October 2012: Chicago

Kinky Boots

This Broadway-bound musical is probably best of the recent movie adaptations to hit the stage. It needs work on the first act, but it really has no "second act problems," which is a rare thing these days. The show's first 30 minutes or so are very, very awkward though with no big opening number and less than satisfying introductions to all of the main characters. And, by way of an overture, we get a man walking on stage and answering a cell phone (and, I admit, cleverly giving us the whole shpeel to be quiet during the show), and then walking into the factory, where the workers sing a "Welcome to the world of fill-in-the-blank"-type theme song. Here, of course, the fill-in-the-blank happens to be shoes, but the sad, deary kind that old men wear. Yawn. Seriously, the lack of an overture in an old-fashioned musical like this one should be a crime! Which isn't to say that the score is lacking, because surprise, surprise, it's not! Cyndi Lauper has written a true musical score, one largely lacking the endlessly repeating refrains that many pop songwriters can't seem to get rid of when they transition to the theatre.

But, the negative moments are truly outweighed by the positives, starting with Billy Porter, who gives a bravura performance as drag queen Lola. He is so much fun to watch on stage, channeling all the great divas, including shades of Whitney Houston and Tina Turner, but with a whole lot of Weezy from the Jeffersons thrown in. Not only is he the heart of the show, but he comes with a drag Greek chorus, a welcome (for the most part) addition from the movie. The staging of the best musical numbers takes full advantage of these "ladies" borrowed from La Cage aux Folles, also scripted by Kinky Boots librettist Harvey Fierstein. The first act finale brilliantly breaks apart the factory's conveyor belt assembly line into four separate runways to outdo the internet's best treadmill-dance meme by far. Not to be outdone, the second act finale is the most rousing musical number since Hairspray's "You Can't Stop the Beat," also staged by Kinky Boots director-choreographer Jerry Mitchell. 

This one hopefully will get even better by Broadway!

Good People at Steppenwolf

I skipped this play by David Lindsay-Abaire (Rabbit Hole, but also Shrek: The Musical, yuk!) about people who are down on their luck when it was on Broadway (winning a Tony for star Frances McDormand, but losing Best Play to War Horse, that season's must-see "event") so I was completely blown away by how great this play really is! And leave it to Steppenwolf to act the shit out of it! The basic story concerns Margie, a South Boston denizen recently fired from her job as a checker, as she relentlessly pressures a now-well-to-do ex-boyfriend into giving her a job. A host of other interesting characters populate this oil-and-water-don't-mix/fish-out-of-water play that really leaves you wondering who the good people are. This show was only the second time that I stayed for a post-show discussion, the first being Steppenwolf's production of Clybourne Park. Riveting work! The play itself may draw me to see the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis's production next year.

Sunday in the Park with George at Chicago Shakespeare Theater

I became a huge fan of director Gary Griffin (The Color Purple, Aladdin at the Muny) after being completely blown away by Chicago Shakespeare's production of Follies last year after having been severely disappointed with the Kennedy Center version of the same show in the same season. That CST production was radically staged on the deep 3/4-thrust stage of their main theater and it worked brilliantly. This version of Sunday in the Park is on the same stage and while the staging is by no means radical, it is by far the best version of Sunday I've ever seen (which in order of best to worst includes the Kennedy Center's Sondheim Celebration production, the original Broadway cast on videotape, the recent Broadway revival, and a production at the Rep in STL). While the staging is interesting and the singing is beautiful, the reason I think this one bests the others is in the characterization of the central roles. The actors make very clear choices in this production. It is almost shocking to see a George who is so clearly in love with (and lusting after!) Dot. It is heartbreaking to see him realize he has to give her up in order to finish his painting. I've never enjoyed this show's second act that much even though the ending's one-two knockout punch of "Move On" and"Sunday" has always moved me. Here though, George is clearly upset at Marie's passing and the realization that he is now all alone in the real world despite his success in the art world. While Dot and George's mother remain dressed in late 19th century Parisian fashion (albeit in white) during the finale, the rest of the actors come out barefoot in simple, white, contemporary clothes, not as their characters in either time period, but as themselves. They are the blank canvas that George sees at the end. Devastating!!!

Metamorphoses at Lookingglass

I was deeply disappointed that my scheduled performance of the Goodman's new production of Tennessee Williams's Sweet Bird of Youth directed by the IMO brilliant David Cromer had to be canceled due to Diane Lane's laryngitis (and incredulous that the show didn't have an understudy! WTF?). But, boy did I make up for it by scoring the last ticket available to the anniversary production of Mary Zimmerman's Metamorphoses (based on Ovid's poems) currently selling out at Lookingglass, the theater company that originated it. I had seen a different production of the show before, but it didn't register with me at all. No so with this beautiful, lyrical, poetic, insert-endless-adjectives-for-brilliant production directed by author Zimmerman herself and featuring many of the same actors that transferred the show to Broadway 10 years ago. I'm so glad I finally got to witness what all of hub-bub was about. The combination of script, staging, and acting is thrilling! Bravo indeed!!!