Stories by hedy weiss

Alexis J. Roston performs in “Sister Act.” (Credit: Brett Beiner Photography)

A ‘Sister Act’ Production Bound to Raise the Spirits of Musical Theater Believers

Reneisha Jenkins’ direction, along with the wonderfully playful, hip-swiveling choreography of Christopher Chase Carter and the impeccable music direction of keyboardist Diana Lawrence, has infused the show with genuine emotional heat as well as laugh-generating irreverence and comic sparkle.

Ana Maria Martinez performs in “Florencia en el Amazonas.” (Photo by Cory Weaver)

Lyric Opera Rides the Powerful Waves of Genuine Musical Magic in ‘Florencia en el Amazonas’

“Florencia en el Amazonas” (“Florencia in the Amazon”), the first Spanish language opera to be performed on the Lyric Opera mainstage, is pure magic on every count. 

Shantel Cribbs (left) and Melanie Loren in “Pump Boys & Dinettes” from Porchlight Music Theatre, now playing through Dec. 12. (Photo by Chollette)

Porchlight’s Rousing Revival of ‘Pump Boys & Dinettes’ Serves Up Delicious Diner Nostalgia

Created by a group of six performers and musicians, the 1981 musical is now being brought back to vivid life in a terrific production devised by director Daryl Brooks, music director Robert Reddrick and choreographer Rueben D. Echoles.

E. Faye Butler (Fannie Lou Hamer) in “Fannie (The Music and Life of Fannie Lou Hamer)” by Cheryl L. West, directed by Henry Godinez at Goodman Theatre, Oct. 15- Nov. 21. (Photo by Liz Lauren)

E. Faye Butler Brings Civil Rights Activist Fannie Lou Hamer Roaring Back to Life

The Chicago actress is giving a rip-roaring performance in playwright Cheryl L. West’s “Fannie: The Music and Life of Fannie Lou Hamer,” a 75-minute, one-woman show to which the actress brings all the grit, endurance, fiery spirit and vocal power that marked the indomitable Hamer herself.

The Company of “The Magic Flute” (Credit Cory Weaver)

Classical Music in a Multitude of Manifestations

Hedy Weiss reviews the Lyric Opera production of “The Magic Flute,” a Chicago Symphony Orchestra concert, and “Homecoming,” the latest entry in the CSO’s MusicNOW series.

(Credit: Brett Beiner)

Music Theater Works Makes Sensational Return With Searing Production of ‘Ragtime’

There are many fine performances and clarion ensemble voices in this production. But it is Curtis Bannister, as ragtime musician Coalhouse Walker Jr., who steals the show.

Guest conductor Manfred Honeck and Denis Matsuev acknowledge the audience following a performance of Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 3 with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. (Todd Rosenberg Photography)

CSO Soars on Wings of Two Brilliant Century-Spanning Modernists

Thursday evening’s Chicago Symphony Orchestra program opened with “Coincident Dances,” a fascinating 2017 work by Jessie Montgomery, the orchestra’s current Mead Composer-in-Residence. She never fails to enthrall with her rhythmically complex, richly orchestrated, highly original pieces.

(Photo by Ken Carl)

Deeply Rooted Dance Theater Attracts Vast Audience to Its Rousing Auditorium Theatre Performance

An estimated 2,000 people cheered the company’s superb artists as they took to the stage Saturday to perform a series of works, including a preview of “Goshen, The Story of Exodus.”

(Photo by Gorman Cook)

Giordano Dance Chicago Lights Up the Stage in Its Return to the Harris Theater

In their first major live performance since the pandemic began, members of Giordano Dance Chicago were in grand style and exceptional form. 

A moment of silence is observed by James Conlon and the CSO musicians in recognition of the passing of Maestro Bernard Haitink, who died on October 21, 2021. (Credit Todd Rosenberg Photography)

Astonishing Performance of a Prokofiev Piano Concerto Just One Highlight of CSO Concert

Thursday’s Chicago Symphony Orchestra concert began as guest conductor James Conlon turned to the audience and announced the news that Bernard Haitink, the world-renowned and much beloved conductor with strong ties to the CSO, had died earlier in the day at his home in London at the age of 92.

"Horizonte," choreographed and performed by Monica Saucedo. (Credit Dean Paul)

Chicago’s Ensemble Español Dances Up a Storm in Celebration at the Auditorium

It was an evening of multiple celebrations Saturday as Chicago’s Ensemble Español Spanish dance company arrived on the stage of the Auditorium Theatre in full regalia to mark the return of live performance in the landmark hall following its pandemic shutdown.

The Forest Lords of Arden (left to right: Austin Eckert, Jeff Kurysz, Adam Wesley Brown, Michael Daniel Dashefsky, Kurt Schweitz) jam to the hit song of The Beatles in Chicago Shakespeare Theater’s production of “As You Like It,” adapted and directed by Daryl Cloran, in the Courtyard Theater, Oct. 6–Nov. 21. (Photo by Liz Lauren)

The Beatles Songbook Transformed Into Ingenious Score For Shakespeare’s ‘As You Like It’

The show is not some crazy remake of the musical “Hair,” but rather a raucous, playful and exceedingly clever reimagined take on Shakespeare’s “As You Like It.” 

Fernando Duarte and Stefan Goncalvez perform in “Swing Low.” (Photo by Cheryl Mann)

The Joffrey Ballet Soars in Opening Night Performance at Its New Lyric Opera Home

With its ideally titled program, “Home: A Celebration,” the Joffrey Ballet finally made its pandemic-delayed debut as the resident dance company at the Lyric Opera House on Wednesday. And it did so by way of a beautifully constructed and exquisitely danced program.

Jessie Montgomery, the CSO’s Mead Composer-in-Residence. (Credit: Todd Rosenberg)

CSO Announces Full Calendar of Orchestra Hall Concerts for 2021, 2022

On the heels of the recent triumphant return to live concerts by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Maestro Riccardo Muti, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association has announced its extensive programming plans for the remainder of the 2021 season and the first half of the 2022 season.

The Company of the RENT 20th Anniversary Tour RENT 20th Anniversary Tour (Credit Amy Boyle 2019).

Reopening at Three Theaters Marked by Reflections on the Past Magnified in the Present

Among the shows that have marked the return of live theater in Chicago are three very different music-driven works variously set in the final three decades of the 20th century. Seen during present day upheaval, as well as through the lens of their original conception, the result is an intriguing double vision. 

Music Director Riccardo Muti and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra perform Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6 (Pathétique) as part of Muti’s final program in his fall 2021 residency. (Credit Todd Rosenberg Photography)

CSO’s Fall Season Earns a Triple Crown

Maestro Riccardo Muti led the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in the third program of his fall residency with an intriguing juxtaposition of three works: Missy Mazzoli’s 2006 “These Worlds in Us”; Russian composer Anatoly Liadov’s 1908 tone poem, “The Enchanted Lake”; and finally, Tchaikovsky’s indisputable 1893 masterpiece, “Symphony No. 6 in B Minor (Pathetique).”

Bethany Thomas performs in “Songs for Nobodies.” (Photo credit: Michael Brosilow)

Bethany Thomas in a Bravura Turn at Northlight Theatre

With her bravura one-woman performance in “Songs for Nobodies,” Bethany Thomas has clearly found the kind of star turn that can change a career, and a life, while unquestionably generating immense happiness, awe and bravos among her audiences.

Violinist Leonidas Kavakos acknowledges the audience following his performance with Riccardo Muti and the CSO, September 30, 2021. (Credit Todd Rosenberg Photography)

CSO’s Second Fall Season Concert is Nothing Short of Electrifying

Leonidas Kavakos — the Greek-born violinist who thrilled audiences with his performance of Beethoven’s 1806 “Violin Concerto in D Major” two years ago — returned to the stage with a galvanic rendering of Brahms’ 1878 “Violin Concerto in D Major,” leaving the packed house in a state of contained awe between movements.

Ailyn Perez and Joshua Hopkins in the Lyric Opera production of “The Elixir of Love.” (Photo by Cory Weaver)

Lyric Opera’s ‘Elixir of Love’ a Delicious Confection

Gaetano Donizetti’s beguiling romantic comedy is a delightful  and winningly insightful tale of true love, money, egotism, self-doubt, wishful thinking and charlatanism. And, to top it all off, it comes with a happy ending.

Sondra Radvanovsky and Craig Colclough in the Lyric Opera production of “Macbeth.” (Photo by Ken Howard)

A Haunted and Haunting Production of Verdi’s ‘Macbeth’ Opens Lyric Opera’s 2021-2022 Season

The Lyric Opera production of Giuseppe Verdi’s “Macbeth” — which marks both the ongoing pandemic-era reopening of the company’s renovated 3,200-seat theater, and the official start of Enrique Mazzola’s tenure as the company’s music director — is no standard witches’ brew. 

Riccardo Muti leads the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in Beethoven’s Eroica Symphony in their first concert together since February 2020 to open the CSO’s 131st season, Sept. 23, 2021. (Credit: Todd Rosenberg Photography)

A Night to Remember With the Return of the CSO and Maestro Muti

It was a great spirit-raising moment of rebirth, celebration and pure musical enchantment Thursday night as the Chicago Symphony Orchestra along with an ebullient Maestro Riccardo Muti and a large, exuberant audience were all reunited in Orchestra Hall for the first time in 19 months. 

(Photo credit: Kyle Dunleavy)

The Joffrey Ballet on Fire at Ravinia Festival

Should you need any additional proof of the adage that “absence makes the heart grow fonder,” the recent one-night-only performance by the Joffrey Ballet at the Ravinia Festival provided all the evidence required.

For 30th Anniversary, Dance for Life Takes the Celebration Outdoors

The annual event that puts the spotlight on Chicago dance companies is free and open to the public this year with a concert at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park.

Willie Nelson performs at Ravinia on Saturday, Aug. 14, 2021. (Credit: Kyle Dunleavy)

Willie Nelson’s Enduring Magic on Display at Ravinia Along With ‘The Family’

The crowd roared and jumped to its feet the minute the 88-year-old country music legend walked onto the stage on Saturday night — and his ability to instantly connect to his audience is unwavering, with his guitar playing still seemingly effortless.

Sheléa performs at “Unboxing Bernstein: A Live Revue” at the Ravinia Festival on Saturday, Aug. 7, 2021. (Courtesy of the Ravinia Festival)

Celebrating Bernstein’s Broadway Songbook at Ravinia

“Unboxing Bernstein: A Live Revue” served as a stirring reminder of Leonard Bernstein’s genius for mixing and matching musical genres. 

Rachel Barton Pine performs with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra on Friday, July 16, 2021. (Courtesy of the Ravinia Festival)

At Ravinia, Cynthia Erivo’s Blazing Star Power and Rachel Barton Pine’s Last-Minute Prowess

It was quite a weekend at the Ravinia Festival. On Friday evening virtuoso violinist Rachel Barton Pine filled in for the indisposed Midori with just a few hours of advance notice, and aced Prokofiev’s fiendishly difficult “Violin Concerto No. 1.”