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: Catch Me If You Can - Marriott Theatre

Marriott’s Whopping “Catch” Is A Winner!
PicksInSix® Review | Ed Tracy

If you are wondering what you get when you put a real-life copper caper in the hands of a master storyteller like the late Terrence McNally and the musical team of Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, make a date to see the sensational revival of “Catch Me If You Can” now playing at the Marriott Theatre. Directed with panache by Jessica Fisch featuring the equally stylish choreography by Dierdre Goodwin, the show features an outstanding company led by the effervescent JJ Niemann as Frank Abagnale Jr., the 60s era con artist and international fraudster who amassed $2M before the age of twenty-two. Niemann is a remarkable talent whose power-packed performance and engagingly youthful persona—yeah, he gets that a lot—belies an artful ease and ever-present synergy with the plum role of making a jet-setting swindler the most likable guy in any room.

It all starts at the end where the FBI, led by agent Carl Hanratty (a rock solid Nathaniel Stampley) and his minions Agents Dollar, Cod and Branton (the hilarious team of Justin Allbinder, Alex Goodrich and Karl Hamilton) have cornered Abagnale at gunpoint in a Florida airline terminal. As he begs for one last chance to plead his case, everything transforms into the show within the show, a flashback forward to the early days in a subdivision in New Rochelle, New York with his charismatic, but flawed, father, Frank Sr. (Sean Fortunato) and French mother, Paula played by the captivating Jessie Fisher. Fortunato is brilliant as the suave, sophisticated shyster who mentors Frank Jr. on the ins and outs of his street game. It is in these early scenes— wonderfully crafted by these two fine actor/singer/dancers—that the hook is set for McNally’s father/son experience that runs as the subplot to the main adventure story.

Things don’t work out so well for the couple, however, and Frank Jr. is soon off on his own, quickly advancing his special brand of check fraud and impersonation schemes as a lawyer—yes, he passed the bar—pilot and a pediatrician supervisor in a hospital emergency ward where he falls hard for Brenda Strong (the lovely and talented Mariah Lyttle). Brenda’s love and affection leads him to consider giving it all up, settling down and proposing marriage at dinner with Brenda’s parents Roger and Carol (the delightfully comic pairing of James Earl Jones II and Alexis J. Roston). It looks like things might turn out okay for our high-flying hero, but then Hanratty is as persistent as a dog with a bone and isn’t about to give up.

The nonstop momentum of “Catch Me If You Can” comes courtesy of the talented and versatile ensemble, filled to the brim with newcomers, who cover dozens of supporting roles and a bevy of flight attendants, Playboy bunnies, and attending nurses, all glammed in Sully Ratke’s dazzling array of costumes. Under the music direction of Ryan T. Nelson and the marvelous melodious mayhem of conductor Christopher Sargent and the orchestra, Niemann and company takeoff at full speed with “Live in Living Color” and set the flight path for the fun and frivolity right from the top. The company numbers “Jet Set” and act II’s “Nurses” are crowd favorites, along with Fortunato’s “The Pinstripes Are All That They See.” The buddy numbers “Butter Outta Cream” and “Little Boy, Be a Man” are balanced with Stampley’s introspective theme “The Man Inside the Clues” and Niemann and Lyttle’s lush “Seven Wonders.” The solo performance of the night belongs to Lyttle for the soaring confession of love “Fly, Fly Away.”

The ingenious stage design of Andrew Boyce and Lauren M. Nichols, awash in Jesse Klug’s evocative lighting, incorporates a pair of multi-functional set pieces that glide effortlessly on a circular track that mirrors the video diorama above showcasing Anthony Churchill’s fascinating video/projection design. This is one of the most creative and functional uses of Marriott’s challenging in-the-round configuration ever. A visual stunner!

Abagnale’s bold musical crime spree is sure to be another big hit for the popular regional theater at the Marriott Lincolnshire Resort celebrating its 50th Anniversary this year. Paired with the delicious and affordably-priced pop-up cuisine of the Three Embers Pan Am Grille inspired by First-Class Menus of the Pan Am Clippers, you can show up early, park for free, and stay for the show. It doesn’t get better that this!

PHOTO|Michael Brosilow

Marriott Theatre
presents
Catch Me If You Can
10 Marriott Drive
Lincolnshire
through October 19, 2025

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PICKSINSIX Review: MEMPHIS

"THE BIRTH OF ROCK AND ROLL."

Something in the water … There are a lot of reasons for you to run to see MEMPHIS, the exhilarating new Porchlight Music Theatre production directed by Daryl Brooks that opened Wednesday at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts. One is certainly the charismatic performance of Liam Quealy as Huey Calhoun, a character inspired by the life and career of Memphis DJ and personality Dewey Phillips. Another is the radiant and explosive Aerial Williams in the role of Felicia Farrell. Then there is an amazing company of talented dancers, singers, actors, and musicians who are non-stop great! Maybe there is something in the water at PMT these days. They've done it again. MEMPHIS is a SMASH!

Embraces R&B music … Part revolutionary, part rebel, Quealy’s Calhoun oozes with the kind of passion that drives a dream - a crusader who rejects stereotypes, fights bigotry, racism and the segregation of the era in which he lived. Against the odds, he embraces R&B music as a way of bringing people together, first on the radio, and then on television. As this engaging, often dark and richly soul-filled journey unfolds in Calhoun’s 1950s Memphis, what we are really seeing is the birth of rock and roll.

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On the radio … From his musical awakening in a black nightclub on Beale Street with “The Music In My Soul” and falling for Felicia, we follow Calhoun through his unlikely success as a D.J in a department store and eventually on the radio extolling his commitment to African-American music. Along the way, Williams thrills with the poignant “Ain’t Nothin’ But a Kiss” with Quealy, “Colored Woman” and “Love Will Stand When All Else Fails”.

Musical revolution ... The bittersweet love story inevitably leads to rejection and reprisals. Felicia’s brother, nightclub owner Delray Jones (Lorenzo Rush, Jr.) sees only trouble and Huey’s mom, Gladys (Nancy Wagner) experiences hate firsthand. Through it all, Huey single-mindedly pursues what is right until his own musical revolution - and rebellious nature – wear him out. Rush makes the role of Delray all his own and in Bobby, the triple-threat talents of James Earl Jones II are on full and glorious display. Gator finds his voice in fine form from Gilbert Domally.  

What to watch and wait for … so many spirited, high-energy company numbers including “Scratch My Itch” … “Everybody Wants to Be Black On A Saturday Night” … “Someday” and “Stand Up” … Rush’s powerful “She’s My Sister” … Jones at his best in “Big Love” ... Christopher Carter & Reneisha Jenkins dynamic choreography ... be sure to lean in and listen every time Williams steps up to the microphone. 

Porchlight motto … fulfilling the Porchlight motto - “american musicals. chicago style” - in rousing fashion,  MEMPHIS completes the 23rd season for the company and the first in their new home at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts. MEMPHIS has already been extended to June 10th, but don’t wait a moment longer to see this show.    

PHOTOS|MICHAEL COURIER

PORCHLIGHT MUSIC THEATRE
Presents
MEMPHIS
through June 10th
Ruth Page Center for the Arts
1016 N. Dearborn St.
773.777.9884
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