Category: Broadway-bound
Chicago Theater first – Cirque du Soleil comes out of the tent
Cirque du Soleil to premiere major new show format in Chicago this fall
It will be called “Vaudeville.”
And the new Cirque du Soleil show in the works will both rehearse and start in Chicago—most likely at the Chicago Theatre. According to information circulating in New York, Cirque du Soleil is preparing a major new proscenium-style show under the direction of David Shiner (“Kooza”) and written by Larry O’Keefe (“Bat Boy” and “Legally Blonde”). The choreographer is listed as Jared Grimes, known for his tap and hip-hop work.
Says Chicago Tribune:
The idea is to create a 90-minute hybrid of a Cirque circus-style show and a more traditional musical-theater production. This would be the Montreal-based Cirque’s first foray into Broadway-style theater. It is likely to be a high profile show in the Loop next holiday season. Plans call for rehearsals this fall in Chicago, followed by an opening here in November. Thereafter, the show will move to New York’s Beacon Theatre for a run of six months or more and, most likely, a tour elsewhere. The Beacon Theatre is owned, like the Chicago Theatre, by Madison Square Garden Entertainment.
A Chicago spokesman for Cirque wouldn’t comment about any future projects. The Cirque has long said it wanted to explore new arenas for its work. This one will be as close as Cirque has ever come to Broadway, complete with the traditional Chicago tryout.
More links:
- Cirque du Soleil to bow major new show here (ChicagoBreakingNews.com)
- Cirque de Soleil’s reported new show will start in Chicago (Metromix.com)
Chicago Theater: "Xanadu" Reviews
The hit Broadway-musical Xanadu joyously roller-skated its way onto Michigan Avenue last night at Drury Lane Water Tower.
Here’s a collection of Xanadu theater reviews:
* UPDATED * UPDATED * UPDATED * UPDATED * UPDATED * UPDATED * UPDATED *
Christopher Piatt (TimeOut Chicago)
You don’t have to be gay to dig Xanadu; you need to be gay enough. …(Book writer Douglas Carter) Beane‘s challenge was to stitch the virile, throbbing unapologetically awesome space-pop of Electric Light Orchestra into a credible evening. The resulting airheaded, upbeat rock follies…has a deliriously screwball quality that channels the lush, berserk American entertainment of the 1930s.
Of the cast, haunted slumlord Larry Marshall adds an appealing noir quality. Meanwhile, Elizabeth Stanley, the pop-princess chorine who skates and tells jokes, is the star of the goddamn universe. (Entire review here)
Rating: ««««« out of 6
Chris Jones (Tribune)
…A shrewdly good time, if you have a few pre-show drinks…
Yes, “Xanadu” knows it’s based on one of the worst movies ever made. It makes fun of jukebox musicals even as it takes its place among them. And with a comparable chutzpah to that which once catapulted Olivia Newton-John to incomprehensible global stardom, “Xanadu” manages to poke fun at the creative bankruptcy of the endless recycling of movies and nostalgia while doing precisely that itself. No armor is more protective than self-awareness.
Rating: ★★★ Read entire review.
Hedy Weiss (Sun-Times)
Talent and fluff clash, but goofy grins prevail.
Let it never be said that playwright Douglas Carter Beane doesn’t possess a gleefully self-mocking sense of his own work. During the course of “Xanadu,” which received its high-energy, high-volume, post-Broadway debut here Wednesday at the winningly intimate Drury Lane Theatre Water Tower Place, he offers a fine assessment of the show. As one character exclaims: “This is like children’s theater for 40-year-old gay people.”
Rating: Somewhat Recommended Read entire review.
Tom Williams (ChicagoCritic.com)
Let me start my stating that I hate disco music from the 1980’s and I think the Xanadu film may be the worst film of all-time or high on that list. Those biases have colored my take on Xanadu, the musical now at Drury Lane Water Tower Place produced by Broadway in Chicago. To me, there was nothing very cute or funny in this show. It tries too hard to be campy and satirical with dated 80’s referenced jokes. Filled with ELO tunes, leg warmers, roller skating, and a fake Australian accent, Xanadu came off as crass exploitive fluff that I found derivative.
As a consumer advocate, however, let me state that the audience at the opening night performance found the show to be a hilarious romp filed with bouncy, had-clapping songs filled with 80’s nostalgia. It is a feel-good show long on escapist entertainment and short on plot.
Rating: Somewhat Recommended Read entire review.
Fabrizio Almeida (NewCity)
I don’t know that the stage show offers any experience, let alone anything that might even qualify this as a fun and fabulous guilty pleasure. Clearly, the biggest problem is with Christopher Ashley’s direction. You can’t force camp, and yet every half-assed joke and lame visual pun has been overly telegraphed and repeated to the point of ineffectiveness. I did laugh a few times: Elizabeth Stanley’s breathy delivery of some stupid lines; the thick Australian accent. But overall I found the ninety-minute intermission-less stage experience tedious, dull and uninspired…………
…….clearly, this is a big misstep for Broadway in Chicago, and I don’t see ”Xanadu” running long or appealing to many theatergoers. Because if this camp-loving, ELO-listening, gay roller-skating lover of “Starlight Express” thought it was crap, what hope is there for you to like it?
Rating: Not Recommended Read entire review.
Xanadu is fun for 5-year kids to 95-year old disco queens!
"Addams Family – The Musical" – Nathan Lane, Bebe Neuwirth participate in first public reading
UPDATE: Read our review – 3 stars!! review
Wow – Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have this same list of Broadway stars headline the pre-Broadway Chicago production? And doesn’t Bebe Neuwirth seem like the perfect Morticia Addams?
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Excerpts from the Playbill-Online article:
The cast of this developmental workshop includes Nathan Lane as Gomez, Bebe Neuwirth as Morticia, Kevin Chamberlin as Fester, Zachary James as Lurch, Mary Louise Burke as Grandmama, Terrence Mann, Jan Maxwell and more. As is often the case with readings and workshops, this does not necessarily reflect what the final production casting will be.
As previously announced, the musical will make its world premiere Nov. 13, 2009-Jan. 10, 2010, at the Ford Center for the Performing Arts, Oriental Theatre in Chicago, prior to a spring 2010 launch on Broadway.
With a book by Marshall Brickman and partner Rick Elice (librettists of the 2006 Tony Award-winning Best Musical, Jersey Boys) and music and lyrics by Drama Desk Award-winning composer-lyricist Andrew Lippa (The Wild Party), the musical is wholly original and not based on Addams Family material from other media.
Produced by Elephant Eye Theatrical and Roy Furman, The Addams Family has direction and design by Phelim McDermott and Julian Crouch, the creators of Shockheaded Peter.
The Addams Family creative team also includes choreographer Sergio Trujillo, lighting designer Natasha Katz and musical director Mary-Mitchell Campbell.
For more information on the premiere engagement of The Addams Family, visit www.BroadwayInChicago.com. Read the entire article here.
UPDATE: Addams Family opens in Chicago!!!
Chicago Theater – Best of 2008 (Chicago Sun-Times)
Hedy Weiss, theater-critic extraordinaire for the Chicago Sun-Times, has put together an excellent list of her 10 favorite plays of 2008. Along with the list, Hedy notes the wonderful year Chicago theater has had on the national stage:
…this was the year that Steppenwolf Theatre picked up five Tony Awards for its Chicago-bred Broadway production of Tracy Letts‘ “August: Osage County” before the cast crossed the pond to remount the show at London’s National Theatre, and when the Chicago Shakespeare Theater was feted with the “Best Regional Theater” Tony.
Continuing:
But that was just the beginning. Next Theatre‘s production of the new musical “Adding Machine,” was hailed in its Off Broadway incarnation, with director David Cromer racking up plaudits for his work on that show, as well as for his revelatory revivals of “Our Town” (at the Hypocrites) and “Picnic” (at Writers’ Theatre). Profiles championed the work of incendiary playwright Neil LaBute to grand effect. Remy Bumppo earned laughs with its tale of financial chicanery in a revival of an Edwardian classic, “The Voysey Inheritance.” And director Sean Graney experimented boldy with productions of “The Threepenny Opera” and Marlowe‘s “Edward II.”
Now here are Hedy Weiss’s favorite productions in 2008:
| 1. | Caroline or Change (Court Theatre) by Tony Kushner and Jeanine Tesori Standouts: Charles Newell (director), Doug Peck (musical director); performances: Malcolm Durning, E.Faye Butler |
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| 2. | Ruined (Goodman Theatre) by Lynn Nottage Weiss comments: Worthy of a Pulitzer Prize, the play will soon move to New York’s Manhattan Theatre Club. |
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| 3. | Gatz (Elevator Repair Service Theatre) by John Collins |
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| 4. | Our Town (The Hypocrites) by Thornton Wilder Standouts: David Cromer (director) |
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| 5. | Requiem for a Heavyweight (Shattered Globe) by Rod Serling Standouts: Lou Contey (director) |
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| 6. | Amadeus (Chicago Shakespeare) by Peter Schaffer Standouts: Gary Griffin (director), Daniel Ostling (set designer); performances: Robert Sella, Robbi Collier Sublett, Elizabeth Ledo, Lance Baker |
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| 7. | As You Like It (Writers’ Theatre) by William Shakespeare Standouts: William Brown (director), Performance: Larry Yando |
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| 8. | Drowsy Chaperone (Cadillac Palace Theater) by Laura Wade Standouts: Casey Nicholaw (director) |
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| 9. | Around the World in 80 Days (Lookingglass) Standouts: Laura Eason (adaptor/director); Performances: Philip R. Smith, Kevin Douglas, Joe Dempsey, Ravi Batista, Anish Jethmalani, Ericka Ratcliff, Nick Sandys and Rom Barkhordar |
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| 10. | Columbinus (Raven Theatre) by Stephen Karam and P.J. Paparelli Standouts: Greg Kolack (director); Performances: Matthew Klingler and Jamie Abelson |
To see the Hedy Weiss’s complete description and thoughts on her favorite plays, click here.
Tell me it isn’t so! A "Phantom of the Opera" sequel??
Okay, I know that there’s millions of people out there that love “The Phantom of the Opera“, but I definitely am not one of them. I found/find it horrifically boring (sorry Andrew Lloyd Webber). And the movie was even worse. I believe my loathing of this show also has something to do with Sarah Brightman‘s grating high-notes.
So I’m *petrified* to think that they are now planning a sequel. (okay, maybe not petrified, but – at the very least – aghast). It will be titled “Phantom: Love Never Dies”. I think a more apropos title might be “Phantom: Boring and Boringer”. 
Well, at least it will no doubt enjoy a long run, assuring a lot of actors some lengthy employment.
From MSNBC.com:
A new “Phantom of the Opera” is coming to Broadway, and beyond. Composer Andrew Lloyd Webber told the Times of London on Sunday that “the button is pushed” on a sequel to the world’s most successful musical.
He plans to open “Phantom: Love Never Dies” at the end of 2009, with a historic simultaneous opening in three cities — on Broadway in New York, in London’s West End, and potentially in Shanghai. Such an opening would be groundbreaking.
“I don’t think you could do this if it wasn’t the sequel to Phantom,” he told the paper. “We’ve been into the feasibility of rehearsing three companies at once and opening very fast in the three territories. The one which really interests me [in the Far East] would be China … I think to open ‘Love Never Dies’ in Shanghai would be an enormous thing.”
The follow-up to “Phantom,” which debuted in 1986 with Michael Crawford in the lead role, will take place a decade after the original, with the story set on Brooklyn’s Coney Island.
More of the article here.
David Cromer’s "Our Town" coming to NYC
As reported on Playbill.com and the Chicago Tribune’s blog “The Theater Loop” by Chris Jones, David Cromer’s acclaimed Chicago production of Our Town, by Thorton Wilder, will make a reappearance in Spring 2009 at an Off-Broadway theatre. This is becoming something of a trend for David Cromer, as his production of The Adding Machine recently finished an award-winning run at Off-Broadway’s Minetta Lane Theatre.
Other info:
- Auditions are currently under way
- Ont The Town will be produced by Scott Morfee (who also financially-backed Adding Machine)
- Begins in February at the Barrow Street Theatre in Greenwich Village.
- The cast is expected to be a mix of Chicago and New York actors.
- Cromer directed and played the Stage Manager in the Windy City run, but it is not yet known whether Cromer will reprise the Stage Manager role.
- In regards to the set, the Barrow Street stage will be stripped bare to echo Cromer’s earlier concept.
As for The Adding Machine, which premiered at Evanston’s Next Theatre (see my review here), Playbill relays:
Cromer’s intensely visual staging of the musical Adding Machine was one of the best-reviewed productions of the 2007-08 season in New York City. The musical by composer and co-librettist Josh Schmidt and co-librettist Jason Loewith played the Minetta Lane Theatre Feb. 8-July 20.
For its New York run Adding Machine was awarded two Outer Critics Circle Awards (Outstanding New Off-Broadway Musical, Outstanding New Score), four Lucille Lortel Awards (Outstanding Musical, Outstanding Director, Outstanding Lead Actor, Outstanding Lighting Design) and four Obie Awards as well as nominations from the Drama Desk and Drama League awards.
More links of interest:
- Informative interview with David Cromer by the podcast of TheatreinChicago.com.
- TimeOut Chicago’s article on this move to Off-Broadway
- Other reviews of “Our Town“, produced and performed by Hypocrites Theatre, including that of Hedy Weiss of the Chicago Sun-Times
- New York Times full-page profile of David Cromer.
Cousin Itt coming to Broadway in Chicago!
Yep, you read right. The creepy yet lovable Addams family is getting a musical of their own, courtesy of Broadway in Chicago. Making its world premier here in Chicago at the Oriental Theatre (aka Ford Center for the Performing Arts), The Addams Family – A New Musical will begin its pre-Broadway run in November 2009.
Like many other Gen X-ers, I grew up watching “The Addams Family” after school, my favorite characters being mother Morticia and the oh-so-hairy gibberish-speaking Cousin Itt. (and, yes, being an avid crossword enthusiast, “Itt” is spelled with 2 t’s!).
Judging from the creative team, this show has a lot of promise: composer/lyricist Andrew Lippa (The Wild Party), choreographer Sergio Trujillo (The Jersey Boys), and Olivier Award-winning director/designers Phelim McDermott and Julian Crouch (Shockheaded Peter).
By the way, does anyone know what these original Addams Family actors are up to now?
"The Strangerer" moving to New York
Theater Oobleck’s acclaimed production of Mickle Maher’s The Strangerer will conclude an extended Chicago run on June 29 before taking the show to New York for performances at the Barrow Street Theatre in the West Village, beginning July 9, 2008. Here is an scene from this productions:
Produced by Theater Oobleck, in association with the Barrow Street Theatre, the production is slated for an initial six-week run and will feature original Chicago cast members Guy Massey, Mickle Maher, Colm O’Reilly, and Brian Shaw.
For WGN Radio – My summer picks…
For Kids and Families:
- Lyle, Lyle, the Crocodile, Lifeline Theatre
- June 13th -July 13th; Friday-Sunday at 1pm
- Tickets: $10
- Cirque Shanghai: Gold ; Navy Pier outdoor theater
- Runs all summer through Sept. 1st
- Performed at outdoor theater at Navy Pier (just east of Ferris Wheel), so take in the show, then experience the huge fireworks display every Wednesday and Saturday evening.
- Tickets: $12.50-$30
- Willy Wonka, Chicago Shakespeare at Navy Pier
- July 8th – August 17th
- Tickets: $18-$23
- Blue Man Group, Briar Street Theatre
- Super-fun for kids of all ages
- Tickets: $49-$59 (box office: 773-348-4000)
For Teens (and the young-at-heart):
- Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind, Neo-Futurists
- Experience Chicago’s longest running play – 20 years and counting!
- Days/Times: Friday-Saturday, 11pm, Sunday 7pm
- Price: $6 plus the roll of a dice (so $7-$12 – is that cool or what?!?)
- That’s Weird Grandma, Barrel of Monkeys
- Monday nights, 8pm
- Adults: $9 // Kids: $4
Broadway In Chicago (the big downtown shows):
- Wicked, Ford Center for the Performing Arts (Oriental Theatre)
- After 4 super-successful years,Wicked, has announced that it will officially close in January 2009. So catch it while you can!
- Ticket Price: $30-$95 (Box Office: 312-902-1400)
- Jersey Boys, Bank of America Theatre (formerly Schubert Theatre)
- Open run
- Ticket Price: $30-$95 (Box Office: 312-902-1400)
- Shout!, Drury Lane Watertower
- Through July 20th
- Tickets: $45-$55 (Box Office: 312-902-1400)
For Date Night:
- Jacques Brel’s “Lonesome Losers of the Night”, Theo Ubique Theatre
- runs through July 20th
- Tickets: $10-$20 (Box Office: 773-743-3355)
My two-pennies worth:
You haven’t experienced Chicago until you’ve ventured north to The Heartland Cafe in East Rogers Park. First opened in the 1970′s, this earthy restaurant and bar jettisons you back to the late 1960′s and early 70′s (in a granola and incense kind-of-way). The musical review, Lonesome Losers of the Night, is performed in an intimate coffee house down the street from Heartland, so first grab a bite to eat at Heartland, walk down the block to the performance, then mosey back down to The Heartland for drinks and nightly live music.
Comedy
- Campaign Super Nova: or How Many Democrats Does It Take To Lose An Election?
- Second City’s newest review
- Open run, tickets: $19-$25 (Box Office: 312-337-3992)
- Dead Man’s Cell Phone, Steppenwolf Theatre
- runs through July 27
- Tickets: $20-$68 (Box Office: 312-335-1650)
- Co-Ed Prison Sluts, Annoyance Theatre
- Annoyance Theatre brings back their raunchy long-running hit of the 80′s and 90′s.
- Runs July 4th – August 29th
- Tickets: $15 (Box Office: 773-561-4665)
- Comedy Sportz – Comedy Sportz Theatre, Belmont and Clark
- audience-interactive comedy competition between two teams of improv comedians, who perform a series of scenes and songs, all based on suggestions from the audience
- Open run, now in their 21st year
- Ticket prices vary, (Box Office: 773-549-8080)
Drama
- A Steady Rain, Royal George Theatre
- extended through Oct 5 (then on to Broadway?)
- Tickets: $50 (box office: 312-988-9000)
- Taste of Honey, Shattered Globe Theatre Ensemble
- runs through July 5th
- Tickets: $15-$35, (box office: 773-871-3000)
- Hizzoner, Prop Thtr (performed at Beverly Arts Center)
- Running for over 2-years, this play eerily depicts the infamous Mayor Richard J. Daley and inner-workings of “The Machine”
- runs through July 29th
- tickets: $40
Musicals:
- Fiorello, Timeline Theatre
- runs through July 20th
- Tickets: $15-$30 (Box Office: 773-281-8463)
- Ain’t Misbehavin’, Goodman Theatre
- running June 21st – July 27th
- Tickets: not yet announced (Box Office: 312-443-3800)
- Jekyll & Hyde, Bohemian Theatre Ensemble
- through July 20th
- Tickets: $20-$27 (Box Office: 773-327-5252)
- Hunchback of Notre Dame, Bailiwick Repertory
- composed by Dennis DeYoung of the band “Styx
- runs through July 6t
- Tickets: $25-$45 (Box Office: 773-883-1090)
- Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story, Drury Lane Theatre, Oakbrook Terrace
- runs through July 27th
- tickets: $28-$33
