I guess this period of self-isolation has inspired me to self-reflect. I thought it would be a kick to outline shows that have influenced me throughout my 40 years on this earth, organized b…
SOURCE: Chicago Theatre Addict at 05:48PMWhat better way to occupy one’s mind at these times than dream-casting projects that will in no way materialize? In this spirit, may I present The Actors Fund One Night Only Benefit Concer…
SOURCE: Chicago Theatre Addict at 09:54PMHey. I hope you’re doing well right now. We’re fine. A big thank you to our heroes right now: medical workers, service workers, essential workers. I salute you. SO, I’ve had a few peop…
SOURCE: Chicago Theatre Addict at 03:12PMWant something. Want SOMETHING. I really wanted to see celebrated director Marianne Elliott’s revival of Stephen Sondheim and George Furth’s 1970 classic musical Company when it premiere…
SOURCE: Chicago Theatre Addict at 03:36AMA year ago I’d read that Renée Fleming had signed on to play Margaret Johnson in The Light in the Piazza in London. I may have peed a little. One of our greatest sopranos singing one of t…
SOURCE: Chicago Theatre Addict at 03:24AMLook. I love CATS. It was my first Broadway musical. It changed my life. Yaddayadda (which is also my Jellicle* name). This all comes out of respect of a show I know and love. Random mew-sin…
SOURCE: Chicago Theatre Addict at 08:54PMFor anyone who may be reading this dusty, neglected blog… A few months ago my friend Eric and I created a new podcast: Exclusive Gay Moment. Sure. Everyone has a podcast these days. But, w…
SOURCE: Chicago Theatre Addict at 05:33PMMy 16th birthday proved transformative. No, it wasn’t being given the keys to the family mini-van with wood grain paneling after securing my driver’s license. Nor was it my Eagle Scout c…
SOURCE: Chicago Theatre Addict at 06:54PM“There is greatness in me!” When the unflappable Barbara E. Robertson – with her fiery eyes and large, expressive mouth – bellows this mere feet from a rapt audience, you have no cho…
SOURCE: Chicago Theatre Addict at 04:18PMIt’s hard to think of a show more iconic than A Chorus Line. Michael Bennett’s athletic, razzle-dazzle touch is all over it. Marvin Hamlisch’s pulsating score is peppered with tunes th…
SOURCE: Chicago Theatre Addict at 11:43AMGypsy. Sweeney Todd. Chorus Line. Chicago. Great American musical theatre rallies around a common theme: Desperation – and the great lengths we go to get what we want. Hands on a Hardbody …
SOURCE: Chicago Theatre Addict at 08:22AMIn a recent Chicago Tribune interview, the iconic Betty Buckley – who’s starring in the first national tour of Hello, Dolly! – told critic Chris Jones that even if she has to “put up…
SOURCE: Chicago Theatre Addict at 08:54AMGypsy is my favorite show. I’ve seen dozens of performances and productions. I can confidently say I know this show inside and out. That is, until I saw E. Faye Butler as Madame Rose in Po…
SOURCE: Chicago Theatre Addict at 05:48PMIt’s been a hot second since I’ve written here, but the passing of one of my very favorite performers awoke the muse. If you’ll indulge me… We all have those voices we’v…
SOURCE: Chicago Theatre Addict at 04:54PMI can’t imagine a more utterly charming musical than Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler’s A Little Night Music. Like a bubbly glass of crisp Champagne, even the most middling Night Music …
SOURCE: Chicago Theatre Addict at 07:48PMThe musical Grand Hotel is, in many ways, an anomaly. Based on a 1932 MGM movie about the inner dramas occurring in an opulent Berlin hotel in 1928, this relentlessly dark show did not feel …
SOURCE: Chicago Theatre Addict at 05:06PMAs a hard-worn musical theatre nerd, it’s a very rare thing when I encounter a nearly two-decade old, critically praised musical in which I’ve neither seen the source material nor heard …
SOURCE: Chicago Theatre Addict at 10:02PMI love me some Theo Ubique – the scrappy, award-winning storefront that’s made quite a name for itself (and also a new home, opening shortly up the road from its current residenc…
SOURCE: Chicago Theatre Addict at 01:24PMI tried to hold myself back. I really did. Out of the two shows presented Monday evening as part of Steppenwolf’s “Lookout” series, I very reasonably bought tickets for t…
SOURCE: Chicago Theatre Addict at 05:43PMIt’s a rare thing where a show you’ve literally been anticipating for a decade arrives as a full-out, first-rate tour in basically your back yard. Yes, back in 2008 my friends and I wild…
SOURCE: Chicago Theatre Addict at 10:14AMGrowing up. Trying things, being flexible, bending with the road. Adding dreams when the others don’t last. Growing up, understanding that growing never ends. Like old dreams, some old…
SOURCE: Chicago Theatre Addict at 11:43AMIf anyone is reading this, check out my blog on The Huffington Post for the latest reviews and such. xoxxoox
SOURCE: Chicago Theatre Addict at 08:24PMPerhaps you’ve heard about a little show taking the world over by storm. And Chicago is lucky enough to have it, eight nights a week for the foreseeable future, at the PrivateBank Theatre.…
SOURCE: Chicago Theatre Addict at 09:12PMFun Home is a special show. The 2015 Best Musical Tony winner features a female, lesbian protagonist (the remarkable Kate Shindle playing graphic novalist Alison Bechdel), and an emotionally…
SOURCE: Chicago Theatre Addict at 01:48PMThey just don’t write ’em like that anymore. This phrase could be aptly applied to the classic musical comedy Wonderful Town, now getting a major revival at the Goodman Theater, …
SOURCE: Chicago Theatre Addict at 01:48PMI’d be lying if I said I haven’t been salivating at seeing the new musical War Paint, which is based on the PBS documentary The Powder and the Glory celebrating makeup moguls and…
SOURCE: Chicago Theatre Addict at 05:28PMGilded scenery, an exquisitely sung classic American songbook score, parades of hoop skirts and exotic Eastern textiles, and an unconventional love story. What’s not to adore in Lyri…
SOURCE: Chicago Theatre Addict at 07:48PMI almost skipped Dreamgirls at Porchlight. I’ve seen and enjoyed the movie, I saw a very decent (if emotionally neutral) touring production 6 years ago, I’ve watched Jennifer H…
SOURCE: Chicago Theatre Addict at 06:58PMWhen I visited London around five years ago, I made the grave mistake of choosing Ghost: The Musical over a newer show which I inaccurately assumed as a twee, commercial-friendly childr…
SOURCE: Chicago Theatre Addict at 11:37PMAbby Mueller stars in “Beautiful – The Carole King Musical” Jukebox musicals. Such a phrase makes those who love musical theatre shudder with a wave of disgust, as it exemp…
SOURCE: Chicago Theatre Addict at 09:22PMRenee Fleming and Thomas Hampson star in Franz Lehar’s “The Merry Widow” Ooh-la-la! As John Oliver mentioned in response to the recent attacks on France’s capital, Pa…
SOURCE: Chicago Theatre Addict at 08:00AM
