PicksInSix Review: Guys and Dolls - Drury Lane Theatre

Shake the Dice. Save a Soul!
PicksInSix® Review | Ed Tracy

Looking for the oldest established permanent floating crap game in New York with tough guys packing heat and cracking wise while a couple of old-time love stories unwind in locales as exotic as Havanna and the Hot Box Club? If so, then, the rock’em sock’em revival of the 1950 Tony Award winning “Guys and Dolls” now playing at Drury Lane Oakbrook is the show for you.  

Director/choreographer Dan Knechtges with co-music directors Roberta Duchak and Chris Sargent, who also conducts, have assembled an impressive ensemble of multi-talented performers for a highly-charged production showcasing the most cherished music and lyrics of Broadway’s legendary songsmith Frank Loesser and a book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows based on Daymon Runyon’s stories and characters. The cavalcade of Loesser hits like the touching ballads “I’ll Know” and “More I Cannot Wish You,” the superb bigtime, song and dance spectacles “A Bushel and a Peck,” “Luck be a Lady,” and “Sit Down You’re Rocking the Boat,” make Drury Lane’s “Guys and Dolls” a musical extravaganza that pokes good-natured fun of the rough and tough guys and the glitzy glamor dolls from Runyon’s creative imagination.

As the story unfolds, the lovable huckster Nathan Detroit (Jackson Evans) has been unofficially engaged for 14 years to the vivacious Miss Adelaide (Alanna Lovely), headliner at the Hot Box Club. Adelaide is trying to get him to stop gambling and settle down to the life she has imagined all along. Meanwhile, Detroit and his ‘associates” Nicely-Nicely (Nkrumah Gatling) and Benny (Christopher Llewyn Ramirez) are trying to get a spot for some nightly action and stay a step or two ahead of the law in the process.

Against the backdrop of petty larceny and bawdy late night revelry, the dutiful missionary Sarah Brown (Erica Stephan), struggling to make a difference one sinner at a time at the Save-A-Soul Mission, falls hard and fast for the suave, high-stakes charmer Sky Masterson (Pepe Nufrio). When the love table turns on Sky, he finds himself suddenly searching for any way to win her back again including making good on his mark to fill up the evening prayer meeting to impress the zany General Cartwright (Heidi Kettenring) and save the mission from closing.

Drury Lane Theatre presents “Guys and Dolls” through June 9, 2024. More information and tickets HERE.

Stephan and Nufrio are perfect together. Their rich vocals and chemistry shine in the heartfelt Act I closer “My Time of Day/I’ve Never Been in Love Before.” Stephan, one of Chicago’s top performers, is simply marvelous. Nufrio’s smooth and effortless Sky is spot on in “My Time of Day,” and with the brilliant ensemble in “Luck Be a Lady.” Lovely sparkles as Adelaide, displaying excellent comedic chops in “Adelaide’s Lament” and singing, dancing and leading the Hot Box Girls in a sizzling version of “Take Back Your Mink” while chumming up with Evans’s hilarious and heartwarming Nathan for lots of laughs and their touching duet “Sue Me.”

Back at the mission, Gene Weygandt’s serves up a splendid Arvide Abernathy, Kettenring is a riot and everybody gets in the act when Gatling explodes into the rousing crowd favorite “Sit Down You’re Rocking the Boat.” Angela Weber Miller’s scenic design, framed in a glistening Broadway skyline, alternates seamlessly between the relatively solemn confines of the mission to the gritty underbelly of the city and the sultry Hot Box Club where Leon Dobkowski’s stunning costumes set the place on fire. All in, Drury Lane’s “Guys and Dolls” is a night filled of 7’s and 11’s for every high stakes roller in the audience.  

PHOTO|Brett Beiner

Drury Lane Theatre
presents
Guys and Dolls
100 Drury Lane
Oakbrook Terrace
through June 9, 2024

WEBSITE

For more reviews, visit: Theatre In Chicago

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PicksInSix Review: MAMMA MIA!

“IS THERE A MAN OUT THERE?”

For those of us of a certain age, the Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus music at the core of the ABBA musical phenomenon “Mamma Mia!” is inextricably seared in our consciousness–a critical part of what we were to become in the late ’70s and ’80s. You only had to hear the opening chords of “Dancing Queen” and your hands begin to curl up in anticipation of the piano air quotes that follow. And then there is the image of all those gleeful revelers singing “Super Trooper” into a beer bottle. Those were the days!

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It was not so much a stroke of genius as a shrewd business decision by producers and a creative team that includes Andersson, Ulvaeus and playwright Catherine Johnson to fuse hits from the famous ABBA songbook into a 1999 jukebox musical that opened in London’s West End, then moved on to Toronto, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Chicago before arriving at Broadway’s Winter Garden Theatre.

All of the pre-Broadway runs took place before 9/11, with the Chicago try-out closing in mid-August 2001, causing the “Mamma Mia!” Broadway debut to be swept up in the grim aftermath and unfathomable grief of a city struggling day-to-day to recover. I recall the preview performance I saw in early October 2001 as transformative; past and present suddenly merging, familiar tunes erupting out of the story, bursting together with brilliant and heartfelt memories. I realize now that the show cracked open the caged emotions of that September and light started to seep in. In the face of the reality of those dark days and weeks, the music of “Mamma Mia!” was, and has always been, an escape route.

Surely all jukebox musicals are forever locked into their own specific time and place. Uniquely, “Mamma Mia!”—a fine production of which you can now enjoy at Drury Lane—is set on a remote tropical-island paradise off Greece, which results in its music being the defining anchor, with the spandex and sequins of the era links in the chain. It is an evergreen tale of pop culture, virtually impossible to meddle with unless you want to risk offending any of the estimated 60 million fans of countless national and international productions who know–and love–what comes next.

One of those national tours starred Chicagoan Susie McMonagle, who has returned to Drury Lane in an electrifying performance as Donna, the mom whose three summertime flings produced a daughter, Sophie, played by the equally remarkable Rebecca Hurd. The setup, of course, is that 20 years have passed, Sophie is getting married to Sky (Liam Quealy), and she decides to invite the three lovers from her mom’s (“Dot, dot, dot.”) diary—Sam (Jeff Parker), Harry (Stef Tovar) and Bill (Michael Accardo)—to the wedding. On the way to sorting out who her real father might be, Sophie learns a thing or two about life, love and making dreams come true from Donna’s two swinging pals, Tanya (McKinley Carter) and Rosie (Elizabeth Ledo), dominated by one of ABBA’s iconic musical messages, “Is there a man out there?”

Director William Osetek, music director Roberta Duchak and conductor Christopher Sargent tap an energized and enthusiastic Chicago ensemble from top to bottom. McMonagle’s “Winner Takes It All” is a showstopper, and with all of ABBA’s well known pop-rock ballads and driving dance numbers, choreographed by Jane Lanier on the Jeffrey D. Kmiec set, “Mamma Mia!” has everything you could hope for—a glittering night of musical magic to experience again and again.

PHOTOS|Brett Beiner

DRURY LANE THEATRE
Presents
MAMMA MIA!
through April 14th

100 Drury Lane
Oakbrook Terrace, IL
(630) 530-0111

WEBSITE
TICKETS

For more reviews, visit: Theatre In Chicago

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PICKSINSIX Review: LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS

“OH GOD HOW I MIST YOU!”

Oh pod how you tease… Seymour Krelborn has a lot of problems. He lives and works at a flower shop on skid row. His boss is not very nice to him. He is in love with his co-worker Audrey who is being abused by her boyfriend, the sadistic dentist who enjoys causing pain. Then there is the sick plant he discovered during a solar eclipse that he has been fretting over. Nothing works, no matter what he tries. “I’ve given you plant food and water to sip. I’ve given you potash, you’ve given me zip! Oh god how I mist you. Oh pod how you tease. So please – grow for me.”

Captivating performances… ‘Little Shop of Horrors’, now playing at Drury Lane in all its joyfully macabre and touchingly poignant splendor, is the product of the first collaboration of Howard Ashman and Alan Menken — an early ‘80s time capsule for the team who later developed Disney’s ‘The Little Mermaid’, ‘Aladdin’ and ‘Beauty and the Beast’ before the 40 year-old Ashman succumbed to AIDS in 1991. The Drury Lane incarnation, keenly directed and choreographed by Scott Calcagno with musical direction by Roberta Duchak, includes a top-notch company led by the captivating performances of Kelly Felthous and Will Lidke whose star-crossed love story — like just about everyone else — runs smack into the jaws of a ravenous leafy bottom feeder.

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Richly enjoyable comic romp… Things are looking up for everyone early on around the Mushnik Flower Shop. Seymour has a thing for Audrey who imagines a better life of her own. And while business is booming, Mr. Mushnik worries that Seymour’s new-found popularity could disrupt the first real opportunity in years to balance the books. Of course, there is only one key ingredient that helps make Audrey II, the aforementioned bottom feeder, grow. Once things start to sprout there is no turning back for the young and ambitious Seymour whose wish to escape the dead-end prospects of a skid row existence to live happily-ever-after with Audrey are only a few gallons of hemoglobin-enriched plasma away. It is all a clever setup for the dark and richly enjoyable comic romp that follows.

Powerhouse voice… Kelly Felthous is on fire as Audrey with a powerhouse voice that flows effortlessly through the beautiful anthems ‘Somewhere That’s Green’ and ‘Suddenly Seymour’. Felthous evokes a truthful innocence that aligns perfectly with Will Lidke’s frenetically awkward charm. Ron E. Rains is perfect in the role of Mr. Mushnik, and shows off some nifty footwork in ‘Mushnik and Son’ with Lidke. Steven Strafford, in multiple roles including Dr. Orin Scrivello D. D. S., nails ‘Be A Dentist’ and ‘Now’. Rounding out the ensemble in plain sight is the fabulous trio of Melanie Brezill (Ronette), Candace C. Edwards (Crystal) and Melanie Loren (Chiffon) who, with Strafford, make the cast appear much larger than it is with split-second costume changes and high-energy numbers including the title song and ‘Skid Row’ where Edwards particularly shines.

Eerie and fiendishly fun… Audrey II is voiced by the incomparable Lorenzo Rush, Jr. and animated by puppeteer Matthew Sitz. The teaming of these two seasoned performers bring the eerie and fiendishly fun Martin P. Robinson designed plant to glorious life. Rush’s deep, booming, blues vocals in ‘Git It’ and ‘Suppertime’ rock.

Be careful what you wish for… 1313 Skid Row is realized in the efficient and rugged staging by Kevin Depinet, enhanced by Ryan O’Gara’s lighting design and Linda Myers costumes. Chris Sargent directs The Little Shop of Horrors Band in this throughly entertaining musical sendup that just might have you whispering, “Be careful what you wish for.” and “Don’t feed the plants!” on your way home.

PHOTOS|Bruce Beiner

Drury Lane Theatre
Presents
LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS 
through October 28, 2018
100 Drury Lane
(630) 530-0111

WEBSITE

For more reviews, visit: Theatre In Chicago

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PICKSINSIX Review: SOUTH PACIFIC

'SOUTH PACIFIC' – BRAWNY, BOISTEROUS AND BEAUTIFUL!

A visual stunner … There is a brilliant simplicity to the Drury Lane’s lofty new production of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s classic SOUTH PACIFIC. Director Victor Malana Maog and his creative team have delivered a visual stunner, assembling an extraordinary cast – led by the commanding performances of Tony Award nominees Robert Cucciolli and Samantha Hill – while perfectly navigating the delicate divide of the themes of prejudice and racism to make a powerhouse evening of entertainment. Drury Lane's SOUTH PACIFIC is brawny, boisterous and beautiful!

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Who’s who … You may need to know that Emile de Becque(Cucciolli) is convinced that Ensign Nellie Forbush(Hill) is the woman of his dreams when he meets her during naval operations on a remote island in the South Pacific. It is 1944 and Nellie and the nurses keep time with the SeaBees, the engineering arm of the Navy, led in rousing spirit by Luther Billis(Matt Crowle) an operator who is competing for the local business with Bloody Mary(Yvonne Strumecki) a native of Bali Hai, the mysterious and forbidden island nearby. Enter Lt. Joseph Cable(Austin Colby) mix in some intrigue, adventure and suspense, and you have the makings of a pair of star-crossed love stories.  

What stands out … Musical Director Roberta Duchak and Conductor Christopher Sargent have created an exhilarating musical experience. It helps to have the exceptional talents of Cuciolli and Hill at the center of a professional cast.  What is striking, however, is that every transitional change of set(Scott Davis), lighting(Yael Lebetzky), costumes(Olivera Gajic) and sound(Ray Nardelli) are perfectly woven together with the choreography(Otis Sallid) to create a series of simple, but dramatically effective tableaus.   

What to watch and wait for … the classics: “Some Enchanted Evening”, “Bali Hai”, “I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair” and “This Nearly Was Mine” … touching moments: “Younger Than Springtime”, ”You’ve Got To Be Carefully Taught” and tons of fun: “There Is Nothing Like A Dame, “ and “Honey Bun”.

Timely topics … There is exceptional depth in the material and Maog’s production of SOUTH PACIFIC broadens our understanding of timely topics. So, beyond the enjoyment of a classic score and the terrific performances, this production ventures to a place where we can consider how our lives have been changed and enriched.

The takeaway … Look no further than the lyrics of “You’ve Got to Be Carefully Taught” and it is clear that Rodgers & Hammerstein knew that no one is born with prejudice, bias and fear, a message that it is perhaps even more relevant and important to us now than ever before. This a memorable experience on every level. Don’t miss it – SOUTH PACIFIC is high-flying fun! 

PHOTOS|Brett Beiner


DRURY LANE PRESENTS
RODGERS & HAMMERSTEIN'S
SOUTH PACIFIC
through June 17th
100 Drury Lane
Oakbrook Terrace, IL
(630) 530-0111

WEBSITE

For more reviews, visit: Theatre In Chicago

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