**** Highly Recommended **** "Ernest Shackleton Loves Me" is a weirdly wonderful musical. The premise – two people, separated by 100 years and thousands of miles, accidentally meet online – is absurd. There’s no way the story should work, but it totally does. A charming script will pull you right into this alternate reality, and you’ll love it! 4 BIG Spotlight
**** Highly Recommended **** "MotherFreakingHood! A Musical Comedy" playing through June 11th in the Venus Cabaret at the Mercury Theater, is a freaking laugh riot! It takes all those not-so-precious lowlights of motherhood – the ones that you’ve conveniently forgotten (or would really prefer to forget) – and spins them into hilarity. No kidding, this irreverent show pushed every motherhood button. It will have you in stitches! Ladies, get your mothers, sisters, partners and gal pals together for an experience like no other. 4 BIG Spotlights
**** Recommended **** Watching "London Road" felt a bit like watching a Japanese Kabuki as the ensemble moved around the stage with highly synchronized precision to complex musical rhythms. "London Road" is something called Verbatim Theatre, a form of documentary theatre based on the spoken words of real people. In fact, I would bet that it is completely different from anything you’ve ever seen. It was a totally fascinating production! 4 Spotlights
**** Recommended **** The Towle Theater production of "Women in Jeopardy" is a lot of fun, a comedy of errors involving three divorced gal pals, a clueless, self-involved girl, a spacey, cougar-obsessed boy and a creepy dentist. Are two of the gals jealous because the third met someone – or is it really about his weird vibes? I had to laugh out loud at the funny dialogue and improbable situations in this light-hearted comedy. 3 ½ Spotlights
**** Recommended **** Audiences are loving Mercury Theater’s production of "Big River: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn", a delightful retelling of Mark Twain’s 1884 novel. William Hauptman’s musical adaptation is an old-fashioned story featuring wonderful bluegrass-style music with both music and lyrics written by Roger Miller. I guarantee you’ll enjoy "Big River", I sure did! 4 Spotlights
*** Recommended *** Sometimes when I see a play about families, I think about what Dickens said – something about it being the best of times, and the worst of times. Family issues are at the center of "Last Night and the Night Before", a gripping play at Steppenwolf, and they certainly meet that criteria. A joyful reunion interrupted by an unfriendly lover; a husband deserted by his wife; a child abandoned by her mother; sisters who love each other, yet rip each other to shreds – take your pick, it’s all here! 3 ½ Spotlights
**** Highly Recommended **** "The Porch on Windy Hill" is billed as “a new play with old music.” That ‘old music’ is folk music, music that tells a story, music that’s handed down through generations. The ‘new play’ has a familiar concept – anger, resentment and a failure to communicate caused a family split resulting in years of silence and hurt feelings. Making music brings the two sides together. I loved the music so much I found myself wishing "The Porch on Windy Hill" was in my neighborhood. I’d be there in a flash! 4 BIG Spotlights
**** Recommended **** When spring is almost here, I start thinking about baseball, so I had a lot of fun watching "Damn Yankees" at the Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire. Since I’m a hereditary Cub fan, I totally share the sentiments of those hard-up Washington Senators who always finish behind those "Damn Yankees"! Marriott’s production is enthusiastic, energetic, and exceedingly well choreographed. Once again, they’ve hit it out of the ballpark (lol)! 4 Spotlights
**** Recommended **** I was in a quandary as I watched "The Little Mermaid". The performance was magnificent, the performers, especially Victoria Jaiani, were incredible. The story is dark, sad and brooding, quite frankly making me a little uncomfortable, and I wasn’t all that fond of Lera Auerbach’s score either. John Neumeier’s choreography was complicated and challenging, making for a beautiful ballet. As usual, the Joffrey dancers execute the most complicated choreography with flawless technique and timing. 4 BIG Spotlights
**** Highly Recommended **** Paramount Theatre’s production of "School of Rock" is a totally fun show. Although the story is rather predictable, nobody cares! From their first appearance until the final number, a dozen (or so) of the most amazingly talented kids steal the show. Take your family - kids, grandkids, even a rent-a-kid – "School of Rock" is the perfect musical to introduce them to live theater. 4 BIG Spotlights
