The Original Grease: A Fun Blast From Someone Else's Past -- Chicago Theater Review

Theater Review

The Original Grease
a new production based on the initial 1971 Chicago version
American Theater Company, Chicago
Through August 21, 2011
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I have a great affinity for Chicago history, musical history and musical theater history. So I appreciate the sentiment behind Chicago's American Theater Company--likely following a suggestion surfaced by Chicago Tribune theater critic Chris Jones--staging a new production of Grease that supposedly hews quite closely to the initial version that debuted at Chicago's Kingston Mines Theater in early 1971.

According to Jones and Wikipedia, the true original version, conceived & composed by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey based on Jacobs' days as a "greaser" at Chicago's Taft High School in the 1950s, was considerably grittier than the Broadway edition that bowed the next year, the 1978 movie and subsequent Broadway revivals and touring productions.

The basic storyline was the same, but assuming The Original Grease can be believed--even if it isn't an exact replica of the initial script and songs--it is clearly set on Chicago's Northwest Side (the movie was filmed in Venice, California with mountains in the background) and its score does not include several of the songs that would become best-known from the Broadway and especially Hollywood renditions. 

So from an archival, historical perspective, The Original Grease--which has been running at ATC since April and is currently extended until August 21--is rather interesting and even enjoyable in its own right. But where some have nostalgia for the 1971 version or perhaps the somewhat altered 1972 Broadway version that ran for several years or even for being a Chicago high schooler in 1959, I'm of an age that made the movie musical my initial introduction to--and still my favorite version of--Grease.

Thus, while it was interesting to hear the score open with "Foster Beach" rather than "Summer Nights," which it morphed into on Broadway, and several other unfamiliar tunes that had more of a true '50s rock feel than some of the movie's disco influenced flavorings, I can't deny missing the movie's version of the title song and "You're the One That I Want," among others.

Also, while I got more of a sense of greaser sensibilities than the movie portrayed, in providing greater Chicago 1950s teenage realism, the original narrative makes the Danny-Sandy romance a bit less central. On Saturday, I think I got an understudy as Danny, and though he wasn't bad, he also wasn't a young Travolta.

Certainly, Grease became legendary as a stage musical--initially running on Broadway for 8 years--but having been indoctrinated by the movie, even when I've seen touring productions (most recently in 2009) that appended the Broadway score with the well-known movie additions, I haven't found them all that satisfying.

All in all The Original Grease is probably the best stage version of the show I've seen, though this might have more to do with production values than the story and score. The performances were solid and several of the new old songs might stand up even better with familiarity. But I have the movie version with John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John on DVD, and however sanitized and saccharine Grease may have become in spreading well beyond Norwood Park, that's still the one that I want.

A Perfectly Delightful Afternoon in 'Brigadoon' is Not to be Mist -- Theater Review

Theater Review

Brigadoon
a classic musical by Lerner & Loewe
Presented by Light Opera Works at
Cahn Auditorium, Evanston, IL
Through June 12, 2011
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On Sunday afternoon, I had the pleasure of seeing the second performance of Light Opera Works' new production of Lerner and Loewe's first masterpiece, Brigadoon.

In telling you that I found it outstanding--to the point of near Broadway quality performances accompanying LOW's trademark full orchestra treatment--it seems almost a shame that you only have four more chances to see it.

I can't say I fully understand the business model of the Evanston-based troupe that charges downtown, touring Broadway ticket prices for predominantly non-Equity performances done over just two weekends. But in picking up a half price ticket through HotTix, as I nearly always do, I was extremely pleased with just how good this production was.

Though I have long been familiar with the legacy of Lerner and Loewe--I have seen both My Fair Lady and Camelot multiple times in the last decade, as well as Light Opera Works' stage version of Gigi--I was largely unindoctrinated to Brigadoon (other than always knowing of it and loving a line mentioning it in one of my favorite songs.) This despite having owned the 1954 MGM musical version for some time, but never watching it until last weekend in anticipation of seeing this performance.

Starring the incomparable Gene Kelly, the movie is quite good but I actually found LOW's live production to be more richly satisfying in telling the tale of an enchanted town in the Scottish Highlands that rises out of the mist one day each century.

The large cast and 24-piece orchestra really brought songs like "Down on MacConnachy Square," "Almost Like Being In Love" and "I'll Go Home With Bonnie Jean" to life with a buoyancy the movie musical didn't entirely convey.

Robert Hunt, the only Actors Equity member in the cast, was outstanding as Tommy Albright, with the exceptional voice one might expect from someone who's played Javert in Les Miserables on Broadway.

Jenny Sophia was also wonderful as Tommy's love interest Fiona MacLaren  and Emily Rogers was beautiful in the balletic role of Jean MacLaren. In a cast of standouts, Clay Sanderson and Meg Brockie were two other performers particularly worth mentioning.

As I noted in reviewing their exquisite production of Carousel last August, Light Opera Works consistently demonstrates that it may be the very best musical theater organization in the Chicagoland area. They may not put on that many performances--perhaps as a consequence--but when it comes to cast size, quality, the sublime orchestra and more than adequate scenery in the somewhat confined Cahn Auditorium, they certainly don't scrimp.

I realize it may be hard to fit the limited schedule into yours, and even on HotTix, tickets aren't all that cheap. But I promise you that if you can, making your way to Brigadoon will be worth the hike.

'God of Carnage' a Fine Farce, but Leaves Me Agnostic About Any Deeper Meaning or Merit -- Theater Review

Theater Review

God of Carnage
a play by Yasmina Reza, directed by Rick Snyder
Goodman Theatre, Chicago
Thru April 17, 2011
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God of Carnage is a farce. I don't mean that as an insult, but as a genre description of a play whose absurdity--in the tradition of Albee and Moliere--is presumably part of the point.

The comedy, another global smash written by Yasmina Reza--who enjoyed similar success with Art--is also one of the most decorated new plays of the last few years, having won the Tony in 2009 and the Olivier (for London theater) before that.

I found it enjoyable, and even laugh-out-loud funny at times, but if it winds up being the best play--of any vintage--I see in 2011, I'm not getting out enough. Actually, it already isn't.

Certainly the fact that I was solidly entertained for the whole show--albeit a 75-minute one-act quickie--says much about Reza's (and translator Christopher Hampton's) gift for dialogue and, well, appealing absurdity.

But if, even just two days after seeing it, God of Carnage is supposed to have any lasting resonance--as a truly great play should--it really doesn't. 

The show features a four-person cast comprised of two married, well-to-do couples who get together at one of their posh Brooklyn homes to discuss a schoolyard fight between their 11-year-old sons. The conversation takes various twists and turns, changes up "debate partners" and becomes about more than the relatively minor impetus, but none of the characters are particularly appealing, interesting or empathetic.

When God of Carnage opened on Broadway, the couples of Michael & Veronica and Alan & Annette were played by James Gandolfini & Marcia Gay Harden and Jeff Daniels & Hope Davis. Given that I would pay to overhear those four having a conversation over dinner, I imagine the casting not only lent largely to the play's success, but to its acclaim.

In Chicago, where Goodman Theatre is staging the initial production after a Broadway tour was scrapped, four very good actors star in the play. David Pasquesi is typically excellent as Alan, a smarmy lawyer with annoying cell phone habits. Beth Lacke, as Alan's wife Annette, Mary Beth Fisher as Veronica and Keith Kupferer in the Gandolfini role of Michael all do solid work under the direction of Rick Snyder.

But none of them are what the world at large would call "stars." And without star power to amplify one's enjoyment of self-righteous squabbling amongst shallow, self-absorbed people, what's left is a farce without any forceful purpose.

With some great moments, God of Carnage--as presented at the Goodman--is suitably entertaining, in a manner not unlike a good episode of Modern Family. But in simply spoofing a stereotype--which presumably matches many in the target audience--Reza's latest smash just doesn't compare to other highly-lauded plays of the past decade, including Proof, Doubt, Frost/Nixon, The Pillowman and August: Osage County.

If you're a Goodman subscriber like me, you'll probably be glad just to get a glimpse of something so recent as part of the season. I imagine this show would likely make a decent choice for date night, particularly at a discount. But with stellar choices almost always on the boards in Chicago, this much-heralded 'God' really doesn't merit too much reverence.

Green-Lighting the Degredation of America, At Our Behest -- Theatre Review: Speed-the-Plow at American Theater Company

Theater Review

Speed-the-Plow
a play by David Mamet
American Theater Co, Chicago
Thru October 24, 2010
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In the theater just before the start of "Speed-the-Plow"--David Mamet's 1988 play about Hollywood decision-making--a classic Rolling Stones song was playing. At first I thought it was Sympathy For The Devil, but it was actually Gimme Shelter.

I don't know if the pre-show music was specified in the stage directions, was acutely chosen by this production's director, Rick Snyder, or was just what the folks at American Theater Co. felt apt.

But while Gimme Shelter certainly set the tone, on my way home after the show on Sunday afternoon I couldn't help think of one of the most incisive lyrics in rock history, from 'Sympathy': "I shouted out 'Who killed the Kennedys?,' when after all, it was you and me."

At least on the surface, Speed-the-Plow is about a studio executive named Bobby Gould wrestling over whether to "green-light" (i.e. approve to get made) a lousy movie with a big star involved or a likely much better but less bankable film. And while the typically acerbic Mamet, who had directed his first movie--the wonderful House of Games--the year before Speed-the-Plow premiered on Broadway, is seemingly lampooning the "Hollywood suits" for both embracing and epitomizing stupidity, he's also shrewd enough to make clear what the smarter business decision would be. As well as to imbue Karen, the secretary who pushes to Gould green-light the good film, with ulterior motives of her own, even if they're not quite as overt as those of film producer Charlie Fox in championing the morally-bankrupt blockbuster.

In his program notes, ATC Artistic Director PJ Paparelli writes, "In the shadow of the 1987 Wall Street Crash, Speed-the-Plow illuminates the universal struggle over doing what is right or what is profitable." But the brilliance of the play, or at least what I took from my first encounter with it, is that the parable isn't that simple.

Hollywood gets blasted by those of us who appreciate higher-quality films for putting out an overload of recycled drek, but the American public shelled out $161 million this summer on the latest poorly reviewed Adam Sandler film, Grown Ups, while the critically-lauded The Kids Are All Right--which was fairly successful for a movie of its type--has grossed $20 million. So in an industry called show "business" for a reason, how much can Hollywood be demonized for feeding us the crap we love to eat.

(On a similar note, not to get too far off-topic, a health group recently put out this video blaming McDonald's for causing heart attacks. I don't know about you, but Ronald McDonald hasn't ever broken into my home and stuffed a Big Mac down my throat. Let's not absolve ourselves of the detrimental choices we consciously make. I mean it's not like I was brainwashed in my youth to crave two all beef patties special sauce lettuce cheese pickles onions on a sesame seed bun.)

This was a Mamet play I needed to see, in more ways than one. For although I've long considered him my second favorite playwright--behind Arthur Miller but ahead of Shakespeare, Tennessee Williams and Eugene O'Neill--that's really on the strength of just Glengarry Glen Ross and American Buffalo. I liked Oleanna (which I didn't see at ATC in its dual run with Speed-the-Plow and likely won't based on a much lesser review from the Tribune's Chris Jones), but didn't care much for "A Life in the Theater" or two of his more recent works, "Romance" and "November." In fact, my love of two of his written & directed movies, House of Games and The Spanish Prisoner (and to a lesser extent, Heist and State & Main) probably imprecisely aids my regard for Mamet's stage canon.

With excellent performances from Darrell W. Cox (who adroitly adapts and refines the "manic aggressive" act I've seen him do in several roles at Profiles Theatre), Lance Baker and Nicole Lowrence, this rendition of Speed-the-Plow felt like a first-rate take on Grade A-minus Mamet. Not as evocative, multi-faceted or delightfully profane as 'Glengarry' or as subtle in its as allegory as American Buffalo, Speed-the-Plow is fun to watch and has considerable depth beyond its surface. And with as much resonance today as in 1988, it's certainly worth--in a half-baked attempt at Mametian language--your f-ing time and attention.  

(Discount tickets for many performances should be available thru HotTix as I was able to get one for just $17.50.)