The production runs approximately 2 hours with an intermission.
Recommended for ages 13 and up
A new hip-hop adaptation of The Prince and the Pauper. This production will be a first-time collaboration with Salvadoran-American artists Brian and Marvin Quijada.
Brian wrote and starred in Teatro Vista’s highly acclaimed 2022 world premiere musical, Somewhere Over the Border.
Throw 'em a Lifeline...
You have 4 shots left to catch Kid Prince and Pablo. Don't miss this!
Here at ChiIL Mama and ChiIL Live Shows, we've adored Lifeline Theatre for decades! When my children were young, we were season subscribers to all their fabulous KidSeries Shows and I've been reviewing just about all of their adult and family friendly productions since 2010. Lifeline Theatre is truly a local gem, and they've been struggling financially since the pandemic. If you can kick in a little financial love or make it a point to see their shows this season, please do! Tickets are a reasonable $20-$45. There are just 4 performances of Jeff Recommended Kid Prince and Pablo left, so don't miss this.
ChiIL Mama's kids, Dugan & Sage (ages 9 & 7), ChiILin' in Lifeline Theatre's lobby Big Chair
back in 2010! My son grew up to major in Theatre Arts at Northwestern University and now works in the industry in Chicago.
Lifeline Theatre presents the Midwest premiere of Kid Prince and Pablo, a hip-hop musical based on Mark Twain’s story The Prince and the Pauper, January 3 – February 16 at Lifeline Theatre, 6912 N. Glenwood Ave. Kid Prince and Pablo, adapted by Brian Quijada with music composed by Marvin Quijada, and directed by Raquel Torre, makes its Midwest premiere after its initial run at the Kennedy Center in 2019.
Regular performance times through February 16, are Fridays at 7:30 p.m., Saturdays at 2:30 and 7:30 p.m., and Sundays at 2:30 p.m.
In the divided Capital City, the ruling class has banned rap and dance after an attempted revolution by the People. Kid Prince is set to inherit the throne…that is, until he meets Pablo, a drummer who performs for underground rap battles. When the two hatch a plan to switch identities, mayhem and music ensue. But by standing in each other’s shoes, Kid Prince and Pablo discover connections that could start a whole new revolution.
Photo credit: Josh Bernaski
Ticket prices are $45 for regular single tickets, $20 for active and retired military personnel (with ID), $35 for seniors, $20 for students (with ID), $20 for rush tickets (available half an hour before showtime, subject to availability), and $25 for previews. Group rate for 8 or more is available upon request. Tickets may be purchased at the Lifeline Theatre Box Office, 773.761.4477, or by visiting www.lifelinetheatre.com.
Accessible Performances: The Sunday, January 26, 2:30 p.m. performance will feature a pre-show touch tour of the set at 1:00 p.m. and live audio description for patrons who are blind or have low vision. The Sunday, February 2, 2:30 p.m. performance will feature open captioning for patrons who are hearing impaired. For more information about Lifeline’s accessibility services, please contact our Operations Manager John Craig at 773.761.4477 x703 or at access@lifelinetheatre.com.
The complete cast and production team for Kid Prince and Pablo includes:
CAST: Jesus Barajas (Pablo), Bryan Nicholas Carter (Clemens), Terrance Mayfield Jr. (Samuel), Shaina Toledo (Langhorne), and Joshua Zambrano (Kid Prince); with understudies Kevin Cruz, Yongwoo Park, and Sharon Pasia.
PRODUCTION TEAM: Kasey Alfonso (Choreographer), Heather Currie (Producing Director), Brenden Marble (Lighting Designer), Jasmin Aurora Medina (Costume Designer), Harrison Ornelas (Scenic Designer/Technical Director), Brian Quijada (Adaptor), Marvin Quijada (Composer), Stefanie M. Senior (Sound Designer), Avery Spellmeyer (Lighting Supervisor), Miranda Taylor (Stage Manager), Raquel Torre (Director), and Shokie Tseumah (Props Designer)
Now in its 42nd season, Lifeline Theatre continues to explore, interpret, and reimagine books and other literary works to create stories that move us beyond the margins of our own lives. Lifeline Theatre – Big Stories, Up Close.
Lifeline Theatre’s MainStage programs are partially supported by Carole Oppenheim and Jerome S Lamet Charitable Fund; Illinois Arts Council Agency; Anonymous; Goodman Theatre; Paul M Angell Foundation; Rogers Park Social; S&C Electric Company Fund; The Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation; The Shubert Foundation; The Saints; and the annual support of businesses and individuals.
Photo Credit for all production photos: Michael Brosilow
Here at ChiIL Mama we're absolutely elated to be partnering up with American Theater Company on a fabulous ticket giveaway.One of our lucky readers will win 2 tickets ($116 value) to American Theater Company's Jeff Recommended production of the musical comedy Xanadu.
Tickets are good for the winner's choice of one of the following performances: June 24 at 8 p.m.; June 26 at 2 p.m.; June 29 at 8 p.m. or June 30 at 8 p.m.
ENTER HEREfor your chance to WIN! Enter early and often through midnight June 21st.
American Theater Company’s production of the musical comedy Xanadu turns the theater’s warehouse space into a roller disco. This spoof of the 1980's camp classic film features Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) songs including “Evil Woman” and “All Over the World.” Don’t forget your leg warmers!
Check out ChiIL Mama's full review below:
Ah Xanadu. The high art of 80's neon, leg warmers, rainbow unicorns and roller disco lives on! American Theater Company's scrappy little musical deserved their unanimous standing ovation for this one. Don't be fooled by the storefront aesthetic. This cast is full of powerhouse vocalists and quadruple threat pros who not only sing, dance and act, but do it on roller skates!
Photo Credit for all production photos: Michael Brosilow
I'm still grinning ear to ear from this hilarious and heartfelt parody. And I'm dazed and amused they managed to transform their storefront into a full on mini roller rink and theatre in the round! This sweet setup makes for intimate staging, and provides some great audience interaction laughs, and in your face (or your lap) physical comedy. One line from the show keeps coming back to me, "It's like children's theatre for gay 40 year olds." Yes... Yes it is. This campy comeback is sure to steal hearts. It's wittier and far funnier than the movie it sprang from, with the original pop hits and absurd premise intact, and the addition of better tunes, too. Lili-Anne Brown (Director) has guided this production to the height of hilarity. Landree Fleming (Kira) is a stellar stand out.The quick pacing and impeccable comedic timing of the entire ensemble makes this show a true treat. Gone are the peasant blouses and billowing skirts of the movie version of Kira, though the muses do have modified 70's versions of toga like robes in the form of maxi dresses and parachute pants. We dig Kira's ultra 70's costume choices of a terrycloth jumpsuit, leg warmers and giant pompons on the skates. Sonny was a vision of the past in tube socks, head band, cut offs and neon. The casting of several of the muse sisters as men added extra levels of fun to this production, and they camped it up classically. We also loved the gentle and too true digs on the whole 80's aesthetic, and on Olivia Newton John's Australian accent and affectations. They even snuck in a nice little Singin' in the Rain tribute for Gene Kelly, who was also in the original 1980 movie. The muses have a much bigger role in the stage version, including an overt plot to hex Kira and make her fall in love with a mortal. I prepped for the opening with a family XANADU movie night with my husband, who vaguely remembered it, and my teens who had never seen it. XANADU came out when I was 13 and my husband was 15 -- exactly the ages our kids are now. It was a fun trip through the waaaaay back machine, especially since the movie recreates both the 40's and 80's. ATC's musical version stands alone as a fun romp through the decades, whether you've seen the movie or not, but if you have seen the movie (especially recently) the stage show lampooning is far funnier. It's tough to strike a balance between parody and snark and ATC's XANADU rocks that balancing act with panache. This is an absolute must see and fun for all ages. This ATC tribute is performed in memory of one of their inspirations, former artistic director, PJ Paparelli, who's untimely death last year shook the company and sent ripples through Chicago's theatre community. It's so great he can be remembered for his driving, documentary style productions on social problems, like Chicago's public housing crises, and also in a playful, high camp way, with XANADU. Maybe he's hangin' on the other side with Zeus and the muses today?! I wouldn't be surprised. At any rate, his life, and work, and even his silly film favorites continue to inspire ATC and Chicago's creative scene.
AMERICAN THEATER COMPANY OPENS
XANADU
A TRIBUTE TO LATE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR PJ PAPARELLI
DIRECTED BY LILI-ANNE BROWN
NOW PLAYING THROUGH JULY 17, 2016 Chi, IL LIVE Shows On Our Radar:
Xanadu takes place in Venice, California in 1980. Struggling artist Sonny Malone seeks to create his own version of the American dream by renovating an abandoned warehouse into a venue for world-class entertainment – a roller disco! A hilarious and modern update of the1980’s camp classic, Xanaducelebrates the artist’s muse, even when it comes from the most unlikely of places.
Xanadu Performance Schedule:
Regular Run: June 7–July 17: Tuesday–Saturday evenings at 8 p.m. with matinees on Saturdays and Sundays at 2 p.m.
American Theater Company (ATC)opened musical comedy Xanadu, the final production of its Legacy Season, Sunday, June 5. Presented as a tribute to ATC’s late Artistic Director PJ Paparelli—a not-so-secret fan of this camp classic—Xanadu is directed by Lili-Anne Brown and runs at ATC now through July 17, 2016. The production has music and lyrics by Jeff Lynne and John Farrar and a book by Douglas Carter Beane, based on the 1980 Universal Pictures film of the same title.
Single tickets for Xanadu range from $48-$58. Student tickets are available for $15 with valid student ID in-person at the Box Office. More information and tickets are available by visiting the ATC Box Office at 1909 W. Byron Street, by calling 773-409-4125 or visiting www.atcweb.org.
The cast for ATC’s tribute production of Xanadu includes Missy Aguilar (Calliope), Kasey Alfonso (Erato) Karla L. Beard (Melpomene), Jim DeSelm (Sonny), Landree Fleming (Kira), Aaron Holland (Danny Maguire, Zeus), Michelle Lauto (Kira U/S & Swing), Hanah Rose Nardone (Euterpe), James Nedrud (Terpsichore/Sonny cover), Daniel Spagnuolo (Thalia/Danny cover), and Cameron Turner (Swing).
ARTIST BIOS
Missy Aguilar (Calliope) most recently appeared as Baby Rose in Babes in Arms, Oolie/Donna in City of Angels with Porchlight Music Theatre and U/S Ivy (performed) in The Man Who Murdered Sherlock Holmes with Mercury Theatre. Last spring and summer she was happy to spend on the pier at Chicago Shakespeare Theater with Disney’s The Little Mermaid (Atina/Ensemble, U/S Ursula), and Sense and Sensibility: A New Musical (U/S Fanny/Mrs. Jennings, performed). Ms. Aguilar’s other recent Chicago area credits include: Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (Ivan’s Concierge, U/S Lucia) and The Beverly Hillbillies (Cousin Pearl/Gloria) with Theatre at the Center; Les Miserables (Ensemble & U/S Mdme. Thenadier) with Drury Lane; Nunsense (Sister Hubert) with Fox Valley Repertory; and In The Heights (Ensemble & U/S Abuela Claudia) with Paramount Theatre.
Kasey Alfonso (Erato) makes her ATC debut. Chicago credits include: West Side Story, Rent and In The Heights (Paramount Theatre); Seussical (Chicago Shakespeare); Iphegenia in Aulis (Court Theatre); Wonderland (Chicago Children’s Theatre); Carrie: The Musical (Bailiwick Chicago); and Smokey Joe’s Café (Theo Ubique). She also stars as Kid Zhuyin in the web series The Adventures of Jacketmen. Ms. Alfonso is a proud graduate of the Chicago College of Performing Arts.
Karla L. Beard (Melpomene) returns to ATC after appearing in Rent. She has appeared in Second City productions of What the Tour Guide Didn’t Tell You in the Up theatre, Soul Brother, Where Art Thou, Rush Limbaugh! The Musical, The Absolute Best Frigging Time of Your Life on the ETC stage, an assortment of Second City BizCo productions, several episodes of Chicago Live! and briefly in The Second City Guide to the Opera and Let Them Eat Chaos. TV/Film credits: Chicago PD, Empire, Mind Games and a variety of commercials. Other credits include: Mamma Mia! (National Tour); Doubt and Little Shop of Horrors (Peninsula Players); Sunday in the Park with George, Anyone Can Whistle and Princess and the Black-eyed Pea (Ravinia); The Amen Corner (Goodman Theatre and Huntington Theatre); The Piano Lesson (Madison Repertory Theatre; artist and music director); Miss Saigon and Hot Mikado (Marriott Lincolnshire); Ain’t Misbehavin’ (Arkansas Repertory); and Ragtime (Porchlight Theater). Ms. Beard received Jeff Nominations for her portrayals of the title character in the Midwest premiere of Dessa Rose, TiMoune in Once on This Island and Young Barbara Jordan in Voice of Good Hope at Victory Gardens.
Jim DeSelm (Sonny) makes his ATC debut. Chicago area credits: West Side Story and Beaches (Drury Lane Oakbrook); Road Show (Chicago Shakespeare Theater); James Joyce’s The Dead (Court Theatre); Fiddler on the Roof (Paramount Theatre); South Pacific (Marriott Theatre); Godspell and Jesus Christ Superstar (Theatre at the Center); Juno (TimeLine Theatre Company); A Catered Affair (Porchlight Music Theatre); Parade and Floyd Collins (Boho Theatre; Jeff Award Nomination - Actor/Musical); The Mikado (The Hypocrites); The Last Five Years (Kokandy Productions, Jeff Award Nomination - Actor/Musical); and Pump Boys & Dinettes (Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre, Jeff Nomination - Music Direction). Regional Credits include: Snapshots (Village Theatre/Arizona Theatre Company); Oklahoma!, Once Upon A Mattress and Plain & Fancy (Round Barn Theatre). Television credits include Chicago P.D. (NBC) and Double Cross (Investigation Discovery).
Landree Fleming (Kira) makes her ATC debut. She was most recently seen as Penny in Hairspray (Paramount Theatre). Other Chicago credits include: Seussical (Marriott Theatre); Spelling Bee (Drury Lane Theatre, Griffin Theatre, Theatre at the Center); Gypsy (Chicago Shakespeare Theater); Godspell (Theatre at the Center); She Kills Monsters (u/s, Buzz22); Reefer Madness (Circle Theatre, Jeff Nomination - Best Actress); and The Giver (Adventure Stage Chicago). Ms. Fleming is a member of musical sketch comedy group Off Off Broadzway. She is represented by Gray Talent.
Aaron Holland (Danny Maguire, Zeus) returns to ATC. Recent Chicago credits include: SISTER ACT! (Marriott); Seussical! (Chicago Shakespeare Theater); Hair (American Theater Company); The Color Purple (Mercury Theatre); A Christmas Carol (Goodman Theatre); Goodnight Moon and Dot & Ziggy (Chicago Children’s Theatre); and Passing Strange (Bailiwick Chicago). TV credits: Chicago Med. Mr. Holland received a BFA in Theatre Performance from Virginia Commonwealth University.
Michelle Lauto (Kira U/S & Swing) makes her ATC debut. Favorite credits include the Chicago premieres of Murder Ballad (Bailiwick Chicago), 35mm (Circle Theatre) and The Boy From Oz (Pride Films & Plays). Ms. Lauto is a proud graduate of The Second City Training Center Conservatory.
Hanah Rose Nardone (Euterpe) makes her ATC debut. Chicago credits include: Bye Bye Birdie and White Christmas (Drury Lane Oakbrook); The Little Mermaid (Chicago Shakespeare Theater); and The Wild Party, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Ripper and Spring Awakening (CCPA at Roosevelt University). Regional credits include: 42nd Street, Big River, Legally Blonde and The Sound of Music (The Little Theatre on the Square); Guys and Dolls, Boeing Boeing, Footloose and Cabaret (Timber Lake Playhouse). Ms. Nardone recently received her BFA in Musical Theatre from The Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University.
James Nedrud (Terpsichore/Sonny cover) makes his ATC debut. Recent credits include: Angry Fags (Pride Films and Plays at the Steppenwolf Garage); Mary Poppins (Paramount Theatre, Aurora); Les Miserables (Drury Lane Theatre, Oak Brook); Applause (Porchlight Revisits); WOZ: A Rock Cabaret (Kim Lawson at Victory Gardens); Three Little Pigs (Emerald City); and Under a Rainbow Flag (Pride Films and Plays; Jeff nomination for best supporting actor in a musical). He has also worked with Chicago Shakespeare Theater, About Face Theatre and Bohemian Theatre Ensemble, among others. Mr. Nedrud is a proud graduate of the Chicago College of Performing Arts and member of Pride Films and Plays.
Daniel Spagnuolo (Thalia/Danny cover) has worked at The Paramount Theatre, Porchlight Music Theatre, ProfilesTheatre, Boho Theatre Ensemble, The Little Theatre on the Square, and Light Opera Works. Danny’s choreography credits: Rent (Theo Ubique Cabaret); The Full Monty (Kokandy Productions; Non-Equity Jeff Award Nomination); Godspell and A New Brain (Brown Paper Box Co.; Broadway World Nominations); The Little Mermaid (Drury Lane Oakbrook); and Ruthless (Big Noise). Mr. Spagnuolo has served as assistant choreographer on such productions as A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (Porchlight Music Theatre) and American Idiot (The Hypocrites).
Cameron Turner (Swing) makes his ATC debut. He is a Chicago-based actor/director/choreographer and proud graduate of The Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University. Previous performance credits include: Jesus Christ Superstar (Theo Ubique Cabaret); DamnYankees and Annie Get Your Gun (Light Opera Works); and Les Miserables and A Chorus Line (Timber Lake Playhouse). Other Chicago credits include: 35MM: AMusical Exhibition (Director/Choreographer - Circle Theatre); The Boy From Oz(Choreographer - Pride Film & Plays); Jesus Christ Superstar (Asst.Choreographer - Theo Ubique Cabaret); and The Wild Party (Asst. Choreographer -Bailiwick Chicago).
Douglas Carter Beane’s (Playwright) plays include: The Nance, The Little Dog Laughed (Tony, Olivier nominations; GLAAD Media Award), Mr. & Mrs. Fitch, As Bees in Honey Drown (Outer Critics Circle, Gassner Playwriting awards), Advice From a Caterpillar, The Country Club, Music From a Sparkling Planet, The Cartells. Musicals: Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella(Tony nom.), Sister Act (Tony nom.), Lysistrata Jones (Tony nom.), Xanadu (Tony nom.; Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle awards). Revues: White Lies; Mondo Drama; The Late, Late Show. Opera: Die Fledermaus (Met). Screenplays: To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything! Julie Newmar; Advice From a Caterpillar (Best Feature, Aspen Comedy Festival). Producer: 21 plays as founder and artistic director of New York’s Drama Dept. Member of the Dramatists Guild and is on the Playwrights Walk of Fame at the Lucille Lortel Theatre.
Jeff Lynne (Music and Lyrics) is a founding member of the Electric Light Orchestra, or ELO, whose discography includes five platinum-selling albums: Face the Music, A New World Record, Out of the Blue, Discovery, and Xanadu. In addition to his recording work with the ELO, Lynne co-produced studio albums by George Harrison (Cloud Nine), Roy Orbison (Mystery Girl), Tom Petty (Full Moon Fever), Ringo Starr (Time Takes Time), and Paul McCartney (Flaming Pie). He co-founded the "supergroup," the Traveling Wilburys, with Tom Petty, Roy Orbison, Bob Dylan, and George Harrison. Lynn co-wrote and produced the track "Let It Shine" for Beach Boy Brian Wilson's debut solo album in 1988.
John Farrar (Music and Lyrics) is a music producer, guitarist, singer, and former member of the British rock group, The Shadows. He worked extensively with Olivia Newton-John, producing fourteen of her albums and writing many of her hit singles, including "You're the One That I Want" (Golden Globe nom.), "Hopelessly Devoted to You" (Academy Award nom.), and "Have You Never Been Mellow." He co-wrote with Tim Rice songs for the 1995 musical, Heathcliff, and collaborated with Francis Ford Coppola to create songs for a new musical, Gidget.
Lili-Anne Brown (Director) is the Artistic Director of Bailiwick Chicago. She received the Joseph Jefferson Award in 2014 (Direction of a Musical) for her direction of Ahrens & Flaherty's Dessa Rose. Other directing credits include: Michael John LaChiusa's See What I Wanna See (Steppenwolf Theatre Garage Rep), the critically acclaimed Chicago premiere of Passing Strange (BTA Award for Best Director of a Musical, Jeff Award nomination for Best Director of a Musical), and the world premiere of Princess Mary Demands Your Attention by Aaron Holland, for Bailiwick Chicago; On the Boards and Hearts of Darkness at Roosevelt University; and Hairspray, Unnecessary Farce, Cabaret, Sweet Charity, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, and Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story, all at Timber Lake Playhouse, where she is an Artistic Associate. Upcoming next season: American Idiot at Northwestern University and Jabari Dreams of Freedom by Nambi Kelley at Chicago Children's Theatre. She works as an actor, director and educator, both locally and regionally, and is a member of Actors’ Equity Association and SAG-AFTRA, and an associate of SDC. Lili-Anne is a Northwestern University graduate (Performance Studies), and a proud native Chicagoan.
About American Theater Company
American Theater Company (ATC) challenges and inspires its community by exploring stories that ask the question, "What does it mean to be an American?" ATC’s Ensemble includes Patrick Andrews, Kareem Bandealy, Jaime Castañeda, Kelly O’Sullivan, Tyler Ravelson, and Sadieh Rifai.
American Theater Company is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency, and CityArts grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, the Lloyd A. Fry Foundation, Polk Bros. Foundation, the MacArthur Fund for Arts and Culture at Prince, and the Shubert Foundation. Disclosure: Thanks to American Theater Company for providing one of our lucky readers with 2 tickets ($116 value) to their Jeff Recommended production of the musical comedy Xanadu. I have also been given a pair of tickets for the press opening to facilitate my review. As always, all opinions are my own.
We made our first foray into Redtwist Theatre's tiny black box on Saturday, to see their highly acclaimed production of Opus, which just received a Jeff recommendation.This marks their 10th show in a row, to be Jeff recommended!Just call them lettuce cause they're on a roll. From their 2009-2010 opener Lettice and Lovage, all of their Jeff-eligible shows have been Jeff recommended.
Here at ChiIL Mama, we appreciate great theatre for kids and for adults. And we love a good twist...licorice wise and plot wise. We review loads of theatre, from all the elaborate Broadway in Chicago productions, to tiny, intriguing store front offerings. My guilty theatre pleasure, where possible, is a packet of Twizzlers and a Sapphire n tonic. So, when a member of The Saints (theatre ushers) and two educator friends wanted to see Opus, I was intrigued, and arranged to review the show. I love their colorful mission statement:
To do white hot drama In a tiny black box With a little red twist Redtwist says: We strive to do white hot drama, from name-brand blockbusters, to risky new work, and obscure buried treasures, that pack emotional force, examine moral dilemmas, and reveal greater truths…
by transforming our tiny black box and its explosive immediacy into a thematic asset, specifically tailored for every show and intended to close the gap between actor and audience, thus blurring the line between seating and staging…
by utilizing a little red twist in the concept and design of each production to provide a totally unique theatre experience that is simultaneously intimate, comfortable, and safe, yet intense, edgy, and thrilling, at a distance only inches away.
Redtwist Theatre is a not-for-profit 501(c)3 organization Opus a world-class string quartet
a bitter clash of wills
an explosive climax
a brilliant musical score
Regular Show Times: Thu, Fri, Sat 7:30pm, and Sun 3pm Through Jan 15 Tickets: $25-$30 (half price tickets possible for some show times through Goldstar) Opus is a smashing success fraught with genius and insanity, sexual tension, hidden affairs, brilliance and banality. This quartet of musicians, at the top of their game in the chamber music world, still struggle with their own demons, mortality, tempers, and tempestuous relationships.
Add two coveted, priceless, antique Lazara instruments from the 17th century into the mix, and you have a volatile, high stakes game. The characters manage to be simultaneously rarified and raunchy. They're accomplished enought to be invited to play the white house, yet their perfectionism and petty tirades threaten to tear apart the very fiber and substance of their quartet.
Opus is a challenging piece because the actors need to convincingly play stringed instruments on stage, while backed by a soundtrack. Only one actor in Opus had ever played, and that was on the high school level. They didn't attempt accurate fingering, but after all, the focus of the plot is the multilayered relationships between the characters, not the proper placement of a pinkie. The production had a music coach come in and work with the actors on how to move their bodies and bows convincingly to, in effect, do the equivalent of lip syncing with violins and violas. They did a fabulous job of embodying the characters and making the audience believe world class quartet, without their playing being over the top or distracting. After the show, we spoke to an audience member who plays a stringed instrument professionally, and she was impressed.
Emily Tate was a stand out in her gorgeous dress, her character shining through as a highly gifted, yet unassailably stable island among turbulent seas. This tiny storefront theatre is a force to reckon with and one to watch. We thoroughly enjoyed the show and highly recommend it.
More from Redtwist: Opus is the uniquely fascinating story about a world-class string quartet. The musical ensemble is in the midst of a bitter clash of wills between the two leaders of the group—one the artistic genius, the other, the business guru. One stays as the group leader and ousts the other.
The replacement is a young woman, fresh out of school, and the evolution of the group takes several unexpected turns en route to a riveting conclusion. Featuring a bedrock of compelling "family" dynamics, Opus is a gripping piece of drama punctuated by a brilliant musical score. It was one of the most produced plays in the U.S. in 2009, and Redtwist has the Chicago premiere. The cast includes Redtwist company member and Jeff Award-winner Brian Parry, along with Paul Dunckel, John Ferrick, Michael Sherwin, and Emily Tate.
Their next offering March 4- April 17th sounds ambitious and amazing, too. They're taking on The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later, another Chicago premier.
The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later
by Moises Kaufman, Leigh Fondakowski, Greg Pierotti, Andy Paris, and Stephen Belber
AND
Staged Readings of the original Laramie Project
by Moises Kaufman and the members of the Tectonic Theater Project
beginning February 17, 2012 Mar. 4 thru Apr. 7, 2012
Directed by Greg Kolack (3-time Jeff Award-winner for Best Director)
The sequel is the terrific follow-up to the legendary work produced by the Tectonic Theater Project in 1998 in the immediate aftermath of the Matthew Shepard murder in Laramie, Wyoming. Since that watershed hate crime, Tectonic has reconnected with nearly all the people whom they interviewed (and who appeared as characters in the original play) to assess how they have changed.
The results are startling, regarding both growth and stasis. The United States passed an Act of Congress called The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, on Oct 22, 2009. This play documents the incredible journey of, well, the tectonic shift in the U.S. in the past ten years culminating in that landmark legislation. Featuring breathtaking interviews with both incarcerated killers, as well as a right-wing Wyoming legislator who rises to the occasion in support of a gay rights bill. It is riveting and life-affirming theatre. This is the Chicago premiere.
Extra kudos to Redtwist for going green. They're in the vanguard with innovative playbill recycling. A few theatres put out a box to collect programs, but many are crumpled or a bit worse for wear and can't be reused. And most patrons don't recycle. Redtwist encases their programs in vinyl and requires them to be returned, like a restaurant menu! If you're a collector who truly wants to save yours for posterity or refer back to it later, you can access the playbill on line and print our your own copy or request a copy at the box office.
Now in its 42nd season, Lifeline Theatre continues to explore, interpret, and reimagine books and other literary works to create stories that move us beyond the margins of our own lives. Lifeline Theatre – Big Stories, Up Close..jpg)
