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PicksInSix Review: The Wiz - Broadway in Chicago

November 30, 2023  /  Ed Tracy

 
 

“THIS IS A WHOLE ‘NOTHER LEVEL!”
PicksInSix® Review | Ed Tracy

The national tour of the Broadway-bound musical “The Wiz” opened its limited Chicago engagement at the Cadillac Palace on Wednesday with all the blissful promise and brilliant colors of the rainbow you could ever imagine. With a massive, techno-landscape—a marvel all in itself—the L. Frank Baum-based classic that made its groundbreaking 1974 debut in Baltimore and conquered Broadway the following year with eight nominations and seven Tony® Awards on the way to a four-year run, now comes vibrantly alive for a new generation.

“The Wiz” is ingeniously directed by Schele Williams with some clever choreography by JaQuel Knight that amplifies a superb company large in number and steeped with talent running through their paces at a size and scope rarely seen in a touring production. The show premiered in Baltimore in late September and is making a multi-city tour in advance of its scheduled debut on Broadway in March 2024 with a lot of professional steam behind the William F. Brown book with music and lyrics by Charlie Smalls.

The revival includes new musical moments from Joseph Joubert (music supervision, orchestrations, & music arrangements), vocal arrangements and music arrangements by Allen René Louis and additional material by Amber Ruffian. Nearly sixty producers and co-producers led by Kristin Caskey, Mike Isaacson, Brian Anthony Moreland, Kandi Burruss, Todd Tucker, Common, MC Lyte and The Ambassador Theatre Group are the team behind the curtain making this a feat of epic proportions.

Those elements work extremely well for “The Wiz” and are sure to be crowd-pleasers at every stop along the way. The tour will also allow time for the performance elements to coalesce for what is one of the most highly anticipated Broadway openings next spring—a straight-up adaptation focused squarely and beautifully on the central themes of friendship, family and home with just the right touch of panache—with all the right stuff to appeal to contemporary audiences of all ages. If you are a fan who knows this familiar, and much beloved, score that includes “Ease On Down The Road,” “If You Believe,” “Everybody Rejoice” and “Home” by heart, you will not be disappointed.  

Nichelle Lewis’s debut performance as Dorothy will be turning heads in the months to come with her charm, wholesome innocence with a little sass, and heavenly vocal range. Melody A. Betts is a powerhouse in the dual role of Aunt Em/Evillene. You will love the cohort of the remarkably limber Avery Wilson’s Scarecrow, the soulfully spirited Phillip Johnson Richardson’s Tinman and Kyle Ramar Freeman’s effervescent Lion. Alan Miongo, Jr. delights as the inimitable Wiz. The charismatic and glamorous Deborah Cox as Glinda, another superb vocalist, looks amazing in costume designer Sharen Davis’s creations.

The journey begins in Kansas, on a black and white tapestry by scenic designer Hannah Beachler. Once in the full color Land of Oz, the opulent scenic transitions race by at the speed of light through imaginative corn fields with tilted windmills, dark forests and a lion’s den in the jungle, to a stunning glimpse of the Emerald City. Once in Oz, the palate turns emerald and the majestic lighting design (Ryan J. O’Gara), sound design (Jon Weston) and projections (Daniel Brodie) continue to an awe-inspiring scene in Evillene’s lair for “Don’t Nobody Bring Me No Bad News” and Lewis’s soaring delivery of “Home” that will sweep you away and ease on down the road all the way to Broadway. No bad news here. 

Post Script: André De Shields
Earlier this week via text, I asked the original Wiz, the omnipresent André De Shields, if he would share a memorable highlight from the original 1974 production. He told me that during the run, the entire company was invited to a homecooked meal prepared by his mother and two of his sisters:  

“The group was so large, that it spilled out of my family’s modest two-story row house onto the 1800 block of Division Street. Forty-nine years later, in September 2023, the revival of “The Wiz” opened in Baltimore at the Hippodrome Theatre, during the same week that the 1800 block of Division Street was renamed ‘André De Shields Way.’”  

And in case you were wondering, the company feasted on everything from oyster fritters, steak fish and kidney stew to sweet potato pie and Chesapeake blue crabs, washed down with assorted flavors of Kool-Aid. et  

PHOTO|Jeremy Daniel

BROADWAY IN CHICAGO
presents
THE WIZ
Cadillac Palace Theatre
through December 10


WEBSITE
TICKETS
For more reviews, visit: Theatre In Chicago

ARCHIVE

PicksInSix® is a registered trademark of Roxbury Road Creative, LLC

categories / PicksInSix, Theater, Theater Review, Broadway in Chicago, Musical Theater, Virtual Theater, Broadway
tags / L. Frank Baum, Schele Williams, JaQuel Knight, William F. Brown, Charlie Smalls, Joseph Joubert, Allen René Louis, Amber Ruffian, Kristin Caskey, Mike Isaacson, Brian Anthony Moreland, Kandi Burruss, Todd Tucker, Common, MC Lyte, The Ambassador Theatre Group, Nichelle Lewis, Melody A. Betts, Avery Wilson, Phillip Johnson Richardson, Kyle Ramar Freeman, Alan Miongo, Jr., Deborah Cox, Sharen Davis, Hannah Beachler, Ryan J. O’Gara, Jon Weston, Daniel Brodie, André De Shields, Hippodrome Theatre

PicksInSix Review: A Wonderful World - Broadway in Chicago - Cadillac Palace

October 15, 2023  /  Ed Tracy

 
 

“Wonderful World” Has Saints Marching In!
PicksInSix® Review | Ed Tracy

The new Broadway bound musical “A Wonderful World” conceived by Christopher Renshaw and Andrew Delaplaine starring James Monroe Iglehart in a commanding performance as the immortal jazz icon Louis Armstrong is playing now in a limited engagement at the Cadillac Palace through October 29.  

As told through the eyes of his four wives–an ever-present Greek chorus of exceptionally powerful vocalists and gifted performers—who anchor the critical turning points of Armstrong’s career, Aurin Squire’s book follows a linear arc from the turn of the 20th century to the early 70s infused with feature performances and explosive, picture perfect, dance routines.

Director Renshaw and choreographer Ricky Tripp have amassed a stellar ensemble who move in and out of the best of Armstrong’s musical legacy on a stunning, scenic landscape created by Adam Roch and Steven Royal that, with Toni-Leslie James’s eye-popping period costumes, provide for truly majestic transitions from the gritty, speakeasys and jazz clubs of the 20s and 30s to a stylized Hollywood soundstage. It’s a visual feast!

At the center of the story—and the major challenge that separates “A Wonderful World” from other musical biographies about entertainers—is Armstrong’s sheer versatility and talent as an innovator and improvisor. The internationally beloved Black performer, musician, composer and singer had a larger-than-life stage presence all his own. Offstage, the pitfalls of Armstrong’s career and his personal, and very public, stand against racial inequality make him a far more complex personality. Iglehart, whose Broadway credits include a Tony Award as the Genie in Disney’s “Aladdin,” brilliantly captures the whole man—Armstrong’s charismatic smile, ebullient energy and the rich, raspy, signature quality of his vocals—in a wide-ranging and fascinating portrayal of a confident, gregarious personality filled with abundant amounts of passion for making music and for making whoopee.  

The women—all saints marching into Armstrong’s life with captivating performances by Daisy Parker (Khalifa White), Lil Hardin (Jennie Harney-Fleming) and Alpha Smith (Brennyn Lark) and Lucille Wilson (Ta'Rea Campbell)—hitch their wagons to the charming star hoping to make their dreams come true. That is until they realize that Armstrong’s insatiable desire to perform and the freedom that a life on the road offers works contrary to his dream to settle down in a home with a family of his own.       

Even though that storyline wrestles a bit with the kind of dramatic thrust necessary to fully connect with all the characters, it always comes back to the music exquisitely arranged and orchestrated by Michael O. Mitchell and Annastasia Victory. And this show is loaded with pulsating dance numbers that place Armstrong at the center of it all in memorable songs like “You Rascal You,” “Heebie Jeebies” and “Black and Blue” and alongside DeWitt Fleming, Jr. in the terrific tap sequence of “When You’re Smiling.” But it is Iglehart’s performance of Armstrong’s last and most enduring classic “What A Wonderful World” that you will want to be humming on the way home.

PHOTO|Jeremy Daniel

A WONDERFUL WORLD
A New Musical
About The Life and Loves
of Louis Armstrong

BROADWAY IN CHICAGO
Cadillac Palace
151 West Randolph
through October 29

TICKETS

OFFICIAL SHOW WEBSITE

For more reviews, visit: Theatre In Chicago

ARCHIVE

PicksInSix® is a registered trademark of Roxbury Road Creative, LLC

categories / PicksInSix, Theater, Theater Review
tags / Christopher Renshaw, Andrew Delaplaine, James Monroe Iglehart, Aurin Squire, Ricky Tripp, Adam Roch, Steven Royal, Toni-Leslie James, Khalifa White, Jennie Harney-Fleming, Brennyn Lark, Ta'Rea Campbell, Michael O. Mitchell, Annastasia Victory, Broadway in Chicago, DeWitt Fleming, Jr.

CONVERSATIONS: Cabaret ZaZou - Frank Ferrante and James Harkness

June 01, 2023  /  Ed Tracy

 

Cabaret ZaZou recently celebrated its 200th performance in the historic Speigeltent located in the Cambria Hotel.

The current high-flying extravaganza features a non-stop mix of music, comedy and stunning international circus acts in an intimate cabaret setting. Add in Blue Plate’s superb multi-course dinner and specialty drinks, while the ensemble interact and entertain, and Cabaret ZaZou is truly a matchless night out in Chicago’s theatre district!

On the eve of the 200th performance, two of the shows stars – comic emcee Frank Ferrante and singer James Harkness – joined the Conversation to talk about the extraordinary cast and how the show continues to evolve over the course of a long run. PODCAST

 
categories / PicksInSix, Theater, Theater Review
tags / Stan Feig, Frank Ferrante, LiV Warfield, James Harkness, Trio Vertex, Cornelius Atkinson, Isis Clegg-Vinell, Nathan Price, Ulzii Mergen, Viktor Kee, Dreya Weber, Debra M. Bauer, Chuck Webb, Jose Martinez, Phil Seed, Jon Negus, Theodis Rodgers, Jr., Blue Plate Chicago

PICKSINSIX Review: AN ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE

March 21, 2018  /  Ed Tracy

"BETTER A LUNATIC THAN A COWARD."

Compelling new adaptation … Goodman Theatre’s Artistic Director Robert Falls has crafted, and directs, a compelling new adaptation of Henrik Ibsen’s An Enemy of the People based on a translation by Eleanor Marx-Aveling, a work that reflects the desperate and fractured time in which we live with such raw energy and emotion that it is hard at times to separate the superb dramatic styling from our everyday lives. All sides of our fractured national conversation are weaved within Falls' take on Ibsen's epic struggle of one man’s quest for truth at all costs.

Rightful purpose ... it is not always clear that the rightful purpose of bold, truthful action will justify the means to an end, particularly when that end may result in mass hysteria, conspiracy theories, financial ruin, and, ultimately, the collapse of our common understanding of liberty, freedom and democracy. There is also an insightful element of the flawed family dynamic between family members who each are competing for recognition, approval and self-interests. If this all sounds like the current social climate in America, imagine what Ibsen was feeling in 1882 when he wrote about a community in crisis and whose very existence depends on the healing nature of its luxury spa, which is now contaminated. To reasonable people, then and now, there is no choice when confronting the moral dilemma to cure a health crisis. Unfortunately, there are few reasonable people around so legislating an opposing position becomes surprisingly easy and pretty much guarantees that this may not end well.

At the heart of the story … Dr. Tom Stockmann (Philip Earl Johnson) has confirmed his theory that a local tannery along with others have polluted the pristine waters with harmful toxins. The public dissemination of his findings are at the heart of the story. Running up against stiff opposition, he decides his best option is to hold a public hearing and let the people decide. To the community, firmly under the autocratic rule of his brother, Mayor Peter Stockmann (Scott Jacek), exposing the truth becomes a weapon. As a wave of personal and professional retaliation mounts, all unite in a lock-step revolt, fueled by deception, greed and stupidity. Lots of stupidity, according to Tom.

A powerhouse cast ... the superb Philip Earl Johnson leads a powerhouse cast, his delirious and impassioned frustration finally boiling over in rage as he wrestles the frenzied mob poised against him. But it is the razer-sharp, searingly-electric confrontations that have him under siege and at odds with his evil brother, a commanding performance by Scott Jacek, that delivers the explosive conflict between truth and deception. As a collaborative voice – a sort of Greek chorus – the characters of Billing (Jesse Bhamrah), Hovstad (Aubrey Deeker Hernandez) and Aslaksen (Allen Gilmore) descend rapidly from the moral high ground to frame the populus point of view. Only Tom's wife Katherine (sensitively played by Lanise Antione Shelley) and his ardent daughter Petra (a fine turn for Rebecca Hurd) consistently bring compassion to Stockmann's plight. The accomplished talents of David Darlow (Morton Kiil) and Larry Neumann, Jr. (The Drunk) add depth in featured roles.

Artistic impressions ... the extraordinary artistic impressions of costume designer Ana Kuzmanic’s are on full display in the two-story renderings that complement Todd Rosenthal’s industrial cantalever truss design - with lighting by Robert Wierzel - that frames the Stockmann home, the print shop and the public meeting space, which is mysteriously populated and an altogether visually stunning tableau. 

The takeaway ... reflecting the embittered discourse of our times, Falls has crafted a magnificent and explosive oratory that is ripe with political commentary, a consistent theme for the Goodman this season. Here brother faces brother, in the shadow of moral decay, where the bully pulpit rules the day against all adversity. There is a powerful score to settle in this startlingly familiar story examining the courage of our convictions, the devastating consequences of our actions, and, whether or not, it is better to be a lunatic than a coward.

PHOTOS|Liz Lauren

GOODMAN THEATRE
Presents
AN ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE
Adapted and Directed by Robert Falls
Based on a translation by Eleanor Marx-Aveling
through April 15th

WEBSITE

ARCHIVE

categories / PicksInSix
tags / Robert Falls, Goodman Theatre, Eleanor Marx-Aveling, Todd Rosenthal, Ana Kuzmanic, Robert Wierzel, Jesse Bhamrah, Lanise Antoine Shelley, Scott Jacek, Aubrey Deeker Hernandez, Philip Earl Johnson, Rebecca Hurd, David Darlow, Allen Gilmore, Larry Neumann, Jr.

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