**** Highly Recommended Nobody is better at contemporary jazz than Giordano Dance Chicago. Their fall engagement, Season 62 | SOARING was spectacular. From the gorgeous Gershwin tribute to the world premiere of sultry, swanky Red and Black, the program was outstanding. The Giordano dancers are so strong, so talented, so creative, they are awesome! 4 BIG Spotlights
**** Recommended The Madison Square Garden Production of "Annie" playing at the Chicago Theatre is an absolute delight. The success of this production rests squarely on the shoulders of twelve-year-old Hazel Vogel, who is onstage virtually the entire play – a daunting prospect for many adults – but this girl is definitely up to the task! Kevin, the dog who plays Sandy, is darling and very well trained. "Annie" is a perfect choice to introduce young people to live theater. 4 Spotlights
****HIGHLY RECOMMENDED**** Lyric Opera of Chicago's ongoing commitment to presenting at least one contemporary opera per season has an added bonus in the programming of their current 2024/2025 season -- not just one but two of the six fully-staged operas that Lyric is producing are company premieres of operas written by living composers and featuring librettos which are sung in English. The first of these operas is "Blue," an emotionally riveting and profoundly powerful work from composer Jeanine Tesori and librettist Tazewell Thompson, who also serves as the director of this finely crafted production. The second, Missy Mazzoli and Royce Vavrek's "The Listeners" will conclude Lyric's season when it opens in March of 2025. 4 SPOTLIGHTS
**** Highly Recommended When I heard about "Dog Man: The Musical," I had no clue. I knew it was a children’s show but that’s about it. So, I decided to invite my experts on all things kid, my niece Rebecca and her Review Crew – Winston and Maeve. Rebecca reported that the kids were excited to see "Dog Man." Even her former tween was excited – at least till he remembered he was a teen! The show is colorful and creative. In fact, it’s a blast! 4 BIG Spotlights
Pure entertainment from the beginning to end; “Dames at Sea” combines excellently choreographed and performed tap dancing with at times hints of ballet, beautiful singing, all accented with humor. Even if you think you are not a fan of tap dancing, you will not be able to resist joining numerous spontaneous applauds. The story is based on the World War two era. How things have changed will bring a smile to your face.
So, I went to the preview (dress rehearsal) before opening night. The main character lead Melody Rowland, who plays Ruby, was sick and her understudy Maya Paletta filled in. She was terrific…high energy, good dancer and very likeable. The storyline of “Dames at Sea” has the same scenario. Narcissistic Mona, played unsympathetically, but very well, by Clara Jarvis, the star of this 1930’s style musical, gets sick. Ruby (Maya Paletta) must step in to save the day. Life does imitate art, after all. I am told that Melody is also quite amazing.
**** Highly Recommended If you have a small princess in your family – daughter, niece, granddaughter – you should consider getting tickets to the Paramount Theatre’s production of "Frozen." This musical has everything you’d expect - fabulous voices, great choreography, lifelike puppets, gorgeous costumes, phenomenal sets and special effects. As each character/costume appeared for the first time, everyone in the audience cheered! It’s always a pleasure to see lots of young people – in this case, very young people – in the audience – they will become the next generation of theater-goers. 4 BIG Spotlights
**** Highly Recommended I know it’s early but get yourself in the holiday mood with Marriott Theatre’s classy production of "Irving Berlin’s White Christmas." I guarantee you’ll be humming along with Irving Berlin’s wonderful melodies. You might even shed a nostalgic tear or two when the entire cast sings the title song. What can I say – I love "Irving Berlin’s White Christmas!" 4 BIG Spotlights
*** Recommended Steppenwolf’s production of Ngozi Anyanwu’s play, "Leroy and Lucy," left me adrift. Since it’s billed as a play with music, I thought I’d hear way more Delta Blues than I did. I thought I knew where it was going – the ‘sell your soul to the devil’ trope – but then it took a strange turn and I wasn’t sure what to think. I liked the staging but I couldn’t bring myself to care about the characters. 2 ½ Spotlights
**** Highly Recommended There’s new revue at The Second City e.t.c., "Best Kept Secret: Tell Everyone" and it’s downright hilarious. Everywhere I looked, people were laughing. This cast brought the audience into the show from the first, and people loved it. In fact, a good sport from the audience drew as many laughs as any cast member! If laughter is contagious, we all caught the bug! 4 Spotlights
