By Colin Douglas The joint is jumpin’ and rockin’ and rollin’ up in Skokie because a new era is about to begin. Maybe it’s because, after well over a year, this was (to my knowledge) the first live production in the Chicago area. Maybe it’s the fact that this entertaining pop musical revue features so
Gilbert and Sullivan are quite at home at the Den
By Colin Douglas Upon entering the new, first floor black box theatre at the Den, just off their beautiful, recently-opened bar-and-coffee house lobby, the audience might think they’ve accidentally wandered into a Montessori School, instead of a production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s classic operetta, HMS Pinafore. Michael Smallwood’s creative playhouse, which this is in every
‘Hansel and Gretel’ is a wickedly delicious musical treat
By Colin Douglas Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm would be surprised at this new, updated, pop/rock musical version of one of their best-known folktales, Hansel and Gretel, presented at the Broadway Playhouse. Artistic Director Ernie Nolan has collaborated with Grammy-nominated children’s composer/lyricist Justin Roberts to bring this classic tale into the 21st century. Filled with 14
Mercury presents another voyage of love
By Colin Douglas Traditions, those legends, customs and beliefs handed down from generation to generation, provide the foundation for The Christmas Schooner, a beautifully written historical musical that has itself become a Mercury Theater and Chicago holiday tradition. The show particularly focuses on Christmas traditions cherished by German immigrants living in the Midwest during the
Theo Ubique offers a splendid song for September
By Colin Douglas Kurt Weill was a talented, young early 20th century German composer known primarily for his theatrical collaborations with Bertolt Brecht. Together they gave the world, among other works, their most famous musical play, the Threepenny Opera. Other works written during the early 1930’s were The Happy End and The Rise and Fall
