” does so with a great sense of humor and wonder as the young healthy mind inside of us all that rails against the odd behaviors as they begin to occur with greater frequency. Christopher Donahue who plays Alice’s husband gives us a wonderful, compassionate and subtle performance as the beleaguered husband whose wife he adores is slipping into full-blown senility before his very eyes.

I highly recommend this sparing, tight and effective production for audiences young and old who will most likely be dealing with Alzheimer’s care giving or treatment for some family member at some point in their lives. “Still Alice” doesn’t just set out the tragedy of early onset Alzheimer’s, it inspires one to truly appreciate and deeply consider the essential value of our memories and most simple cognitive abilities for quality of life  at every age in our lives regardless of career success or financial wellbeing.

+Still Alice” is playing at Lookingglass Theatre through May 19^th. For more information, visit www.lookingglasstheatre.org.

Fela! is based on the biography of Fela Kuti, a Nigerian superstar singer, musician, and composer who became an iconic spokesman for the country's underclass against the brutal and corrupt Nigerian military government in the 1970s and 80s.

Playing at the Arie Crown Theatre in McCormick Place through Saturday, Fela! is a magnificent show that should be seen and celebrated by everyone.

The first thing that really blew me away about this show is the incredibly beautiful and sensual style of dancing with the live onstage drummers and band to delicious expressive music termed "Afro Beat".

I've said in the past that the very best dancers are also very expressive actors, and the entire cast of dancers in FELA are absolutely in this A+ class. Directed and choreographed by Bill T. Jones, each dancer shows such remarkable individuality and style. While other musicals are increasingly strict and rigid in their dance styles, FELA's dancers remain completely free and unique, almost as if they are dancing for their freedom and the freedom of Nigeria's underclass right now on America's stages.

Adesola Osakalumi is absolutely electric as the Nigerian icon, Fela, and gifted vocalist Michelle Willaims of Destiny's Child is a stunning addition as Sandra, one of Fela's true influences during his formative years.

I really think everyone, young and old should see FELA! to realize how horrific it is for anyone to live under a military regime, and that in some ways we as Americans are also being held down and manipulated by our own government's corruption on many levels of our daily lives.

There are a few terrifying and powerful scenes though that should be explained to younger viewers in advance, like the 12 year old girl sitting next to me with her mom who needed consoling after the show.

When Fela Kuti describes his brutal interrogation by the police and says, "See this blade? It is to slice up your face. See this broken glass? Well, it is to shove up your A--!"

Later, when Fela's family camp is surrounded by 1000 police officers, who then proceed to gang rape and torture Fela and his wives and throw Fela's mother to her death from an upper story window, it is portrayed as calmly as possible but is still very disturbing, as it should be.

I have already made plans to see FELA! For a second time because the music and dancing and message of overcoming unspeakable violence and human rights violations is so uplifting and empowering.

FELA! produced by Jay Z and Will and Jada Smith, is a MUST SEE and of all the shows I personally have seen in Chicago this year, FELA, really is the most exciting and important of all by far in terms of music and dance originality and political relevance for the entire nation.

I do love all the standard holidays shows and music that come with the season but there comes a point where I feel overloaded by all the sticky sweet extravaganzas and tearjerkers and just want to  laugh my ass off. That is when I head straight to Mary's Attic for a good dose of the campy, mind-opening fare that director/composer David Cerda always serves up in style.

2012 is the fifteenth anniversary of Cerda's camp classic that Chicago audiences have come to know and love that spoofs the 1964 “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” TV special. This prancy Rudolph is a reindeer who wears red hose under his coveralls and is picked on for being neither gay enough for the other gay vogue-ing reindeer, nor straight enough for the bucks who pull Santa’s sleigh. With hilarious yet meaningful songs like "They'll Hate You If You're Different", "Christmas Makes Me Bitter" and "If You Want To Catch A Man, Don't be Yourself! (You've got to HO HO HO it.)" “Red Hosed Reindeer” successfully conveys the message, and makes everyone in the audience feel, that "Being Normal - isn't normal at all!"

Ed Jones steals the show as a sex starved, drunken, Mrs. Claus, desperately eating pills out of Santa's hand and then again later in the show in a mind-blowingly funny Cher impersonation as “The Drag Beast”.  Wide-eyed and lithe dancer/singer Alex Grelle as “Rudolph” is also fantastically funny. The audience never knows whether “Rudolph” is just a cross dressing reindeer or gay, which I like because it shows that there is a lot of hyper-criticism in the gay community, too - pressure from all sides to be "normal". I also loved Santa’s mournful, lusty rendition of “(God) I Miss Her So" when Mrs. Claus finally makes her escape from Santa’s verbal abuse and philandering with female reindeer.

As always, Cerda’s productions comes complete with a large, tremendously funny cast, well-dressed in outrageous costumes, and show stopping musical numbers.

If you are a little tired of all the shows and commercials endlessly pushing the perfect family and picture postcard presentations down your throat - then run, skip or sashay - don't walk - to catch one of the performances of “Rudolph The Red Hosed Reindeer” at Mary's Attic in Andersonville  this year. You will leave feeling like a million “bucks”… have just helped you with your makeup and hair and declared you fabulously ab-normal!!

For tickets and information visit www.handbagproductions.org.