Steve Martin’s creation pits a 23-year-old Picasso against a 25-year-old Einstein. Each Is on the threshold of fame and both have enormous egos. The banter between them and the Lapin Agile “bar people” makes for fun and friction. It was sort of like “The Million Dollar Quartet” meets “Cheers”, and that’s not bad!
**** Highly Recommended **** Are you ready to rock? "Rock of Ages", the fabulous jukebox musical playing at the Paramount Theatre in Aurora, is the show for you! Although "Rock of Ages" has a plot, 'save the Bourbon Bar' as well as a boy-meets-girl sub-plot, the music is the real story – and it rocks! Seriously, the score includes 28 hits from artists like Bon Jovi, Journey, Styx, Pat Benatar, Poison, Twisted Sister, Steve Perry, Europe, Starship, Quiet Riot, REO Speedwagon and more. You’ll be dancing in your seat! 4 BIG Spotlights
**** Highly Recommended **** No matter how many times I’ve seen "The Sound of Music", it doesn’t get old. Marriott Theater’s new production of the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic is one of the best. There are seven reasons I say this – the seven Von Trapp children – who are amazing! The rest of the cast is pretty darn good too! All in all, I think everyone (except a couple of curmudgeons I know) will love this show. 4 BIG Spotlights
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED A sensation on Broadway before it was one of the first shows to close due to COVID, Moulin Rouge resumed performances last fall and shortly thereafter won the Tony Award. Chicago theatergoers are lucky to be the first to see the show outside of New York, as the National Tour opened to reviewers at the James M. Nederlander Theatre on April 21. This touring production of the musical set in the famed Paris nightclub is every bit the quality of the Broadway company, which this reviewer was fortunate to see in 2019. It is, to quote the lyrics of one of its songs, “spectacular, spectacular.”
Highly Recommended Those looking for a new show in the style of the old classic musical comedies will find a winner in "The Prom." It’s the story of a group of once-successful Broadway performers who try to build their reputations by getting involved in the efforts of a girl from a small Indiana town to attend her high school prom with her girlfriend. Certainly most of the audience members who would attend this show are likely to be on the side of this young girl, "The Prom" gently pokes fun at woke culture as well – and also at the celebrities who embrace social causes.
**** Highly Recommended **** "Moulin Rouge! The Musical" is truly spectacular! Your experience begins before you’re even seated. There’s a working windmill, outlined in white lights, on the left, a huge purple elephant on the right. On the stage, all lush red also outlined with white lights, Moulin Rouge (also in white) is emblazoned across a graduated series of hearts (with more even white lights). As you look closer, you’ll notice cast members, dancing, doing circus stunts, performing in slo-mo, even before curtain. Totally unexpected and a great start for an amazing experience. 4 BIG Spotlights
*** Recommended *** Date night? You and your honey might want to take in "Sex Tips for Straight Women from a Gay Man" at the Greenhouse. The title says it all – and the tips include lots and lots of over the top jokes, sexual innuendos, physical comedy, and involuntary/voluntary audience participation. This show is hilarious. I laughed, laughed, and laughed some more. A word of warning: if you’re at all uptight about sex, this is NOT the show for you. Everyone else, hurry and get your tickets. 3 Spotlights
**** Recommended **** A bouncy, feel-good musical, The Prom, will have you dancing in your seat while tugging on your heartstrings. Since it stars four ‘Broadway stars’, The Prom features huge production numbers, catchy tunes, glittery costumes and lots of in-jokes about Broadway. Add in a love story and a happy ending, makes it fun to watch, The Prom gets 3 ½ Spotlights
Thought you might like another perspective, so I've added this review of Six by John Olson for TSPNews. || Part rock concert, part history lesson – SIX imagines that the six wives of Henry VIII
**** Highly Recommended **** "Six", a glitzy pop-rock concert musical starring the six wives of Henry VIII, has been on my personal list of top ten musicals since I saw it at Chicago Shakespeare Theater in 2019. That cast has gone to Broadway, but there’s a new group of queens in town – and they’re fabulous! I loved this new so much that I downloaded the soundtrack – and bought tickets to see it again! How’s that for a recommendation? I’m telling you, get your tickets today! 4 BIG Spotlights
