Crazy about Chicago theater
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By Shirley Davis | Monday, May 19, 2008 |
I broke my own record last month by traveling to Chicago three times within a 12-day period to see smash Broadway hit musicals. Have I mentioned that I’m theater-nuts?
After a Saturday matinee of “Drowsy Chaperone” and Wednesday matinees of “Wicked” and “Jersey Boys,” I revamped my top-five list of favorite shows once more.
I move my favorites around from time to time, and these three are certainly way up on the top-five list. It was my third time for “Wicked,” the so-called prequel story of the good and bad witches of Oz, and the second time for “Jersey Boys,” the story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons.
No doubt I’ll head off for the latter again since it’s a grand musical that has become the “resident company” at the LaSalle Bank Theater.
“Wicked,” which was to have wound up its three-year run at the Ford Center for Performing Arts in July, has now been extended once again — to Nov. 2.
“Drowsy Chaperone,” a lovely musical with an inventive plot line and clever staging, had just a 12-day run in Chicago. Too bad so many people missed it entirely. I’d like to have seen it at least one more time.
Winner of six Tony Awards on Broadway, who knows why “Drowsy Chaperone” had such a short Chicago run. The audience loved the show, there were standing ovations and I went out immediately to buy the original cast recording.
A third ‘Wicked’
I’ve now seen three different wicked witches and all were terrific. At this most recent performance of “Wicked,” Elphaba, the green-faced witch, was played by Dee Roscioli, who previously was the understudy. The former Grizabella in the national tour of “Cats” was every bit as good as the other witches I’ve seen —all with superb voices and the volume necessary for the role.
And Glinda, the good witch, was typically cute and bubbly as played beautifully by Kate Fahrner, also a former understudy for the role.
Some of the big production numbers are “Defying Gravity,” “Dancing Through Life,” “The Wizard and I,” “Popular,” “I’m Not That Girl” and “No Good Deed.” The titles mean a lot more after you’ve seen the show.
‘Joisey guys’
The Tony Award-winning best musical, “Jersey Boys,” traces the rocky lives of four tough guys from New Jersey who became world-famous as Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. It’s just about the best show around anywhere and is due for a long run at the LaSalle Bank Theatre (the old Shubert).
The book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice is beautifully produced to be both biographical and wildly entertaining as the cast performs the songs in the style of Valli and the Four Seasons.
Clever staging and choreography tell the tale of how these young men became famous while they were in and out of trouble, in and out of jail and in and out of romantic encounters. The dialogue is typically “New Joisey” tough, with four-letter words the norm.
There are 34 songs in the two-act musical, all familiar Valli favorites. Since John Michael Dias played Frankie both times I’ve seen the show, I’ve become a giant fan of this talented young man who imitates the Valli style so accurately that you think you’re hearing the real guy. (Dias does only the Wednesday and Sunday matinees.)
‘Chaperone’
As for “Drowsy Chaperone,” I’d go back in a heartbeat to see the show again if it would return to Chicago or anywhere else in the area. No wonder it won six Tony Awards; it’s smart, clever and fun with a character called simply “man in chair” that is a gem of a role.
Starring in that role in Chicago was Jonathan Crombie, fresh from the Broadway production. The musical, with all its elaborate sets and brilliant cast, was booked to run only 12 days and then depart from Chicago. Too bad. It’s a terrific show with a dozen fine songs — performed without an intermission.
Shirley Davis can be contacted at (563) 383-2281 or sdavis@qctimes.com.
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