Bullets Over Broadway

Sometimes you go to the theater and leave changed by what you just witnessed. Thinking about life differently and all that. Other times you just want to be entertained. And that is exactly what the touring production Bullets Over Broadway at the newly named PrivateBank Theatre did for me last night.

I was amazed at the choreography and always enjoy tap dancing (especially if it’s a group of mobsters!). Laughter was constant throughout the entire show. And who doesn’t love jokes filled to the brim with sexual innuendos?

The male lead David Shayne, played by Michael Williams, was a mix between NPH, Matthew Morrison, and Gene Kelly. So nothing wrong with that! Very entertaining with great facial expressions. Jemma Jane, who played Olive, did the dumb blonde act perfectly well for someone fresh out of AMDA. My favorite was Cheech played by Jeff Brooks, who played the tough guy gangster who could amazingly write a play that people loved. His character is supposed to be unlikable by nature but instead ends up being a crowd favorite. For a guy that played Gaston in the Beauty and the Beast tour, he plays a goofy “bad guy” perfectly.

The bad of this show? The jokes sometimes fell flat. Also the set handling. Oh my lord the set handling. You could see the screen said “Bullets Over Broadway” before the fake machine gun fired the “holes” into the backdrop. Not cute. There was one moment for over a minute a brick wall was swaying back and forth. And then the top portion of the Boston “set” couldn’t decide if it wanted to be up or down (or the person operating it couldn’t). It was very much amateur hour up there in terms of the stage handling. Also, the intermission kept going and going after everyone was seated for a good 5 minutes. I didn’t think to clock it but it was a “are we going to start soon” and “why on earth did I leave the bar line 15 minutes ago when they flashed the lights” muttering among the crowd.

Also, can someone tell me what on earth the “Yes! We Have No Bananas” was suppose to be about? I got completely lost after that. And my wife had no clue either.

The staging was sometimes larger than life with the train sequences. The tap-dancing was on point. The extended ovation for “Tain’t Nobody’s Biz-ness If I Do” was well deserved and the highlight of the show. The laughs throughout the theatre were tremendous (side note: there was a gentleman with a laugh SO LOUD he kept scaring everyone around him. Often.). And in the end we learn what matters when it comes to art vs. a human life (or love!). Congrats on another hit and I would love to see the movie if Amazon/Netflix can ever make it available!

And just think…the next show I’ll see here will be Hamilton!  All the squees!

Matilda the Musical

When I was a kid, we didn’t have much money, but one thing I always got if I asked for it was new books. I grew up watching Sesame Street and learning to read before I was 5 years old. So needless to say when I was younger and read Matilda I found a kid I could identify with (except the parents being awful to her that is!).

I’ve entertained going to Matilda the Musical a few times, and then a partnership with work aligned this so I could go opening night here in Chicago. And I was absolutely blown away and this went beyond my expectations.  Sometimes with traveling shows, the production value can drop – some a bit and some a lot (yikes Mamma Mia!). This one? Based on the photos, reviews, a clips I’ve seen, this was the exact show that is currently on the West End.

Matilda is an amazing story about a very special child. One who is not appreciated by her parents and treated terribly. School would seemingly be her escape, except that the headmistress, Miss Trunchbull, is even more vile. Matilda finds that she can be herself around her teacher, Miss Honey, and the two immediately form a bond.

The musical stays true to the original material and is more magical than I ever would have expected. It is one thing to watch the movie, because through the power of movies, you can show a little girl being thrown around by her pigtails. But the fact that they even did this in the stage production thrilled me. I just assumed they would mention that Miss Trunchbull did such a horrid thing to a student!

The musical numbers get stuck in your head for weeks, trust me. “Naughty” reminds you that sometimes a person needs a bit of mischief. “Revolting Children” makes you want to cheer for the kids as they are indeed, revolting against Trunchbull! But the song that sticks out the most for me is “When I Grow Up” and I can only imagine that is because it speaks not only to the children but to the adults as well. Before seeing the show, I read the Chicago Tribune’s Chris Jones’ love for this exact song and thought it sounded great already. But seeing it on stage is an amazing feeling. Adding the swing sets from the rafters creating the illusion that the children are flying over the audience made me smile ear-to-ear.

A song about kids wanting to be adults. What could be more fun? But then the mood changes drastically. Now it’s about the adults losing their childhood. There’s no happy medium apparently. A very real conversation we adults have with each other every day.

Which I believe added to my love for this musical. Not only did I identify with Matilda as a child, but now that I’m older I think I still do. And I’m thankful for that because I never lost a lot of my childlike qualities. I find joy in everything, I attempt to have as much fun as possible (even if there are chores to be done – they’ll get done! Don’t pass up enjoying life!), and my wife and I tend to live our lives just like this. Also, I still read like a fiend and the library is my best friend (Chicago Public Library is seriously amazing!).

It’s always interesting to me to see if a muscial really GOT to me or not. And the fact that I saw it a couple weeks ago and it’s still in my head says it did. Particularly the chorus of “Naughty”.

Just because you find that life’s not fair, it
Doesn’t mean that you just have to grin and bear it.
If you always take it on the chin and wear it,
Nothing will change.
Even if you’re little you can do a lot, you
Mustn’t let a little thing like ‘little’ stop you.
If you sit around and let them get on top, you
Might as well be saying you think that it’s OK,
And that’s not right.

My office mate, who attended the show with me, and I both came in the next day to work talking about that particular line. If you’re unhappy, change what’s making you that way. You don’t have to take it. And that resonated with the both of us.

If Matilda the Musical comes through your city, don’t pass it up because it’s a “kids show”.  It’s really so much more than that. You’ll find yourself in there, I promise.

ALL the tickets!

Yesterday was new subscriber package purchasing day. Which we all know was about to be my favorite day of the year. I was on my phone at 9:58 ready to sit on hold with Broadway in Chicago.

The only thing was that there was no queue – you had to keep calling back! Eek. But LUCKILY the musical gods showed me the love and on call #4 a lovely lady by the name of Frankie picked up and I tried not to squeal like a teenager.

And then again my hopes were dashed when I discovered I was just giving my information to a person, not really for certain getting subscriber tickets. I was so confused because in the past I sat on the phone with a person and we picked out my seats together (which is part of the fun of subscribing to theatre packages IMO!). I got off the phone deflated. The excitement was gone.

BUT on the bus ride home I received a call from Kevin at BIC. Long story short I didn’t have to wait until April to get my golden ticket. My card was charged, my seats were selected (even got all aisle seats as requested), and a wonderful, beautiful email come through last night confirming my dates.  It’s official! So I clinked glasses with my wife and relaxed.

Out of excitement I put the photo below on my Instagram (which you should follow):

It was a strange way to process tickets in my opinion, but I’m also not on their side of things. Being at an institution with a blockbuster exhibition happening, where we get 400 phone calls a day at least, I can only image Broadway in Chicago’s situation.

I will say I wish there was a magical way to sort out the people that wanted to see ALL the shows and not just Hamilton! 😛 But ah well, I’m happy and got my first choice. So kudos to the BIC team and a shout out to their social media person for handling questions, particularly mine, on Twitter!

Now the waiting begins for these shows. Aladdin is over a YEAR away. *cries* But I’m sure it will be here before we know it.

My Blog Has Abandonment Issues

Whoa.  Way to abandon a blog for two years sweetie!  That said, though I never stopped going to the theatre it has lessened due to a pesky thing called grad school sadly.  What happened then you may ask?  Well, new job for one which I’ve been in for about a year. AND occasionally gives me #jobperks such as tickets. 

I LOVE TICKETS.

So I’m wanting to get this going again, and we will have LOTS to talk about in 2016.  

First and foremost: Broadway in Chicago’s 2016 Fall Season.  Oh hello.  I’m a subscriber again (or I will be on March 1st).  Yes, yes, Hamilton is on there BUT check out the rest of this line-up….

Photo from Broadway in Chicago

Hamilton

Aladdin

Hedwig and the Angry Inch

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

The Bodyguard

What do all these productions have in common?  To the best of my knowledge, they’ve never been to Chicago. Not to mention I think they’re all relatively newer tours of shows. The whole reason I sadly left my perfectly picked out seats with BIC is the lack of rotation (or just plain dumb shows no one wanted to see).  But this? THIS is amazing and I could not be more excited. 

Hamilton – No-brainer. Can’t get NYC tickets? Next best thing!

Aladdin – Disney musicals are either really good or really not-so-good. This one that I’ve heard so much about though I can’t wait to see

Hedwig – Saw it with Neil Patrick Harris in NYC. AMAZING show. I can’t wait to hear who the traveling Hedwig is. The best 90 minutes in theater.

Curious Incident of the Dog – Loved the book when it first came out and I was a Borders employee. The cast recording sounds great so I’m excited.

Bodyguard – The only one I’m skeptical about but in the end, it should be fun with good music.

What else is upcoming?  Well so far we’re going to the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA) Semifinals.  That’s right.  Just like Pitch Perfect!

ScreenRant.com

Also, Matilda the Musical which I love that cast recording and am very much looking forward to that production.

Matilda the Musical

I’m sure there will be much, much more to come in 2016.  Anything else in the smaller theater world that you’re seeing and keep staring longingly at the tickets on the fridge, wishing the day would get here sooner??

  

C2E2 2013

C2E2 Showroom Floor

Besides musicals  plays and the usual shows you see on blogs such as this, this couple has a wide variety of “shows” they enjoy!  For instance, concerts.  And this summer is going to be full of them it seems judging by the ever growing tickets on our refrigerator door.  Shows can be any variety of thing in my opinion….let’s say museum exhibits?  A movie at the theater?  Or even….comic book conventions?  YES!  

That, and it’s my blog and I’ll do what I like.  So there.  

Loki says “sit the fuck down!”

In any case, probably never mentioned on here before is my love for comic books.  It started around 7th grade while the 90s X-Men the Animated series was on.  I fell in love with the character Rogue, followed by her on again/off again beau Gambit.  This was followed by finding a comic book store and discovering that my favorite characters were in book form?!  Amazing.  So began my comic book collecting – though ill-timed as the X-Men books at that period were going through the Age of Apocalypse arch – and for someone that just knew the animated series, I almost dropped the books altogether due to sheer confusion!

Insert “bigger on the inside joke” here.

Which brings us to today.  I still have the want for collecting as I did, but city living spaces and lack of expendable income at times has caused it to go to the wayside.  Not to mention, just the slim pickings there is in quality of books.  So currently my purchases are The Walking Dead and Saga monthly.  Others just get thrown in so I don’t have to put only $4 on my debit card!  

The Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo is Chicago’s answer for not having to go to the suburbs for a comic book convention.  We used to only have Wizard World in Rosemont, and that train ride is hell to say the least.  C2E2 has grown significantly in the past four years and resides in the city of Chicago, not 15 miles away in a ‘burb!  I hadn’t been since the first year it opened and have been dying to see what it’s turned into.  That and it was announced that one of my all time favorite people, Felicia Day, was going to be in attendance!  Sold!  

Mama Wonder Woman and wee Huntress

I could go on and on about all the things I saw, the people I talked to, and the creativity that was witnessed over those Friday and Saturday afternoons.  It would be hard to choose.  Instead I will say, that as a nerd/geek/outcast/whatever, a comic book convention is more than about comic books.  If you like TV and movies, there’s stuff for you.  Anime?  That too!  My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic?  All over the fucking place!!  There is an abundance of genres to choose from. 

My wife and I spent a lot of our time shopping for art for our new place in the Artists Alley.  We purchase two pieces, two I can’t recall who they’re done by but will post when they’re framed and put up in the condo, and one by Karen Hallion, whom I’ve been desperately attempting to not buy everything she makes.  But seriously, when you combine Disney with Doctor Who, it’s hard. We ended up going with this piece because I’ve always identified with Belle.  It’s going to go in our bathroom with a couple of other classy, yet nerdy Doctor Who pieces (well that’s the plan anyways – we still have to get in there and see how it all lays out!).

Cast of Firefly cosplay

Wil Wheaton wrote this great blog post about how comforting it is to be at a convention.  And it is so true.  It’s a rare opportunity for everyone to be who they are (or in some cases who they wish they were!).  No one judges.  Seriously.  There are women who are wearing not much more than a leotard and tights, who would get the shit kicked out of them in school or on the street because they might be overweight, etc.  Instead, they get asked left and right for their picture to be taken!  And every convention I go to I’m amazed at the sheer amount of people in wheelchairs, or families with autistic children, and so on.  Basically, *everyone* is there to be themselves and not feel like the world is staring them down.  

TARDIS and Dalek cosplay

Several times throughout the weekend I choked up when I gazed around the floor at my fellow nerds.  They are all so talented, so imaginative, and most importantly so, SO loving.  It amazing and I would encourage anyone who’s never been to a show such as this to try it – you might discover a movie you’ve never heard of, an author who’s name you’ve heard of but never tried, or an artist as you’re walking by their table and have the “I *have* to have that print!” thought.  That art may not stay with us forever (though I hope it does!) but the memories will.  And I already cannot wait until next year! 

C2E2 2013

Finally, we got to say "HELLO!"

If there has been one statement we’ve gotten a little tired of hearing it’s been “you guys haven’t seen Book of Mormon yet??”.  No, no we haven’t.  And for no particular reason really.  We had the money, we had the time since you had to buy the tickets about 6 months out, but we never got the motivation to just go buy them.  

Then one day Val’s sister, who I think has never seen a musical in her life, got free tickets to see it in St Louis.  Then it got to the point of “well if she’s seen it we have to go now!”.  And I’m glad we did since I had just discovered the news that it was leaving Chicago soon.  So I went to the box office and scored two balcony seats within the next month by not being too picky and Val and I would have to sit one behind the other (which actually, the people next to me never showed so the second half we got to sit together!)

Now, onto the actual show.  Elder Price is usually played by Nic Rouleau, but like most matinees, we got the understudy of Stephen Mark Lukas.  I don’t know of Rouleau and haven’t heard anything fantastic about him as the Elder, but Lukas was not fantastic.  It took him a few beats to find the pitch.  His voice didn’t make it through “I Believe”.  And he was just dull.  Now, that being said, having not seen Mormon before this could be how they all act (dull, not off pitch) but I could have cared less about the character.

So Elder Cunningham helps the show out.  That’s how it is?  The Elder Cunninghams in NYC and West End are usually the ones I hear about.  And now look at Josh Gad on TV!  In any case, this Cunningham was play by Ben Platt, who if you’re a music nerd like us, you’ll remember as the Star Wars nerd from the (amazingly funny) movie Pitch Perfect.  He played Cunningham as a bit mentally challenged it seemed.  He got a ton of laughs.  His voice, also not strong, but still better than Lukas’.  I think he did the character very well and it was nice to have someone that didn’t sound exactly like the original cast recording.  

Now, having been listening to the cast recording for about two years now, and knowing every single line, I was set up for disappointment.  But I wasn’t in the end.  It didn’t blow me away at all, but it was one of the most highly entertaining shows I’ve ever seen.  Seeing it finally in person was even funnier than listening to the recording or watching clips from the Tony Awards.  The set was really detailed for a touring show, the costumes are basic though.  One thing that we both enjoyed is that every character plays several minor characters in the show.  I can only imagine the costume changes going on backstage during those times!  

Though we weren’t impressed with Lucas, and I liked Platt while Val was meh about him, the one we both loved was the kid that played Elder McKinley, Pierce Cassedy.  He lit up the stage as the closeted gay Elder.  His singing was more decent than his cast mates.  And all around with his dancing and acting skills, he was a delight to watch.  Also, we want to now be BFF’s with him.  I thought about asking when passing him in the theater hall with his Broadway Cares bucket.  

I’m SO happy we finally saw this show. There is nothing like looking over on a Sunday at 2pm and seeing 70 year old people laughing at jokes about clits being cut off, maggots in scrotum  and AIDS.  It’s something I can’t imagine ever experiencing again.  It’s not a show you come out feeling renewed in humanity or found you learned a valuable lesson.  But in the end you laughed your ass off and it was worth it.  Don’t go for amazing singing – go to have fun.  Because I was crying several times and I know every word to the music in this show.  They did a great job bringing these interesting characters to light for sure!

Streetcar leaves me to desire more…

This is going to be short because there isn’t much to say really.  Sometimes shows that you had no expectation surprise you and other times they are just down right disappointing   

Sign outside Lyric Opera

We were able to take in Lyric Opera‘s very limited showing (only four total) of “Streetcar Named Desire” on Wednesday.  I’ve seen the movie, and it was pretty good, and Renee Fleming was playing the lead, so despite everything else going on we decided we couldn’t pass this up. 

I suppose we could have though.  In short, Renee Fleming did not “wow” me the way that I expected.  I’ve never been able to see her live, though I’ve had many an album of hers that I listened to over and over again. As soon as she came out though, I was already a bit disappointed.  Were my expectations too high?  Perhaps.  But considering the hoop-la around this show and her, I think that’s warranted.  

In short, Renee Fleming does not pull off a southern “voice” too well while being all operatic.  I was having flashbacks of Halle Berry playing Storm in the X-Men movies, and the viewer would raise an eyebrow on the occasional “oh that’s right, I’m suppose to have an accent in this!” moment.  Or Renee is too classy a broad to pull it off!  The male lead, Teddy Tahu Rhodes, while nice to look at (bald, built, and tattoos!) made me cringe at several points.  I was excited when he walked out because he didn’t seem the norm as far as opera singers, but again, left disappointed.  

The shining star in my opinion was Susanna Phillips playing Stella.  She was flawless, played the role well and I bought her as the character as opposed to the first two.  I wanted more of her instead of everyone else.  

In the end, I can now say “I saw Renee Fleming” but this show left me shrugging my shoulders and trying not to giggle at the “STELLA!!!” (sung, of course…) coming out of a bald man ripping his shirt off on stage.  Let’s leave that to Marlon Brando, I think.

No more Mormon in Chicago?

Man, talk about right timing.  So the rumors are going this week Book of Mormon is about to be done with it’s course here in Chicago.  THIS was a very well put together article in the Tribune today as to why they think so.  

I loved having Wicked in Chicago as a semi-permanent staple, but the really neat thing was hearing how many people knew someone actually in the show.  BoM is a touring show, so these people aren’t Chicago actors.  

So I breathe a sigh of relief knowing my tickets are hanging on the refrigerator and will finally see it in a week.  It was a great gift for Chicago to get the extended run.  I’m also almost relived we’re seeing it so we don’t get asked why haven’t we seen it yet??  I feel like I know the soundtrack so well already that I’m not going to LOVE it like I should but I have a bit of hope since I keep hearing how well Ben Platt is doing as the role of Elder Cunningham.  He did great on Pitch Perfect, so we shall see!  

But time for Book of Mormon to move on and something else to roll into the Bank of America theater!  

"A cock, in a frock, on a rock." – Priscilla, Queen of the Desert

So it has been FAR too long since this blog has been in action.  A year almost to the DAY.  No excuses!  We’ve seen some small productions but not too much of note lately, but I felt bad I hadn’t even written about the smaller ones.  But no more!  We’re back on the wagon!

 Sometimes you have shows that completely surprise you at how much you enjoy them.  In the past, shows that have done this for me have been Fela! and American Idiot.  Last night was another one of those shows.  

Priscilla, Queen of the Desert was a movie (The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert) I had only seen once, but my wife adored   Without her, I probably wouldn’t even know this movie.  I kept track of the musical when it came and went in 2011 on Broadway, although I noted and clapped for their Tony win in costume design, because WOW.  I considered seeing it when we were in NYC, but it just didn’t thrill me enough to go.  

The view from the front row

So I had been tossing around the idea with my wife for the past couple of months about going, and I honestly don’t think unless I had gotten a TravelZoo email about it, would I have made the trek downtown to a box office to buy tickets.  So I’m thankful something got us into gear.  And we scored on the tickets too.  Usually with these deals, you get tickets around $27 (add on the fees about $50) and *usually* they’re in the balcony section or at best rear orchestra.  Well, I’m not sure if someone at TravelZoo screwed up or what, but I landed front row tickets for the discounted price!  

Front row was a great place to be for sight, not so much for sound.  For one, the “people” in front of you is the orchestra which can drown out the vocals sitting that close, and then the speakers projecting the performers mike’s above your head and not point towards you.  But in this show, much like Hair, you know the songs, and the plot line is campy and not imperative to pay attention to.  We were however right in front of the confetti cannon.  You heard me:  CONFETTI CANNON.  

All-in-all Priscilla is a mesmerizing visual show.  The costume details were just phenomenal.  During the funeral scene at the beginning of the show, I have no idea what was going on with recently departed Trumpet, and instead was marveling at the different religions being shown through outfits, hats and umbrellas.  The Divas who came down from the rafters several times during the show were the strongest voices, in my (unprofessional) opinion.  I didn’t care much for the vocals of Tick, Bernadette or Felecia, but then again, it’s campy and about drag queens, so I’m ultimately not caring about this.  The drag queens I watch in Chicago’s Boystown never sing period.  And who can forget the classic scene of Felicia on the high heel of the bus ‘belting’ “Sempre libera” from La traviata?  Perfection.

The ladies werking the lobby of the theater

The crowd was phenomenal!  It was the oddest split of gay men and the elderly – the latter being just there on their season ticket night we assumed, and wondering what is going on on stage.  When we arrived in the lobby, there was a group of drag queens posing for pictures with everyone.  Right before the show started, they came in, took off their wigs and sat down to raucous applause.  I assumed they were part of the Priscilla experience  but no, they were actually there to watch the show!  

In the end, this show made me laugh for over two hours – which was much needed as I had been sick and barely out of the house for the past two weeks.  As an artist the costumes just took my breath away, the LED lights “painting” the bus pink were a great touch, and the music along with the high energy of the performers made this show a delight.  I’m happy we ended up seeing this in the end, and would recommend it to anyone.  This touring show definitely shows some “hot stuff” on stage.

And with that, we’re no longer subscribers

There was an amazing feeling I had when this current season was announced for Broadway in Chicago.  It was “we HAVE to see all these shows!”  And the most affordable rate was through becoming a subscriber.  So we finally did what I had always dreamed of, we bought our own seats.  I look at those seats now, and on first Saturdays of a show for 3 hours those seats are ours.  There’s a wee bit of pride in helping out the arts when you think of that.  


But in the blink of reading an article, the decision was made to cancel those wonderful seats.  Seriously BIC, I’m starting to realize your ploy of grabbing money now.  


The line up for next season is as follows:
West Side Story
Love, Loss and What I Wore
Ann:  An Affectionate Portriat of Ann Richards
Memphis
Donny & Marie:  A Christmas in Chicago
La Cage Aux Folles
Come Fly Away
With off-season specials of:
Chicago
Mary Poppins
Rock of Ages 
Fiddler on the Roof
The Addams Family


In the season line up there are only two shows I want to see out of seven.  I think the Donny & Marie being forced in there is the kicker for me.  No thank you.  And Ann Richards?  That couldn’t have been traded out for something else?  I think that Broadway in Chicago is just catering to their older clientele with half of this listing.  Who I’m sure pays the most in tickets, so who can blame them in the end.  


Then there’s the weird off-season shows.  Four of the five have been here in the past two years already.  Addams Family bombed not in sales but in reviews, and now Bebe Newirth and Nathan Lane won’t be in there.  Rock of Ages I just saw in October.  Fiddler, just here.  Mary Poppins, just here and extended it’s stay.  And then there’s Chicago, which is here for the first time in a bit.  Oh, but wait….only for ONE week.


So after one email to my wife with this list she sent back the “should we even bother” message.  My answer and she agrees is “NO”.  We will spend our money buying better seats to West Side Story, La Cage Aux Folles and Chicago at least.  Maybe a Memphis or Mary Poppins if money and time allows.  


Also, this way we’ll be able to hold on to more money for smaller theater shows going on around the city that are different and new.  With so many show touring across the nation and the world, we bring back things that we just had in our great city.  


I’m disappointed to say the least.  I really did feel prideful in those first Saturday seats.  And maybe others looked at last season and said “snore” while I jumped up and down.  And now this season they’re happy.  


What do you guys think?  Do I have the wrong mind set?  Should we be able to trade out shows if there are some we absolutely do not want to see?