Category: COMPOSERS-LYRICISTS-BOOKWRITERS
Sunday Night Sondheim – “Ballad of Booth” from Assassins
“The Ballad of Booth” from Assassins
I have to say that one of the best productions of Assassins that I’ve ever seen was a production a few years ago by Porchlight Music Theatre. Porchlight’s L. Walter Stearns created some brilliant staging by setting the production in a museum, with a tour guide intermittently walking through - tourists in tow - giving one the feeling that we were truly experiencing various moments in history.
This YouTube video is from “Sondheim: A Celebration at Carnegie Hall”. Who knew that Victor Garber (Legally Blonde, etc.) had such a great voice?! Enjoy!
Review – “Songs for a New World”
Production: Songs for a New World
Producers: Bohemian Theatre Ensemble
Whazzit About? Songs for a New World is a musical review with a very loosely-connected theme, first performed in 1995, featuring songs written by young composer Jason Robert Brown, a precursor to his highly-acclaimed epic musical Parade. Bohemian Theatre first presented this show in late 2007, selling out its last two weeks. Because of this success, they have (thankfully) reprised the production at the Theater Building for a limited run.
Strengths: Chicago has always been a great musical-theater town, and this fact is largely evident in this show – the four young performers (Jayson Books, Michael Arthur, Jess Godwin and Alanda Coon) offer up soaring vocals and dead-on ensemble singing. Jayson Brooks (seen recently as Colehouse Walker in Porchlight’s award-winning Ragtime) is at his best in the energetic second act opener “King of the World”. Mezzo-soprano Jess Godwin brings sweetness and vulnerability to the lovely “I’m Not Afraid”. Michael Arthur brings an edginess to the contemplative “She Cries”. And Alana Coon champions the show with the most variant musical styles, from the punchy “Surabaya-Santa” to the determined “The Flagmaker 1775”. Though all have great solo voices, the talents of musical director Andra Velis Simon are apparent in the impeccable blend of their group vocals, many of the chords are tight, with dissonant intervals. In addition to the vocal work, the show looks great, with the set built with wooden ramps and floors, and interwoven slats as a backdrop, giving one the feeling of being inside the hull of a wooden ship.
Weaknesses: There is little here not to like. As one of my favorite Chicago theatre critics, John Olson of TalkinBroadway.com, so eloquently put it: “The performances only disappoint in that there still seems to be not enough time to hear each of the four performers sing as much as we’d like. With voices like these in performers who can act the heck of our Brown’s character-driven songs, it’s tempting to wonder why we need dialogue in musical theater at all and to resent it for taking time away from hearing more of these four in their previous musical theater work.”.
Summary: Thankfully for Chicago, Boho has reprised this gem of a show, following their sold-out run at Heartland Studio. No, it’s not an evening of revelatory aha moments, but the glorious voices and performances of the character-driven material makes for a wonderful evening. Recommended.
Rating: «««½
Personnel and Show Times
|
Composer: |
Jason Robert Brown |
| Director: | Elizabeth Margolius |
| Music Director: | Andra Velis Simon |
| Musicians: | Kevin Brown, Sean Burke, Nick Sula |
| Set Designer: | John Zuiker |
| Lights: | Julian Pike |
| Costumes: | Theresa Ham |
| Stage Manager: | Meg Love |
| Featuring: | Jayson Brooks (Man 1) |
| Michael Arthur (Man 2) | |
| Jess Godwin (Woman 1) | |
| Alanda Coon (Woman 2) | |
| Dates: | Through February 10, 2008 |
| Location: | Theatre Building (map) |
| Show Times: | Thursday through Saturday, 8:00pm. Sunday matinee at 2pm. |
Chicago Tribune’s Top Plays of 2007
In alphabetical order, here are the Chicago Tribune’s choices for the top 10 plays of 2007:
The Adding Machine
(Next Theatre – and soon Off-Broadway)
August: Osage County
(Steppenwolf – and now receiving rave reviews on Broadway)
Between Barack and a Hard Place
(Second City)
The Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow
(Collaboraction)
Joe Turner’s Come and Gone
(Congo Square)
Merchant on Venice
(Silk Road Theatre Project)
Othello
(Writers Theatre)
Shenendoah
(Marriott Theatre)
The Sparrow
(House Theatre)
A Stead Rain
(Chicago Dramatists)
To see further discussion regarding each show, go to Chris Jones’ The Theater Loop blog posting.
Just saw the movie “Sweeney Todd” – loved it!!
Hey all – I just saw “Sweeney Todd” at the theater in Evanston and really enjoyed it – even more than I thought I would (though didn’t expect all the TONS of blood). What did you think about it? I’ll no doubt say a few more things about it, but right now I need to go to bed. In the meantime, here’s a trailer from the movie:
“Wicked” is “Popular”!!!
Wicked” marks its 1,000th-Performance!!
Tonight marks a momentous occasion in Chicago theater history – for the first time a big Broadway show has reached its 1000th performance (that’s a “1″ followed by 3 zeros). And the show is still selling well, having just made another 3 months of tickets available. Wicked, with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz seems to have really hit a nerve especially with teenage girls, with themes of trying to fit in, and realizing that it’s better to be true to yourself rather than be popular.
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Rave reviews for Theo Ubique’s “Cabaret”!!
Looks like Theo Ubique Theatre has a big hit on their hands up in Roger Parks’ No Exit Cafe. Across the board, the reviews have been stellar, including:
Beverly Friend from the Pioneer Press:
The magic begins as the audience enters the No Exit Cafe, now reincarnated as Berlin’s 1930′s decadent Kit Kat Klub complete with cast members waiting tables and — for those who include dinner in the evening’s festivities — bringing out brimming plates of knockwurst, sauerkraut and spaetzel or vegetable pot pie. The hot, tasty food provides as much nourishment for the body as the story line nourishes the heart and soul…
If you haven’t seen any version of “Cabaret,” what are you waiting for? Get going. It doesn’t get any better than this!
Read the entire review here.
And Tom Williams over at ChicagoCritic.com opines:
Director Fred Anzevino sure knows how to stage a musical on his tiny No Exit Cafe stage. His skillful blocking and smart use of the tight knocks and crannies gave his production of Cabaret an emotional edge that catapulted us back to the 1930 Kit Kat Club of Weimar Berlin. Featuring the rich John Kander score on Fred Ebb’s biting lyrics, Cabaret is a multi-layered musical of decadence and desperation. Based on Christopher Isherwood’s novel, Berlin Stories, Cabaret from its 1966 Broadway opening (winner of 8 Tony’s) and the 1972 film (winner of 8 Oscars) has been mounted often to varying levels of success. Theo Ubique’s production is superb in every aspect. It sings well, dances expertly and is acted richly. In short, this production deserves packed houses-it is that good!
Read the entire review here.
