Spotlight on Reviews

****HIGHLY RECOMMENDED**** Drag is political. The very act of a man dressing as a woman makes a pretty bold statement. Nearly two and a half decades before Americans had the first female candidate on the ballot for President of the United States, we almost had our first drag queen as a serious contender. How Terence Alan Smith transformed himself into Ms. Joan Jett Blakk and ran for the land's highest office is the subject of Steppenwolf's world premiere of "Ms. Blakk for President," a highly entertaining and celebratory concoction conceived by fellow Steppenwolf Ensemble Members Tina Landau and Tarell Alvin McCraney, directed by Landau and featuring McCraney in the title role.  4 SPOTLIGHTS

* Somewhat Recommended * I was really looking forward to seeing “Pride and Joy: The Marvin Gaye Musical” because I’ve always loved Marvin Gaye’s music.  What a disappointment!  The cast is talented – they all have really good voices – and the music is Motown, but the book (the storyline) is awful!  If I were to rank the jukebox musicals I’ve seen over the years, “Pride and Joy” would probably come in dead last.  1 Spotlight

Highly Recommended **** I must preface this review by stating that I never expected to give this particular show a rating this high, but Toma Tavares Langston and his quartet of fabulously talented performers have brought this show to a new level for me (and I suppose based on what the opening night response ) and others. When the touring company came by several years ago, I believe my rating was “somewhat recommended”. The current production in the very intimate space at Theo Ubique is far and away a masterpiece compared to what BIC brought in.

★★I truly do not enjoy using a rating system for a new work. As many of us know, Chicago gets many pre-Broadway shows that leave here looking like a short run is in store, but with fixes, the show survives and often plays for years there and on the road. Some plays return to their original starting theater unrecognizable to us. The new production of “Grace, Or The Art of Climbing” written by L.M.Feldman, a “Queer”, feminist playwright (and circus artist) tells us a story about Emm ( Alex Molnar is terrific, except for projection to the back row) who due to some bad stuff decides to enter the world of competitive rock-climbing. note: who even knew that there was such a thing?