Displaying items by tag: PrideArts

When the sun plays peek-a-boo and a pre-winter chill settles over Chicagoland, locals inevitably look for ways to warm their hearts as well as their fingers and toes. It’s during this time of year that locals venture indoors and when the Chicago theatre scene offers respite from the bitter cold. Like a favorite holiday treat, there are dozens of choices available to seekers of light and warmth, from recurring favorites and classic retellings to original plays and immersive theatre. There is no better way to celebrate the season and to lighten spirits than a good hearty laugh, or two, or three, or so many your sides hurt the next day. You’ll find no better way of warming up this December than seeing the deliciously dirty fairytale that is Rapornzel now playing at the Hoover-Leppen Theatre.

Rapornzel (yes, you read that right, it is not a typo) is a panto-style reimagining of the classic fairytale of Rapunzel. Many years ago, the King and Queen of a far-off kingdom were blessed with a baby girl with long, magical, downstairs hair. One day, the jealous witch Mother F**ker kidnapped the child and locked her in a tower, selfishly squandering her merkin magic for herself. With the help of local hairdresser Dame Fanny Follicle, her thick-as-s**t son Pascal, the dashing Prince Ride-her, and the Hairy Fairy, will Rapornzel ever come out?

If you couldn’t glean it from the title, Rapornzel is a serious-unserious play. Serious in the fact that the cast and crew put on a spellbinding, side-splitting comedic performance, but unserious to ensure the audience was able to escape the bitter cold reality for a few short hours and simply enjoy a hilarious performance. The story is written in the pantomime style or “panto.” Panto is a theatrical performance style dating back to the 1700s, traditionally performed around Christmas time. The popular form incorporates song and dance, exaggeration, and fourth wall breaks to tell a story. It often interchanges slapstick puns heavy with innuendos and groan-worthy dad-jokes to break the monotony of traditional theatre. Critical to the success of these comedic shows is audience participation. It’s highly encouraged to react and respond to the actors on stage, think “booing” the villain, “cheering” the hero, and responsive questioning from the actors such as: “Chicago is so cold…” to which the audience responds: “How cold is it?” wherein the actors then deliver a witty or punny joke in the tale that may or may not make you laugh, guffaw, or simply groan at how bad it is (in a good way). Panto is not for everyone, nor are puns or dad jokes, but in the Vonnegut style approach of moving the story along, it’s difficult not to enjoy, and even an ostrich chuckle at least once.

But when it comes to Rapornzel, I guarantee you’ll laugh more than once. Rapornzel is what you get if you take a fairytale and remix it with a book of dad-jokes, throw in a general use of 1980s musical bangers, and finish it with the dry wit of 2025. Rapornzel is one of the many bawdy, silly, and immensely entertaining pantomime scripts written by professional performer-writer Tom Whalley. The writer’s works have become a popular holiday season tradition at PrideArts, joining the ranks of Whalley’s other works like Jack Off The Beanstalk, Sleeping with Beauty, and Throbbin Wood. With unimaginable R-rated puns, pop songs, and audience participation, Rapornzel follows a growing holiday tradition within PrideArts. This year’s production is exceptionally acted by Chicago talent like Jeremy Cox, who plays Hairy Fairy Dandruff, Peter Moeller as the local hairdresser Dame Fanny Follicle, and the sexy and incomparable Gina Cioffi as the evil Mother F**ker who kidnaps Rapornzel. For those still tepid about the play or the panto style, don’t worry, the skilled actors utilize their quick wits, improvisation skills, and comedic timing to make this production enjoyable for all, never overstepping where they sense timidity. They read and respond to the audience to both give and get energy to move the story along and draw out a smile from even the most austere theatre goer.

Therein lies the beauty of this type of theatrical play. Whalley’s style of Panto grants permission to the audience to simply lighten up, be silly, and share some laughs. In short, in its seriousness to stage a good production, it masterfully creates a space to be supremely unserious. There aren’t many theatrical stylings that can pull that off these days. 2025 has been wrought with ill humor, tired remakes, and uninspired sequels. It’s refreshing and welcome to see a production that doesn’t take itself too seriously while still representing Chicago theatre, PrideArts, and the theatrical community well. The actors, panto, and Rapornzel itself, beg the attendees to lighten up. It reminds us that we don’t always need to seek hidden meaning between the witty one-liners, and we don’t need to laugh at every joke we’ve heard at countless Thanksgiving tables by distant relatives. We should endeavor to seek out light and warmth as the days grow shorter and the darker nights descend. Rapornzel beckons Chicagoans inside and endeavors to thaw critical hearts this holiday season. It’s a healthy reminder that it’s okay to shout, especially when asked or directed to do so. It’s fine to laugh or simply smile. And it’s encouraged, and I daresay desperately needed, to remember that nothing, including fairy-hairy-overly-share-y-tales, is really that serious. Funny, yes. Serious, no. That in and of itself is a gift.

 Rapornzel is playing for a short while longer through December 14^th at the Hoover-Leppen Theatre in Center on Halsted (3656 N. Halsted, Chicago). Grab your winter jacket and your tickets today, available at www.pridearts.org, and warm up with a few hearty belly laughs guaranteed to shake away your winter blues.

There are several new things about PrideArts’ production of A NEW BRAIN, the most obvious being its new venue at the Hoover-Leppen Theatre in Center on Halsted. PrideArts made the most of its former location at 4139 N. Broadway, but this new venue is a boon in many ways. Its location in the Center on Halsted puts PrideArts in the center of the Gayborhood, and the theatre itself is definitely more accessible and comfortable (though last night it was freezing cold!). The spacious lobby provided plenty of room for the Lakeside Pride Woodwind Quintet, part of Chicago's LGBTQ+ music organization, to contribute a lovely prelude.

A NEW BRAIN is a musical whose story was inspired by events in choreographer William Finn’s life. It follows Gordon Schwinn (Dakotta Hagar), a songwriter who collapses suddenly and learns he must undergo brain surgery. Gordon is well attended by nurses Nancy (Britain Shutters) and Richard (Cordaro Johnson), Dr. Berensteiner (Elijah Warfield), and his bestie Rhoda (Caitlin Preuss). His mom, (Michelle McKenzie-Voight) is (naturally) in attendance, but her less-than-therapeutic attitude is made clear in Mother’s Gonna Make Things Fine. Even more abrasive is Gordon’s boss Mr. Bungee (Taylor Bailey), whose demands that Gordon finish writing a song are not conducive to the tranquility prescribed for pre-operative repose. The Minister (Jonas Davidow) is indifferent to Gordon’s being Jewish and simply continues forking out his conventional devotions. Meantime, Gordon’s boyfriend Roger (Beck Hokanson) would rather be Sailing.

And oh yes, for reasons not readily apparent to me, we’re introduced to another major character, one of my favorites: the homeless lady Lisa (Lena Simone).  

I think that’s everyone. Big cast, yeah? And even bigger Production staff, so I’ll just mention the highlights. Jay Espano is Director and Robert Ollis Music Director. Choreographer Britta Schlicht did amazing work, as everyone spent a good deal of their onstage time dancing, and Shawn Quinlan’s costumes were terrific. Gordon’s standard hospital gown was balanced by Mr. Bungee’s brilliant multichromatic garb.  Think about it: how would you dress a six-foot, 250-pound frog? The obvious answer: a gaudy bodysuit striped with every color imaginable.

The first half of A NEW BRAIN provided a clue as to why the theatre was so chilly – the actors were continually running, hopping, and generally cavorting about. A climate comfortable for the audience would have steamed the cast like a pan of broccoli; I just wish I’d brought a jacket!  

A NEW BRAIN is a musical, and all dialogue is sung rather than spoken. I was particularly tickled by Gordo’s Law of Genetics and Poor, Unsuccessful and Fat. The story got more serious with M.R.I. Day and Craniotomy. This was somewhat disorienting, as the production had hitherto been lighthearted comedy, which I believe was its natural métier; it was difficult converting to the gloominess of Brain Dead and A Really Lousy Day in the Universe.  

The high point of the latter half was Lena Simone as the homeless lady. Her signature song, Change, was a brilliant showcase for her marvelous voice. Which is not to dispute the musical caliber of the rest of the cast! One of the things I treasure about these small storefront theaters is how effectively they display Chicago’s extraordinary wealth of theatrical talent. At the major stages of the downtown Theater District – the Goodman or the Nederlander – one  anticipates distinction, but the splendid acting one encounters in the more humble venues is truly remarkable. We are very fortunate here in the Second City!

Incidentally, I feel called to point out (particularly in this context) that “Second City” does not refer to Chicago’s theatrical offerings as ‘second to’ those of New York. Rather, the appellation refers to the ‘second city’ that materialized from the ruins left after the Great Fire of 1871 levelled roughly a third of the city. A fortunate corollary is that the postfire rebuilding opportunities attracted a host of great architects— Louis Sullivan, Dankmar Adler, William Holabird, Daniel H. Burnham, John Wellborn Root, William Le Baron Jenney – whose work still defines the architecture of our lovely Second City.

End of historical circumbendibus – back to A NEW BRAIN.

The entire production, from the masterly actors, accomplished direction, first-rate music … wait a minute, I haven’t even mentioned the band! The A NEW BRAIN band was conducted by Robert Ollis, with Justus Wright on Synthesizer, Eric Grunkemeyer on French Horn, Adam Nigh on Reeds, and Percussion by Benjamin Heppner.

As I was saying (before I so rudely interrupted myself), though the play itself was not, IMHO, worthy of the creator of Into the Woods, the production was top-notch and totally worthy of the occasion. This is high praise indeed from me, as I’m not particularly fond of either musicals or comedies. I chose this show largely to support PrideArts in its splendid new home, and I hope you’ll do the same!

Recommended

*This review is also featured on https://www.theatreinchicago.com/! 

Playwright Joel Tan named this play for the book And Tango Makes Three, a true story about the two male penguins in Central Park Zoo who as a couple hatched and raised Tango – who, just by the way, later paired with another female penguin.

But we’re not here to discuss the genetics of queerness. Rather, this play is about the impact of homophobia, specifically in Tan’s home city of Singapore where the play is set. The director Carol Ann Tan, also Singapore-born, says “Singapore is rife with contradictions … you can have a good life in Singapore so long as you play by the rules.”

But Kenneth (G Hao Lee) and Liam (Mike Newquist) do not. With their teenage son Jayden (Luke Gerdes) they move from Liam’s home in London to Kenneth’s in Singapore, staying with Kenneth’s father Richard (Cai Young). While out to dinner with their lesbian friend Elaine (Carolyn Hu Bradbury) their waitress Poh Lin (Rainey Song) refuses to serve ‘perverts’ and ‘child molesters’. Liam quickly shepherds Jayden away but Kenneth gets into a furious confrontation with Poh Lin. The encounter is filmed by another diner, who posts it on Facebook, where it goes viral.

The remainder of the two-hour show explores the repercussions from the ever-widening exposure on social media. Local activist Zul (Ronnie Derrick Lyall) begins a petition demanding Poh Lin be fired, and it all evolves into a huge public demonstration.

Poh Lin’s nephew/son Benmin (Oscar Hew) is still deeply closeted at age 30, but he meets Zul and, as their relationship deepens, Benmin is increasingly torn between loving loyalty to his Yi Ma and the burgeoning social conscience he’s learning from Zul. Meantime, the baggage between Kenneth and his father Richard (baggage whose enormity we don’t learn until later) is reactivated by Richard’s ignorant reactions to the building kerfuffle and his misguided attempts to grandparent Jayden.

TANGO is a deeply nuanced work, examining the complexity of our relationships with our homes and our families. Stage manager Jacob Sexton, with Assistant Ashby Amory, expertly presents the panoply of scenes by having two or three sets on the stage simultaneously. Lighting Designer Elliot Hublak, supported by lead electrician MaK Cole, defines each scene by spotlighting the rapid-paced action.

The acting is uniformly superb, but I need to give a shoutout to a couple of exceptional actors. It’s hard to believe that Luke Gerdes (Jayden) is practically a neophyte on the stage, he appropriates it so effectively. His range is amazing. And Rainey Song brings Poh Lin to life brilliantly. It would be easy to dislike this bigoted, rather stupid woman, but Song doesn’t allow us that oversimplification; however grudgingly we must sympathize with her as she suffers the consequences of her ignorance. And she is a testament to the skill of dialect Coach James Napolean Stone. Poh Lin’s heavy Cantonese accent is beautifully performed, and Song’s acting is so adept that even when she’s speaking Cantonese we hardly need the subtitles projected on the wall – her acting makes her meaning clear without the necessity of words.

I wish there had been even more work for Intimacy Director Kayla Menz (I’m so very partial to boys kissing!) but they do a fine job, and we have no doubt that this marriage of 16 years remains strong and passionate. Savanna Nix’s costumes, like Hannah Dains’ props, actively support the action, while Valerio Torretta Gardners’s sound integrates and unifies the mercurial action.

TANGO is the delightful product of a talented playwright, superb actors, and a splendid crew. Under Carol Ann Tan’s direction utilizes the intricacies of this richly nuanced piece. Joel Tan wrote it in 2017 but it definitely captures 2023. TANGO will be playing through June 11 at PrideArts Center. Check it out!