PicksInSix Review: The Gospel at Colonus - Court Theatre

Infectious… spectacular and from the heart.
PicksInSix® Review | Guest Contributor Ronald Keaton

There is so much to share about “The Gospel at Colonus,” the absolutely marvelous production now playing at Court Theatre through June 11, that one hardly knows where to start – or whether all the praise can fit in here.  Based on the Oedipus trilogy by Sophocles, it views the Greek tragedy – and in this case a specific tale that shows subsequent comparisons to Christian fact and legend – through the energetic prism of the Black Pentecostal Church.  It’s a fascinating adaptation that seems naturally to play into such customs and stories.

Some background: “Oedipus at Colonus” is the middle play in the trilogy.  Oedipus has already experienced what the gods say he will endure.  His father the king is killed in battle by his son’s hand.  In mourning, the son attends his mother Jocasta and, in time, they have three children together.  When that shame is discovered by the world, Oedipus then blinds himself as punishment for his sins and wanders the world for twenty years. Yes, that’s quite thumbnail in description, but it sets up the second play, where Oedipus is now cared for, by first one and then both daughters, as he is guided back to Thebes, desiring now to go home and die quietly.  And of course, nothing is quiet in Greek storytelling.

The versatile Kelvin Roston Jr. gives an Oedipus of great emotion and strength that translates into non-stop passion throughout the play.  As the two sisters, Aeriel Williams (Antigone) and Ariana Burks (Ismene) are both zealous, vulnerable guards of their father’s welfare.  Mark Spates Smith (Theseus, King of Athens) is a calming presence as his character converts to a narrator/minister of the church here. And it’s lovely to watch the wisdom in his work.  Timothy Edward Kane is a smooth, slick Creon, who is Jocasta’s brother, tempting Oedipus to return to his birthplace, so that the fortunes the gods have predicted will not come true and Creon can retain power in Thebes… And on the story goes.

There are so many high points from a talented ensemble, a most entertaining entity this writer enjoyed thoroughly.  Juwon Tyrel Perry portrays The Friend, who first tells Oedipus he cannot enter a holy place, in a stunning vocal turn. Kai A. Ealy as the evil son Polyneices offers wonderful character work, full of depth and deception.  As dual Choragos whose advice Oedipus accepts, Eric A. Lewis and Shari Addison deftly lead the citizenry in alternating moments of huge passion and quiet choral harmonies, all rooted in the Pentacostal tradition of call-and-response that is nothing if not exciting to watch here.  Everyone deserves mention – Jessica Brooke Seals as a knowing preacher of sorts, augmented by a Greek chorus (Jerica Exum, Cherise Thomas, Isaac Ray, Shantina Lynet, Eva Ruwe) who takes the captivating music to emotional heights in a totally unique take of the Court’s classic theatre mode.

“The Gospel at Colonus” is co-directed with an elegant combination of big choral strokes and intimate individual moments by Mark J.P. Hood and Charles Newell with associate director Taron Patton. A sparse scenic design by John Culbert; the colorful Raquel Adomo costuming; the wonderful, attentive shafts of sharp light in one moment and warm, enveloping light in another by Keith Parham; the complimentary sound layers designed by Sarah Ramos – all eloquent pieces to a puzzle of thick design and story.  All of these elements, expert as they are, grabbed onto the coattails of the exciting, heartfelt gospel blues from the five-piece unit led by Mahmoud Khan. Along with the audience, one could even see Production Stage Manager Kate Ocker clapping along from the stage manager’s booth. That’s how infectious it is – spectacular and from the heart.

Created by Lee Breuer and Bob Telson, the show had its original 1983 production at the famed Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York – after workshops at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis and in London – with Morgan Freeman as the preacher and the great Blind Boys of Alabama as Oedipus, in what Mr. Breuer and Mr. Telson called a “eureka moment” in their casting. It is a fascinating adaptation of an exceedingly challenging story to tell that naturally plays into the customs and traditions of Black churches.  I would venture to say that if they saw this production in all its fullness and nuance, they would be quite happy with the result.

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|Michael Brosilow

COURT THEATRE
presents
THE GOSPEL AT COLONUS
5535 S Ellis Ave.
EXTENDED through June 18, 2023

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PicksInSix Review: Ernest Shackleton Loves Me - Porchlight Music Theatre

Awakening Adventure Awaits If You Frigidaire.
PicksInSix® Review | Guest Contributor | Scott Gryder

The chilling atmospheric wind sounds and shadowy aquas across the stage of the Ruth Page Center for the Arts were all too familiar to Chicago audiences at Porchlight Music Theatre’s opening night performance of “Ernest Shackleton Loves Me.” The ship of a set, ice-locked within a bleak Brooklynite kitchen, quickly let us know that a 90 minute quest for adventure and danger was soon to begin.

The dream-like hallucination that is “Ernest Shackleton” combines the mundane struggles of out-of-work electronic music composer Kat with the over-the-top epic tale of 20th century Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton. Like two chaotic glaciers passing in the night, their stories collide at paralleling pivotal points of survival for each. While Kat’s circumstance might not be so life-threatening, the unlikely pair team up to face life’s unexpected trials to the tune of Kat’s music. Driven by her unique blend of stylings, Ernest and Kat venture forth to battle physical and emotional odds, conquering their fears, facing their losses and finding themselves along the way.

Seemingly most challenging for a production like “Ernest Shackleton” would be the casting. The sheer scope of talent required to meet the musical demands of playing a multitude of complex instruments and map through unmelodious music was most likely as nearly insurmountable as the “impenetrable” mountains that Shackleton’s crew had to face. But Porchlight’s Michael Unger and Eric Svejcar have done just that. Elisa Carlson’s Kat is spunky and full of defiance, with a musical mood to match that of pop superstar P!nk. Carlson has the punk-rock edge of a stereotypical 90’s New York avant-garde artist layered with the scratchy vocals of Miley Cyrus. Marry that airy tone with the crispness of Andrew Mueller’s tenor and the quality is full and moving. Together, they vocally sail toward their destination with a keen optimism. But it’s Mueller’s shining acting chops that deliver the emotional strength within the scenes. Not only does he delight when dabbling in and out of dating app characters, but his presence as Ernest Shackleton is grounded in awareness, personality and honest discovery, a discovery that is somewhat lacking in Carlson. Mueller brings us a Shackleton with profound optimism and a thirst for adventure comparable only to that of the fabled Don Quixote.

“Ernest Shackleton” is not your typical musical theater musical. Brendan Milburn’s music is baked in synthetic sound, looping tools, and echoes. Along with this less than traditional style, Val Vigoda presents more patter-based, organic lyrics, versus something more strongly singable. Not that the music and lyrics detract from the storytelling, they simply take a few beats to adjust to. The piece’s pacing, filled with the vigorous wit of Joe DiPietro’s book, rides this hurricanic cutting electronic edge, weaving through the mosaic plot. The essence of “Ernest Shackleton” is reminiscent of a Second City sketch, with its blizzard of puns and predictable situational comedy; however, the full scope of the show is quite charming.

Scott Davis’s scenic sails standing at full mast are serene and captivating, boldly bearing Smooch Medina’s wash of location projections and G. Max Maxin IV’s aurora borealis lighting, amidst his unnervingly cluttered hybrid home/studio made up of trunks and toys, instruments, and instrumentation. The use of the large screen TV in Kat’s kitchen was a bit jarring, but it provided an entertaining canvas for Mueller’s many momentary comedic characters and stunning actual film clips of Shackleton’s expedition. The most monumental creative feat was audio engineer Lynsy Folckomer’s maestro-like balance between the massive waves of electronic sound and amplified gabby lyrics.

The refreshing message delivered throughout the expeditions of “Ernest Shackleton” is the constant reminder to never lose our sense of adventure nor to forget the power of hope, even as we grow up. “Ernest Shackleton” is a playful romp, pushing the envelope of musical stylings and overflowing with talent. If you’re looking for adventure, catch this show soon, for “Ernest Shackleton Love Me” is forced to leave port on June 1st.

GUEST CONTRIBUTOR | SCOTT GRYDER received a Non-Equity Jeff Award for his performance in the one-man show BUYER & CELLAR. www.thescottgryder.com

PHOTO|Liz Lauren  

PORCHLIGHT MUSIC THEATRE
presents
ERNEST SHACKLETON LOVES ME
Ruth Page Center for the Arts
through June 1, 2023

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PicksInSix Review: Big River - Mercury Theater Chicago

Mercury Delivers Powerfully Moving “Big River”
PicksInSix® Review | Ed Tracy

The seven-time Tony Award-winning musical “Big River: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” is now playing in a bold and gritty revival at Mercury Theater Chicago, anchored by the engaging and exuberant performance of Eric Amundson, as the youthful homespun Huck, and a glass-shattering performance by Curtis Bannister as the freedom-longing slave, Jim.

Twain’s 1884 novel, on which the musical book by William Hauptman is based, recounts a coming-of-age story of a young man, desperate to escape an abusive father and a strict authoritarian foster family. Befriending an escaped slave, Huck serves as the narrator on a river adventure that winds its way through a study of race relations, slavery and prejudice in mid-19th century South. The topic is especially relevant these days considering that Twain’s depiction of racial injustice of the era has been banned regularly since it’s publication—despite being required reading in classroom’s throughout most of the 20th century.

Rarely produced regionally at the size and professional scope that director Christopher Chase Carter has so skillfully assembled in the intimate and historic Mercury Theater, “Big River” is stocked with seasoned Chicago talent and exceptional debut performers who together form a universally superb ensemble covering numerous roles. Revealing a true depiction of the underlying drama of the story amid Roger Miller’s highly entertaining and folksy score is the pivotal challenge that director Carter dispatches with a firm hand on the tiller, creating a stark landscape that exposes the racial insensitivity of the time. The no-holds-barred approach is intentionally difficult—we see slave families being ripped apart, chilling frontier justice and hear derogatory racial epithets—but Carter’s daring approach works, and the result is a powerfully moving experience.

The show begins as Huck is disciplined by his court-ordered guardians, the Widow Douglas (Colleen Perry), Miss Watson (McKinley Carter) and company in “Do Ya Wanna Go To Heaven?” Carter chooses to skip through the score earnestly without applause breaks to allow the numbers to coalesce with the story which moves things along from Huck’s fearful treatment at the hands of his drunken father “Pap” Finn (David Stobbe) in the quippy lyrics of “Guv’ment,” the blood pact that Huck, Tom Sawyer (Callan Roberts) and their cronies make in the spirited “The Boys,” Amundson’s silky sweet rendition of “Waitin’ for the Light to Shine” and Roberts letting it fly hog wild in “Hand for the Hog.”

When Huck decides to fake his death and steal away, he meets Jim who is about to escape on a raft. As the river adventure begins, Amundson and Bannister deliver the rousing anthem “Muddy Water.” Huck agrees to assuming “ownership” of Jim to protect him as the two seek to reunite Jim to his wife and children. But almost immediately, a despicable pair of con men—terrific turns for Stobbe as The King and Gabriel Fries as The Duke—lure Huck with promises of wealth in “When the Sun Goes Down in the South.” The two commandeer the raft to Bricktown, Arkansas, shackle Jim in isolation and Huck realizes that his new-found partners are bottom feeders, albeit comical ones. The pair then pose as brothers and heirs of a recently deceased resident and hatch a plan to take things over. When their plan runs aground, Huck and Mary Jane Wilkes (Amanda Handegan) devise Huck’s escape to Hillsboro where Jim has been sold back into slavery.  Handegan’s impressive debut performance includes two gorgeous numbers—“You Oughta be Here with Me” with her sisters Susan (Perry) and Joanna (Haley Jane Schafer) and “Leavin’s Not the Only Way to Go” with Bannister and Amundson who team up again for “World’s Apart.” The performance of the night belongs to Bannister who rocks the house with the soulful ballad “Free at Last.”

The rugged, multi-tiered, post and beam set draped in burlap is designed by Jacqueline and Richard Penrod and includes a central unit that adapts seamlessly with the story. The stage is awash with the auburn hues of Denise Karzcewski’s lighting and gorgeous period costumes by Marquecia Jordan, particularly in the funeral scene and “How Blest We Are” that showcases the talents of Isis Elizabeth (Alice’s Daughter), who I am sure we will be seeing a lot more of in the future. Music director Malcolm Ruhl, conductor Marques Stewart, and choreographer Ariel Etana Triunfo bring the legendary Miller’s beautiful, and only, theatrical score to vibrant life. “Big River” plays through June 11.  

PHOTO|Liz Lauren

Mercury Theater Chicago
presents
BIG RIVER
3745 N Southport Avenue
through June 11

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PicksInSix Review: The Porch on Windy Hill - Northlight Theatre

Seared Memories Evaporate on Northlight’s “Porch”
PicksInSix® Review | Ed Tracy

Music is an extraordinary connector to the people in our lives and to our past. As we age, life-changing memories often linger dormant until they are awakened by a long-forgotten melody that will then burrow into our consciousness, leaving waves of mixed emotions—joy, melancholy and longing. Those feelings intensify in our youth as the music around us serves as the catalyst for the person we are destined to become. But, what happens if, along the way, those brilliantly seared memories evaporate in an instant? The answer to that question can be found in Northlight’s arresting production of “The Porch on Windy Hill,” now playing at Northlight Theatre.

The backstory of this show—billed as “a new play with old music”—is as fascinating as the play itself. Conceived and directed by Sherry Lutken, the writing credits include Lutken and the three accomplished actors and extremely gifted musicians Lisa Helm Johanson, Morgan Morse and David M. Lutken who bring to life the fictional story of a young couple on a musical quest that both satisfies and enlightens us about generational awareness, race discrimination and family dynamics all unfolding on the porch of a family homestead on Windy Hill.

The play, born during the pandemic—which, not surprisingly, has become a theatrical renaissance of sorts with new work that could have only emerged when creative artists were fighting to cope with the isolation of the time—is centered around the relationship of a grandfather and his granddaughter, fractured by decades of silence, fueled by pride, self-righteousness and lack of cultural awareness, who have now found reconciliation through the American folk music that has been the life blood for generations of the family.

The current generation is represented by Mira (Johanson) and her companion, Beckett (Morse), who wind up at the family home of Edgar (Lutken), a Vietnam-era veteran and folk singer for whom music is his salvation. After an incident, Edgar’s daughter abruptly moved to New York with Mira and her Korean husband when Mira was eight, so the visit now is a bit of an uneasy homecoming.  It is not immediately clear at first why Mira has returned, but Beckett, a graduate student, fits right in with Edgar’s folksy, welcoming style and it takes only a minute to realize that the music they will be making comes from another wonderful place altogether. While Beckett provides the documented history of the music, it has always been a part of Edgar’s life, passed down from his family to his daughter and granddaughter all those years ago.

The beauty in the music helps to melt away layers of Mira’s sadness and allows her the strength to both face the issues that have divided the family and to understand, if not accept, her grandfather’s point of view. It takes a few shots of moonshine, an array of instruments and some foot-stomping folk melodies, but Edgar begins to understand things more clearly, too.

The porch exterior set—chalk white siding and weather-worn lattice work—is the fine design work of Mara Ishihara Zinky, right down to the 1960s transistor radio and bird’s nest in the eve. With Lindsey Lyddan’s evocative lighting and all the calming sounds of nature in Rick Sims sound design, the atmosphere is perfect to sit a spell and enjoy the music. “The Porch on Windy Hill” plays through May 14.  

PHOTO|Michael Brosilow
VIDEO|Starbelly Studios

NORTHLIGHT THEATRE
presents
The Porch on Windy Hill
North Shore Center for the Performing Arts
9501 Skokie Blvd.

through May 14, 2023

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(847) 673-6300

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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

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(847) 634-0200

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PicksInSix Review: Is God Is - A Red Orchid Theatre

“Deceptive power fuels “Is God Is.”
 PicksInSix® Review|Guest Contributor Ronald Keaton

There is a challenging, stylish production at A Red Orchid Theatre entitled “Is God Is,” where violence is examined from the standpoint of families and their histories, in a kind of rebellious, yet bracing take by playwright Aleshea Harris that plays at the legendary Old Town theatre through May 28.

Directed in pointed and demanding strokes by the fine Milwaukee-based actor/director Marti Gobel, “Is God Is” tells the difficult story of a family unit wracked by domestic and criminal violence that uses a dose of dark humor to make the hard moments palatable for people to bear—and for an audience to follow in the story.  And does it very well. Harris is an intelligent, resourceful writer whose full mix of familial language and street vernacular grabs us by the scruff of the neck and holds on. It produces moments that are eye-opening and brutally truthful.

Twin sisters Anaia (Ashli Rene Funches) and Racine (Aja Singletary) have scars, physical scars that we are meant to see and be uncomfortable with.  They stem from a fire in their house that was set by their father when they were much younger children, and they’ve been told that their mother (dubbed ‘She’) is dead, that is until a letter comes from her wanting to see them.  As they see She (Karen Aldridge) in her withered, damaged state close to death, they get a chilling request. These three artists—Funches and Singletary in their fun, give-and-take sister dynamic, and Aldridge in a stunning, frightening take as a burn victim facing death—are worth the price of admission.  But there’s more here than meets the eye.

As an audience member, this writer discovers here the value of truly innovative storytelling, which at first seemed problematic.  The sister’s revengeful quest that follows stretches from the Deep South to California.  At first I wondered why we had so little to work with in accepting the story.  It sneaks up on you, really: murderous acts that Racine and Anaia commit on a lawyer (a wild-haired, almost hippie-like Sherman Edwards), on the father’s second wife (Rita Wicks, whose suburban entitlement is wonderfully ironic) and on the twin…yes, twin sons Riley (a humorously deadpan Donovan Session) and Scotch (Andrew Muwonge in a hilarious turn as a self-aware writer) of this second family. The bodies start piling up like so much kindling wood around a campfire.

At last, Man—the character name for the father – comes home. As Man, Kevin Minor is at once threatening, dark and ironic in his defense of what he did all those years ago.  We first see him in a silent mime during the original description of the fire by She.  We hear his voice share an explanation that bespeaks the cycle of violence that he has instigated, that this family has endured, and that we in the audience take with disturbing ease.

The ending is a surprise that will not be revealed here.  It took getting away from the actual production to reflect upon and fully understand the experience.  The entire 100 minutes of performance does not at all give us an easy ride.  But it makes us think and consider why we accept such violence in our midst with seeming ease, like a Sam Peckinpah film of yore. Makes one wonder if we have indeed become so numb in our society, no matter the form or reason for it, that we put it on an unbecoming list of solutions.  “Is God Is” has that kind of numbing, deceptive power.

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|Fadeout Media

A Red Orchid Theatre
presents

IS GOD IS

1531 N Wells St, Chicago, IL 60610

through May 28

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(312) 943-8722

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PicksInSix Review: The Cherry Orchard - Goodman Theatre

“All Things Come To An End.”
PicksInSix® Gold Review |Ed Tracy

On my first visit to Chicago, I took a brisk late morning walk from Streeterville down Michigan Avenue across the DuSable Bridge to Wacker then North Dearborn and into the lobby of the Goodman Theatre. I was on a quest, of sorts. I browsed the impressive donor wall and peered in on the staff bustling around next door at Petterino’s.

It was mid-March 2002 and I had visited a hundred theaters or more before but could immediately feel the unique energy emitting from this slumbering giant of a venue. The feeling was palpable and inspiring.

I ventured upstairs and—remarkably by today’s security standards—into the Albert Theatre balcony, settling quietly into the last seat on the aisle, watching stagehands prepare for the next performance of the Robert Falls-directed masterpiece, “Long Day’s Journey into Night.”

It was not apparent to me at the time just how much influence one person could have on an institution, particularly when it is in the business of the performing arts and operates at such an extraordinary professional level as the Goodman Theatre. Falls’ work had been recognized with numerous awards, most notably a Special Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre and for directing “Death of a Salesman.”      

An amazing career for someone who had served as Artistic Director at Goodman since 1986. But Falls was just getting started. Twenty years passed before a new generation of artistic leadership would begin writing the next chapter. The foundational work by Falls and longtime Executive Director/CEO Roche Schulfer is an epic story of partnership and passion for the arts.  One need only look at the last six pages of the program to witness the investment by individuals, corporations and foundations whose support has enabled groundbreaking new work and educational opportunities to flourish on multiple stages.

Countless years of opening nights at Goodman were top of mind as I entered the Albert on Monday for the opening of Falls’ brilliant production of Anton Chekov’s “The Cherry Orchard,” a play choice that speaks to his long range vision and embraces a legacy that will be lasting and permanent. Falls is an artist extraordinaire and an innovator who has operated at the pinnacle of his craft through a defining and challenging era for contemporary theater.

This is a production to see and to savor.

Change is inevitable and “all things come to an end” a resoundingly appropriate quote from the play that sums up our human urge to reconcile with the past even as we keep a hopeful eye to the future. Adapted by Falls from a translation by George Calderon, “The Cherry Orchard” bursts with life, love, anguish and longing, showcasing an aristocracy trapped in its social mores, vulnerable yet oblivious to the generational change that is consuming them. It is theater of the highest caliber, a classic running spritely on all cylinders with production values that are rich, textured and sublime.

It is also a play for our time, when our own creative culture is at a tipping point and theater itself in the middle of a seismic shift. Falls has molded Chekov’s vision of the collapse of mid-19th century servitude society into an assessable production that looks and feels very much like it might have at the Moscow Art Theater during its debut at turn of the 20th century. Now enhanced for a modern audience, it emerges with all the joy and sadness that Chekov might have imagined—delightfully entertaining, absorbing and captivating—elevated to new heights by an extraordinary ensemble led by the blistering performance of Kate Fry (Lubov Ranyevskaya) and inimitable Chicago stage veterans including: Kareem Bandealy (Lopakhin),  Christopher Donahue (Leonid Gayev), Matt DeCaro (Boris Semyonov-Pishchik), Alexandra Escalante (Varya), and Amanda Drinkall (Dunyasha) with two of the most endearing and heartfelt stage turns of this or any season by Francis Guinan (Firs) and Janet Ulrich Brooks (Carlotta). 

Todd Rosenthal’s artful scenic design of the estate of Lyubov Ranevskaya, the stunning costumes by Ana Kuzmanic and evocative lighting by Keith Parham, all coalesce to provide the perfect visual tapestry.

The page has now been turned. We can only dream that the next glorious chapter of Goodman Theatre history will be as exciting, and satisfying, as this one. “The Cherry Orchard” plays through May 7.  

PHOTO|Liz Lauren

GOODMAN THEATRE
presents
THE CHERRY ORCHARD
EXTENDED through May 7
Albert Theatre
170 N. Dearborn St.

(312) 443-3800

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PicksInSix Review: A SOLDIER'S PLAY - Broadway in Chicago

Fistfuls of alternating power and hate.
Guest Contributor Ronald Keaton|PicksInSix® Review

“They still hate you!”  The words ring out as the first moments in witnessing a murder. They are accompanied by a seeming prisoner’s work song from soldiers in an impressionistic barracks– the set piece of the painful, eloquent “A Soldier’s Play,” the Pulitzer Prize-winning play by American playwright Charles Fuller, whom we lost last October.  And it’s all deftly staged by the marvelous director Kenny Leon and now revived through Roundabout Theatre Company’s 2020 Tony Award-winning production on tour throughout North America and at Broadway In Chicago’s CIBC Theatre through April 16.

It’s a phrase with a fatalistic implication, as uttered by a drunken Sergeant Vernon C. Waters (a masterful presence throughout by Eugene Lee) from the 2nd floor of a US Army barracks set design by Derek McLane.  It’s stark and hazy, both at once, reflective of a time (the Deep South in Louisiana during World War II) that shows how stunningly small the progress for the civil rights movement in America was in its segregated military from the Civil War to these moments.

Captain Richard Davenport (a stylish, emotional Norm Lewis), a Black Army officer, has been sent to Fort Neal, Louisiana, to investigate the killing. He is received at first with mocking and almost disbelief by Captain Charles Taylor (William Connell), who expresses his displeasure with Davenport questioning anyone, no matter their race, because of their low regard in a military placed in the old Confederacy…A Black officer?  AND a lawyer?  Indeed, the initial suspects are local Klansmen. Then later on, two bigoted white soldiers (strong turns by Matthew Goodrich and Chattan Mayes Johnson) fall under Davenport’s suspicion.

The story is told in atmospheric flashback sequences, as Davenport’s piercing questions create memories for the audience to absorb, through each man’s story in the unit being questioned. Sgt. Waters–ambitious, of strong intellect and self-regard–treated the soldiers in his unit as almost sub-standard, making them fit into the stereotypes he views as “holding our race back.”  But in that same regard, he belatedly realizes in his drunken state that his white ‘superiors’ will never allow him his equality, no matter how much he might emulate their own behavior and attitudes.  For those actions and his persecution of the soldiers he commands, Waters is murdered while uttering his own death knell–they do still hate him.  All of them.

Mr. Lewis offers a strong military man who is not afraid to take charge of the investigation.  His Davenport acts also as a kind of gentle, principled narrator who guides us through the maze of this complex tale.  Mr. Lee is magnetic and grabs his moments in fistfuls of alternating power and hate.  Mr. Connell’s Captain Taylor is properly doubtful and disdaining.  For this writer, the strength of the story lies with the men in the barracks.  The one modicum of respect given them (if one can call it that) is that all these men are baseball players from the Negro Leagues, and they play ball against white teams every Saturday during the season.  They are skilled athletes who fiercely bond together in that baseball experience, even as Waters denigrates them for doing so.  Our eyes and hearts are drawn to the wonderful Sheldon D. Brown as CJ Memphis, a gentle and pure soul who is driven to suicide and a fine, prickly Tarik Lowe as Peterson, who challenges Waters with his own misguided passions.  There is a host of clear, articulate characterizations from a topnotch ensemble of artists–Howard Overshown, Branden Davon Lindsey, Malik Esoj Childs, Alex Michael Givens, and Will Adams.

A SOLDIER’S PLAY - at the CIBC Theatre through April 16, 2023. Broadway in Chicago

As the albatross around the country’s neck, the battle of racism in America continues as a piercing-hot specter to face, to understand and to deal with in all its forms.  Mr. Fuller’s forceful, passionate prose makes us do so with issues that still tragically ring true in our contemporary world.  Mr. Leon, one of our great theatre craftsmen, shows us in his wily direction straight-on how such issues stand up and make us stare. And wonder.  And in moments good and bad, take action to address.  A full experience here to view for us all.

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|Joan Marcus

BROADWAY IN CHICAGO
A SOLDIER’S PLAY
CIBC Theatre
through April 16, 2023

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PicksInSix Review: Happy Days - City Lit Theater

“No longer young, not yet old.”
 PicksInSix® Review | Ed Tracy

Days begin and end with an alarm and brilliant flashes of light to signify the passage of time among the chaos of “Happy Days,” Samuel Beckett’s tragicomic vision of the world. There in the middle of it all is Winnie – effervescent in her curiosity, confidence and optimism that belies an undertone of futility even as she is hopeful for the promise of every new day. Winnie is immobile from the waist down, a mound of clutter, dirt and refuge consuming her – perhaps the compounded weight of life’s challenges… or a reflection of our wasteful society.

What lies out of reach is of no consequence. It is the absorbing performance of Kayla Boye, unfolding in a blazing stream of consciousness that is at once confounding and compelling, pushing artistic boundaries in an altogether new direction.  Captivating and buoyant in the first act – playfully taunting the unseen Willie and ripping through Beckett’s tacit observations on marriage, life and love with thoughtful, knowing elegance – Boye’s Winnie is immeasurably aged by her all-consuming surroundings in the second act, weighed down by it all from the neck down, searching for the last shards of hope and promise with only her voice and time-withered expressions left.  Singularly startling, daring and marvelous.

“Happy Days,” as with many Beckett works, restricts the actor’s movements, thereby limiting the tools of their trade. What remains here is a one-on-one experience with the audience. Combining passion and power in the abstract, the play then delivers a moving, not-so-final resolution that begs the existential question: What is it meant to mean?

I have been ruminating on that one for several days.

Boye, a triple-threat Chicago talent who has also written, produced and toured her critically-acclaimed Elizabeth Taylor biography “Call Me Elizabeth” is directed here by Jon Dambacher, who is also designer. The mound of recycled materials and stark lighting, utilizes the intimacy of the City Lit Theater space to full advantage. This is at its core a quiet work about the evolving nature of Winnie’s situation.  It is our eagerness to align our curiosity and expectations with the playwright’s intent that keeps us riveted to the piece.

Developing solo projects of this caliber takes courage and stamina that only a few gifted actors possess. Boye is certainly up to the task. To venture outside a comfort zone and tackle a formidable work of this scale and substance is a worthy ambition that both matures the artist and the audience. A rare and welcome combination indeed.

PHOTO|Kàchí Mozie

KB PRODUCTIONS
presents
Samuel Beckett’s

HAPPY DAYS

Directed by Jon Dambacher

Starring Kayla Boye

CITY LIT THEATER
1020 W. Bryn Mawr Avenue
Chicago, IL 60660

through April 2

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PicksInSix Review: The Comedy of Errors - Chicago Shakespeare Theater

Comedy of Errors – “Thanks. Very Much!”
PicksInSix® Gold Review | Ed Tracy

In perhaps one of the most inspired and hilarious opening scenes in recent memory, Barbara Gaines launched her final stage production as Chicago Shakespeare Theater’s Founder and Artistic Director not with a hearty hail and farewell, but instead a hilarious delivery.

Four of them actually.

The seafaring journey that follows for two sets of identical twins at the center of chaos and confusion is just the beginning of a wild and wondrous adventure. Gaines’s uproarious, over-the-top adaptation of “The Comedy of Errors” is really two shows, in fact, weaved together as one. Shakespeare’s tale of mistaken identities, mischief and mayhem is framed by an altogether new and fascinating story all its own—magnificently conceived by Gaines and brilliantly written by Ron West—that is set on a 1940 London soundstage. The developing storylines of the players is underscored by terrific musical performances, frequent Luftwaffe bombing raids, live Foley sound effects and just the right amount of hijinks and slapstick.

The play centers around the twins who are separated soon after birth by a shipwreck at sea.  Now adults in Ephesus, Antipholus from Syracuse (Robert Petkoff) and Antipholus from Ephesus (Dan Chameroy), along with their servant twins, Dromio of Syracuse (Ross Lehman) and Dromio of Ephesus (Kevin Gudhal) find themselves confounding Adriana (Susan Moniz), the wife of Antipholus of Ephesus, her sister Luciana (Melanie Brezill), the merchant Angelo (Brezon Arzell) and virtually everyone else.

Lehman also plays Dudley Marsh, the director of the film storyline and married to Veronica (Moniz) who is having a torrid affair in plain sight with Emerson Furbelow (Petkoff). Meanwhile Lord Brian Hallifax (Gudhal) is forever posturing for and expanding upon his stage real estate at every opportunity with hilarious consequences. Add to this powerhouse quartet the likes of Phil Sullivan (Chameroy), a dashing, aviator and crooning heartthrob for the charming Lillian Castillo (Marian), with the accident-prone stage manager Charles Chittick (William Dick) and you have the makings of a comic ensemble that’s on fire all night.

A spectacular set design by James Noone evokes the grandeur of filmmaking in a bygone era. It’s a gem that benefits from the stagehands quietly and effortlessly moving on and off in the context of the film shoot. The Courtyard Stage is awash with color and detail from Ken Posner’s lighting design, Mieka Van Der Ploeg’s stunning costumes and Lindsay Jones’s crisp sound and original music.

In a show filled with superb featured character roles, Ora Jones (Abbess), Adia Bell (Fanny) and Bruce A. Young (Monty/Duke) all stand out. Greg Vinkler shines as the ruddy Admiral Philpot and as his brother Eddie Philpot, funnyman Bill Larkin provides the oft-repeated phrase of the night that everyone will be saying to Barbara Gaines in appreciation of her decades of commitment to making Shakespeare accessible to everyone: “Thanks. Very Much!”

PHOTO|Liz Lauren
Barbara Gaines|Joe Mazza

Chicago Shakespeare Theater
presents
THE COMEDY OF ERRORS
Courtyard Theater
Navy Pier
through April 16

WEBSITE

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PicksInSix Review: You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown - Marriott Theatre

If only dogs could really talk…
PicksInSix® Review | Ed Tracy

Like most of us of a certain age, Charles Schulz Peanuts characters are part of the fabric of my life. It’s hard to believe the comic strip that originated over 75 years ago could still be so timelessly entertaining and relevant today. We may grow out of the regularity of the experience, but when our senses are wrapped around images, music and comedy that reflects a more innocent time in our lives, and the lives of our children, the magical, irresistible feeling consumes us. It’s inescapable.

All those emotional connections will wrap their loving arms around you with happiness for the roughly 65 minutes of the Marriott Theatre for Young Audiences heartwarming revival of “You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown” now playing in Lincolnshire. Sharing the colorful stage space and benefiting enormously from the superb production values of the “Big Fish” run, the show expertly incorporates lights and staging all its own in Marriott’s in-the-round configuration to create the ultimate visual experience for every member of the audience. And that’s not a small feat when easily half of those patrons are of the pint-sized variety.

The musical “You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown” with book, music and lyrics by Clark Gesner first appeared in the late 60s, was streamlined, updated and remounted with character revisions and additional music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa and dialogue by director Michael Mayer for a Tony-nominated Broadway revival in 1999. Trimmed a bit in the Marriott production to make for a one-act, high-energy romp that amplifies some of the more quiet, heartwarming moments of the show, it’s followed by a terrific post-show talkback that is guaranteed to bring out the kid in all of us. Altogether, it’s 90 minutes of pure family fun!

The uniformly superb ensemble, directed and choreographed with gusto by Linda Fortunato, is led by Patrick Michael Tierney as the valiant, lovable loser Charlie Brown who despite the pitfalls, always seems to find some good out of every situation. The same can be said for every other character from the bossy but endearing Lucy Van Pelt (Tafadzwa Diener) and her forever attraction Schroeder (Matthew Bettencourt) to Lucy’s little brother Linus (Jackson Evans) and Charlie Brown’s sister, Sally (Amanda Walker). Each approaches their worlds with childlike enthusiasm mixed with a healthy dash of lopsided—and hilarious—grown-up pessimism. It’s a wonderfully warm day in the life of a group of comic characters who sincerely like each other. In that choice, director Fortunato keenly targets every childhood observation about friendship, nature and the wonder of it all.

And if you have ever thought what the world would be like if only dogs could really talk, sing and dance, you need look no further than the fetching Andrés Enriquez whose Snoopy captures the essence of the world’s most famous beagle and personifies Schultz’s impish spirit. Enriquez makes “Suppertime” a truly joyous occasion and at one point, during the opening performance last Saturday morning, got a singular howl of a response from the audience that cracked everyone up.

In a nod to the comic strip, Patrick Ham’s stylized set pieces and props, with Evelyn Danner’s iconic costume design, Megan Pirtle’s wigs and the color and light of designer Lee Fickness, all evoke Schulz’s childlike fantasy cartoon world. Musical director and conductor Rick Bertone, in sync with Rick Sims sound, makes every number a winner and this show a nonstop comic treat that will keep even the youngest member of the family sitting on the edge of their seat. Happiness truly is playing now through April 1 at Marriott Theatre.  

PHOTO|LIZ LAUREN

MARRIOTT THEATRE LINCOLNSHIRE
presents
YOU’RE A GOOD MAN, CHARLIE BROWN
through April 1, 2023

WEBSITE | TICKETS

(847) 634-0200

HEALTH PROTOCALS

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PicksInSix Review: Trial in the Delta: The Murder of Emmett Till-Collaboraction Theatre Company

A Moving Reenactment of Historic Injustice.
PicksInSix® Gold Review | Guest Contributor | Kaitlyn Linsner

For fifty years, the transcript from the 1955 trial of J.W. Milam and Roy Bryant in the murder of Emmett Till remained hidden. The details of the actual courtroom proceedings, while deeply impactful in their effect, stayed behind closed courtroom doors in Sumner, Mississippi. For fifty years, then, very few people knew of all that was said and unsaid in the trial that resulted in a jury of all White men acquitting two White defendants for the heinous crimes they later confessed to in a magazine article.

Now, thanks to Collaboraction Theatre Company and The Dusable Black History Museum and Education Center, people can experience first-hand what occurred in that courtroom in 1955 by attending “Trial in the Delta: The Murder of Emmett Till.” This live, fully-produced stage production is adapted entirely from the actual transcript and evokes powerful reflection through a precise reenactment using only the same words spoken during the trial.

Prior to the current staged production, “Trial in the Delta” premiered in February 2022 as a teleplay and part of a larger NBC5 Chicago Anchor Marion Brooks’ investigative series on Emmett Till. Brooks, after finding the transcript online through her research, asked Collaboraction to create and film a staged reading, and the co-production went on to win a 2022 Chicago/Midwest Emmy Award.

For this year’s fully immersive experience, Collaboraction commissioned Chicago playwrights G. Riley MIlls and Willie Round to adapt 354 pages of transcript into a 90-page, two-hour run time, theatrical reenactment. Collaboraction Artistic Director Anthony Moseley and Company Member Dana Anderson co-directed the production.

“Trial in the Delta: The Murder of Emmett Till” shines brightest in its immersive efforts. Witnesses sit among the audience and take their time when called to stand. They approached both carefully and carelessly with demeanors matching the stark contrast between the White and Black people in the courtroom. White defendants, J.W. Milam (Matt Miles) and Roy Bryant (Tyler Burke), sat slouched in their chairs, shirts unbuttoned, often looking back into the audience with smirks and sneering commentary while their attorney muddied the prosecution’s case with great, callous spectacle. Lax and loose, they showed no shame, no remorse and no fear of consequences for their actions.

Then, stage left, you see Emmet Till’s mother, Mamie Till-Bradly (Kayla Franklin) sitting tall and poised. She’s dressed sharp, polished and elegant and exudes an unshakable confidence and commitment to her truth and her love for her son during her testimony. You experience the resounding courage of Emmett Till’s uncle, Mose Wright (Darren Jones), who, when asked to identify the men who took Emmett from his home, pointed to the defendants in the courtroom. Following the actual trial in 1955, Mose Wright fled Mississippi.

The stakes are entirely different between the prosecution and the defendant’s witnesses. We’re talking literal life and death. Sitting and observing this unfold as a courtroom spectator left a searing impression. It also left a sinking feeling in the gut especially when the defense’s strategy highlighted persistent, harmful tactics still utilized in the ongoing racial injustices transpiring all over this country. The defense intentionally mischaracterized fourteen-year-old Emmett Till as a man when he was just a boy. The defense’s closing argument capitalized on fear to convince the jury that no one would be safe from baseless accusations if the jury convicted those two men. The elephant in the room quickly became the palpable question of just how far have we really come since this 1955 trial?

Overall, the words from the transcript and the actors’ solid delivery of them carried great power. The minimal set worked well but the large screen behind the courtroom was underutilized. More statements could have been cast on that screen to punctuate the witness’ testimony. A real highlight that must be mentioned is the conversation that follows each performance allowing for the audience to hold the story collectively, in community, and to discuss choices we can make as those inheriting this story.

It was during this conversation, prompted by the illuminating performance preceding it, that a call to action was made – to stop this history from continuing to repeat itself. “Trial in the Delta: The Murder of Emmett Till” offers the unique opportunity to experience our history and really sit with it. Those fortunate enough to attend will not soon forget.

GUEST CONTRIBUTOR | KAITLYN LINSNER is a Chicago-based attorney practicing construction and surety law.

PHOTO | Joel Maisonet

Collaboraction Theatre Company and

The DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center

Present

Trial in the Delta: The Murder of Emmett Till

through February 19, 2023

The DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center

740 E. 56th Place

TICKETS

(773) 947-0600

COLLABORACTION WEBSITE

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PicksInSix Review: Toni Stone - Goodman Theatre

“…wide, tender eyes and knowing delivery.”
Ronald Keaton | Guest Contributor | PicksInSix® Review

“Why would I eat crackers in your bed?”  The character of Toni Stone asks this literal question of a prospective lover, as well as other hugely unconventional issues in Lydia R. Diamond’s sparkling, creative play “Toni Stone,” now playing at the Goodman Theatre. Stone is a historic figure who infuses her world with all kinds of sociological change, being the first woman to ever play on the field in men’s professional baseball… in this case, the Indianapolis Clowns of the Negro Leagues in the 1940s and 50s.

You may ask: “Why does the world not know more about her?” That is beginning to change with this expertly-crafted memory play that maps out Stone’s path in a pleasingly helter-skelter manner, allowing for a full and articulate explanation of who she is, what she wants, and how she gets there.  Doesn’t matter that it might be a tad confusing to some; that’s the nature of our memories, after all, and what they mean to our own histories.  Ms. Diamond has infused Toni Stone with an unflinching, iron-clad commitment to not only the game, but how she fits into it.  Her very first monologue talks of her own ‘reach’ through the ‘weight’ of the ball itself; she holds the ball for the audience as if it were her own child.  And in essence, that’s how committed, singular paths make their own mark.

The wonderful Tracey N. Bonner inhabits Toni Stone with a child’s longing, a woman’s continual feist against conformity, and an athlete’s endless vision.  Ms. Bonner presents someone absolutely on point in her feelings about baseball, almost obsessively so.  Stone is a baseball computer; she uses her knowledge of baseball players and statistics as a salving tool in constant recitative to survive what is thrown at her on the diamond by opposing teams and, indeed, the world at large.  The self-advocating side of Stone only serves to further strengthen the obvious calling that baseball was to her; Bonner offers this in wide, tender eyes and knowing delivery.  This is an actor’s masterclass in fully inhabiting one’s character in a show that I would see again and again.

There is much gorgeous work here. Jon Hudson Odom as the madam Millie is not only a soothing influence on Stone; we see from the actor a total calm and command from the get-go. As Stone’s lover and eventual husband, the marvelous Chiké  Johnson imbues his Alberga with a strong, yet quiet pseudo-Nick Arnstein presence for us to hold our collective breath, in his three-piece dark blue suit and habitual smooth.  The supporting cast portrays a rogue’s gallery of characters – mothers, bartenders, team owners, baseball players and coaches. The fabulous ensemble – Kai A. Ealy, Joseph Aaron Johnson, Travis A. Knight, Victor Musoni, Matty Robinson, Edgar Miguel Sanchez, Terence Sims, and Jabari Khaliq – use every Diamond phrase, both intellectual and profane, to full advantage in support of the storytelling.

The impressive Todd Rosenthal set design is a suggested baseball field – in fact, the name on it was Victory Field in Indianapolis, where this writer attended games as a child. Mara Blumenfeld’s costumes are simple and excellently functional for the character changes the ensemble are assigned.  Keith Parham designed soft layers in a variety of ever-moving lighting effects, effortlessly following the Toni Stone life road.  Andre Pluess and his period music/sound design literally inhabits Stone’s mind as they assist to buoy the script in those memories. And Mike Tutaj once again imbues his projections with touches of elegance and documentary-like effect (“Jack’s Tavern” the on-the road landscapes for the team).

Ms. Diamond has always been a favorite writer at the Goodman, and she’s earned it – a real Chicago treasure.  “Toni Stone” is among her best work.  And the celebrated director Ron OJ Parson has given this play and these actors a clear, accessible and fully non-conformist track that keeps up with Ms. Bonner’s inventive and keen actor/storyteller.  Everyone in this process, in fact, either is or became an expert storyteller.  The fact that it all comes through one of the most inventive characters written in a long time only magnifies the quality of every creative person involved here.

GUEST CONTRIBUTOR | RONALD KEATON received an Equity Jeff Award for the performance of his one-man show CHURCHILL www.solochicagotheatre.com 

PHOTO|Liz Lauren

GOODMAN THEATRE
presents
TONI STONE
through March 20
Albert Theatre
170 N. Dearborn St.

(312) 443-3800

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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

HEALTH PROTOCALS

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PicksInSix Review: And Neither Have I Wings To Fly - First Folio Theatre

TO FAIR WINDS AND FOLLOWING SEAS.
PicksInSix® Review | Ed Tracy

As First Folio’s splendid production of Ann Noble’s “And Neither Have I Wings To Fly” unfolds, a disheartened Peter Donnelly (David Rice) and his family are coping with the passing of his wife, Moira (Adrianne Cury) while his daughter Eveline (Haley Rice), the family anchor, is in preparation for the wedding of youngest daughter Kathleen (Jennifer Mohr).

Eveline had put her own dreams and aspirations on hold for three years to care for her ailing mother. She is now conflicted by the responsibility to care for her aging father and tend to the day-to-day matters of the home against her own aspirations. As we discover early on, there is movement and a path out, but the clock is ticking. There is also a looming deadline that will require a spiritual nudge to present options, pose questions and allow her to make a decision.

When Moria’s spirit appears to Eveline and takes steps to help her through, it’s also clear that Moira has some questions of her own to be answered before she can move on.

Along the way, Kathleen, who is about to marry Leo (David Gordon-Johnson) is swept up by Freddy (Michael Dias), a former lover and touring actor who openly threatens the marriage while everyone except Eveline and Moira’s spirit appear to be looking the other way. Once Leo’s exuberant brother Charlie (Andrew Behling) arrives on the scene to awaken Eveline’s hidden desires and take a stand of his own, the hearty stew of this poignant story about eternal love overcoming loss begins to simmer.

Director Heather Chrisler evokes mid-50s Ireland at every wonderful opportunity – through Noel Huntzinger’s period costumes, the blissful original and traditional music and sound by Lindsay Jones, and the evocative lighting by Julie Ballard. All these rich elements enhance the stunning and detailed interior scenic design by Angela Weber Miller. A nod goes to vocal and accent designer Sammi Grant whose work with the superb company is earnest and true.

It was announced this week that the final production of First Folio’s three-show 2023 season would be cancelled and the company, a fixture for 26 years under the guidance of co-founders David Rice and his late wife Alison C. Vesely, will close this month. Rice and his daughter, Hayley, have not performed together since 2013’s “The Rainmaker,” which, for all of us parents who dream of this opportunity, is one more compelling and exceptional reason among many to see this heartwarming drama at Maylake Peabody Estate before it closes on February 26.

PHOTO|First Folio Theatre

First Folio Theatre
Presents
And Neither Have I Wings To Fly
Mayslake Peabody Estate
1717 W. 31st St.
Oak Brook
through February 26, 2023

 WEBSITE

CALL FOR TICKETS
(630) 986-8067  

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PicksInSix Review: Andy Warhol In Iran - Northlight Theatre

Northlight’s ‘Warhol’ “Brings Home The Bacon!”
PicksInSix® Review | Ed Tracy

Iran in the 70s – a fight for political, moral and individual rights that led to targeted suppression of protests by a regime that wielded torture and fear as the rule of law. Fast forward nearly fifty years and women’s rights now take center stage in regional protests. Radical change in our time is both momentary and glacial. A single act of violence broadcast on social media ignites instantaneous worldwide condemnation, while the exhaustive search for truth and justice that follows moves at an exhaustingly slow pace.

Throughout the life and times of Andy Warhol from the late 40s until his death in 1987 at 58, every encounter was a rich story worthy of being told. If you experienced the work of the iconic pop creator/activist/artist/filmmaker firsthand, the repetition of Warhol’s single images were unavoidably captivating. Shades of Marilyn Monroe, Richard Nixon, and Campbell’s Soup. Films that captured the personal stories of his subjects, or nothing at all, always inquisitive, searching for the essence that makes each subject unique. In the telling, Warhol built a worldwide following, amassed wealth, influence, access and fame with a single superpower: his ability to observe.

Warhol’s adept skill and fascination with his subject’s uniqueness, that also nearly took his life, is a central theme of Northlight Theatre’s absorbing production of Brent Askari’s “Andy Warhol in Iran,” directed by Northlight’s Artistic Director BJ Jones. The byproduct of this fascinating piece is a broader understanding of who Warhol was as a person, told through monologues highlighted with fast-moving images that frame the fictional confrontation between Warhol, masterfully interpreted in a brilliant performance by Rob Lindley, and a young radical named Farhad, played superbly by Hamid Dehghami.

It is difficult to determine when the razor-sharp dialogue of Askari’s writing ends and the pinpoint pacing of Lindley’s seamless delivery begins. Given the show’s premise of a politically-motivated celebrity kidnapping, one might not imagine that the storyline would be deliciously layered with so many hilarious Warhol-esqe observations. To Lindley’s credit, he both feeds off of and into Dehghami’s frenetic obsession to further his group’s cause by way of Warhol’s fame. The cause of Farhad’s pain at the hands of Iran’s torturous and oppressive regime is very real. Askari’s script exploits Warhol’s astute and inquisitive nature to disarm his potential captor and Lindley skillfully knocks it out of the park. The result is a free-flowing narrative of discovery that, along the way, retells Warhol’s early years in Pittsburgh, tumultuous relationships, a near-death experience that altered his life forever and his personal view on a range of topics from capitalism to life and death. On the former, it’s like he always says: “You gotta bring home the bacon!” To the latter, he muses: “Dying is not hard; it’s the waking up part.”

Dehghami, an accomplished Iranian actor and recent MFA graduate of Northwestern University, evokes a generation of college students caught up in the political turmoil of the era that would lead to their expulsion from academic communities across the United States. That brief, but powerful, intersection with western culture, was the single act for that generation, prompting life-alerting choices of family and freedom for countless Iranians who oppose tyranny.

Set in a suite at the Royal Tehran Hilton smartly designed by Todd Rosenthal, the room serves as an oasis of the decadence of the period where Warhol discovers perhaps for the first time what the world view of his work truly means to those who exploit it for their own means. Mike Tutaj’s riveting historical projections are enhanced by the collaborative sound design of Andre Pluess and Forrest Gregor. But it is Lindley’s crisp, clever and measured approach that pours out and will ignite the inevitable conversation about Warhol’s vast complexity.

PHOTO|Michael Brosilow

NORTHLIGHT THEATRE
presents
ANDY WARHOL IN IRAN
North Shore Center for the Performiing Arts
9501 Skokie Blvd.

through February 19, 2023

WEBSITE

(847) 673-6300

HEALTH & SAFETY

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PicksInSix Review: The Great Khan - Redtwist Theatre

Past’s Power Over Our Future’s Legacy
PicksInSix® Review | Guest Contributor | Scott Gryder

The Redtwist Theatre’s intimate venue was further cozied up on Sunday afternoon with the Chicago premiere of the National New Play Network production of “The Great Khan.”  Set mostly in the bedroom of a teenager, Redtwist invites you to take a closer look into the lives of American teenagers struggling to find their place in society. While being pulled in various directions by their peers, parents and idols, the teens prepare to battle history to lay the foundation for their futures.

Michael Gene Sullivan’s “The Great Khan” is a multidimensional comedy centered around Jayden Gebremedhin, a teenager who is forced to make a move to a new home, with his mother as his only friend, after heroically defending a fellow student involved with a sexual assault. Now in hiding, Jayden must navigate the pressures of not only showing up but showing out at a new school and being haunted by his past. Not to mention, he may be going mad thanks to the newly seeded obsession over the topic of his latest class assignment: Temujin (aka Genghis Khan).

Sullivan’s play relies heavily on stereotypes; however, not in a two-dimensional predictability, but as a tool for us to immediately recognize ourselves in at least one of the characters. Simon Gebremedhin’s Jayden exemplifies the modern American teenager, struggling to find his place in a new home and at a new school, while running from his past. Gebremedhin’s pacing is thoughtful and unaffected. Monique Marshaun soon introduces us to the sneaky yet slightly outrageous Ant, who’s continually pushing the envelope for answers. Josie Mi’s Gao-Ming is often regrettably living center stage in a monologuing role, sharing factoids, but when she enters the world of Jayden’s bedroom, her precise balance between quirk and brilliance truly tickles. Bryan Breau’s Mr. Adams is sincerely awkward, trying his darndest to connect with his students by overcompensating to be hip to the times. Steffen Diem Garcia embodies Temujin (Genghis Khan) with complete physical embodiment, yet, unlike Genghis Khan’s famed savage bravery in the face of battle, Garcia’s Khan waivers in the execution of his lines, leaving Khan vulnerable to deflated moments of pacing. But it’s LaToriuous Givens who shines as Jayden’s mother Crystal. Her subtext is grounded in genuineness, bringing a maternal care and concern for her son by layering nurturing with a keen hard-edged smackdown when necessary.

Mostly, the script is quick-witted and organic, with characters comedically playing off opening moments of heightened dramatic circumstance. Additionally, throughout “The Great Khan,” each character speaks freely and frankly about their wants and fears. If only social norms would encourage and embrace that level of candid behavior. Thanks to this forward dialogue, “The Great Khan” does not shy away from topics such as violence, vulgarity nor the use of foul language. The text is poignant and relevant. Is the way we see ourselves or the standards we hold ourselves to what we truly believe, or are these expectations planted there by outside influences? And thus, what is our actual truth? How and who are we supposed to be? And is that seemingly insurmountable fear we experience when questioning our purpose a guide to keep us safe or a monster we must defeat?

Scenic designer and charge artist Rose Johnson gives us a mostly blank canvas to start, with a bedroom setting loaded with moving boxes and the classic adolescent decoration stylings of scattered laundry. But it’s with a sequence of charming reveals that the set is enhanced as scenes and characters advance. Piper Kirchhofer’s lighting design cloaks this open set with washes to sleekly transition between days and locations, and the combined efforts, specifically for one of the culminating moments of the show, was powerfully executed with surprise and power. The sound design by Max Cichon had a character of its own. The music perfectly set the emotional tone, carried us harmoniously between scene changes, and surged with intensity when required. Beyond that, it was delightful to see the patrons bop along with the tunes throughout.

“The Great Kahn,” though stumbling pacing-wise near the end, casually delivers a gut punch to remind ourselves that we are who we make ourselves. Our histories may seem powerfully overwhelming and oppressive, but it can only be our responsibility to do what we feel best supports our wants and needs, whether or not that contradicts our past. With new Artistic Director Dusty Brown at the helm of the cherished Bryn Mawr District Redtwist Theatre, and an energy for producing shows that encourage personal exploration and growth, I look forward to being challenged in the tradition of Chicago storefront theatre for the rest of their season.

GUEST CONTRIBUTOR | SCOTT GRYDER received a Non-Equity Jeff Award for his performance in the one-man show BUYER & CELLAR. www.thescottgryder.com  

PHOTO | Aaron Reese Boseman

REDTWIST THEATRE
presents
THE GREAT KAHN
through February 26, 2023

1044 W. Bryn Mawr Ave
(773) 728-7529

WEBSITE

TICKETS

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PicksInSix Review: Cabaret - Porchlight Music Theatre

Barrelling Down the Track of Life!
PicksInSix® Review | Guest Contributor | Scott Gryder

Perhaps you would have thought you’d gotten lost along the way to the opening night performance of Porchlight Music Theatre’s “Cabaret” at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts, for the stage had been transformed into a magnificent train depot the depth of the theater. Although I was familiar with the musical beginning with a trip, I was in no way prepared for the runaway train experience coming down the track brought on by an engine of brute force talent fueled by the finest directorial and choreographed momentum.

John Kander and Fred Ebb’s “Cabaret,” based on the 1951 Broadway play “I Am a Camera” by John Van Druten, appropriately starts with a train ride to Berlin by aspiring American novelist Clifford Bradshaw, who’s seeking inspiration for his latest work. The first German he meets, Ernst Ludwig, punches his personal ticket to rapture and ruin. Beyond the intimate bonds Clifford forges with vulgar club performers and hardworking, hardened day dwellers, the backdrop of “Cabaret” is a Germany politically seething with the growing threat of Hitler’s Nazi Party agenda, which eventually sends Clifford’s new life and loved ones scrambling to find their footing amid the inevitable devastation.

What really charges the show is the synergy between every single member of the cast. Whether a featured or ensemble role, each performer brings fully formed characters to the stage. Even cameos are dynamically developed. There were times when, even as the stage is filled with rambunctious activity at the Kit Kat Club, one can readily identify each character from across the show’s scenes thanks to their nuanced behaviors. This cast is committed to character. Between hit novelty numbers at the Kit Kat, multiple characters completely saturate the book scenes with profound truth. The glamor and vulnerability of Erica Stephan’s Sally Bowles is breathtaking, while Mary Robin Roth brings a fierce compassion to her Fräulein Schneider to a degree that would make even Lotte Lenya green. Additionally, Neala Barron’s brash Fräulein ‘Fritzie’ Kost, with a vocal apparatus that bellows, belts and sears, comes through with humor and heart. While, lastly, wreaking of a smarmy charm, Josiah Haugen’s Ernst Ludwig is nearly irresistible, embodying the Nazi nature with a frightening charisma.

As an intensely avid fan of the legendary Broadway songwriting team, this production, on the whole, is just what a production of “Cabaret” ought to be. It’s bawdy. It’s sincere. It’s disturbing. And each actor fits firmly into their roles, fully embracing the subtext of every line and lyric. Implementing a phoenix-like rising from the ashes, time-travelling establishing moment, PorchLight’s Artistic Director Michael Weber has gifted us a ticket to a searing production that transports us full steam ahead into the heart of the story. Add to that the ever-scintillating dance sequences by Chicago-beloved choreographer & associate director, powerhouse Brenda Didier, and the scenes and musical numbers are of famed Moulin Rouge caliber.

Scenic Designer Angela Weber Miller’s stunning railway-inspired set creates a fully playable canvas, easily absorbing projections to help designate locations, and flawlessly transforming between the famed Kit Kat nightclub and Fräulein Schneider's boarding house. Costume Designer Bill Morey dominated the epic task of not only costuming a cast of featured characters in the main plot with delicious textures and swanky style, but he created provocative visuals for the multitude of senses within the scenes at the Kit Kat Club. What added bonus depth to the stage was the cinematic lighting by Patrick Chan. Taking advantage of the steady haze silently creeping onstage, Chan achieved movie-like close-up energy by utilizing sharp spotlights across clouds of emoting washes of reds, blues and golden hues. The orchestra, under the baton of conductor and musical director Linda Madonia, was sublime. They executed Kander’s music with incredible precision and stamina. Kudos to trumpeter Greg Strauss! Has he got sonant spunk! If only, considering the glitz and personality given to the actors' costumes, the orchestra had also been outfitted with thematic pizzazz instead of street clothes.

The engine of this “Cabaret” only continues to gain propulsion as each new relationship is forged or broken or as each dream is won or lost, relentlessly pushing the plot and the lives of those involved to go faster and faster. Eventually, as trains do, the best laid plans are derailed, grinding goals to a halt and sending lives smashing. And the ride from start to finish is worth it! As a ticket-buyer tip: look for seats center or house right, so you’ll have a better view of the action, especially stage left. You really must come to Porchlight’s “Cabaret,” old chum!

GUEST CONTRIBUTOR | SCOTT GRYDER received a Non-Equity Jeff Award for his performance in the one-man show BUYER & CELLAR. www.thescottgryder.com

PHOTO|Liz Lauren

PORCHLIGHT MUSIC THEATRE
presents
RENT
Ruth Page Center for the Arts
EXTENDED
through March 19, 2023

WEBSITE

TICKETS

HEALTH & SAFETY

DIGITAL PROGRAM

 
Additional Cabaret Content

Courtesy of Porchlight Music Theatre January 2023

Cabaret - Origins
Cabaret –Influences
Cabaret at Porchlight!

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PicksInSix Review: Eleanor's Very Merry Christmas Wish-The Musical

Wishes Are Coming True at GhostLight!
PicksInSix® Review | Guest Contributor | Scott Gryder

Whether it’s a family tradition or something new, it’s that time of year, where venues across the country mount holiday-centric productions, bringing festive entertainment to adults and children alike. However, it’s a rare gift when that seasonal staging can bring both a sleighful of fun and a fireside’s worth of warm hugs to the hearts of all ages. But that’s just what The Ghostlight Theatre of Benton Harbor did this past weekend as it whisked into a new holiday tradition to Berrien County with the Michigan premiere of Eleanor’s Very Merry Christmas Wish-The Musical!

Based on the book of the same name, Eleanor’s Very Merry Christmas Wish introduces us to life at the North Pole for the friends and family of the famed Santa Claus. Focusing on the daily goings on of a ragdoll named Eleanor, who’s beloved by all North Polians, the musical is made up of brief vignettes, introducing us to each North Pole persona and their duties. And, although the title expresses it, Eleanor is not only about wishing, it’s about taking action so that you can make your dreams come true. Thanks to book writer Denise McGowan Tracy, one of the most refreshing gifts that Eleanor’s Very Merry Christmas Wish gives us is the authentic self-loving, wisdom imparted to Eleanor by those who want to see her dreams come true.

Much like the many roles required to keep Santa’s Workshop running smoothly to meet the world’s Christmas needs, the ensemble of Eleanor hums like a glittery machine, glowing with charm and personality! Sam Bonzi’s titular Eleanor not only splendidly delivers a fully realized ragdoll of emotions, exploring her inner-most thoughts and discovering her place in the world, but her vocals easily shift from graceful ballads to Mariah Carey moments of sensational singing. As Mrs. ‘Cookie’ Claus, Kristen Wielenga adds levels of motherly love and playful companionship to the historically two-dimensional spouse of the man with the bag. Other standouts include the Saturday Night Live sass of Maureen Schlie’s Clara, the zingy verve of narrator Kady Roberts’s Twinkle, the impish elegance of Trillium Falotico’s Sprinkle, and the superb warmth and merriment of Todd Bonzi’s Santa. And it’s under the inspired direction of Patrick Tierney and clever choreography of John Marshall, Jr. that the ensemble skates superbly throughout the show. 

Eleanor’s Very Merry Christmas Wish-The Musical at The GhostLight Theatre through December 11, 2022. Tickets: HERE

As an original cast member of Eleanor’s Very Merry Christmas Wish, I candidly confess I was hesitant to take in a new cast bringing these characters with whom I’ve spent multiple holiday seasons to life. But I was delighted and teary-eyed to see that the score and script shimmered in the hands of this new company, reminding me that Eleanor’s themes of believing in yourself, wholeheartedly pursuing your dreams, and completely cherishing the family you make along the way is a universal message that would fit any theatrical venue and ensemble.

Most of the original gift box-style set, originally created by Kehoe Designs, was used to shape the North Pole and Chicago cityscape settings, and it fits like a cozy, woolen mitten across the Ghostlight blackbox. Almost even more seamlessly than the original production, spinning set pieces smoothly reveal scene changes like a delightful children’s pop-up book full of surprises. Along with the magical set, Paul Stortz’s lighting design makes each scene shine, spotlighting the sentiments of every facet of the story. Musically, composer Kathleen Butler-Duplessis’s songs are like delicious recipes with a twist, featuring favorite showtune stylings of a variety of flavors, effortlessly delivered by music director Lisa Van Deurzen-Otey. And the pure whimsy and radiance of Kevin Barthel’s costume design takes each character to the next level! All elements combined tickle the heart and eye!

I’m still jingling and jangling from the refreshing energy that Eleanor’s exuberant cast brought to The Ghostlight Theatre stage. May Eleanor’s Very Merry Christmas Wish become a Benton Harbor tradition for you and yours, blending the perfect candy-striped balance of jest and jolly for many seasons to come……with sprinkles on top, of course!

GUEST CONTRIBUTOR | SCOTT GRYDER received a Non-Equity Jeff Award for his performance in the one-man show BUYER & CELLAR. www.thescottgryder.com 

PRODUCTION PHOTO CREDIT| Matt Ferguson FergyPIX.com
SANTA SELFIES PHOTO | Roxbury Road Creative

The GhostLight Theatre

presents

Eleanor’s Very Merry Christmas Wish-The Musical
101 Hinkley Street
Benton Harbor, Michigan
through December 11

TICKETS

GHOSTLIGHT WEBSITE

ELEANOR’S WISH WEBSITE

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NOTE: The views and opinions expressed by contributors to PicksInSix® Reviews are their own. Ed Tracy is currently serving as Interim Executive Director at the GhostLight Theatre.

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PicksInSix Review: The Steadfast Tin Soldier - Lookingglass Theatre Company

A Mesmerizing and Unforgettable Theatrical Treasure!
PicksInSix® Review | Guest Contributor | Kaitlyn Linsner

The beloved and delightfully creative holiday treasure, “The Steadfast Tin Soldier,” is now playing at the Lookingglass Theatre in the Water Tower on Michigan Avenue. Mary Zimmerman first brought the Hans Christian Andersen tale to life in 2018 and years later, it remains an unforgettable theatrical experience. 

“The Steadfast Tin Soldier” follows a small tin soldier through a whirlwind of adventures including falling in love with a ballerina, getting swallowed by a fish and befuddling a rat working in the sewage system’s customs department. The story itself has great charm and enduring life lessons, but it is Zimmerman’s use of wordless storytelling techniques that make this a larger-than-life spectacle. 

Why speak the language of love when you can dance? Or better yet, just slick back your hair, stand up tall and ask your crush out by pantomiming a play-by-play of your ideal date. It’s an absolute riot, and not only does this approach work for the show, it lingers outside of the theater by striking up a curiosity about how to interact in time and space with that same childlike playfulness and imagination.

In addition to the stellar pantomiming, the puppetry, visual imagery and original music by Andre Pluess and Amanda Dehnert elevate this production from endearing to truly remarkable. The musicians play well together, and with the cast, to deepen the experience and connection with the characters. The costumes from Ana Kuzmanic and sets from Todd Rosenthal also dazzle. 

Same goes for the exceptionally talented ensemble cast - Kasey Foster as the Ballerina, Anthony Irons as Goblin, Christopher Donahue as the Nursemaid, John Gregorio as the Rat, and Adeoye as the Tin Soldier - who skillfully play multiple roles and cultivate magic on the stage. Highlights include Irons’ animated movements as the haunting jack-in-the-box Goblin and Gregorio’s hilarious pantomiming as the Rat and the googly-eyed fish monger. 

At a running time of only an hour, the show is perfect for all ages looking to enjoy music, movement, charisma and great comedic timing. “The Steadfast Tin Soldier” continues to embody whimsy and wonder and will leave a lasting impression of just how darling things can be. 

GUEST CONTRIBUTOR | KAITLYN LINSNER is a Chicago-based attorney practicing construction and surety law.

PHOTO CREDIT | LizLauren

LOOKINGGLASS THEATRE COMPANY
Presents
THE STEADFAST TIN SOLDIER
through January 8, 2023

Water Tower Water Works
821 N Michigan Ave.
(312) 337-0665

WEBSITE
TICKETS

2019 PicksInSix Review

Listen to our 2018 CONVERSATIONS podcast with Mary Zimmerman

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