“Message in a Bottle,” which runs through Sunday at the Cadillac Palace Theatre, is simply a phenomenal production that should not be missed, writes WTTW News theater critic Hedy Weiss.
Cadillac Palace Theatre
Louis Armstrong, with his instantly identifiable raspy tenor voice, was a formative force in the world of jazz for nearly half a century. Now, the musical “A Wonderful World” has arrived in Chicago in a show that is bound to end up on Broadway.
Black Theatre United is an organization aimed at creating more diversity and inclusion in theater. With the help of that group, actress Vanessa Williams is making her producorial debut for the new musical “A Wonderful World.”
On opening night of a three-night stand at Chicago’s Cadillac Palace Theatre, Bob Dylan and his band delivered a show that satisfied even as it mystified, and he bookended the concert with a surprise pair of Chicago-centric cover songs.
“Come From Away” is the altogether brilliant musical based on the spirit-raising effort finessed by a small community in Newfoundland, Canada in the wake of the shocking terrorist attacks perpetrated on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001.
There is no denying the ferocity of John Leguizamo’s tragicomic jeremiad, his bravura gifts as a terrific physical performer, or his ability to improvise in “Latin History for Morons.”
The big surprise in this hit Broadway musical is how the seemingly most unlikely material for a musical – the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks – ends up feeling as if it were custom-made for the form and turns great darkness into a healing light.
The eternal themes that drive “Fiddler on the Roof” made it an instant classic, but the new touring production featuring contemporary additions makes the show feel uneven.
The new touring production of the epic show could not be more elaborate, but it trades more in shock value than pathos, and loses something in the process.
A unique building was one of several Chicago landmarks featured in a 1950 film. The movie starred a young actor who later became a screen legend. Geoffrey Baer has more in this week's edition of Ask Geoffrey.
The original music makers of Mary Poppins tell us how the movie was re-imagined for the Broadway stage.
