PicksInSix Review: The Merry Wives of Windsor - Chicago Shakespeare Theater

Delightfully Devious Duo Meets Rotund Rapscallion!
PicksInSix® Review | Ed Tracy

Directed with comic zeal by Phillip Breen and featuring Jason Simon in a terrific performance as the rotund rapscallion Sir John Falstaff, Chicago Shakespeare Theater’s lively production of “The Merry Wives of Windsor” is a rip-roaring farce if ever there was one. Set in modern times that often stretch the imagination, the sparkling cast delivers a robustly-paced theatrical gem on Navy Pier!  

Breen’s familiarity with the challenging material pays off. He has certainly discovered every intended comic opportunity—and countless others for good measure—and hits the mark at every turn, all centered around the dubious exploits of Simon’s Falstaff that fail like clockwork, not once, but three times at the hands of the delightfully devious duo of Mistress Ford (Issy Van Randwyck) and Mistress Page (Ora Jones). From the moment they receive identical love letters from Sir John, the two work in tandem to cook his goose while remaining undetected by their husbands, Master Page (Chiké Johnson) and Master Ford (Timothy Edward Kane), despite suspicions to the contrary. Aye, there’s the rub!

Who could blame them for their playful mischievousness? Falstaff’s overt desires turn away his entourage (the entertaining trio of Bardolph (Teddy Gales), Pistol (Colin Huerta), and Nym (Zack Bloomfield)—leaving him vulnerable to the combined forces of the merry wives and the spirited Mistress Quickly (a charming role for Nancy Voigts). As a result, Falstaff must unwittingly fend for himself, eluding discovery by the jealous Ford (Kane) by stuffing his magnificence in a laundry box that is later tossed away in the Thames and then forced to don lady’s clothing and endure an unseen thrashing during a hasty retreat. Throughout, Simon’s Falstaff is never the victim, but rather a hapless fop, like a dog with bone, easily swayed by flattery and the promise of passionate fulfillment. When he concedes a third time to a meeting in Windsor Park, now in the guise of “Herne the Hunter” with everyone in on the ruse, Falstaff is finally, and publicly, humiliated for his transgressions, and must makes amends.

In addition to the brilliant performances by Randwyck, Jones and Kane, the cast is loaded with Chicago talent from top to bottom including Nick Sandys (Sir Hugh Andrews), Paul Oakley Stovall (Justice Shallow), Alex Weisman (Slender), Nate Burger (Dr. Caius) and Bret Tuomi (Host of the Garter Inn). In the love story, Oliva Pryor is an earnest Anne Page, whose marital future lies with one of three suitors, Caius, Slender and Fenton, who is played by Sam Bell-Gurwitz, and is the true object of her affections.

Rich scenic and lavish costume designs by Max Jones—particularly the Ford’s elegant home, the Garter Inn and in the haunting Windsor Park—are visually striking with notable surprises dropping down from above and phoning in from below. The Jentes Family Courtyard Theatre is awash in Marcus Doshi’s crisp lighting design and the lush soundscape by Lindsay Jones, with the clever use of some contemporary songs that bust out along the way.

All in, Shakes “Merry Wives” is at its’ very merry best when Simon is uproariously navigating the fine line of reckless passion and the resulting over-the-top antics set in motion by the far superior wives who keep us rooting for his inevitable comeuppance. From his larger-than-life grand entrance to his humbling demise, Simon delivers a flawless performance and rightly receives a glorious and genuinely warm last laugh for his efforts, sprinkled with a tender touch of finality for one of Shakespeare’s most enduring characters.

PHOTO|Kyle Flubacker

Chicago Shakespeare Theater
presents
The Merry Wives of Windsor
Navy Pier
through May 3, 2026

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PicksInSix Gold Review: Ma Rainey's Black Bottom - Goodman Theatre

Stunning ‘Ma Rainey’ Revival at Goodman!
PicksInSix® Gold Review | Ed Tracy

The 1982 drama “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”—August Wilson’s study of Black music and culture in Chicago during the tumultuous 1920s—is the only one of ten plays in Wilson’s landmark Century Cycle set outside of Pittsburgh. The epic 1997 Goodman production, directed by Chuck Smith in collaboration with Wilson, looms largely at the top of a list of bold and inspiring productions in the rich 100-year history of the theater.

It’s difficult to discern if Wilson’s brilliant work shines brighter through Chicago’s gritty undertones or if the heart of Chicago theater beats more profoundly by Wilson’s attention. One thing is clear: the powerful force of Wilson’s legacy has helped to both expose and define the harsh realities of racial inequality and social injustice in America, whenever and wherever his plays are performed. And this production, at this time in Chicago with its phenomenal cast, provides a brilliant opportunity to experience the emotional thrust, the preciseness of the lyrical dialogue and the realization of Wilson’s complex characters.

Both director Smith and associate director and music director Harry Lennix, who played Levee in the 1997 production, have returned to forge the stunning revival that opened Monday night in the Albert. It is a story about the true-to-life presence of Ma Rainey (E. Faye Butler) whose unequalled talent and rebellious influence on the music of the era reflects the challenges that run through all of Wilson’s work. It is also a piece that has stood the test of time, as powerful and gripping a drama today as then with a dream team of a cast.

It’s March 1927 and Ma Rainey and her band—Sylvester (Jabrai Khaliq), Levee (Al’Jaleel McGhee), Toledo (Kelvin Roston Jr.) and Slow Drag (Cedric Young)—are gathering at a Southside recording studio run by Sturdyvant (Matt DeCaro) to record a new album. Ma’s manager Cutler (David Alan Anderson) must deal with Sturdy’s impatience when Ma and her entourage—nephew Irvin (Marc Grapey) and the sultry Dussie Mae (Tiffany Renee Johnson)—who are nowhere to be found.

In the meantime, Slyvester, Toledo and Slow Drag get along well in the rehearsal room, each loyal to Ma’s powerful influence and committed to doing the job they have been hired to do. The dynamic changes significantly when Levee arrives, decked out in his new shoes and emboldened by Sturdy’s commitment to use his arrangements with a promise to record other songs with a band of his own. The others don’t buy it, even when Cutler tells them that the decision to use Levee’s arrangements has been made.

That conversation sets the stage for Ma’s blistering arrival and the realization that there is only one opinion that matters in the room. Ma Rainey arrives in a whirlwind of commotion, driven by the presence of policeman (Scott Aiello) who wants to arrest Ma for a traffic accident on the way to the studio. To nobody’s surprise, the unfolding plans for the session do not jive at all with Ma either. The band is sent back down for rehearsal with Irvin, who will be doing things Ma’s way, despite Irvin’s pronounced speech impediment.

The conflict comes to a head when Ma and Levee face off on the direction of the recording of her signature piece “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.” Levee represents a new and innovative talent in jazz music but blindly resists the notion that white recording producers are only in it for themselves. Ma Rainey and her contemporaries in the band recognize that they will receive only token payments and little respect for their work, while Levee’s hopes continue to be dashed at virtually every turn, fueled by deep-seated images of his youth that eventually prove to be inescapable.

The true power of Wilson’s work lies in Levee’s struggles. McGhee’s commanding performance fires on every cylinder in the challenging role, as the emotionally unhinged Levee shifts on a slow burn from impassioned musician to deranged psychopath, the helpless victim of his own violent and embattled childhood.

The production runs expertly through Butler’s super-charged performance as Rainey, alternating between her larger-than-life presence, striking fear in virtually everyone within earshot, to her mesmerizing vocal’s and the touchingly quiet reflective moments where Butler peels back the public image and shares Rainey’s innermost feelings with Sylvester. Director Smith’s pacing expertly elevates the lighthearted exchanges and so solidly stages this drama that, at the most gripping moments, you can hear a pin drop.

It all unfolds on Linda Buchanan’s gritty set design, an urban, tri-level structure capped by a control room above the main recording studio that is connected by stairs to a lower level rehearsal room. Jared Gooding’s stylized lighting design defines the areas and extends beyond the staged interior providing a reminder of the Chicago streets just outside the door. Evelyn M. Danner’s costumes expertly evoke the period, especially Ma Rainey’s resplendent ensemble. The music direction under Lennix features orchestrations by Dwight Andrews and sound design by Rob Milburn and Michael Bodeen, all placing Goodman Theatre’s “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” at the top of the list for shows to see right now in Chicago.

PHOTO|Justin Barbin

Goodman Theatre
presents
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Albert Theatre
170 N Dearborn
Extended through May 3, 2026

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PicksInSix Review: Theater of the Mind - Goodman Theatre

Heads Are Talking: Is Perception Reality?
PicksInSix® Review | Guest Contributor | Sarah Frances Fiorello

David Byrne is simultaneously everywhere and nowhere at the Reid Murdoch Building on 333 N. Lasalle, where his and co-creator Mala Gaonkar’s immersive production “Theater of the Mind” has built a 15,000 sq ft home. Presented by the Goodman Theatre and running now through July 12, leave your preconceived notions of reality at home for a mind-bending 75 minutes of scientific-artistry or artistic-science experiment, I’m not exactly sure which. But that feels to be precisely the point.

Arrive early to lock up your personal belongings as no bags, electronics, or given name will follow you across the threshold of this journey with a group of 16 strangers. What follows is a neuroscience-backed exploration of all five senses—and maybe a sixth—lead by “David” who has gathered you all together as his former friends. Together you will explore, through David’s world, the pliability and changeability of your senses—the very things you use to form an understanding of reality and the people and things inside of it. If that sounds trippy, it is. But it’s also a beacon of hope: you are always free to change your mind.

“Theatre of the Mind” comes to the Goodman after its 2022 World Premiere at Denver Center of the Performing Arts Off-Center. It is produced by DCPA Off-Center founder Charlie Miller, who serves as consulting producer on the Chicago production. Radiolab fans will appreciate this episode, “The Theater of David Byrne’s Mind” from October 2022 which captures a live conversation between the Talking Heads front man and neuroscientist Thalia Wheatley on the magic of the mind at play in the immersive experience.

The creative and technical team of “Theater of the Mind” shine here and have produced a sensationally unique experience. Technical Director Dr. Heidi Boisvert and Technical Producer LeeAnn Rossi give us a world of wonder and awe, where one space seems more exciting and interesting than the next. Scenic Designer Neil Patel brings to life this imaginative immersion right down to every minute detail. Lighting Designer Jeanette Oi-Suk Yew and Sound Designer Cody Spencer ensure our total sensory experience hits the mark. All under the expert direction of NYC-based-Chicago-suburb native, Andrew Scoville, who brings together every production component without so much as a seam showing.

“David” is played by one of nine actors, one of the many reasons that no two performances—or personal experiences—will be exactly alike. James Earl Jones II guided my Friday evening group of sensory explorers and skillfully delivered as storyteller, entertainer, and provocateur.

“Theater of the Mind” is a personal exploration with coordinates in River North, but if you lean in, it’s sure to take you well beyond the confines of Chicago. The best theatre leaves us changed with an open invitation to think differently as a result. At the Reid Murdoch Building on N. Lasalle, you’ll get exactly that—a door opening to not just think differently about life but think differently about thinking. Are you ready for it?

GUEST CONTRIBUTOR | SARAH FRANCES FIORELLO is a graduate of Shenandoah Conservatory with a BFA in Music Theatre and a Chicago-based poet, writer, and performer.  Instagram: @writtenbysarahfrances

PHOTO|Todd Rosenberg

Goodman Theatre
presents
Theater of the Mind
Reid Murdoch Building
333 N. LaSalle
EXTENDED through July 12, 2026

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PicksInSix Review: The Drowsy Chaperone - Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre

Total Foolery and Fun at Theo!
PicksInSix® Review | Guest Contributor | Ronald Keaton

So, it's like this... “The Drowsy Chaperone,” which runs through April 19 at Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre on the Evanston/Chicago border, is fluff. There's no getting around it, it makes no serious statement about life and its endless issues. It's an absolute distraction from the reality of our world at present. This is all good. The production elements are startlingly immersive and constant in breaking the fourth wall with and for the audience. And one doesn't mind that one bit; this is how energetic and entertaining it is, with its tight, purposeful direction by L. Walter Stearns. It's a piece that plays directly into Mr. Stearns' historical milieu of tried-and-true musicals. You see why as the show unfolds. And it's a joy to watch.

It all begins and ends with an ingenious tool that becomes the guiding thread for the entire musical. He's a kind of lonely "narrator" of sorts whose character name is Man In Chair. He does encyclopedic research into the genre. He doesn't really narrate as much as he reflects and remembers. He plays LPs on his stereo in his small apartment, and he's a huge fan of old musicals. The story unfolds through a recording of this musical that he's never seen but he dearly loves entitled "The Drowsy Chaperone." Chicago stalwart Steve McDonagh literally becomes the Man before our eyes. It's subtle, interesting and informative. And endlessly charming and warm. This Man is the character we all envy in the fun and love that he shares. It's like hand in glove. And an almost effortless portrayal.

The plot to the show itself is almost irrelevant as it opens up into the apartment, performing literally in front of its occupant and, in the intimate confines of the staging, the audience. The pretext is a wedding day for Broadway baby Janet (Kelsey MacDonald plays it all to the hilt), a star who is on the cusp of giving it all up for love, and Robert (Trey Plutnicki dances up a storm and even puts on roller skates), who met on a cruise and fell in love almost the same night. All the other characters are vital decoration for what seems the intent of the musical—total foolery and fun. And wonderfully drawn characters they are, too, from both Broadway and Hollywood models.

A few examples. There's the title character that the wonderful Colette Todd offers, a supposed chaperone assigned to looking after Janet, and who is a full-blown lush—a character creatively pulled from the Marie Dressler/Margaret Dumont stable. Her character falls in love with Aldolpho (Darian Goulding with a proper chew-the-scenery presence, like in a Marx Brothers film), an opera singer who finds his way to seducing the chaperone. We see two bumbling gangsters (Jimmy Hogan and Chase Wheaton-Werle) who can't do much right. But when they do, they are scene stealers, a reminder of two similar gangsters in Kiss Me, Kate.

Peter also has a chaperone of sorts in his buddy George (Kevin Chlapecka, properly supportive and hovering), who makes sure that the groom does not see the bride before the wedding—all thrown out the window, of course, as the show progresses. They share a fast-moving tap number "Cold Feets," which leaves us all breathless. A direct theft from old-time radio comes from Feldzeig (Reginald Hemphill in a crackling, gruff George Burns character), a manager of talent and, in particular, Kitty (Luiza Vitucci is literally channeling Gracie Allen here), who wants so badly to be onstage that she reinvents herself as... a really bad clairvoyant. Example: "Give me a number between five and seven!" You get the picture.

The tight pit orchestra led by veteran keyboardist/conductor Eugene Dizon and the crisp choreography by Jenna Schoppe takes us all along swimmingly. By the time it's all done, there are not one but four weddings that happen, because everyone falls in love with each other. It's goofy and quick and becomes a paean to the theatre, to living life as fully as we can, and to the joy of performing for all these young people who cannot stop smiling the entire time. The story might not have the same effect, arguably, if the Man In Chair was not ever-present. But it's the gravitas of that Man in the capable hands of Mr. McDonagh and under the watchful eye of Mr. Stearns, we hop onboard gladly.

GUEST CONTRIBUTOR | RONALD KEATON received an Equity Jeff Award for the performance of his one-man show CHURCHILL. www.solochicagotheatre.com.  Coming in May 2026, his new solo play about Ben Franklin, THE FIRST EMBASSY, in the NOMA at the Reilly Arts Center, Ocala, Florida.

PHOTO | Brett Beiner Photography

Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre
presents
The Drowsy Chaperone
721 Howard Street, Evanston
through April 19, 2026

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PicksInSix Q & A: Mrs. Doubtfire's Craig Allen Smith and Ava Rose Doty

Mrs. Doubtfire's Craig Allen Smith and Ava Rose Doty
PicksInSix® Q & A | Ed Tracy

When “Mrs. Doubtfire” sweeps into the Morris Performing Arts Center in South Bend for four shows March 13-15, Craig Allen Smith will be heading up a company that has been on the touring circuit for well over seven months. Smith, who lives in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, leads the company in his first national in the titular role made famous in the film by Robin Williams and on Broadway by Rob McClure. Smith freely admits that those are large shoes to fill but has approached the role from a fresh perspective all his own developed with director Stephen Edlund.

When we met on a recent Zoom call, we were joined by a mighty mite named Ava Rose Doty, who hails from Downers Grove, Illinois, and shares the role of Natalie Hillard in the show. Brimming with energy for the early morning chat, Ava, whose regional credits include Tiny Tim in “A Christmas Carol” and Young Tommy in The Who’s “Tommy,” both at Goodman Theatre, is indeed one of the most charming young performers you will ever meet and a font of information about her own first road tour experience.

Our conversation was a unique opportunity to explore a generational perspective of the tour from two performers who get along as well off stage as on.

The following conversation has been edited for clarity and length.

E Tracy: What was it like the first day you did the show and then knowing that you have to do another show tomorrow in another city?

CA Smith: It was definitely a learning curve in terms of trying to figure out how to pack for your life on tour in terms of making sure you have all the things you need, and then realizing I didn't need half of the things that I packed! Being on the bus for like six hours, then getting into the theater, having to do soundcheck, and then an hour later to just be on and do the show. That was a new thing for me.

AR Doty: It's my first tour too. We were in New York City, and then we went to Elmira, New York to do tech week, and then we went to Boston to do opening night. And when we were moving to those three cities—we were in New York City for a month—it was fun to go explore. When we were traveling to Elmira the tour hadn't really started yet. We were moving a lot after opening night. City to city to city. Those one-nighters are rough.

ET: Was that your first trip to New York, Ava?

ARD: I had been to New York for a lot for auditions, callbacks and seeing shows, but this was my first time in New York for rehearsals for a tour.

ET: And you are splitting the role?

ARD: Yes. Our show is double cast, so every other show a different kid goes on. The other girl is named Vivian (Atencio). We have four kids. We all do school, hotel, bus, airplane, theater and we have a tutor on tour and do online school programs.

ET: Craig, this is an ambitious role. You have not only 30 plus costume changes, but you have quite a legacy to live up to. How did you approach putting Mrs. Doubtfire together?

CAS: Well, when I first met (director) Steve Edlund, we had a Doubtfire Bootcamp week. I came in along with Chaz, my understudy, and we had a week-long, eight-hour-a-day work session with the production team, the music director, choreographer, and Steve. We worked through the show from top to bottom. Rob (McClure) had done this on Broadway and again on the first national tour. I purposely didn't watch (his performance on video) because I am such a sponge. I wanted to work with Steve and be a clean slate.

I know the movie very well, like everybody, and we wanted to pay tribute to Robin and his legacy. A lot of the stuff Steve and I worked together might still be what Rob did. I don't know. I still don't know to this day if we're doing the same kind of bits and stuff. It was a great working experience with Steve to put together the story and to be able to create both of those characters, not only Daniel, but also Mrs. Doubtfire. The respect that Steve has for both characters, especially Mrs. Doubtfire is really great… his love for the characters is just so infectious that the weight of “I'm playing Mrs. Doubtfire!” was almost lifted off of me because we're just going to work, the two of us together, and make this what it is.

ET: It is one of those all-consuming roles. You are on stage all the time. If you are not on stage, you are changing to go on stage.

CAS: And if something goes wrong you literally can't think about anything. You have to constantly stay in the moment for each scene because the minute you start thinking, “Oh, I screwed that up!” there's five other moments that have just passed that are getting missed because you're thinking about something else.

ARD: Yeah. When stuff happens, you just improv.

CAS: Just improv. We keep going. The show must go on.

ET: What is the biggest thrill for you, Ava? What part of the show do you like more than any other?

ARD: I really like doing ‘What the Hell’ the song that all the kids sing at the beginning when they first have Mrs. Doubtfire as their nanny. That one is always really fun to sing with all the kids. I also like the opening because there's so much stuff happening.

CAS: That opening number moves a lot. We have a lot of different pieces that have to come together to make that opening number work.

ET: Have you been dancing all your life?

ARD: When I'm home, I take dance lessons and I started taking them when I was littler. My sister does ballet now and I take jazz contemporaries with theater, hip hop, that type of stuff.

CAS: I was married to a dance instructor and then we split.

ET: Craig, there is additional background research you've already completed for this role.

CAS: Right.

ET: All of the things that are happening in the show, the longing for a family and acceptance pieces, they are all interwoven… and being an out-of-work actor probably is something just about every actor knows about.

CAS: Right? Yeah. Their original child wrangler who was helping in New York City came up to me one day and he said “Do you feel like everything in your life has led up to this moment in this role?” And, honestly, I never thought about that, but thinking about it now, yes, literally everything in my life. I'm a divorced dad with two kids from a previous marriage. At one point I'm throwing footballs… I’m playing with a loop machine on stage, and I used to make music in college with a four track! Any actor would be like you're going to throw football, you're going to record this stuff. I was not afraid of anything except for the quick changes because that was a timing thing. You have to get these changes in under 30 seconds. I've never done quick changes this fast in my life, but, fortunately, I have a team that helps me.

ET: I think as we get older—and we're a generation apart—we realize that almost everything you take on is the product of everything that has come before. We only just get better, hopefully. You get a little bit more used to it. I think Ava's going to find that out probably at the end of this tour when she starts to do the next tour.

ARD: Right, right.

ET: It is quite a thing to be of a certain age and be on tour. There are a lot of things that you are accomplishing that kids your age never have an opportunity to do. So that's really exciting.

CAS: It is very impressive. Not only do they have to do schoolwork, but then they have to be on every night to do the show. And even if they are not in the show, they are backstage in case something, God forbid, happens and they have to go on.

ARD: Knock on wood!

ET: Ava, do you have 30 costume changes too?

ARD: No, I only have one every scene and they are not that quick for me. Not as quick as Craig's. The only quick one is when we go from the nightmare sequence ‘Playing with Fire’ to ‘La Rosa.’

ET: Do you have fun every night, Ava? Do you get nervous before you go out or are you cool?

ARD: I have been doing this for seven months. I feel like I've gotten more used to my character and I can start adding more things and taking away.

CAS: And when you keep doing it for seven months, you're finding new ways to keep things fresh.

ET: I want to tell you that when I was your age, I was making choices between peanut butter or peanut butter and jelly.

CAS: Honestly. Same.

ET: So, Craig, how many people are on this changing team?

CAS: I have two dressers. One—they call her the ‘Star Dresser’—is Nicole, who is in charge of all of my costumes. And then I have a wig and the mask dresser. Her name is Emily and she helps me get in and out of the wig and mask for each change. And then, for each venue we go to, we acquire one local dresser who will help like zip-up and put shoes on. It's a well-oiled machine. We got it down.

ET: That mask is really an innovative piece of this puzzle. Not a part of regular musical theater.

CAS: No. And I was wondering because I never acted with any sort of prosthetics. I didn't know how it was going to feel and if I was going to be able to communicate the story well enough with this thing on my face. But it really does feel like a second skin. The way that they have crafted it, a nose piece with an opening for the mouth and there is a strap so you have access to my eyes and my mouth and everything. It is pretty impressive the way they came up with this design.

ET: Do you wear a mask, Ava?

ARD: No, I don't. I have hair clips if that counts!

ET: A national tour is a big deal for any actor at any level.

CAS: We have been going for seven months now. I broke my toe in December literally two weeks before Christmas. They sent me home. I kept going through the rest of the acts and because of having to get in and out of high heels, they decided that I just go home and heal. So, my understudy is a champion, went on and did four weeks up until the Christmas break so I had time to heal. We had a week-long sit down in Jacksonville and we got to go to Disney World for a day. We look forward to the week-long sit downs. You have to plan out things to look forward to down the road.

ET: Ava, do you look for a certain thing when you get to a city? The best place to eat, a museum or Disneyland?

ARD: If we are in a city long enough and we have a day off, or a day with only one show where we have time, we try to look for fun things for the kids to do. If there is a pool there or we might go bowling or Disney, museums, the aquarium and we went on a ghost tour once. The kids like to collect stickers from each city or something to remember the city or find a little souvenir to bring back to their family.

ET: Do the community members along the way reach out to the cast and include them in some local activities?

ARD: One time we did a canned food drive. We have lots of interviews. One time they cooked us all a meal.

DAS: In Jacksonville, I got to go as Mrs. Doubtfire to a lot of local businesses. There was a pie shop, funny enough, so we pretended to make a pie. There was a chocolate factory. I was dipping pretzels in chocolate. It was cool to explore these different communities.

ET: This is a really unique character, Craig. You get to play both sides of your life. You're an actor, but also you are playing this person on stage who is creating a new reality. What is the audience reaction to what you are doing on stage, the separation of these two characters? What is the most satisfying part of that for you?

DAS: The show moves so fast that I really don't have time to reflect on anything. I love getting the audience to laugh. That's my ultimate high. Making sure I hit each of those moments and get their response is very rewarding for me. I know Steve loves to come and watch when he can. There have been a number of moments, he says, where he absolutely thinks it is the most amazing reaction. One scene I'm tricking my ex-wife, doing all these different voices and she's getting annoyed because she's looking for a babysitter and I'm pretending to be all these terrible babysitters. And then finally, I drop the Mrs. Doubtfire voice. When I first come out after we do a number where I'm trying on all these different wigs and trying to figure out what Mrs. Doubtfire is going to look like. It's called ‘Make Me a Woman.’ The whole ensemble is dancing crazy.

And when the drop comes up, the front door opens, there's Mrs. Doubtfire. Our music director said at one point there was little girl behind him. She turned to her mom and whispered, “There she is.”

PHOTO|Shelby DuPont

Broadway in South Bend
presents
Mrs. Doubtfire
Morris Performing Arts Center
211 N. Michigan Street,
South Bend, Indiana
March 13-15, 2026

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PicksInSix Review: Dear Evan Hansen - Paramount Theatre

The Struggle to Feel Less Alone.
PicksInSix® Review | Guest Contributor | Kaitlyn Linsner

We are chronically online. Profit-maximizing algorithms fuel our social media compulsions. Phones serve as digital pacifiers to distract us from discomfort, inconvenience, and simple boredom. Poor teenagers face a growing mental health crisis thanks in large part to excessive screen time. How strange yet commonplace it is to feel isolated in a world where you can connect with others via email, text, a phone call, FaceTime, TikTok, you name it.

Amidst this shared experience backdrop, “Dear Evan Hansen” touches on relatable and noteworthy topics like distorted online realities, loneliness, grief, self-acceptance, and navigating mental health struggles. But, to me, despite its overwhelming appeal, the musical format does not serve the message well. This is not a critique specific to Paramount Theatre’s new staging of “Dear Evan Hansen” directed by Jessica Fisch which is the first produced by any Chicago-area theater since the musical’s national tour. Rather, this is a critique of a plot that fails to take a deep and constructive look at issues that need that level of care and attention. Especially considering the entire story centers on Evan Hansen (Cody Combs) exploiting the suicide of a high school classmate for social clout.

What could have been a heartfelt dark comedy or biting satire is instead a confusing, sometimes funny, but mostly serious, journey through arguably misplaced sympathies for a historically beloved, socially anxious protagonist who lies with good intentions. Perhaps that is the point of “Dear Evan Hansen.” For the audience to explore moral complexities and the gray spaces of loss, compassion, and forgiveness through song and dance. How much of this meaning, though, is a projection of the audience’s own desire to connect and be seen?

The music and lyrics by Benk Pasek and Justin Paul do offer some resonating emotional depth, and the Paramount Theatre company sings each anthem beautifully, namely in “You Will Be Found.” The production’s notable performances include Evan (Combs) in the powerful and revealing “Words Fail,” Zoe Murphy (Isabel Kaegi) in the honest and raw “Requiem” and Evan’s mother Heide (Megan McGinnis) in the tender and heartfelt “So Big/So Small.” Heide ultimately saves Evan from his unraveling and McGinnis’s display of strength and vulnerability in the difficult moments is inspiring.

The impressive and digitally-heavy set by scenic designer Andrew Boyce, lighting designer Greg Hofmann and projections designer Anthony Churchill elevates the narrative and does well to display the chaos of our tech-driven lives. Director Fisch’s staging also aptly places the characters in the foreground to bring us closer to real life and the tangible experiences not available on the internet.

All in, Paramount's “Dear Evan Hansen” is polished, entertaining, and highly recommended for those who love this musical and want to experience it again and for those interested in seeing a talented company deliver an emotionally charged and bittersweet performance. For everyone else, depending on who you bring along, be prepared for a frank discussion on the way home.  

Editor’s Note: Paramount’s content advisory: This show contains mature and potentially triggering content centered on mental health issues and teenage suicide. If you or someone you know is facing mental health struggles, emotional distress, alcohol or drug use concerns, or just need someone to talk to, the caring counselors at 988 Lifeline are available for you. Call or text 988, or chat at 988lifeline.org. You are not alone.

GUEST CONTRIBUTOR | KAITLYN LINSNER serves as an Assistant Attorney General in the Public Utilities Bureau of the Office of the Illinois Attorney General.

PHOTO | Boris Martin

Paramount Theatre
presents
Chicago Regional Premiere
Dear Evan Hansen
23 East Galena Boulevard
Aurora, IL
through March 22, 2026

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PicksInSix Review: Miss Julie - Court Theatre

Trapped, Strindberg Style: Aristocratic Summer Solstice
PicksInSix® Review | Guest Contributor | Sarah Frances Fiorello

It’s been a long, hard winter here in Chicago, but on the south side at Court Theatre it is currently the longest day of the year. August Strindberg's “Miss Julie” is encapsulated night after night at the turn of the 20th century and in the warmth of midsummer’s eve, for audiences to experience now through March 8th.

The play drops in on Julie’s servants, Jean and Kristine, discussing her wildish, reckless behavior during an otherwise garish (offstage) aristocratic summer solstice. Kristine respectfully heads to bed giving way for Julie and Jean to spend an evening jockeying for position, using status, sex, and social standing as levers to pull on each other to get what they want. The situation grows more dire and claustrophobic, as we slowly become privy to the inner workings of these characters—what haunts them, what moves them, and what traps them despite their agency and overwhelming desire to escape.

Mounting Strindberg in 2026 is an academic undertaking, one that requires care and attention to not only the spirit in which he created the work, but the implications that the piece—alongside Strindberg’s Naturalist theatre movement as a whole—had in the late 1800’s. Ironically, I was put at ease with this production's EDM overture, signaling an earnest understanding that Strindberg was allergic to a comfortable night at the theatre. It says, “Welcome to our psychological experiment, we hope you brought your thinking cap.”

Our three actors carry this play with poise and certainty. Kelvin Roston Jr. shines and makes it look easy as Jean, maneuvering between emotional heavy lifting and thinly veiled subtext, all while serving as a near constant presence on stage during this one hour and 40-minute one act.  Mi Kang as Miss Julie rises to the occasion without giving way to what could easily become a two-dimensional, misogynistic, overbaked fever pitch portrayal. She moves with nuance, allowing us to feel both sorry for her and disgusted by her, often at the same time. Rebecca Spence as Kristine delivers each line with surgical precision and dripping with intentionality, offering a master class in theatrical interpretation.

The creative team equally shines here. John Culbert’s stunning scenic design is as beautiful as it is claustrophobic, echoing the emotional notes of Strindberg’s writing. Raquel Adorno’s costume design is delicate and thoughtful while Abhi Shrestha’s dramaturgical work is a cornerstone to the foundation of “Miss Julie’s” resonance. All of this under the expert direction of Dr. Gabrielle Randle-Bent, whose fingerprint is over every inch of this production. No stranger to Court Theatre (directing “A Raisin in the Sun,” “Antigone,” and “The Island”), her scholarly understanding of the work and arresting theatrical storytelling style can be felt, transmuting as one within Culbert’s earthy, organic space.

Harry G. Carlson’s translation of “Miss Julie” does more than hold up at Court Theatre. You’ll be entertained, but that is hardly the point. The actors and creative team make this undertaking look effortless, doing all the requisite work to ensure that the 130-year-old play lands squarely in your lap, offering you a chance to think critically about the themes that are as relevant today as they were at the end of the 19th century.

GUEST CONTRIBUTOR | SARAH FRANCES FIORELLO is a graduate of Shenandoah Conservatory with a BFA in Music Theatre and a Chicago-based poet, writer, and performer. 
Instagram: @writtenbysarahfrances

PHOTO | Michael Brosilow

Court Theatre
presents
Miss Julie
Abelson Auditorium
5535 S. Ellis Ave
through March 8, 2026

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PicksInSix Review: Hamnet - Royal Shakespeare Company - Chicago Shakespeare Theater

‘Hamnet’: “A Wonderous Trick of Nature”
PicksInSix® Review | Ed Tracy

The Royal Shakespeare Company’s “Hamnet”—a stunning co-production with Neal Street Productions adapted for the stage by Lolita Chakrabarti based on the best-selling novel by Maggie O’Farrell and directed by Erica Whyman—opened the US tour in The Yard at Chicago Shakespeare Theater this weekend. The captivating play imagines the courtship, marriage and family life of William Shakespeare (Rory Alexander) and Agnes Hathaway (Kemi-Bo Jacobs) and provides a fascinating fictional portrait of how Shakespeare’s plays may have been influenced by their time together and the tragic death of their young son Hamnet (Ajani Cabey).

It is, of course, the story that has received recent, multiple Oscar Award nominations for the 2025 film—a separate adaptation by Chloé Zhao, who also directed, with O’Farrell that followed the 2023 play—and places Agnes as the central figure in a family coping with separation, grief and unfathomable loss. If you have seen the film, do not expect a true-to-form stage representation but rather a compelling and emotionally-charged production that shares the same emotional space, but is itself a unique story all its own and richly told.

Despite many theories, history is sparse on Shakespeare’s personal life. Shakespeare and his first wife met, married and Agnes gave birth to a daughter, Susanna (Ava Hinds Jones) and twins Judith (Saffron Dey) and Hamnet (Cabey) in Stratford-upon-Avon. As Shakespeare’s literary career in London began to flourish, he was often away from the day-to-day life of his family. Chakrabarti’s adaption expands O’Farrell’s vision of how those early days unfolded with Shakespeare serving as a Latin tutor to local children of Agnes’s brother Bartholomew (Troy Alexander) who is owed a large debt by Shakespeare’s belligerent father John (Nigel Barrett). During their brief, passionate courtship, Agnes, who is a healer and one with nature, experiences mystical visions of her family and Shakespeare as her soulmate. Throughout the first act, there are moments of foreshadowing of the close relationship between the twins and an ominous event that hangs thick in the air.

The second act picks up a decade forward. Hamnet and Judith are the life’s blood of the home, inseparable and even indistinguishable one from the other. Shakespeare is now well-established in London at the Globe, his company performing before the Queen. Back at home on Henley Street, as Agnes waits for the family to be reunited, Judith is suddenly bed-ridden with only Hamnet there to provide comfort and care until Agnes returns to take charge. Though successful in bringing Judith through the night, Hamnet, who has challenged death to save his sister, falls ill and dies over the three days it takes Shakespeare to return.

Intermixed throughout are vignettes of the players in London, rehearsal scenes and references to Midsummer Night’s Dream, Measure for Measure and Romeo and Juliet—Barrett is hilarious as Globe actor Will Kempe—and a riveting, climactic scene from Hamlet. The shock of a public presentation of a personal tragedy rocks Agnes, compelling her to travel to London with Bartholomew to confront Shakespeare on his perceived insensitivity and discover for herself the powerful relationship between grief, loss and eternal love.

The action unfolds on a massive, multi-story post and beam scenic design that strongly evokes the Globe by Tom Piper who also designed period costumes, all of which utilize bold on-stage transformations that allow the story to move forward remarkably well despite a tendency to linger on exposition in the early going. That is a very minor point since, when the dramatic arc of the story matures, the drama erupts as Cabey’s commanding performance rises to the level of the stellar turns of Jacobs and Alexander, all leading to a revelatory conclusion—every bit as thrilling as one would expect from the world-class partnership between Royal Shakespeare Company and the Chicago Shakespeare Theater.

Audience Notice: Mature themes including scenes of domestic violence, child loss and grief, scenes of childbirth, and depictions of sexual activity.

“Hamnet” runs through March 8 on Navy Pier and then on to the Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, DC (March 17- April 12, 2026), and American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco (April 22 to May 24, 2026).

PHOTO | Kyle Flubacker

Chicago Shakespeare Theater
Royal Shakespeare Company
Neal Street Productions
presents
Hamnet
The Yard
Navy Pier
through March 8, 2026

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PicksInSix Review: Come Back Little Sheba - American Blues Theater

Tight, Immersive ‘Sheba’ at American Blues
PicksInSix® Review | Guest Contributor | Ronald Keaton

There is a fascinating little piece of trivia connected with the lead character Lola in William Inge's breakthrough classic “Come Back Little Sheba” now playing in a tight, immersive production at American Blues Theater's studio space through March 22. Directed in subtle, loving strokes by Associate Artistic Director Elyse Dolan, the play itself was a landmark in its frank portrayal of alcoholism and many of the features of how people deal with it. Film buffs, of course, recall the great 1952 version with Shirley Booth and Burt Lancaster.

Lola and Doc Delaney are a middle-aged couple in a 20-year loveless marriage, thanks to Doc's drinking issues, which have receded for the moment, but have cost him a promising medical career. It's obvious there's not much affection in this house. They have taken on a boarder, Marie, a young college student with lots of energy and ambition—and two boyfriends. Doc sees Marie and does his best to create time with her. He makes breakfast. He comments on her clothing and her appeal. Lola likes her as well; she sees Marie as a reminder, it seems, of her lost beauty-queen youth. Now Lola does everything she can to not be obvious, but she engages in mild flirtation with both the milkman and the mailman, and to them, well, it's pretty obvious. But she perseveres. In fact, one of the great things about Lola is her endless optimism, no matter what it might cost her.

One evening, Marie invites Turk, a star athlete at school and someone she's been dating, over to study. Eventually the evening goes farther in its youthful way, and Marie and Turk spend the night together in her room. In the morning, Doc—who disapproves of such actions in a staid, conservative way—sees Turk leave. It's a trigger for him, a strong one, and he goes out on a drinking binge. It leaves Lola frantic and wondering what happened to make Doc fall off the wagon. She calls Doc's AA friends, who come to fetch him to hospital—but not before Doc has threatened his wife with a hatchet and insults her to no end. After some time in recovery, Doc comes home hesitantly to a wife who is absolutely petrified but remains loyal in an almost misguided way. They vow yet again to try harder to keep their marriage alive.

This writer admits that at first, the play seems creaky and showed its age. After all, our world has grown up and dealt with alcoholism in more mature material, especially on film. But when the engine kicked into gear as the play's conflict is played out, it took us along strongly. It is indeed a play of its time and really was a breakthrough in its willingness to lay out the alcoholic's plight from Mr. Inge's well-established Midwest platform, which in later years produced “Bus Stop,” “Picnic,” and “The Dark at the Top of the Stairs.”

Let there be no doubt that the play belongs to Lola. She's lonely. She's almost broken in spirit, but her commitment to her marriage is rock-solid, and she tries everything she can to keep it alive and filled with whatever passes for love in this house. To be honest, it would be easy to assess her chosen kindness for classic nagging and a kind of mournful cry. The cry displays itself in Lola calling out for her missing pup Sheba every night. There is also no doubt that ABT stalwart Gwendolyn Whiteside is at the top of her game. She's practically unrecognizable as Lola. Her face takes on some of the traits of her husband's disease. She's frumpy and desperate. Yet she's constantly busy with a smile and an emotional exhaustion that makes us riveted in watching her. Ms. Whiteside offer a master class in detail and in disposition in scene work, and it demands our attention.

Philip Earl Johnson is the earnest, shaky Doc, who is like many men of his generation, burying inside the issues they need to face. Maya Lou Hlava gives her Marie the tightly wound, youthful energy needed to stimulate Lola to her own dreams. Ethan Surpan as Turk and Justin Banks as Bruce are Marie's two eager suitors. Joslyn Jones is a bright light as Mrs. Coffman, the next-door neighbor. Scenic designer Shayna Patel has done exceptionally richly detailed work here. And, about that little piece of trivia: When the playwright Inge was himself in AA, he met and observed the wife of another AA member. Her name was Lola and she became the model for the character in this fine play—Mr. Inge’s first—that undeservedly may have fallen in memory. It remains an honest and compelling examination of one of society's great ills.

GUEST CONTRIBUTOR | RONALD KEATON received an Equity Jeff Award for the performance of his one-man show CHURCHILL. www.solochicagotheatre.org.  Coming soon, his new solo play about Ben Franklin, THE FIRST EMBASSY.

PHOTO| Michael Brosilow

American Blues Theater
presents
Come Back Little Sheba
ABT Studio
5627 N Lincoln
through March 22, 2026

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PicksInSix Review: Hedda Gabler - Remy Bumppo Theatre Company

‘Hedda Gabler’: A Woman of Secrets
PicksInSix® Review | Guest Contributor | Ronald Keaton

An interesting take on the great Henrik Ibsen play “Hedda Gabler” is the latest offering from Remy Bumppo Theatre Company at the Theater Wit now through March 8. It was adapted for Roundabout Theater Company in NYC by American playwright Christopher Shinn some years back, and it (along with Remy Bumppo Artistic Director Marti Lyons) aspires to make the play fresh and even a bit modern. It all takes place in the newly purchased home of Jorgen and Hedda Tesman, a spacious and sterile drawing room from scenic designer Joe Schermoly.

The plot, in brief: Hedda and Jorgen have returned from a long honeymoon. In their new home, Hedda finds herself bored with her options and company. Upon their arrival, George realizes his academic rival Ejlert has begun working on a manuscript again. Jorgen doesn't realize that his wife and rival are former lovers. The manuscript could place Jorgen's professional path in jeopardy, while securing Ejlert's future. After a night out, Jorgen finds Ejlert's manuscript which he had lost while drinking; it doesn't help that Ejlert is an alcoholic. Hedda, rather than tell Ejlert that the manuscript has been found, convinces him to kill himself. And she burns the manuscript. After learning his suicide was not the clean death she imagined, she takes her own life.

Hedda is one of the great roles in world theatre and has been compared in some circles as a female Hamlet. Originally the play had a hugely scandalous premiere back in 1891, because it dealt with a woman trapped in a marriage she doesn't want to be in and trying to find her way out. Even the title uses her maiden name, as Mr. Ibsen stirs the creative pot of his realism. There are, of course, the inevitable bourgeois trappings along the way.  A former lover reappears. A judge uses his position liberally to get his way. Her husband is far too committed to his work. There's an aunt whose calling is to be a caretaker to those in her sphere. They all push Hedda to making desperate decisions for all kinds of reasons.

She's a woman full of secrets, owning several of her own. She knows the faux pas of several in her realm, and we don't always understand how she possesses such knowledge here and there. The interesting thing about the Shinn adaptation is that Hedda is constantly fighting for control in her life, as opposed to a traditional life of being manipulated through the elements around her. It gives her own character a more feminist regard, which is both admirable in the story and, at its original production, upsetting to many.

The cast aims gallantly toward that more contemporary retelling. As Hedda, Aurora Real de Asua is at once brittle and desperately commanding, and she wears it all on her sleeve as a unique badge of honor. Indeed, even in enviously observing about one character's suicide that it takes "a special courage" to even consider such a deed—one she purposely drives to make happen in her goal for independence—this Hedda shows us a woman who evolves to taking no prisoners. She wants what she wants, even at the cost of her own life.  And Ms. Real de Asua draws her strong line in the sand. It's difficult to pull together and fascinating in its results.

Eduardo Curley is Jorgen, properly laser-focused on his career while being the doting husband. It could be a thankless role, but Mr. Curley gives it a well-needed clarity. As Judge Brack, Greg Matthew Anderson is just as smooth and smarmy as he can be; the Judge/Hedda scenes are properly driven by his expertise. Felipe Carrasco is a fine Ejlert, the fly in the ointment for Jorgen's ambitions, even as he doesn't really mean to be. His alcoholic breakdown is subtle and highly effective. Annabel Armour once again is such an appealing actor; her tenderness and reserve as Miss Juliane, Jorgen's aunt, is both a light touch and a welcome layer of humor. Gloria Imseih Petrelli offers a strong look at Thea, Ejlert's writing partner and lover, whose own stance at being betrayed is tender and painful. Remy Bumppo stalwart Linda Gillum is a dependable Berte, the maid.

GUEST CONTRIBUTOR | RONALD KEATON received an Equity Jeff Award for the performance of his one-man show CHURCHILL. www.solochicagotheatre.org.  Coming soon, his new solo play about Ben Franklin, THE FIRST EMBASSY.

PHOTO | Michael Brosilow

Remy Bumppo Theatre Company
presents
Hedda Gabler
Theater Wit
1229 W. Belmont Ave
though March 8, 2026

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PicksInSix Review: Holiday - Goodman Theatre

Goodman’s ‘Holiday’: An Unabashed Comic Classic!
PicksInSix® Gold Review | Ed Tracy

The scintillating Robert Falls directed Goodman Theatre world premiere production of the late Richard Greenberg’s stellar final work—a fresh, funny and thoroughly engaging adaptation of Phillip Barry’s 1928 play “Holiday”—may just be the best production of a promising young season of terrific offerings in Chicago. The timeless love story now playing through March 1 on the Albert Theater stage features an exceptional ensemble and a brilliant Walt Spangler scenic design that is a sight to behold.

The action unfolds before, during and after New Year’s 2020. Johnny Case (Luigi Sottile), a lawyer and idealist has fallen for and proposed marriage to Julia (Molly Griggs) before he was aware that she is the daughter of Edward Seton (Jordan Lage), the patriarch of New York’s wealthy Seton dynasty. Upon arrival at the Seton Mansion on Fifth Avenue, Johnny meets Julia’s older sister Linda (Bryce Gangel), a free-spirited individualist and the younger gay brother Ned (Wesley Taylor), a happy-go-lucky aristocrat with a long list of addictions.

The inevitable meeting between the elder Seton and Johnny sets the stage for the story that follows, a confrontation between the ideologies of Seton’s uber wealthy ideals that permeate the family who consider the “only thing better than a lot of money is more money,” and Johnny’s more eclectic course to have enough money to allow life to be fully lived.

The family operates more or less under the will of their father who favors Julia’s burgeoning financial career over Linda’s bohemian lifestyle in Red Hook and Ned’s inept existence at the family home. Favoritism for Julia has driven both Linda and Ned emotionally closer together with each serving as protector for the other. Things start to unravel when Linda offers to plan a quaint New Year’s Eve party to make the couple’s formal announcement only to have Julia invite a guest list in the hundreds. At the party, Linda hides away in the family’s attic playroom with Johnny, Ned, her Brooklyn friends Nikka Washburn (Christiana Clark), and Nikka’s partner, Susan Feld (Jessie Fisher). The imposing cousin, Seton Cram (Erik Hellman) and his wife Laura (Alexandra Esclante) crash the party, the wheels start to come off the wagon, and all plans for the future are up in the air.

The ensemble, which includes Rammel Chan as the estate’s private chef Walter, delivers Greenberg’s witty, razor-sharp dialogue flawlessly, never missing a comic turn-of-the-phrase. That goes double for Taylor who gives the performance of the night. It all plays out on Spangler’s stunning scenic design that transforms from a richly-appointed living room to the expansive attic playroom and back again in the blink of an eye.

With all of the superb technical elements—from Kaye Voyce’s costumes and original music and the sound design by Richard Woodbury to the Amith Chandrashaker’s evocative light design—Goodman’s “Holiday” is an unabashed comic classic!

PHOTO|Todd Rosenberg

Goodman Theatre
presents
World Premiere
HOLIDAY
Albert Theater
170 N Dearborn Street
through March 1, 2026

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PicksInSix Review: The Irish... and How They Got That Way - Porchlight Music Theatre

“We Are The Dreamers Of Dreams.”
PicksInSix® Review | Ed Tracy

There is a bit of the blarney in all of us, whether we celebrate Irish traditions once a year or every day. The Porchlight Music Theatre production of Frank McCourt’s rousing play “The Irish... and How They Got That Way” that opened Friday at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts toasts that indominable spirit in story and song, spanning the bitter dispute between Irish settlers and England, the devastating potato famine and mass emigration of the mid-19th century to the remarkably broad influence of Irish culture in every facet of our American way of life from labor and politics to music, literature and fine arts.

From the moving opening solo of “Butterfly” by Elleon Dobias (the Violinist) and citing Arthur O'Shaughnessy's 1873 "Ode" "We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of dreams" to the resolute U2 anthem “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For,” director David Girolmo and four of Chicago’s finest actor/singers take us through a heart-warming homage to the resilience of Irish heritage in America. McCourt’s spirited piece, with original music arrangements by Rusty Magee, serves up an entirely fresh perspective, working simultaneously as a historical retrospective with lively and poignant storytelling and a lyrical musical song and dance fest that encourages the audience to join in.

The seasoned ensemble—Michael Mahler, Leah Morrow, Emily Goldberg and Luke Nowakoski—each deliver highly-charged, often hilariously comic, solo performances and ensemble numbers under Girolomo’s superbly-paced direction with fine work by music director David Fiorello. Fiorello, the Pianist, also performs a touching rendition of “Danny Boy” and provided additional musical arrangements. Violinist Dobias adds percussion and Mahler plays guitar during the show that features well over thirty songs in all.

The storyline, supported by the beautifully performed score—an arc that reminds us of the painful challenges and staggering consequences of all immigrants to America—is a sweeping historical panorama. The players remain on stage throughout with minimal costume embellishments, pivoting effortlessly as the narrative elements shift between them allowing a charming variety of individual characters to emerge along the way.

Girolomo has a long history with the show dating back to the Chicago debut production over three decades ago. With staging designed by Tianxuam Chen—a rustic, wooden crossover upstage framed by tall ship sails and a modestly-sized video panel with imaging and lighting by G. Max Maxim IV—allows the show to unfold with ease, celebrating the people and accomplishments through the years with honest, heartfelt references to notables from the past to present day.

It’s the unique spirit of the piece that makes Porchlight’s “The Irish” a musical feast that is sure to be an audience favorite in the weeks leading up to St. Patrick’s Day in Chicago. It’s a terrific night out and a vivid reminder that we all have an origin story connected in infinite ways through our ability to overcome hardships, foster respect for each other, and live our best lives with dignity and purpose—a message that applies to every one of us during the times in which we live.

PHOTO | Anthony Robert La Penna

Porchlight Music Theatre
presents
The Irish… and How They Got That Way
Ruth Page Center for the Arts
1016 N. Dearborn Street
through March 15, 2026

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PicksInSix Review: The Dance of Death - Steppenwolf Theatre Company

Steppenwolf Steps Boldly Into Strindberg’s ‘Dance’
PicksInSix® Review | Guest Contributor | Ronald Keaton

Now playing at Steppenwolf through March 22, the Swedish playwright August Strindberg's taut, visceral play “The Dance of Death” is a story of a power struggle within a long marriage, the emotional abuse it produces, and the influence of societal laws on personal relationships. And in a remarkable adaptation by the great Irishman Conor McPherson, it becomes more than just a dark comedy full of societal turmoil as molded from the grand hands of a Steppenwolf stalwart, director Yasen Peyankov.

There are three characters in this play, all filled with their angst. The story is about a married couple storming quite haphazardly toward their 25th wedding anniversary. They hate each other in brutal and ferocious ways. The husband, who is called Captain, is an artilleryman who rules his home with a military fervor of iron. His wife, Alice, is a former actress. They live in isolation on an island— it doesn't matter where it is. Their two children don't live with them, as their parents have methodically turned them against the other parent. The Captain is having heart problems and may not have long to live. Alice sometimes plays the piano as her husband dances a kind of bizarre sword pattern. As he dances, she hopes it might kill him, and he threatens to cut her out of his will. Enter Kurt, a distant cousin to Alice, and the man who introduced the couple to each other. Kurt has his own history about him. He's divorced and the courts have banned him from contact with his own children. Kurt has come to the island to, as he says, "find peace"... read: got religion. Both Captain and Alice have their own versions of Kurt's role in their beginnings. All three are doggedly distrusting of life and of each other.

Jeff Perry offers one of the most eccentric, unique comic performances imaginable as the dominating Captain. It's complex and challenging, almost Pythonesque. In these experienced hands, Captain is at once a full-on monster of a marriage partner, only to be self-denigrating and capricious in his authoritarian revealing of his own inferiority. With an ever-present mustache and brass-buttoned coat, Mr. Perry grabs us from his first entrance with a wild walk and interpretation that forces us to hold on in its creative joy. Thank you, costume designer Ana Kuzmanic.

Kathryn Erbe as Alice, the long-suffering yet dish-it-back wife, is also elegantly inflated in her opinion of herself. Alice has funneled her theatrical ways into her married life. So many of her responses, while just as withering, take on a sniper's mount. Ms. Erbe is simply marvelous in her expertise here. The entire relationship moves almost violently toward an obvious, modern comparison—Edward Albee and his George and Martha. Both couples can only express their hate and anger in such ways that somehow the codependency evolves into a strange kind of love. And unlike Martha, who lets it all go all the time, this Alice takes her shots carefully without much raising of the voice.

Alice and Kurt show a sexualized regard for each other, one that takes a bit of a side trip into aggressive behavior. Kurt (Cliff Chamberlain as a man seemingly unaware of his own weaknesses in character) is, at first, so innocent and righteous, dazzled by the emotional battle in front of him. Then he lets his guard down, expresses his long-dormant attraction to Alice, and realizes the predicament into which he has arrived. It all, of course, drives him out the door with the proclamation "You both deserve this hell you've created!" Mr. Chamberlain is both charming and powerful.

The monolithic castle the couple lives in was born from the fertile imagination of scenic designer Collette Pollard. Lee Fiskness creates a lighting design of wide variety, with subtle tones in the family battleground area combined with sharp, revealing shafts of light and shading. Ultimately, one might rightfully ask what makes such desecration of the human spirit so funny. In the knowing minds of both Mr. Strindberg and Mr. McPherson, we are held in total thrall by an excellent cast and crew that step so boldly toward such storytelling.

GUEST CONTRIBUTOR | RONALD KEATON received an Equity Jeff Award for the performance of his one-man show CHURCHILL. www.solochicagotheatre.org.  Coming soon, his new solo play about Ben Franklin, THE FIRST EMBASSY.

PHOTO|

Steppenwolf Theatre Company
presents
The Dance of Death
Downstairs Theater
1650 North Halsted Street
through March 22, 2026

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PicksInSix Review: Salome - Lyric Opera of Chicago

“A Dark and Enthralling Operatic Experience”
PicksInSix® Review | Guest Contributor | Kaitlyn Linsner

Richard Strauss’s “Salome” premiered in Chicago in 1910 and caused such uproar that after two performances, the opera was moved to Milwaukee. Soprano Mary Garden starred in the title role with a portrayal of the unsettling teenage princess that the president of the Chicago Law and Order League called “disgusting” in a letter to the Chief of Police. What a scandalous and iconic debut.

Now, after a twenty-year absence, “Salome” returns to the Lyric Opera of Chicago as provocative as ever. This North American premiere of Sir David McVicar’s production, directed by Julia Burbach, examines greed, lust, delusion, and obsession against a brutalist, raw concrete backdrop in 1930s fascist Italy. This production also marks my very first experience at the opera. What a thrilling and delightfully gory introduction to the art form.

Based on Oscar Wilde’s one-act play, “Salome” beautifully captures a dark world of limitless power and entitlement. Salome (Jennifer Holloway) leaves a lavish dinner party to escape the lustful and predatory gaze of her stepfather Herod (Alex Boyer). She then discovers the mesmerizing voice of Jochanaan (Nicholas Brownlee) imprisoned below the basement and demands to see him. Salome convinces Narraboth (Ryan Capozzo), a man utterly infatuated with her, to release the prophet momentarily so she can promptly appease her fascinations. Feelings escalate for Salome, and she quickly descends into a ravenous obsession with Jochanaan which drives an unrelenting pursuit of his adoration and affection. Jochanaan, however, denies every single one of her advances. He remains steadfast in his repulsion, curses Salome, curses her mother, and then returns to the prison.

Following this haunting display, and brilliant vocal performance, of Salome’s desperation and the prophet’s rejection, Herod, Salome’s mother Herodias (Tanja Ariane Baumgartner) and the dinner guests enter the basement for more madness. Jochanaan continues his misogynistic railing against Herodias from the cistern. Dinner guests argue over theology. The powerful orchestra under Tomáš Netopil delivers drama and extravagance. Herod remains fixated on Salome and promises her anything she wants if she dances for him. Despite her mother’s protests, Salome accepts the offer and the infamous “Dance of the Seven Veils” begins. In this staging, Salome performs the dance for her stepfather with hesitation. She struggles with the power she yields over Herod, and the brooding set design (Es Devlin and revival lighting design by Chris Maravich) creates an undertone of distress, not eroticism. As they move through the changing environments, we too experience her inner turmoil, and for those who chose not to read the synopsis beforehand like myself, we wonder which of Salome’s desires pushes her to undergo such deep and twisted pain.

Is it love? Surely love cannot be what drives Salome to demand the prophet’s head on a silver platter in exchange for her dance. But what is love in a palace of egomania? To have? To hold? Herod offers Salome jewels, royalty, land, anything else, and yet, all Salome wants is the head of a man who denied her—the “scarlet viper” tongue that “spat its venom” upon her. She gets his head, of course, delivered by a naked executioner no less, and then begins a mesmerizing near 17-minute monologue completely detached from reality. Covered in his blood, she lays with Jochanaan’s head, toggling between boasting about how she can kiss him now and lamenting over how he still will not return her gaze. Holloway’s commanding, all-consuming performance and the shocking conclusion left me stunned in the best way.

Between the dark story, history, powerful vocalists, cold and jarring staging, and dramatic score, I have not seen anything quite like “Salome.” The production works well as an introduction to opera while also showcasing the high-level vocal artistry, raw emotion, beautiful music, and an epic set design that I am told veteran opera-goers love. I feel compelled to express my gratitude to the Lyric, the production team, and the company for this memorable experience. Brava! Bravo! Well done!

GUEST CONTRIBUTOR | KAITLYN LINSNER serves as an Assistant Attorney General in the Public Utilities Bureau of the Office of the Illinois Attorney General.

PHOTO CREDIT
Kyle Flubacker
Andrew Cioffi

Lyric Opera of Chicago
presents
Salome
20 North Wacker Drive
through February 14, 2026

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PicksInSix Review: Stereophonic - Broadway in Chicago

Rumour Has It: The Radio Edit
PicksInSix® Review | Guest Contributor | Sarah Frances Fiorello

In 2024, “Stereophonic” made history garnering a whopping 13 Tony Award nominations, the most ever received by a play. It went on to win five Tony Awards, as well as a smattering of Drama League Awards, Outer Critics Circle Awards. The prior year, it brought home an impressive seven Drama Desk Awards from its off-Broadway production at Playwrights Horizons. A shortened version of the play, dubbed as “The Radio Edit” by writer David Adjmi, is embarking on its First National Tour, opening Wednesday and playing at Broadway In Chicago’s CIBC Theatre through February 8.

The play begins nearly mid-sentence, dropping us in without a running start to the durational drama of seven characters (eight if you count the recreational drugs)—five bandmates and two sound engineers—who bear a striking and legally controversial resemblance to “Fleetwood Mac,” the subject of a now-settled lawsuit over the story loosely tracing the recording of “Rumours,” the legendary and notorious album. “Stereophonic” spans one year in four acts, over roughly 2 hours and 50 minutes of stage time, cut from its Broadway run time of 3 hours and 10 minutes. We watch this group of deeply talented and deeply troubled musicians struggle with their rising fame, inner demons, and what it means to gain the world while simultaneously losing the most important things in it: all while making a live, one-of-a-kind album right before our eyes.

There’s much to appreciate about this production, not the least of which is a truly talented group of multi-hyphenate artists who, for nearly three hours, deliver faithfully to their characters, the story, and, well, a delightfully nostalgic ‘70s vibe. Christopher Mowod as the lovable drunk-sober-drunk again Reg is charming and heartbreaking, all wrapped up in one.  Jack Barrett as Grover shows us what it’s like to love something so much, you’d go to hell and back for it, and how to perfectly time the swivel of a chair to get a laugh from an 1,800-seat theatre. Denver Milord as Peter gives us a front row seat on his genius-narcissist rollercoaster, while Claire Dejean as Diana, his lover and bandmate, suffers underfoot. And did I mention? They do all this while recording a live, one-of-a-kind album, right before our very eyes.

This play takes its time. It settles into long pauses and relishes in the pedestrian and mundane dialogue you very well might hear sitting around with a group of friends or artists who don’t realize they are on stage and responsible for entertaining you. It moves at a pace that mimics the painstaking and methodical slowness of making something excellent. It details the granularity of perfection and the all-too-common breakdown that accompanies it. I minded none of these things. In a time when entertainment moves at frames per second as if cooked in a microwave oven, I was grateful to slow all the way down to sit with these characters on a cold January evening in Chicago.

That said, I was left wanting more. Having not seen the Broadway production, the version that made a big splash and churned out tons of happy patrons, I can’t say for sure what is lacking here or what changed. Perhaps it has lost layers of character development when trimming down to “The Radio Edit” version—those small twists and turns that are revelatory, allowing us to see ourselves in the characters and have compassion for them. The plot—while intentionally left at a low hum—felt muddied. Some points were under-developed, like the relationship between Holly and Reg, and others overly-stressed, like Peter’s run amok, self-destructive journey. Maybe something intimate is foregone in moving to a theatre house nearly double the size of the Golden Theatre, where it received such a warm Broadway reception. Maybe something is lost in moving the show, period. Some spaces are sacred and carry a bit of magic. Just like the recording studios legendary musicians have been flocking to for decades.

Still: go see “Stereophonic.”  I will always advocate that a night at the theatre is a night well spent and that theatre doesn’t need to be great or perfect to be moving or important. Anything that reveals our shared humanity, especially right now, is worthy of our time. Go enjoy some classic rock music, composed by Arcade Fire’s Will Butler, performed in a setting that—in the context of the music industry—that is all but ancient history.

GUEST CONTRIBUTOR | SARAH FRANCES FIORELLO is a graduate of Shenandoah Conservatory with a BFA in Music Theatre and a Chicago-based poet, writer, and performer.  Instagram: @writtenbysarahfrances

PHOTO|Julieta Cervantes

Broadway in Chicago
presents
First National Tour
Stereophonic
CIBC Theatre
17 East Adams Street
through February 8, 2026

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PicksInSix Review: Birds of North America - A Red Orchid Theatre

The Father-Daughter Emotional Field Guide.
PicksInSix® Review | Guest Contributor | Sarah Frances Fiorello

Nestled snugly in their intimate Old Town storefront performance space, A Red Orchid Theatre is lighting a slow, smoldering fire of generational drama with the Chicago Premiere of “Birds of North America” set to warm the coldest of Chicago winter nights.

John and his daughter, Caitlyn, are birding from John’s backyard in suburban Maryland, while the two travel through a decade of relational touchpoints. Stage lights rise and fall on this father-daughter duo, marking the many seasons of their respective lives as well as demonstrating time’s ability to erode even the most certain of those seasons. John and Caitlyn peer through their binoculars searching for rare birds, while simultaneously searching for the missing connection within their relationship. Like those elusive winged creatures, they never quite seem to find each other, despite their love and obvious devotion. Their profound humanity in continuing to try will have you rooting for them until the final curtain.

What the ensemble of A Red Orchid Theatre manages to produce in what I’d affectionately call a “micro” theatre space is inspiring and invigorating with “Birds of North America” being no exception: there is nowhere to hide from the themes playwright Anna Ouyang Moench asks us to examine. Her writing nearly demands us to think with adequate complexity on “Us vs. Them” political and philosophical arguments, taking big swings at touchy ideologies: privilege of principle-based living and “working to live vs. living to work” chief among them. Her writing is compassionate while necessarily confrontational—pushing on that stubborn wall between our differing views, pulling on our shared humanity to connect in spite of it.

“Birds of North America” is directed by A Red Orchid Theatre Artistic Director Kirsten Fitzgerald and features standout original composition by Composer and Sound Designer Ethan Korvne. The play’s soundscape is contemplative, gentle, and stirring, offering a surprisingly moving touch to the feel of the story with Morgan Laszlo’s rustic scenic design matched by Seojung Jang’s lighting design. On a particularly blustery winter night, I was warmed to the core by this striking, original, powerful new work.

Equity Jeff-Award winner Cassidy Slaughter-Mason offers a composed and contemplative performance as Caitlyn. Deftly portraying the woes and realities of young adult life in the 21st Century, we share her hope against hope that her science-minded father might understand her, as a person first and a statistic second. A Red Orchid Theatre Ensemble Member John Judd expertly unravels the character of John, a committed conservationist and scientist who isn’t entirely wrong in his staunch pragmatism but often fails to see exactly why that matters. There are about as many iterations of father-daughter struggles as there are bird calls in the wild; this piece drills down to the essence of them all, managing to capture something deeply personal while being sweepingly universal and hauntingly specific.

“Birds of North America” is playing now through February 22nd at A Red Orchid Theatre and is worth braving whatever snow and cold may stand between you and their space on Wells St. There is no need to brush up on your North American Field Guide before attending, but you may find yourself wanting to dig it out on your way home. Before bundling up to attend the theatre, leave it on your nightstand as the second special treat of the evening.

CONTENT ADVISORY: This production includes discussion of miscarriage and brief violence.

GUEST CONTRIBUTOR | SARAH FRANCES FIORELLO is a graduate of Shenandoah Conservatory with a BFA in Music Theatre and a Chicago-based poet, writer, and performer. Instagram: @writtenbysarahfrances

PHOTO|Evan Hanover

A Red Orchid Theatre
presents
Chicago Premiere
Birds of North America
1531 North Wells Street
through February 22, 2026

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DRAW THE CURTAIN. DIM THE LIGHTS. MEMORABLE PERFORMANCE PICKS FOR 2025

DRAW THE CURTAIN. DIM THE LIGHTS.
Memorable Performance Picks for 2025
PicksInSix® Review | Ed Tracy

It is hard to believe that CONVERSATIONS|PicksInSix® turned ten this year. To be honest, with the shutdown, it feels a bit more like the second act of a ten scene play with an overly long intermission. The post-pandemic era in which we live still has mighty challenges for the performing arts, but the new normal has had a spirited rebirth that continues to provide a wide range of offerings to Chicago audiences.

It is always a challenge to single out the memorable moments of the shows we cover each year, including both onstage artists and off stage creative teams. We cannot see everything, but we try to do our best in theaters across the city and suburbs as well as the work of producers who bring their projects for Chicago’s diverse and discerning audiences.

Among the notable productions in that last category that fall outside the year-end review were “Sunny Afternoon,” and “Billy Jean” at Chicago Shakespeare, “Kimberly Akimbo,” “Parade” and “The Sound of Music” at Broadway in Chicago and the touring production of “Les Miserables” that we saw at Broadway in South Bend with Chicago’s own Matt Crowle in the role of Thenardier. Chicago’s Larry Yando is still out making magic on the road with “Harry Potter,” as are the wonderful Heidi Kettenring and Gene Weygandt with “A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical” and a rising star we think you will be hearing a lot more about, Darilyn Burtley, who is touring as Tina Turner in “Tina.” Chicago talent is making an impression everywhere.

There were some disappointments, too, chiefly that “BOOP! The Musical,” with the stunning Jasmine Amy Rogers and Steppenwolf’s “Little Bear Ridge Road,” with the captivating Laurie Metcalf, did not transfer well to New York after sensational runs in town.  

Chicago is a creative laboratory for theatre, despite the challenges facing everyone at a time when our arts and live performance creators are reimagining operating models. It is a big lift to maintain the delicate balance between developing new talent and consistently presenting ambitious, unique and profitable projects. The responsibility for future success does not rest with one faction. It will take the combined efforts of emerging artists, educators, every theatre company and their leadership working with angel donors, sponsors, technical professionals and volunteer organizations like the Jeff Committee to infuse energy, enthusiasm and financial support.

It is a business, however, and all creative artists involved deserve to be respected for their own investment and given the opportunity to earn a living doing what they do so well. One of the most exciting developments evolving now is the three-year, $600,000 grant from the Paul M. Angell Foundation for Theater Wit's Shared Spaces program that allows the organization to offer reduced rates to producing companies. Imagine if other like-minded philanthropists joined to establish a universal live production endowment, perhaps managed independently on a pro-bono basis by a group of investment and industry professionals who distributed funds solely for the benefit and sustainability of performing artistic organizations in Chicago. If you would like to talk about the possibilities, let’s get in touch.

In the meantime, there are dozens of individuals who dedicate their time and talent to the Chicago theatre community. Our regional and national publicists provide invaluable, comprehensive support—at all times of the day and night—and allow the media access to create features, promotional pieces and reviews. It’s an honor to be invited and a responsibility that we all take very seriously. Thank you!

The brilliant Chicago theatre photographers like Michael Brosilow, Brett Beiner, Joe Mazza, Todd Rosenberg, Evan Hanover, Kyle Flubacker, Justin Barbin, Boris Martin and videographers HMS Media, among many others, commit their expertise and professionalism to document these productions and preserve a vivid archive for future generations. A special mention to the late Rich Hein (a/k/a/ Liz Lauren) whose passing this year was a stunning loss. Our gallery tribute was a testament to only a small portion of his work over a decades long photographic career.

This year CONVERSATIONS|PicksInSix® celebrated 10 years creating a fascinating archive of conversations and hundreds of reviews that would have not been possible without the support of writers like Ronald Keaton, Scott Gryder, Kaitlyn Linsner, Sarah Frances Fiorello, Catey Sullivan and Regina Belt-Daniels. Thank you most sincerely. Special thanks to the American Theatre Critics/Journalists Association and Theatre in Chicago’s Mark Meyer for coalescing critical reviews for the public at large.

In the end, it’s all about the show. Our thanks to all of the artists and organizations who invited us to share in their productions. Each performance is a new and exciting experience. What follows, in alphabetical order, are a few of the memorable moments, with a link to the review, from the shows that stood out as among the best and brightest for 2025:

Shanésia Davis – The storyline of the classic “A Raisin in the Sun” at Court Theatre, directed by Senior Artistic Producer Gabrielle Randle-Bent, is largely based on playwright Lorraine Hansberry’s own experiences growing up on the South Side of Chicago. The brilliant company was led by the riveting performance of Shanésia Davis as Lena ‘Mama’ Younger, the matriarch of the family. Simply astounding! P6

Sean Fortunato – Over the years, Sean Fortunato has expertly been reshaping dramatic, comic and musical roles on stages across the city and suburbs. This year, Fortunato shined in Marriott’s “Catch Me If You Can” but it was his inspired take on Dogberry in Chicago Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing”—which you can still see on stage there—that has elevated his comic abilities to a new level of entertainment. A tour-de-force performance! P6  

David Girolmo – For decades, working actors like David Girolmo go whenever and wherever the job sends them. Thankfully this year, we have had two opportunities to view this fine actor at work. In “Titanic” at Marriott Theatre, Girolmo’s Captain E.J. Smith was dashing, stalwart and vulnerable. Now playing in Paramount’s glorious production of “White Christmas,” Girolmo renders a commanding performance as the beloved General Waverly. A stately and superb craftsman! P6

 “Jeykll & Hyde” – Simply everything about Derek Van Barham’s direction of the Kokandy production at Chopin Theater was fabulous on opening night, from the soaring vocals of David Moreland, Ava Lane Stovall and Emily McCormick, Brenda Didier’s dynamic choreography, the on-stage presence of a 15-piece orchestra, and a multi-talented ensemble under the extraordinary musical direction of Nick Sula. Still playing at Chopin with limited availability. P6

Michelle Lauto – One of our favorite shows of the year, Paramount’s “Waitress,” starred Michelle Lauto as Jenna whose transition in life plays out in a single moment of truth in Lauto’s stunning, soul-searching rendition of “She Used to Be Mine.” A stunner! P6

James Sherman – Ronald Keaton wrote that “First Lady of Television” is “Sherman's marvelous, articulate plunge into show business history,” with William Dick and Cindy Gold playing beautifully together. “This is an ensemble play built on purpose and earnest leanings, as playwright Sherman shows us all, despite the history we think we know, what was still good in that time and place.” P6

A very worthy final bow to: 

Roberts Falls’ directorial debut of “Amadeus” at Steppenwolf and Charles Newell’s “Berlin.” Each one quite simply a masterpiece! … the captivating stage presence of Aurora Penepacker in Kokandy’s “Amélie.” More please! … the depth and experience of Francis Guinan on full display in Goodman’s “Ashland Avenue” … Phoebe Gonzalez’s bravura performance in Writers’ “As You Like It”…  puppet master Jesse Mooney-Bullock’s stunning work on Marriott’s “Nemo” … exceptional scenic designers Collette Pollard (Northlight’s “Gaslight” and Marriott’s “Titanic: The Musical”) and Andrew Boyce (Court Theatre’s “A Raisin in the Sun” and Writer’s “Translations”) and a few world-class stocking stuffers: Liz Callaway:To Steve with Love, the live concert tribute to Stephen Sondheim (as seen and heard at the Studebaker Theater) … Paul Marinaro’s – Mood Ellington and Elaine Dame’s – Reminiscing. You can still order all of them in time for Christmas!

Happy Holidays!

See you on the other side of the aisle!

Ed Tracy is an award-winning television and webcast producer, author, editor and program host. A career nonprofit professional, Tracy is President of Roxbury Road Creative, LLC, a professional management company and is a licensed real estate agent with Cressy & Everett Real Estate in St. Joseph, Michigan. CONVERSATIONS|PicksInSix® reviews theatre in Chicago and throughout the Midwest. American Theatre Critics/Journalists Association

PHOTO Credits: Michael Brosilow, Brett Beiner, Joe Mazza, Todd Rosenberg, Evan Hanover, Kyle Flubacker, Justin Barbin, Boris Martin

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PicksInSix Review: Manual Cinema's "Christmas Carol" - Studebaker Theater

PHANTASMIC: SCROOGE OF SHADOW AND STRINGS!
PicksInSix® Review | Guest Contributor | Sarah Fiorello

Emmy Award-winning Manual Cinema returns to the historic Studebaker Theater with their one-of-a-kind production of “Christmas Carol,” adapted from the Charles Dickens novel.  Now in its fifth year, “Christmas Carol” was born on Zoom screens during the pandemic in December 2020 before moving to Writer’s Theatre in 2022 where it was first mounted for a live audience. This classic story, playing through December 28th, is reimagined in a way that is sure to give you hope for not just the holiday season, but for the future of live performance.

Manual Cinema is a Chicago-born performance collective founded in 2010, perhaps most known for “The Forger,” their 2017 Emmy Award-winning video for The New York Times. A modern take that is true to the novel, “Christmas Carol” is redefining theatricality with their multimodal approach to this stage adaptation: shadow puppetry, original live music, multi-screen cameras and projections, puppets, actors, and most importantly: heart.

As the houselights dim, we drop in on Aunt Trudy, spending her first Christmas alone after the passing of Joe, her husband/long-time partner/it’s just a little bit complicated. Left to begrudgingly carry on his Christmas Eve tradition for her quasi-in-laws, Aunt Trudy stumbles through a half-hearted performance of Joe’s Christmas Carol puppet show, amidst the pandemic familiarities of no contact food delivery and above average alcohol consumption. Before long, we see the lines blur between the story Trudy is telling and her own, as her ‘For Sale’ home fills with the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future.

The story is seamlessly anchored by LaKecia Harris’s performance as Aunt Trudy, and the production comes to vivid life with storyboards and puppet design by Co-Artistic Director Drew Dir (with additional puppet design and fabrication by the Chicago Puppet Studio) and original score and sound design by Co-Artistic Directors Ben Kauffman and Kyle Vegster. With a stellar group of live musicians, magic-making puppeteers, and reportedly over 300 cues of live, prerecorded sound effects, “Christmas Carol” accomplishes something fresh, unique, and at the cutting-edge of human-powered creativity.

Manual Cinema’s creators of “Christmas Carol” lean into the emotional heart of this story and the holiday season, not shying away from the flip side of all that holiday cheer: the inevitable sadness of lost loved ones. This production provides a space to journey through grief and joy, isolation and connection, regret and compassion. It brings as much heart as it does ingenuity: a truly special night of theatre.

I’ll be back before the holiday season is out, no doubt with a friend or two in tow. Manual Cinema has found a new supporter in me, and I look forward to their next local production “The 4th Witch”—an inversion of Macbeth—presented as part of the International Puppet Theater Festival in January. I’ll be hard pressed to miss whatever future phantasms Manual Cinema brings to Chicago, keeping creativity alive and well in our fair Second City.

GUEST CONTRIBUTOR | SARAH FRANCES FIORELLO is a graduate of Shenandoah Conservatory with a BFA in Music Theatre and a Chicago-based poet, writer, and performer. Instagram: @writtenbysarahfrances

PHOTO|Jenn Udoni, Franco Images

Manual Cinema
presents
Christmas Carol
Studebaker Theater
Fine Arts Building
410 S Michigan Avenue
through Dcember 28

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PicksInSix Q & A: In The Fast Lane with Hadestown's T. Oliver Reid

In The Fast Lane with Hadestown’s T. Oliver Reid
PicksInSix® Q & A | Ed Tracy

T. Oliver Reid, the accomplished 20-year Broadway veteran, cabaret performer, choreographer and educator, was an original member of the Tony Award-winning company of “Hadestown,” and served as dance captain and cover for principle roles before taking over the role of Hermes after Broadway legend André De Shields. The show continues to be an integral part of his professional career as choreographer for the second national tour that has production dates coming up at South Bend’s Morris Performing Arts Center December 19-21. We caught up via Zoom recently as Reid drove from New York to Philadelphia for the evening’s performance of the show, a true testament to his ability to multi-task, even at 70 miles an hour.

Reid credits the influence and encouragement of his musical family and teachers in Gastonia, North Carolina for his strong interest in the performing arts. He received a music scholarship at the North Carolina School of the Arts—now the University of North Carolina School of the Arts—with an eye on a completely different career trajectory in architecture that never materialized. Immediately upon graduation, Reid was cast in the 2nd national tour of “Once On This Island,” honed his choreographic skills and connected with a small circle of creatives who were all destined for Broadway success.

At about the same time, in the Green Mountains of Vermont, Anaïs Mitchell was developing a fascinating project of her own, a folk-opera based on the Greek myth of the tragic love story of Orpheus and Eurydice and the story of Hades and Persephone. “Hadestown” evolved through early development concerts in Vermont and workshops that led to a 2010 concept album. In 2012, Mitchell joined forces with director Rachel Chavkin and the project continued to coalesce with workshops in New York and Canada. Reid recalls that he was among those who heard the captivating score early on and felt an irresistible connection to the material.

Fast forward to 2019 and the Broadway run that received 14 Tony Award nominations and 8 Tony Awards including Best Musical, Original Score and Best Performance in a Featured Role for André De Shields. The stars in Reid’s universe aligned when in 2022, he was cast as Hermes. Later that year, Reid became the co-choreographer with David Neumann for the first national tour and, in 2024, the choreographer of the second national tour, along with serving on the production’s expanding creative development team.

All this and maintaining a faculty position at Rider College in Lawrenceville, New Jersey keep Reid busy these days as one of the connecting creatives responsible for the continuing success of the national tour and lots of other exciting irons in the fire for the future.

The following has been edited for clarity and length.

Ed Tracy: You are a skilled choreographer and you joined this show as dance captain, however, the choreography in this show is a different than most Broadway shows.

T Oliver Reid: For sure. And I think that is why I was so daunted and why David Neumann, the choreographer, and I have gotten along so well. The previous show that I danced captain was “Once On This Island” working with Camille Brown, who is a contemporary choreographer dancer as well. I understand the way that their brains want to work, and that it is about movement and how they move. Then I add the numbers to it—the one through eight—so that things can be set and be recreated on different people as casts are changing. I think it’s been a good combination for me being able to work with people who come from the contemporary dance world. And for me, I happen to have facility to dance, but I truly come from a singing world. Musically, I hear everything and I understand where movement needs to be with the music. That's why it has been such a good fit with “Hadestown.”

ET: Well, I have spoken with André De Shields often and I have to say that it is quite an experience to spend even 10 minutes in a room with André. You can learn a lot, but taking over the role from him must have been quite a moving experience.

TOR: It was and (André) is one of the reasons that I wanted to do this show, to be able to watch him and understand how he brings the role together. I got to do that and then when the offer came for me to take over the role, it was the moment of “This is great!” and now I need to strip away some André and find the T, holding onto the things that really worked for me and resonated, but also then finding my own voice within the character within what I already knew of it from André. Hearing the text that Anaïs has written so beautifully, but really hearing it through my own voice, my own lens, so I could figure out where the pauses were for me, where there were commas within sentences, where the periods were, and when there was breadth in a way that didn't feel like it was a carbon copy of something that André had already done.

ET: Why do you think Hadestown is such a popular piece?

TOR: I think we are all looking for these stories of love and redemption, understanding and also the beauty of what Hermes says: We're going to tell this story until we get it right. And the audience is a witness, and they are an active member of the storytelling in this show. And there are things that we are going through—our humanity—that we have not gotten right yet, that we have not understood. We have not treated each other well and not treated the planet well. Until that full circle moment comes where we get that understanding and we fix all of the things that we have broken, we have to stay here, we have to continue to tell the story.

I am a firm believer—and I'm not sure where this this came from early on—that we are put on this planet until we learn all the lessons we need to learn. Once we have learned them, we can move on. I think this story has a bit of that feeling that until we have learned all the lessons that we need to learn, we have to tell this story again. We get to hear Hermes in any of the forms, give us the okay to tell the story. We get to see and hear this story about Hades and Persephone and where they are in this millennia old love story that they are telling. We get to see this young love (between Orpheus and Eurydice) and what that means and what you are willing to do for that.

ET: It is a fascinating story, musically generated out of the brilliant mind of Anaïs Mitchell, the Vermont resident who created the show. It went through many developmental workshops throughout the northeast, in Canada and then back to New York. And after your time with the show on Broadway, you became associate choreographer for the first tour and now choreographer for the second tour. Talk about the transition from the Broadway experience to the tour experience.

TOR: Well, part of the transition is that I am also full-time faculty member at Rider University in New Jersey. When the offer came for me to take over Hermes, I did not know if it was sustainable for me to do eight shows a week and be a full-time teacher. We had the conversation and the contract was the length that it was so that at the end of the contract, I could focus on school. It also meant that because of the institutional knowledge that I had of the show, the thing that made sense was for me to move into the role of associate choreographer so that I could still be there and help maintain the show and the choreography.

I have always known at some point that I would be teaching. It is a part of the journey of those who have some type of wisdom in something and to be able to impart that wisdom on a younger generation. I come from a family that is steeped in the educational system in this country, especially my hometown of Gastonia, North Carolina. Knowing that, I no longer needed to be on stage in that way. There are those who have that aching to be a star and luckily the universe puts them in those positions. That has never really been my journey.

ET: And you bring back to the classroom all of this hands-on experience that others do not have. And fortunate for those students to have professional, real world experience to tap into. The first tour lasted for four years. It was an Equity tour and ended in May 2024 and then the second tour picked up in October. How does that impact what you're doing now?

TOR: It has been a lot of compartmentalizing.

ET: You had the summer to put things together?

TOR: Yes. The second national tour is wildly different from the first national tour, which is different from Broadway. We have found ways to restage and re-choreograph the show so that the story makes sense for the staging and the set that we have and it feels like it is a new and inspired telling of the show.

There are some projections involved, but the humans on stage—the workers, the fates, the principles—are a vital part of the storytelling and how the story moves literally and figuratively around the stage.

ET: Talk about a regular week of your life in terms of dropping in on the cast wherever they are. How does that work out for you?

TOR: It is a lot of time on a calendar, making sure that everything lines up in the way that it needs to. I got up this morning in New York, went to physical therapy, drove to Lawrenceville, New Jersey so I could teach at Rider, and then got on the road to Philadelphia where the tour is this week. We are going to watch the show tonight, have rehearsal tomorrow, watch the show tomorrow night, then drive back to New York for a rehearsal of a reading of a new musical. Every week is a little different. I know if I have to see the tour in a month that I probably have already planned out with company management, booked flights that do not have a lot of stops, so I can get in and out as easily as possible to get back to the other things that have to happen in New York. And that may mean going to the Broadway company to watch a show there, take notes that may be a cleanup rehearsal with the workers on Broadway, and then figuring out the rest of the schedule. The beautiful thing about “Hadestown” is that there are multiple companies. I helped set the company this past summer in Amsterdam, working it out so that we could be there for eight weeks and then come back and get new people into the Broadway company. In September, we had a couple of new company members that joined the second national tour and got them ready before that show went out on the road.

ET: How often do you see Rachel or Anaïs along the way?

TOR: I see Rachel more frequently in New York because she has so many projects going on and will come out on the road. The show is going to Burlington, Vermont, so she will definitely be there. If there is a place that is close by or she happens to need to see the show somewhere like this summer in Amsterdam, she happened to be traveling and stopped in so that she could see that production. The entire creative team is still very attached to the show.

ET: Anaïs Mitchell is probably the most famous Vermonter since Calvin Coolidge or maple syrup. It is an extraordinary piece of work to put this thing together and also put all these creative people around her to bring it to what it has become. You have been involved with this show for over seven years. Does it feel the same as it did day one?

TOR: No. Do I still have the same love for the show and the material that I did day one? Absolutely! I think the beauty of this show—and seeing so many people tell it over the years—is that the show changes and has a life of its own with new breath from the people who are inhabiting these roles. This is so unexpected the way that they are sharing the information with us. And that is because of who they are as human beings. Every time there is someone new, it feels like there is a new telling of the story in these roles because of what each of us brings to the table. All of those experiences of love, loss and misunderstanding that each of the humans playing these five principles. That is something that feels so special about this show, allowing the individuals who come in and inhabit the roles for however long they do to really breathe that life into them.

 The 2nd national tour of “Hadestown” has multiple performance dates coming up including The Flynn Theatre, Burlington, VT (Dec 13-14) and The Morris Performing Arts Center, South Bend, IN (Dec 19-21). For a complete schedule, visit: Hadestown National Tour

PHOTO|Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade

Broadway in South Bend
presented by
The American Theatre Guild
National Tour
HADESTOWN
The Morris Performing Arts Center
South Bend, Indiana
December 19-21, 2025

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TOUR WEBSITE

PicksInSix® Review - 1st National Tour

Sarah Siddons Award Interview with André De Shields

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PicksInSix Review: Gaslight - Northlight Theatre

Northlight’s Taut Thriller Keeps You Guessing.
PicksInSix® Review | Guest Contributor | Ronald Keaton

One of our most prolific and respected American playwrights, Steven Dietz, takes on a famous story based on a 1938 Patrick Hamilton play, which then turns into a 1944 George Cukor classic film with an Academy Award-winning performance by Ingrid Bergman. The result here is “Gaslight,” a taut and fun thriller now playing at Northlight Theatre through January 4.

Mr. Dietz has crafted a period piece of murder, thievery and deception at a fashionable home in New York City, with all the weighty circumstance the great writer will muster. The proceedings are conducted in a stylish, loving way by Jessica Thebus, whose direction changes tempo often enough to instill a sense of variety in what could have been a creaky idea without taking away from the expert storytelling. It is almost symphonically steered, if that makes sense, like a stellar musical score. There is lots to enjoy here for mystery and thriller fans, as the words of Mr. Dietz and the vision of Ms. Thebus seek to collaborate directly to register those multiple points of impact.

To give away the plot to those who may not know it would be to deprive them of a joyful discovery. But in a nutshell: Jack and Bella are a married couple who face constant problems. Bella is experiencing a kind of slow-motion emotional freefall, as Jack seemingly tries to be a calming influence. They have gone to doctors galore to decipher the problem. Bella apparently forgets small things like where she put a grocery bill, where a painting on the wall has disappeared to and then suddenly is found. The damage it is all doing to their marriage is almost irreparable. And there are all kinds of distractions along the way. There are unexplained footsteps that are heard in the night, footsteps that only Bella hears. Jack, in the meantime, goes out at night and enjoys his friends and his revelry, ignoring his wife's travails. And slowly we begin to recognize the real intention here—Jack is driving his wife to madness. But why?

Then there is the sudden and remarkable appearance of a quirky Scotland Yard officer, who explains why he is there to Bella. Bella, of course, is practically on the brink of insanity by this time. But the officer somehow earns her trust and goes along with his plan to find missing gems and to capture the murderer of a woman in that same house so long ago. Along the way, there are two employees of the house, both of whom are loyal to Bella, and who bring a pronounced mystery and fun to the moments at hand, as they assist the officer in their own ways.

A stellar cast brings it all to life. Cheyenne Casebier is eloquent and emotional as Bella, the tender-hearted wife who is slowly being driven crazy. Lawrence Grimm is Jack, and he's properly villainous and smarmy as the manipulative husband. Timothy Edward Kane is Sergeant Rough, the officer from across the pond and the marvelous comic lynchpin in the story. The wonderful Kathy Scambiatterra is Elizabeth, one of the maids who has lovely comic moments in her assistance of the Sergeant, and Janyce Caraballo is Nancy, played as lively and brassy and especially flirtatious to Jack near the end. Two young officers, portrayed by Gavin Rhys and Nathan Reilly, arrive for the final arrest at the play's conclusion.

Much admiration should go to Collette Pollard's set design of the house, both cavernous in one sense and sparse in another, in its depiction of two floors of the home. JR Lederie's light plot is highly mysterious and almost noir-like in its intent. The expert Andre Pluess layers a sound design of sparse touches and variety into the gathering, a perfect approach for this play. All in all, “Gaslight” is a fabulous experience to witness at this holiday season.

GUEST CONTRIBUTOR | RONALD KEATON received an Equity Jeff Award for the performance of his one-man show CHURCHILL. www.solochicagotheatre.com.  Coming soon, his new solo play about Ben Franklin, THE FIRST EMBASSY.

PHOTO|Michael Brosilow

Northlight Theatre
presents
Gaslight
9501 Skokie Boulevard
Skokie
through January 4, 2026

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