464 stories from Chicago Theatre Addict
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…
What 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 Concert …
Hey. 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 people rea…
Want 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 premiered on…
A 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 the…
Look. 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…
For 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…
My 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 cerem…
"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 choice but …
It'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 that hav…
Gypsy. 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 " …
In 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 with a …
Gypsy 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 Porc…
It'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’ve grow…
I 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 walt…
The 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 …
As 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 a si…
I 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…
I 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…
It'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 wildly c…
Growing 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…
If anyone is reading this, check out my blog on The Huffington Post for the latest reviews and such. xoxxoox
Perhaps 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. B…
They 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, …
Fun 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…
