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: 1776 - Marriott Theatre

“TO THINK THAT HERE WE ARE.”
PicksInSix® Review | Ed Tracy

The inspiring production of “1776” that opened Wednesday at the Marriott Theatre brought a few familiar thoughts to mind about our young and exuberant country.  Democracy is messy. The more things change, the more they stay the same. And a line from one of Sherman Edwards’ songs: “To think that here we are.”

That jubilant statement is sung out by Benjamin Franklin (Richard R. Henry) to John Adams (Tyrick Wiltez Jones) and Thomas Jefferson (Erik Hellman) as the newly drafted Declaration of Independence is being read to the 2nd Continental Congress. They know that there are pitfalls and more debate ahead—and the reality of the bloody war already underway that is underscored throughout the show with missives from ‘G. Washington’ himself—but for a brief instant, getting to this point feels like a small victory.

Obviously, no one truly knows what transpired in the room where this happened. That said, Edwards’ 1969 Tony Award-winning concept, music and lyrics and Peter Stone’s book together create a captivating menagerie of historical characters who are (mostly) bent on unification. All those years later we are today mired in a never-ending election cycle and immersed in an escalating debate about the future vision for our democracy. There is hope and we do generally agree that a new, yet imperfect, nation was formed on July 4, 1776 for the people of the thirteen original colonies, even as freedom and equality for all is still lagging woefully behind.

With director Nick Bowling’s steady hand, sharp choreography by Tanji Harper and a casting coup that has assembled many of Chicago’s top performing artists together on one stage, Marriott Theatre’s “1776” has a sweeping professional sheen as one of the finest and most unique shows on stage right now.

The opposing voice to Adams’s passionate colonial independence is embodied in Pennsylvania delegate John Dickinson, a stellar performance by Heidi Kettenring. The two opposing forces—mediated by Joel Gelman’s stalwart John Hancock and Gabriel Lott-Rogers‘s Charles Thomson with assistance from the ever-present Karl Hamilton as Andrew McNair—weave arguments and slow progress to a bitter stalemate. Along the way, songs teeter from the humorous—“Sit Down, John,” “The Lees of Old Virginia” and “He Plays The Violin”—to the horrific, by South Carolina’s Edward Rutledge (Matthew Hommel) whose chilling referendum to slavery “Molasses to Rum” is alarmingly prophetic. The moving performances of Katherine Alexis Thomas (Abigail Adams), Alicia Kaori (Martha Jefferson), Lucy Godinez (Richard Henry Lee) and a remarkable performance by Jay Westbrook (Courier) in “Momma Look Sharp” deserve special mention in a company stocked with extraordinary voices under the musical direction of Ryan T. Nelson and conductor Brad Haak.

Regina Garcia’s crisp, multi-level scenic design expands Marriott’s in-the-round configuration to create a wide and striking panorama of the chamber interior punctuated by Jesse Klug’s evocative light design and Michael Daly’s pinpoint sound design. The visual picture is complete with Theresa Ham’s gorgeous costumes that make “1776” a truly wonderful—and historic—theatrical event.  

PHOTO|Liz Lauren

Marriott Theatre Lincolnshire
presents
1776
through October 13, 2024

Ten Marriott Drive
Lincolnshire, IL 60069

WEBSITE

TICKETS

847-634-0200 (Box Office)

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PicksInSix Review: Gypsy: A Musical Fable - Marriott Theatre

“A PIONEER WOMAN WITHOUT A FRONTIER.”
PicksInSix® Review | Ed Tracy

Say what you will about the manipulative Rose Hovik—the complex character and commanding force at the center of “Gypsy: A Musical Fable,” the 1959 Arthur Laurents book with music by Jules Styne and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim that has its origins in the memoirs of Gypsy Rose Lee—she proves that very little will stand in the way of her personal ambitions. Whether it’s stealing from her father for the next big break, relentlessly pushing her two daughters into the business that passed her by or leaning on everyone around her whenever necessary, Rose is the engine that’s barreling down the track. Never giving up, whatever the cost. It’s all the stuff of epic musical theatre, and the fruit of a historic collaboration, that opened Wednesday at Marriott Theatre Lincolnshire in a bright, brassy and entertaining production, directed by Amanda Dehnert and choreographed by Stephanie Klemons.

The show features Broadway veterans and vocal powerhouses, Lucia Spina and Nathaniel Stampley as Rose Hovik and manager/companion Herbie, who ‘pool their resources by joining forces” to create a vaudeville show around Rose’s daughters Louise played by Lauren Maria Medina and June played by newcomer Tori Heinlein. Always the star in Rose’s dream of greatness, Heinlein’s June leads an endearing group of youngsters in the early years of the act, to the exclusion of the insecure and vulnerable Louise, who lacks the confidence of her sister and is earnestly along for the ride.

That is until the girls age out of the act and Rose’s attention, and livelihood, turns to making Louise star of the show. Medina’s transformation from little Dutch to the scintillating Gypsy in the show’s climax is as electrifying as Spina’s skillful and emotional “Rose’s Turn,” a transformation all her own from “a pioneer woman without a frontier” to the self-realization that there is more to life than unkept promises and broken dreams.

The ensemble is layered deep with exceptional talent. J’Kobe Wallace’s Tulsa offers up a smooth and savvy song and dance routine to “All I Need Is the Girl.”  Elin Joy Seiler (Baby June) and Milla Liss (Young Louise) are picture perfect in the opening of “Let Me Entertain You” as are all the youthful performers. Cedric Young, Joseph Primes and Steve O’Connell are among many in the ensemble who stand out in supporting roles.

But things come to an uproarious full stop in the free-wheeling performances of Emily Rohm (Tessie Tura), Leeanna Rubin (Electra) and Sawyer Smith (Mazeppa) who guide the wholesome Louise in the hilarious, tear-inducing dressing room number “You Gotta Have A Gimmick.” Between Rohm’s blooming butterfly in flight replete with spinning tassels, Rubin’s incandescent aura and the sheer magnificence of Smith’s statuesque presence in one of Theresa Ham’s inspired costume designs, it’s sheer bliss!

Collette Pollard’s scenic design is decked out from top to bottom in vaudeville flair that frames the action—and defines the journey incorporating Anthony Churchill’s unique media design—punctuated by Jesse Klug’s stellar lighting design, particularly during Gypsy’s coming of age. Music director Ryan T. Nelson and Marriott’s superb orchestra, conducted by Brad Haak, deliver every note from the fast-paced company numbers to Spina’s dynamic performance of the show’s iconic Act I closer “Everything’s Coming Up Roses” to make “Gypsy” a musical night to remember.      

PHOTO|Liz Lauren

MARRIOTT THEATRE LINCOLNSHIRE
presents
GYPSY: A Musical Fable
through October 15, 2023

WEBSITE

TICKETS

(847) 634-0200

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PicksInSix Review: Damn Yankees - Marriott Theatre

A DEVIL OF A GOOD TIME!
PicksInSix® Review | Ed Tracy

Looking to fill your breezy summer evening with the crack of the bat and a stadium-size offering of blockbuster musical numbers mixed with an offer of immortality? All these merge in “Damn Yankees,” the 1955 award-winning hit with book by George Abbott and Douglass Wallop, lyrics and music by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross, choreography by Bob Fosse and starring Ray Walston and Gwen Verdon. “Damn Yankees” received seven Tony Awards, spawned a hit film, and is playing now in a robust and rollicking revival at Marriott Theatre that’s a devil of a good time!

The musical, based on Wallop’s “The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant,” holds up well nearly 70 years later even with a cluster of eye rollers in the script that require a special comic touch these days. But all is forgiven when this time capsule begins delivering a string of socko company numbers like “Heart,” “Shoeless Joe from Hannibul, MO,” “Who’s Got the Pain,” and “The Game” in showstopping style. And that’s exactly what happened—twice—at Wednesday’s opening performance with the top-flight talent assembled by director James Vásquez and Tyler Hanes’s Fosse-infused choreography.

Vásquez has stacked the lineup for laughs, too, with Sean Fortunato in a wickedly sardonic performance as the devious devil Mr. Applegate who grants the wish of Joe Boyd (Ron E. Rains) for the Washington Senators to win the pennant. With a slight of hand, a whiff of smoke and a change of name, Applegate creates Joe Hardy (Andrew Alstat) whose youth, power and abilities will pick the hapless Senators out of the cellar and into the World Series for the small price of Joe’s eternal damnation. As the team rises in the standings, the story clings to some detective work by ace reporter Gloria Thorpe (Erica Stephan) whose curiosity threatens to expose Joe before he can finish the job and lead the team to victory.

It doesn’t take long for Joe to realize that he’d rather be home with his wife Meg (Daniella Dalli) than face Applegate’s mounting pressure to stay within the baselines. As Joe begins to waver, Applegate enlists the services of Lola (Michelle Aravena), an irresistible temptress, to woo Joe back on his team. But even Lola’s sexy and sultry advances fail and Lola instead conspires to help unravel Applegate’s plan. As the clock ticks down, things start to heat up in Joe’s world.

In addition to the many memorable individual highlights in the show—Aravena’s playful, coy “A Little Brains, A Little Talent” and the steamy “Whatever Lola Wants” are truly topflight and Fortunato knocks “Those Were the Good Old Days” out of the park—the ensemble’s work throughout, and especially in “Two Lost Souls,” a dark, smoky ode to Fosse that virtually oozes up from the underworld, is phenomenal.   

In a cast of venerable Chicago talent, Lorenzo Rush Jr. stands out as the Senators coach Van Buren who leads the ensemble in “Heart” and plays some solid work with Jonah D. Winston and Michael Kingston. Erica Stephan steps up front and center for the crowd-pleaser “Shoeless Joe” that includes the amazing jump rope talents of Ben Broughton. Heidi Kettenring and Lydia Burke team up on the sidelines as kooky, adoring Senators fans, spreading gaiety and a little fog around on Regina Garcia’s sharp and versatile set. With Jesse Klug’s surreal lighting effects, Michael Daly’s subterrain sound and truly gorgeous 50s era costumes by Teresa Hams, the stage is awash in vibrant color to match the music directing talents of Ryan T. Nelson and Noah Landis’ orchestra, and to make Marriott’s “Damn Yankees” the show to see in Chicago.  

PHOTO|Liz Lauren

MARRIOTT THEATRE LINCOLNSHIRE
presents
DAMN YANKEES
through June 4, 2023

WEBSITE

TICKETS

(847) 634-0200

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PicksInSix Review: Big Fish - Marriott Theatre

“Stories Under Every Leaf And Stone.”
PicksInSix® Review | Ed Tracy

“Big Fish,” the musical based on Daniel Wallace’s novel about an alluring travelling salesman and his larger-than-life experiences that also spawned the 2003 Tim Burton directed film, had its 2013 pre-Broadway tryout in Chicago. With music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa and a book by John August, Edward Bloom’s exploits, were expanded and enlarged to epic proportions by director/choreographer Susan Stroman. The show had too much happening, for so long, that it was hard to believe it would be able to survive its fall opening in New York. The script was considerably reworked over the summer, however, the show did not see the new year.

But that was only an early chapter in the “Big Fish” story, a musical that deserved to live on. It has been regularly produced including at the Boho Theatre in a blackbox space at Chicago’s Greenhouse Theatre a few years ago. The scaled down production fit the space well and captured the essence of the central story that tracks Bloom’s son Will on a journey to learn the truth behind his father’s wide-eyed stories. What resonated most to me at the time was how the score had coalesced and matured. In such an intimate setting, and even at the expense of the sizable scope of the stories being told, this sparkling gem of show had me hooked.

Now comes an exciting, new Equity production that brings together the best of all possible creative Chicago worlds to the Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire. Director Henry Godinez and Associate Director and Choreographer Tommy Rapley have expertly infused the small-cast version of the show, designed for a dozen players, into a sweeping musical tapestry of fabric, color and light. The work is superbly paced, the staging fresh and creative, and the crowning achievement is that it takes full advantage of Marriott’s in-the-round, ramped access configuration, effortlessly flowing from one scene to the next, beginning to end. The stunning first act closing number is a sight to behold!

Leading the all-star cast and ensemble is Alexander Gemignani as the always engaging Edward Bloom, a husband, father, salesman and teller of stories. Thirty-six to be exact, with many multiple versions of encounters: a prediction from a witch, a gentle giant friendship, the first kiss from a girl in the water, a hyperbolic werewolf and the love of his life, a vivacious redhead named Sandra played by the equally vivacious Heidi Kettenring. Gemignani and Kettenring are terrific together.  That goes for Michael Kurowski as Will and his Josephine, Lydia Burke, too.

The ensemble, all under the musical direction of Ryan T. Nelson, is a force to be reckoned all its own, top drawer Chicago talent all worthy of mention including:  Brandon Dahlquist, Allison Sill, Christopher Kale Jones, Ayana Strutz, Lucy Godinez, Emma Rosenthal, William Daly and Archer Geye, splitting the role of Young Will, and the commanding presence of Jonah D. Winston.  Strutz does some nifty aerial work and you will want to have the Alabama Lambs at your garden party this summer. Conductor Kevin Reeks and the orchestra are in fine form.

Godinez has assembled a diverse production team with wide-ranging credits from theaters across Chicagoland. With the ruddy scenic design by Collette Pollard with its many surprises, hidden panels, trap doors, tiny towns and reams of fabric that appear out of thin air exploding in the colors of Jesse Klug’s lighting design, Amanda Vander Byl’s costumes and Michael Daly’s sound, Marriott’s “Big Fish” is a magical night of theater not to be missed.  

PHOTO | Liz Lauren

Marriott Theatre Lincolnshire
presents
BIG FISH
through March 19, 2023

WEBSITE | TICKETS

(847) 634-0200

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PicksInSix Review: Songs for Nobodies

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Stunning Northlight Return for Bethany Thomas!

For the second time in as many weeks, I found myself in a theater so consumed and satisfied by a live performance that I actually closed my eyes for a moment just to listen. What I heard was the rapturous voice of Bethany Thomas, channeling the enigmatic Billie Holiday in a spot-on rendition of “Ain’t Nobody’s Business If I Do.” It is one of five encounters with greatness that are richly told in Joanna Murray-Smith’s “Songs for Nobodies” now playing in a stunning production at Northlight Theatre.

The solo piece, artfully directed by Rob Lindley, is a commanding showcase for the gifted Thomas who is recognized as one of Chicago’s most versatile actors and recording artists and whose powerhouse vocals are equally at home in a theater, a cabaret and on a rock concert stage. So, it may be no surprise to some that the wide and diverse range of vocal styles from Judy Garland, Patsy Cline and Edith Piaf to Holiday and Maria Callas land firmly and gloriously in Thomas’ extraordinary wheelhouse.

There is, however, much more at the heart of Murray-Smith’s staggeringly smart and sophisticated play. Lindley has skillfully incorporated the talented Thomas’ inexhaustible creative reservoir with Murray-Smith’s eclectic characters who have random encounters with legendary singers in order to tell their compelling stories. Each fascinating character comes to life in Thomas’ brilliant performance that culminates with Callas’ “Vissi d’Arte” in one of the most stirring theatrical moments you will ever experience.

The play is constructed with historical wayposts weaved within its imagined encounters. A random April 1961 meeting in New York City between Judy Garland and the fragile Bea Appleton, a ladies room attendant with sewing skills. Backstage with Patsy Cline in March 1963 when venue usher and southern belle Pearl Avalon’s brief rendition of “Amazing Grace” earns her the opportunity of a lifetime. A stirring homage to the French resistance performer Edith Piaf by the bilingual librarian Edie Delamotte from Nottingham whose father’s life she saved. An interview by the feisty urban features writer Too Junior Jones breaking through the thick public curtain of Billie Holiday. And then, culminating in the observations at sea of Orla McDonaugh of the turbulent love affair between Callas and Ari Onassis.

Each successive interlude is played out on a multi-level stage designed by Jeffrey D. Kmiec, draped above with microphones and cables of the era that serve to evoke the multitude of nights these performers have connected with their audiences. The suspended microphones provide powerfully introspective transitional moments as well, enhanced by Jesse Klug’s lighting and the elegant simplicity of Thomas’s attire designed by Mieka van der Ploeg. With music director Andra Velis Simon, crisp sound design by Lindsay Jones and Eva Breneman’s dialect work, “Songs for Nobodies” is a multi-sensory experience.

In a feat that could only occur in the theater, with no props, projections or other distractions, Bethany Thomas magically transforms her towering presence into the size and vaulted styles of each singer, performing with such intensity, emotion and authority that we are joyfully reassured the power of live theatre, struggling mightily to return, will live on.

PHOTO|Michael Brosilow

NORTHLIGHT THEATRE
Presents
SONGS FOR NOBODIES
through October 31, 2021
9501 Skokie Blvd

WEBSITE

TICKETS

(847) 673-6300

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PICKSINSIX Review: Million Dollar Quartet

A ROCKET SHIP OUT OF ORBIT!

“Million Dollar Quartet,” the Colin Escott|Floyd Mutrux mega-hit jukebox musical set during the first and only meeting of Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis at the Sun Records recording studio owned by the man who made it all happen, music impresario Sam Phillips, opened Wednesday night in a terrific new James Moye directed production at Marriott Theatre Lincolnshire.

The now familiar flashpoint, a photograph of the quartet taken on December 4, 1956, serves as the catalyst to tell the backstory of the professional relationships, the choice Phillips made to sell Presley's contract to RCA, how Columbia eventually signed both Cash and Perkins, and the pursuit of the next big hit for Perkins, the reason for the recording session in the first place. It’s all packed in here and interesting enough, but the pure abundant joy of this rock-solid production is the explosive musical performances. For that, a multi-talented cast is critical and Moye (who played Phillips in both the original Broadway and Off-Broadway productions) with music director Ryan T. Nelson, have assembled a stunner. All together, “Million Dollar Quartet” soars into uncharted musical territory like a rocket ship out of orbit!

A consummate piano man, Nat Zegree delivers a standout performance, literally propelling himself into the role of Jerry Lee Lewis capturing the unbridled energy and explosive musical talent of the young performer on the verge of launching his meteoric career.  

The brilliant musician, singer and actor, Shaun Whitley, plays the legendary country star Carl Perkins, who along with Zegree and studio musicians, Brother Jay (Zach Lentino) and Fluke (Kieran McCable), provide superlative back up all night long in addition to Whitley's "Who Do You Love?”, "Party,” and "See You Later Alligator.” Christopher J. Essex brings a rich vocals and the homespun style of Johnny Cash to his renditions of "Sixteen Tons,” I Walk the Line,” and “Rider in the Sky.” Rustin Cole Sailors is a smoldering Elvis Presley, exuding natural charm in "Long Tall Sally,” and "Hound Dog.” David Folsom is perfect in the role of Sam Phillips and a sultry Laura Savage, as Dyanne, turns up the temperature in "Fever” and “I Hear You Knocking."

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“Million Dollar Quartet” has a long-standing love affair with Chicago audiences. There have been sell-out productions dating back over a decade — at Goodman, and then the Apollo for years — to only a few years ago, at Paramount, and many in between, a testament to just how rugged and resilient this rock 'n’ roll juggernaut is. You will like the experience of all the sights, sounds and gyrations in the Marriott's unique round configuration, where the studio sound booth is ingeniously incorporated into Jeffrey D. Kmiec's design freeing up the stage area for the session artists and backup instrumentalists to nest in the corners when things start rocking. With Teresa Ham’s gorgeous costumes, lighting by Jesse Klug and sound by Robert E. Gilmartin, it fits like a new pair of “Blue Suede Shoes.”

Considering classics like “That’s All Right” and “Great Balls of Fire” in the mix, there will be little “Peace in the Valley” with the not to be missed “Million Dollar Quartet” rocking the house through March 16th when Elvis, Jerry Lee, Carl and Johnny will leave the building.

PHOTOS|Liz Lauren

MARRIOTT THEATRE
Presents
MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET
through March 16th
10 Marriott Drive
Lincolnshire
(847) 634-0200

WEBSITE
TICKETS

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PicksInSix Theater Review - Marriott Theatre Irving Berlin's "Holiday Inn"

“Holiday Inn” Cast Really Making Hay!

In the opening moments of the Marriott Theatre’s glorious new production of “Irving Berlin’s Holiday Inn” that opened Wednesday night, Michael Mahler, one of Chicago’s most gifted actors, a top-tier vocalist, musician and composer, stepped up to the lone stage piece – a ‘40s era console piano – and proceeded to perform selections from the overture live. Mahler played flawlessly, as he does throughout his superb performance as the famous ‘hit man’/crooner turned gentleman farmer Jim Hardy, right in step with conductor Patti Garwood’s orchestra to ring in the rich tones of the Berlin songbook that follows. Under the “Blue Skies” of this Connecticut farm setting, the “Holiday Inn” cast is really making hay!   

“Holiday Inn” — book by Gordon Greenberg and Chad Hodge — is directed by Denis Jones, who also choreographs, as he did in the 2016 Greenberg-directed Broadway production which received a Tony nomination for Jones. That inspired production, which had the benefit of a proscenium stage and wing space, fits very nicely in Marriott’s round configuration. There are a lot of moving parts and the set, lighting and projections/media team — Scott Davis, Jesse Klug and Anthony Churchill — make it all come together seamlessly.

Front and center — a perfect match for Mahler — is the captivating, triple-threat talent, Johanna McKenzie Miller as Linda Mason who just about everyone falls for, right down to the precocious Charlie Winslow played by 9 year-old Patrick Scott McDermott. The drama in this familiar hometown-to-Hollywood love story – based on the 1942 film starring Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire, Marjorie Reynolds and Virginia Dale that featured ‘White Christmas’ – revolves around the schmoozing hoofer Ted Hanover (Will Burton) who crashes the New Year’s Eve party after being ditched by his partner, and Hardy’s fiancé, Lila Dixon (Kimberly Immanuel). Despite the push and pull of efforts back on the farm and on the phone by the handy-dandy Louise (Marya Grandy), the impassioned agent Danny Reed (Lorenzo Rush, Jr.), and, an unsuspecting farm animal, things have a way of sorting themselves out.

Jones’ electrifying ensemble delivers the finest dancing that you will see on a stage anywhere in Chicago right now. There are no less than a half-dozen, lavish, upbeat company numbers, with everyone decked out in Sally Dolemko’s exquisite, holiday-inspired costumes, ripping through the iconic Berlin score under the musical direction of Ryan T. Nelson.

The singing, dancing, heart-tugging joy ride is full-throttle with ‘Shaking the Blues Away,” a scene played out this|close with a stage full of dancers, milk buckets and jump ropes of holiday lights. Burton is terrific as the debonair Hanover who dances up a storm with the ravishing Immanuel, when he is not with Miller, or on his own in the Fourth of July ode “Let’s Say It with Firecrackers.” In the featured dance number “You’re Easy to Dance With,” Burton and ‘the Girls’ delight right down to the perfectly executed backward tap-dancing line!

From the hotter-than-hot “Heat Wave,” the elegance of “Easter Parade” and “White Christmas” and all the holidays in between, when you step out with your baby for this one, you will definitely “Have Plenty to be Thankful For!” Don’t miss it!

PHOTOS|Liz Lauren

MARRIOTT THEATRE
Presents
IRVING BERLIN’S
HOLIDAY INN
through January 6th, 2019

Ten Marriott Drive
Lincolnshire, IL 60069
847-634-0200

WEBSITE

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PICKSINSIX Review: PAMPLONA

‘PAMPLONA’ - “LIKE STANDING BEHIND A WATERFALL.”

Mano a mano... Not a soul was shuffling in their seats at the Goodman Theatre when the lights came up on Stacy Keach as Ernest Hemingway in opening moments of the world premiere of PAMPLONA. The actor, who last year had to step away from the production for health reasons, has returned to complete the job. And that he did, in fine form, mano-a-mano, with the audience. Bravo!

Personal timeline... The play, written by Jim McGrath and directed by Goodman Artistic Director Robert Falls, unfolds on October 11, 1959 as Hemingway is struggling to complete an article on bullfighting in Spain for Life magazine. The particular stumbling block that proves elusive for him is the roadmap for the story of his life, told often in Hemingway’s own words in flashback – as they relate to his literary work and personal timeline – and with stunning projected images that evolve seamlessly throughout.

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Skillful approach... In a profoundly reflective moment of youthful promise midway through, the dialogue turns to Hemingway’s World War I service as a Red Cross ambulance volunteer when he was severely wounded and hospitalized in Milan. During the long recuperation that followed, the 19 year-old met and fell deeply in love with Agnes von Kurowsky. The experience is a pivotal turning point and inspiration for the writer that Hemingway would become. For Keach, it was a superb example of the skillful approach to the material that spans the tumultuous life, loves, and near-death experiences, all played out in Room 217 at the Gran Hotel La Perla in Pamplona, Spain.

Gritty, purposeful and complete... Falls and Keach do not allow the pace of this often-troubled story, fraught with anger, remorse, and regret, to waver from the ever-present knowledge that there are precious few glorious days ahead. Watching Keach is, as the text states, “like standing behind a waterfall” - his nuanced performance gritty, purposeful and complete.

Stunning projection... Kevin Depinet’s impressive scenic design is strikingly enhanced with the stylized lighting of Jesse Klug, Noël Huntzinger's costume, Michael Roth's music|sound and Adam Fleming’s stunning projection.  Goodman dramaturge Tanya Palmer provides a fascinating overview of Hemingway’s life in the program notes, supplemented by Jerry Patch, which when combined with all of the stage elements help to frame Hemingway’s extraordinary life.

Masterful ... Closing out a rich and glorious season at Goodman Theatre, Stacy Keach as Ernest Hemingway delivers a masterful, not-to-be-missed, performance. Olé!

PHOTOS|Liz Lauren

GOODMAN THEATRE
Presents
STACY KEACH
PAMPLONA
Written by Jim McGrath
Directed by Robert Falls
through August 19th
Owen Theatre
(312) 443-3800

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For more reviews, visit: Theatre In Chicago

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PICKSINSIX Review: MURDER FOR TWO

‘MURDER’ is a “Perfectly Lovely Surprise!”

The (usual) Suspects... You already know judging from the title that "Murder for Two" - now playing at the Marriott Theatre Lincolnshire - involves at least one murder which occurs as the surprise birthday party for mystery novelist Arthur Whitney is about to begin. Early on we meet The (usual) Suspects including the victim’s wife, a prima ballerina, a wheel-chair bound psychiatrist, a feisty old couple, a demur wanna-be caper-cracker, a fireman, and a 12-member boys choir, of which all but three are elsewhere.

Strap yourself in... Officer Marcus Moscowicz, who is vying for a promotion to detective, is quickly on the scene with his partner Lou and determines that everyone has a motive. What is unusual about The Suspects, is that they are all played by one actor. In case you are thinking that there is no way all this can possibly happen in the course of 90 minutes, strap yourself in for a comic tour de force directed by Scott Weinstein. 

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Rollicking madcap musical mystery... This two-hander – which is more like a 26-hander, not counting two more thrown in for good measure along the way – originated in New York at Second Stage Theatre, had its world premiere at Chicago Shakespeare (2011 Jeff Award for Best Musical) then again to New York and a national tour. With book and music by Joe Kinosian and book and lyrics by Kellen Blair, Murder for Two is a rollicking madcap musical mystery sendup energized in the Marriott production by the stellar performances of Noel Carey and Jason Grimm - a pair of amazingly gifted actors and musicians with superb comic instincts – who work terrifically well together.

Seasoned flair... Protocol says that the plot will not be revealed, so this ‘Murder’ is, and will remain, as one of the many tuneful songs confesses, a “Perfectly Lovely Surprise!” Carey brings a seasoned flair and single-minded energy to Moscowicz, a role that he has played on national tour. Weinstein has expertly matched Carey with the explosive Grimm, whose out-of-body, split-second transformations appear effortless. When the two are not trading verbal banter at breakneck speed, they accompany each other on the grand piano – often both at the same time – under the artful musical direction of Matt Desitchman.

Stage set perfectly... All of the mayhem is staged in the round on an exquisite Scott Davis multi-level interior set that has more than a few special features allowing the story to ingeniously unfold so that every seat is the best in the house. With sound design by Robert E. Gilmartin, lighting by Jesse Klug, costumes by Emily Arnold and music supervision by Patti Garwood, the stage is set perfectly for a non-stop evening of entertainment.

Funny business... Things get started right away so if your head is buried in your program or you are running late, you may miss some of the funny business. There is plenty of convenient free and low-cost valet parking and many dining options in the area to help make Murder for Two a not-to-be-missed summertime treat.

PHOTOS|Liz Lauren

MARRIOTT THEATRE
Presents
MURDER FOR TWO
through August 26th
10 Marriott Drive, Lincolnshire
(847)634-0200
WEBSITE

For more reviews, visit: Theatre In Chicago

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