Category: Chicago Sun-Times
Stuart Carden appointed Writers’ Theatre Associate AD
Writers’ Theatre has appointed Stuart Carden associate artistic director.
“I’m so excited to be in collaboration with Stuart,” said Michael Halberstam, executive director the Writers’. “He has a rich background in literary development, a keen and ambitious scope of work as a director and a passion for the administrative challenges that come with supporting artistic direction. In a very short time I believe we will see Stuart’s strength of perspective and influence find its way onto the stages of Writers’ Theatre.”
Says Carden:
“I’m thrilled to be back home in the thriving Chicago theatre community as Writers’ Theatre’s new associate artistic director. Michael Halberstam and Kathryn Lipuma have created something extraordinary in Glencoe and I’m honored to join the passionate and vibrant group of artists and theater-makers that call Writers’ home. Through the course of my career my theatrical raison d’être has been helping bring new and diverse voices to the stage and I’m looking forward to bringing that passion for new work to Writers’ exciting Literary Development Initiative.”
Stuart Carden joins Writers’ Theatre as associate artistic director after two seasons at City Theatre Company in Pittsburgh where he was associate artistic director. As a new play specialist, Stuart has helped to develop over thirty plays, twelve of which he directed in their world premiere productions. Notable regional, U.S., and world premieres include works by Martin Crimp, David Henry Hwang, Tristine Skyler, Jeffrey Hatcher, Shishir Kurup, Richard Dresser and Yussef El Guindi. Last season his production of Martin McDonagh’s The Lieutenant of Inishmore at The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis garnered five Kevin Kline nominations including “Outstanding Production” and “Outstanding Director.”
In Chicago he directed the world premiere production of Shishir Kurup’s The Merchant on Venice at Silk Road Theatre Project, which was named one of the top ten plays of 2007 by the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times and Time Out Chicago. Other recent new play work includes directing Mary’s Wedding, The Pillowman, Stones in his Pockets, A Picasso, The Moonlight Room, 10 Acrobats in an Amazing Leap of Faith, Big Love and Back of the Throat. Classical and classically inspired directing projects include The False Servant, Spring Awakening, Life is a Dream, The Crucible, The Game of Love and Chance, Miss Julie, A Streetcar Named Desire and his own adaptation of Nikolai Gogol’s Diary of a Madman.
Stuart has taught acting, directing and movement at Carnegie Mellon University, The Hartt School, Loyola University, Beloit College and Act One Studios. He holds an M.F.A. in directing from Carnegie Mellon University and is a member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society. In the 2009/10 season Stuart is slated to direct David Harrower’s Blackbird at City Theatre Company and a play very familiar to Writers’ Theatre audiences, Crime and Punishment adapted by Curt Columbus and Marilyn Campbell, at The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis.
For more info about the Writers’ Theatre, please visit www.writerstheatre
Think Fast: Michael McKean, Jonas Brothers, CSO and ‘Peter Pan the Musical’
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‘Rod Blagojevich Superstar’ moving to Chicago Shakespeare
Following a sold out run at Second City e.t.c., the popular comedy review “Rod Blagojevich Superstar‘ will be playing a limited engagement Chicago Shakes on Navy Pier. The Navy Pier version has been updated with new sketches and music to include recent Blago happenings, such as his 6-figure book deal and Roland Burris’ son (and, as the Blago drama proceeds, so will Second City’s improv show!). After each performance, the famed improv theatre troupe will improvise a 20-minute political comedy set based on audience suggestions.
Superstar has book by Ed Furman, music and lyrics by T.J. Shanoff and direction by Matt Hovde. The cast includes Joey Bland as Rod Blagojvich, Mike Bradecich as Richard Mell/Pat Fitzgerald, Lauren Dowden as Lisa Madigan, Lori McClain as Patti Blagojevich and Sam Richardson as Senator Roland Burris.
According to Second City notes,
“Politics and parody take center stage Upstairs at Chicago Shakespeare with the Second City’s rollicking musical parody of the rise and fall of ex-Governor Rod Blagojevich. A faux tribute to the man who compares himself to Gandhi, King and Mandela, Rod Blagojevich Superstar presents the story of the former governor in the style of a ’70s rock musical. Jesus and Mary Magdalene have been replaced by Rod and Patti Blagojevich, with appearances by Alderman Dick Mell, Attorney General Lisa Madigan, U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald and Senator Roland Burris. The jury is still out on Blagojevich, but of the five other Illinois governors who have been charged with crimes, three have done time.”
More info at ChicagoShakes.com.
Rave reviews after the fold.
See video preview of the show here.
Theater-related passings: Broussard, Blau, Bridges, Lang
There were a number of theater-related passings recently, including:
Dorothy Bridges Eric Blau
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Lookingglass Theatre’s “Our Town” – starring David Schwimmer – the rave reviews are in!
Check out the Looking Glass Theatre‘s “Our Town” cast photo gallery at ChicagoTribune.com, starring David Schwimmer. Our Town plays at the downtown theatre through April 5th. Info and tickets here.
UPDATE – REVIEWS
Hedy Weiss of the Chicago Sun-Times: Apart from its (“trussed up”) set, the Lookingglass “Our Town” — co-directed by Anna D. Shapiro and Jessica Thebus and featuring 13 members of the close-knit ensemble — is a fairly straightforward, gently elegiac interpretation of the play. (Entire review here). Rating: Recommended
Michael J. Roberts at ChicagoPride.com: Lookingglass gives us an older but wiser ‘Our Town’. It is in the third act, however,that Shapiro and Thebus strike gold with the Lookingglass actors and where the casting choice of using older actors to play George and Emily……there is a gravitas that can only come with the experience of life. Moreover, the final moments with Schwimmer collapsing on his wife’s tombstone left nary a dry eye in the house, including mine. (Entire review here.)
(Catey Sullivan at Examiner.com: ‘Our Town’ a staggering take on a timeless drama (Entire review here)
Chris Jones at his Chicago Tribune theater blog The Theater Loop: Iconic play mirrors Lookingglass’ Journey…Schwimmer the emotional core of ‘Our Town’ in search of a small town. (Entire review here.) Rating: «««
Cast of “Our Town”. More pics here.
Tribune photo by E. Jason Wambsgans / February 5, 2009
From YouTube: Meet the cast of “Our Town”.
In this video: David Schwimmer, Joey Slotnick, David Catlin, David Kersnar, Laura Eason, Thomas J Cox, Andy White, Heidi Stillman, Raymond Fox, Patia Bartlett, Philip R Smith, Tracy Walsh, Louise Lamson and Kevin Douglas
More Lookingglass Theatre YouTube videos here.
Xanadu – Cheap(er) tickets can make you "Happy"
XANADU, the show that has surprised and delighted Broadway, is now delighting Chicago fans by offering a “Happy Sale” featuring $44 tickets. Reviews for the Chicago production have ranged mostly from good to exuberant (though there are a some naysayers). But now – with this “happy” ticket deal – it could be a perfect time for you to see this 90-minutes-of-giddiness for yourself – whether seeing it for the first time or for the fifth. Part of Broadway In Chicago 2008-2009 season, XANADU is at the Drury Lane Theatre Water Tower (175 E Chestnut St ).
Okay, so here’s the deal: to purchase these specially priced $44 tickets (only offered Sunday – Friday performances through March, 29), contact the box office and mention the code HAPPY. Tickets are available at the box office and www.BroadwayInChicago.com.
See a round-up of Xanadu reviews and pictures here.
10 Years later – Remembering Gene Siskel
While scanning through the Sun-Times a few days ago, I had one of those “wow, time goes fast” moments. It seems like just a few years ago that the much-admired Chicago movie critic Gene Siskel passed away. But, as Roger Ebert‘s poignant article says, Siskel’s death was actually 10 years ago! I always liked seeing Mr. Siskel on the television; he always exuded great intellect combined with a Buckingham-Fountain-sized heart. It’s such a great tribute that the Gene Siskel Film Center serves as his biggest legacy.
Although cinema was Siskel’s biggest passion, he also was a big supporter of arts in Chicago. Gene Siskel, R.I.P.
Roger Ebert’s entire article, “Remember Gene” can be read here.
top photo courtesy of Chicago Sun-Times.
Jumping on the Blago bandwagon
Second City (and its TV spin-off “Saturday Night Live“) has always capitalized on current events, but it’s amazing that Second City was able to create an entire show, songs and all, in just a few wekks.. This super-funny and super-successful troupe birthed the show “Rod Blagojevich Superstar” - and when the first skit’s opening with the lyrics are:
“Rod Blagojevich Superstar, are you as nuts as we think you are?”,
you know you’re in for an evening of knee-capping and wise-cracking fun, all courtesy of our state’s coo-coo ex-governor.
Created by Ed Furman (book writer) and T.J. Shanoff (music/lyrics), …Superstar has immediately fostered some great reviews. For info and tickets, click here.
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!
Olivia Newton-John: "Xanadu" interview
This past Friday, the Sun-Times featured Misha Davenport’s interview with pop culture’s film icon Olivia Newton-John. I really loved hearing her take on reasons why Xanadu the movie could be so god-awfully bad while Xanadu the musical could be so successful. The entire interview is here, but here’s a few out-takes to pique your interest:
| Misha: | You spent so much of the film on roller skates. Still roller skating? |
| Olivia: | Let’s just say I haven’t been on roller skates since the ’80s. |
| Misha: | The film had a great soundtrack and terrific cast, including Gene Kelly, Michael Beck and yourself. What went wrong? |
| Olivia: | I think the big problem was the script. It just kept changing with constant rewrites, which is not a good sign in hindsight. More of the answer here. |
| Misha: | What does it feel like to have been part of “Grease” and “Xanadu,” two iconic film musicals? |
| Olivia: | I am blessed to have been part of both projects. Obviosly “Grease” changed my life and that film seems to find a new audience every year. ….. And having the chance to dance with both John Travolta and Gene Kelly, what more could a girl ask for?? (more here) |
Fun stuff, right? I remember owning the album with “Have You Never Been Mellow”, and played it over and over. Though not in the original movie, they’ve inserted this same song into the stage version, which is a great idea. Read the entire interview!
Allison Torem – a theatre star in the making?
UPDATE: Excerpts from Hedy Weiss’s new article regarding Ms. Torem has been added at the bottom of this post.
I am always incredibly impressed by young theatrical talent that can hold their own among a group of professional actors. Often these young prodigies easily steal the 
show. Past examples include Edward Heffernan in American Theatre Company‘s The Dark At The Top Of The Stairs, by William Inge, as well as Lillian Almaguer in Steppenwolf’s controversial production of The Pain and the Itch, by Bruce Norris.
It looks like we have another one of those Chicago prodigies, per Hedy Weiss‘s glowing review of Profiles Theatre‘s Great Falls, by Lee Blessing – that being Allison Torem.
Says Weiss:
One crucial reason to catch the Profiles Theatre production of Lee Blessing’s two-character play “Great Falls” is to witness the astonishing performance by Allison Torem. An actress of dazzling skill, fierce emotional honesty and breath-taking sophistication, she also just happens to be a senior at the Whitney Young Magnet High School. (emphasis mine)
Ms. Weiss goes on to say that Torem “triggers memories of the young Jodie Foster“. Wow.
Kudos to Ms.Torem, and to Profiles for presenting such an exemplary production.
Great Falls continues through March 1st. Starring Darrell W. Cox and Allison Torem, direction by Joe Jahraus, Chelsea Meyers (set design), and Kevin O’Donnell (sound design).
Read the entire review here. Other reviews: Trib, ChicagoCritic,
UPDATE: Chicago Sun-Times’ Hedy Weiss has also written a post regarding Allison Torem on her blog. A few quotes:
She didn’t see much theater as a child, but when she broke a finger in a bowling accident at age 9, she stopped taking karate and violin lessons and enrolled in classes at Prologue Children’s Theatre. In eighth grade she took classes at the Second City, but confesses: “I was seriously insecure. It would be a whole lot more fun for me now.” She also tried her hand at musicals as part of the youth-oriented Entertainment Project.
At first I was taken aback when reading this:
Torem, a slight girl with an interesting face that can shift between beauty and something far more challenging, admits to being stunned by her glowing reviews.
But then I realized that, for the stage, an actor’s ability to manipulate their expressions is an a coveted talent. Read the entire article here.
Once again – bravo!
