PicksInSix Review: Sunday in the Park with George - Kokandy Productions

Marry Art: With Life As Mistress.
PicksInSix® Review | Guest Contributor | Sarah Frances Fiorello

“Sunday in the Park with George” returns to the Chicago stage this season, through a set of street front double doors on Division Street. Kokandy Productions tackles this beloved musical in Chopin Theatre’s Downstairs Studio, an intimate black box in the round. With book by James Lapine and music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, “Sunday” took home the 1985 Pulitzer Prize for Drama—one of only 10 musicals to win the esteemed prize—and amassed a whopping 10 Tony Award nominations, including Best Musical. It’s also said that 1 in 3 music theatre majors have at least one lyric discreetly tattooed somewhere, easily covered by a character shoe or mic pack.

“Sunday in the Park with George” tells a fictional story about the life of French Neo-Impressionist painter George Suerat, who lived in the late 1800s and painted A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte. The first act follows George during his time creating the famous painting, at odds with his obsessive need to create something new on the canvas (Seurat is generally considered to be the father of Pointillism) and his failing desire to connect to those around him, including his ailing mother and whimsical muse, Dot. The second act flashes forward roughly 100 years, where George—the great grandson of our first act painter—fights the same battles, and journeys to Île de la Grande Jatte for answers.

There is much to love about this production. Most impressive is Derek Van Barham’s directorial staging, which takes bold risks with music theater’s golden child, quite literally turning it on its head. “Sunday” is presented here stripped of pointillistic scrims, characteristic cardboard cutouts, and nearly everything you may have known and come to love about Mandy and Bernadette’s turns as George and Dot, respectively. Instead, it deconstructs the story by reducing it to its most basic components—perhaps not so ironically akin to Seurat’s approach to painting. Van Barham’s staging is meticulous, with each choice rooted in the emotional life of the story—not the least of which is George, who has been trapped “on” his canvas, waiting to be freed, as well as the Act One ending which does just that.

The score of “Sunday” is sung beautifully by Missy Wise Vanderzee (Dot) and Kevin Webb (George) with stellar support by the company all under the expert musical direction of Nick Sula. Vanderzee’s vocal styling is imbued with warmth and a deep yearning that nearly tells the story so well, you’d understand it with your eyes closed. Webb skillfully handles one of Sondheim’s toughest scores, deftly pattering his way through artistic turmoil. Their interpretation of the characters differs from the original, an observation made mostly available from the cinematic pro-shot recording from 1986 Broadway cast. This production gives us a more emotionally realized George and Dot, both seemingly aware of their shortcomings in a way that creates dissonance with the Act One ending. Traditionally, we would reach the end of the (first) story with a gap so wide and entrenched between the would-be lovers, our hearts break for their incompatibility despite their obvious chemistry and desire. In this production we feel that tension dissipated, wondering if maybe they could make it work, if only they had a little more time. And a solid couple’s therapist.

Act Two, which is anecdotally known to be the tougher of the two stories, comes through stronger in this production with a truly delightful Chromolume experience and Vanderzee’s portrayal of Marie. The cast feels most comfortable in the modern day setting and, by comparison, stilted by the period requirements of Act One. The Act One book is difficult, written in a stylized language that lands somewhere between what feels like English translation and “pointillistic” text. A terrific challenge for the music theatre actor, one I’m sure these performers will embrace and explore through the rest of the run.

Go see it. Always see “Sunday in the Park with George” and always support storefront theatre. Theatre is a living, breathing thing and by that definition, we would benefit from more productions with a strong point of view that challenges our understanding of the text, the lyrics, and the meaning. The entire Kokandy Productions team should be proud of their work, and I am grateful to have had the opportunity to have seen 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.  @writtenbysarahfrances

PHOTO| Evan Hanover

Kokandy Productions
presents
Sunday in the Park with George
Chopin Theatre
1543 W Division St
through November 1, 2026

CHOPIN WEBSITE | TICKETS

KOKANDY WEBSITE

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PicksInSix Review: FALSETTOS - TimeLine Theatre Company - Court Theatre

“Things Rarely Go According To Plan.”
PicksInSix® Gold Review | Ed Tracy

The flawless production of “Falsettos”—one of the most enjoyable, heartfelt and moving productions you will ever see—opened Saturday in the intimate Abelson Auditorium at Court Theatre. The show is directed by TimeLine co-founder and Associate Artistic Director Nick Bowling and presented in partnership with Court.

“Falsettos,” a two-time 1992 Tony Award-winning musical, has a fascinating origin story. With music and lyrics by William Finn and a book by Finn and James Lapine (Into The Woods), it began in 1979 as Finn’s—and Playwrights Horizon’s—first musical “In Trousers” about the trials and tribulations of Marvin, a gay Jewish man coming out and presented in, what was then, the unique and evolving sung-through format.

In 1981, Finn teamed with Lapine on “March of the Falsettos”—which later became the first act of “Falsettos.” Set in 1979, the story begins as Marvin and his wife Trina separate on the news that Marvin is moving in with his male lover, Whizzer. In an attempt to keep Trina and their young son Jason together as a family, Marvin steps up sessions with his therapist Mendel. When Mendel falls for and marries Trina, Marvin’s possessive and passive-aggressive nature impacts his relationship with everyone, including his pre-Bar Mitzvah son who begins questioning his own sexuality. Marvin’s need for a monogamous relationship with the more free-wheeling Whizzer leads to the breakup, and although Marvin is inconsolable, he has matured and become better able to relate to Jason when his son needs him most.

It's important to note that “March of the Falsettos” is set prior to the widespread awareness of HIV or AIDS and deals, often hilariously, with the complex dynamics of the personal relationships and acceptance of the changing social norms of the time.

Following the explosion of the AIDS crisis, Finn and Lapine returned in 1991 to pen “Falsettoland” which will become Act II of “Falsettos.” Set a year later in 1981, when the family is moving on while Marvin still yearns for Whizzer, who reenters his life and rekindles the relationship. Two additional characters are introduced—Dr. Charlotte and her lesbian lover, Cordelia—who live next door and become fast friends with Mendel, Trina and Jason. It is Dr. Charlotte who recognizes that ‘something bad is happening’ and it is not long that “Falsettoland” takes on a whole new powerful storytelling line all its own.

Bowling, movement director William Carlos Angulo and music director Otto Vogel have assembled an amazing cast. In the role of Marvin, Stephen Schellhardt displays an extraordinary range of emotions teetering between the need to be loved and respected and the frustration, resentment and rage he feels from and toward the family he desperately wants to salvage. Jack Ball expertly plays Whizzer, the carefree gay man with needs of his own, who is quick to recognize that Marvin may want more from him than he is willing to give but later reconciles with Marvin in a way that is moving and real, particularly as he is forced to face his own mortality. .

Sarah Bockel’s Trina tugs endlessly at our heartstrings. She is an open book of emotions, channeling both keen comic sensibilities and a enormous capacity for empathy. Jackson Evans gives a terrific multi-faceted performance as the intellectually neurotic Mendel, savoring every comic moment with child-like enthusiasm while expertly delivering the more serious interchanges with Bockel and Jason (Charlie Long, who alternates with Eli Vander Griend). Long is a superb young talent and in step, stride for stride, with everyone on stage. Sharriese Hamilton is perfect as the compassionate Dr. Charlotte and partner for Cordelia, played beautifully by Elizabeth Stenholt, who round out the company of gloriously nuanced voices who deliver this fast-paced, challenging score with precision and ease.

Amel Sancianco’s scenic design ingeniously places the band shrouded on the second level within the multi-colored stage wall that is highlighted by three doors and an oculus window that is utilized effectively throughout the show. The open style chessboard tile floor plan serves to magnify one of the main themes and allows for effortless scene changes which keep things moving along briskly. Lighting and sound designs by Maggie Fullilove-Nugent and Stephanie Farina and period costumes by Teresa Ham are all excellent.

For those of us who lived through this period, TimeLine’s “Falsettos” is a moving tribute to the memory of all who passed and renews our commitment to those whose lives have been immeasurably changed. For everyone else, it serves as a reminder of the importance of cherishing our relationships and instills in us a better understanding of the universal power of love, kindness and acceptance.

PHOTO|Michael Brosilow

Editors Note: The TimeLine alliance with Court follows critically-acclaimed productions of “OSLO” and “The Lehman Trilogy” with Broadway in Chicago and the recent transfer of the stunning production of Tyla Abercrumbie’s “Relentless” to Goodman Theatre in 2022. TimeLine’s Artistic Director PJ Powers has tapped into an excellent model that requires a long view for the future, the coalescing of like-minded theatre administrators and boards willing to take a sizable financial risk, and mining sufficient sponsor and donor funds for the arts in a very tentative post-pandemic production climate. That long view applies to just about every facet of the arts right now with no better example and track record of unqualified success than TimeLine Theatre Company. While construction continues on the new center for theatre, education and community engagement at 5035 N. Broadway slated for a 2026 opening, the current season is being staged in partnership with institutions across Chicagoland. “Falsettos” is the first of three such partnerships that will continue next year with The Theatre School at DePaul University and Writers Theatre in Glencoe. For more, read TimeLine’s excellent BACKSTORY publication available online here.

TimeLine Theatre Company
and Court Theatre
present
FALSETTOS

EXTENDED
through December 15, 2024

Court Theatre
5535 S. Ellis Ave
Chicago, IL 60637

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PROGRAM

BACKSTORY

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PicksInSix Review: Into The Woods - Kokandy Productions

Ensemble Vocals Dazzle in Kokandy’s ‘Woods’
PicksInSix® Review | Guest Contributor | Ronald Keaton

This was the very first time in all the years I have worked in the theatre that I have seen a full production of “Into the Woods,” the Sondheim/Lapine creation from 1997, currently produced by Kokandy Productions and presented at the Chopin Theatre in Chicago through December 22. It’s a show of far-reaching ambition and clever story and character. Drawing from the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm, the authors have brilliantly created a place that is mostly referred to as ‘the woods,’ and every Grimm story one can remember is weaved throughout the plotline. “Into the Woods” purports to show what happens when a fairy tale ending isn’t really that happy in the face of real-life situations that affect such feelings and moments.

You name it, it’s there—Cinderella and her stepsisters and mother… Jack and his beanstalk, with his mother constantly trying to keep the boy in line. Oh, and giants not seen but certainly heard. Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf. Rapunzel and her long golden hair. A Witch who moves in and out of all the tales. Two young, full-of-themselves Princes, whose total delight with themselves eventually take them on separate journeys. There are even two characters that Mr. Sondheim and Mr. Lapine create out of thin air—a Baker and the Baker’s Wife. At least I don’t know what story they are in, but they are smartly used to plant the image of magic beans into Jack’s mind as he sells them the family cow, Milky White. And throughout the action, there is a Narrator who plays a Mysterious Man, guiding the players and the audience through the minefield of ‘the woods,’ learning lessons about life and death and how to survive.

And that’s just Act I. Act II takes an entirely different turn, as all the characters realize that life is not at all the happily ever after ending offered by the Brothers Grimm. Cinderella marries one of the princes, who turns around and has a quick tryst with the Baker’s Wife. After killing one of the Giants, young Jack discovers that the Giant’s wife wants revenge and intends to kill him for the death and thievery he has caused. Meanwhile, the Baker and Wife have had a child and discover just how difficult parenthood can be in maintaining a loving family. And on and on the story goes as one character after another learns different, but appropriate lessons on growing up. Taking responsibility. Realizing (painfully at times) that they can be better people than they might have been in the past. As a lyric goes: “children will listen.”

The plot and background are being laid out carefully here, because this is how thick the storytelling has to be to get everything told that the authors wish to include. The Lapine book is articulate and, despite all the plot twists, highly entertaining to watch. The Sondheim score is one of the most challenging ever written for the theatre, with intricate lyrics and music stylings that draw from the Romantics and patter songs a la Gilbert and Sullivan and even a jazz turn or two. His brilliance can never be overstated.

Kokandy Artistic Director Derek Van Barham and music director Nick Sula have taken over the lower level of the Chopin space in a stylish manner and, with single colorful lights augmenting the G Max Maxin IV lighting design and the posts in that space decorated to be imagined trees in the forest (also Maxin IV), the cast moves about with ease and energy.  My favorite idea in the entire production was the placing of two pianos at centerstage—the staging is in the round, by the way—and the two musicians Ariana Miles and Evelyn Ryan almost stole the show as they showcase their two-piano arrangement of one of the most formidable scores in the Sondheim canon flawlessly, all while reacting to characters approaching them with personal charm and grace.

“Into the Woods” is truly an ensemble piece, much like the great “Sweeney Todd,” and the actors need to be on their game to compliment each other doing the same. The vocal work is quite dazzling. There were standout moments – Madison Kauffman offers a simultaneously vulnerable and strong Cinderella who becomes a Princess not always willing to rule; Kevin Webb’s Baker is achingly tender and confused and ultimately learns his lesson well about fatherhood; Stephanie Stockstill as the Witch lovingly chews every bit of scenery as a proper witch should; and August Forman’s Narrator is a calming, sometimes even charming influence amid all the chaos that boils up in ‘the woods.’  

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 “Echo Holler.” www.echoholler.com

PHOTO|Evan Hanover

KOKANDY PRODUCTIONS
presents
INTO THE WOODS
Chopin Theater
1543 West Division
through December 22, 2024

WEBSITE

TICKETS

PROGRAM

CHOPIN THEATRE

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