OPENING: From Carol King to Lion King! 5 Fabulous Shows We're Reviewing This Week.

We're back from Thanksgiving Break with family and it's going to be a WHIRLWIND WEEK of theatre openings in Chicago. Check back with ChiIL Mama & ChiIL Live Shows like we vote in Chi, IL... early and often for original coverage, theatre & entertainment news and reviews, great nationwide giveaways and more! 

Here's what's on our plate this week:

Today we'll be taking an elf led press tour and meeting the big man himself, Santa Claus, at Swissotel Chicago.

Tuesday is Opening Night of The Christmas Schooner, one of our annual holiday favs at Mercury Theater Chicago, 3745 North Southport Avenue, Chicago, IL, US, 60613

Wednesday through Friday we have Broadway In Chicago press openings:

BEAUTIFUL – Wednesday, December 2 at 7:30 PM at the Oriental Theatre (24 W Randolph)

POTTED POTTER – Thursday, December 3 at 7:30 PM at the Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place (175 E Chestnut). heart emoticon this show! It's so creative and fun. 

Click here for show details and ChiIL Mama's past review from 2012.

The last time they played Chicago, a few years back, ChiIL Mama and the kids got in on the opening night action at Potted Potter and we all loved it!  I honestly can't remember the last time an audience full of adults and kids all laughed so hard. This low tech, old school show is brilliant sketch comedy, and supreme silliness coupled with over the top talent. Dan and Jeff are two funny guys. Don't miss this! Get your Potted Potter tixs and enjoy these brilliantly beguiling Brits before they leave Chi-town!

THE LION KING (this one's still a maybe pending availability) – Friday, December 4 at 7:30 PM at the Cadillac Palace Theatre (151 W Randolph).

Saturday is one of our all time top holiday favorites, opening night of 

A Q Brothers Christmas Carol at Chicago Shakespeare Theater. 

JOY!! 

Click here for show details and ChiIL Mama's past reviews from 2013/14.

Follow us on social media and/or 

here at http://www.chiilmama.com/ (family friendly) & http://chiilliveshows.com/ (adult) 

for loads of fun in Chi, IL and beyond!

• Follow us on FACEBOOK and TWITTER so you don't miss out. Follow us by RSS feed (add your address in the side bar to the right) to get an easy e-mail digest and/or get real time updates & first dibs on giveaways via social media.
• ChiIL Mama (family friendly) FACEBOOK PAGE and TWITTER 
• ChiIL Live Shows (adult)  FACEBOOK PAGE and TWITTER
• YOUTUBE (We have 240+ original videos on our YouTube Channel including video interviews with musicians, theatre people, parents in the arts, live show footage & more!)
• GOOGLE +
• PINTEREST
• INSTAGRAM

League of Chicago Theatres’ annual Holiday Guide highlights seasonal productions

CHICAGO THEATERS GET FESTIVE FOR THE HOLIDAY SEASON

With over 60 live theatre shows currently playing, Chicago's theatre scene is second to none. Check back with ChiIL Live Shows and ChiIL Mama like we vote in Chi, IL... early and often. We'll be featuring openings, closings, news, and original reviews and coverage. Still, it's not humanly possible to make it around to every show currently playing, so check in with the fabulous League of Chicago Theatres for a comprehensive guide.

The Chicago theater community will present a wide variety of festive plays and musicals, as well as dance and concert offerings this Holiday season.  In support, the League of Chicago Theatres will once again create a comprehensive Holiday Theater Guide that will be available at hotels, theaters, events, and destinations across the Chicago area.  An updated list of holiday shows with additional details about each production will be available throughout the season at www.chicagoplays.com. They even have a downloadable guide. 

The following is a selection of Holiday-themed work playing in Chicago this season.

*We've marked our favorites below. Click the links and scroll down for some of our original coverage, reviews, interviews & videos from ChiIL Live Shows (all) & ChiIL Mama (family friendly productions).

Classic Chicago favorites include:

*The Goodman Theatre brings back the beloved Chicago tradition A CHRISTMAS CAROL, Charles Dickens’ classic tale of hope and redemption.
through December 28, 2014.

Capra’s holiday staple gets the 1940’s radio treatment with IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE: LIVE IN CHICAGO! presented by American Blues Theater at the Greenhouse Theater Center, through December 28, 2014.

*The House Theatre presents its fantastical, fast-paced, and family-friendly version of THE NUTCRACKER at the Chopin Theatre, weaving dance, text, and songs to tell a story of magic and mystery, through December 28, 2014.

*The Joffrey Ballet’s grand production of THE NUTCRACKER returns to the Auditorium Theatre, through 28, 2014.

Holiday-themed musicals include:

*Broadway in Chicago premieres DEE SNIDER’S ROCK & ROLL CHRISTMAS TALE. Dee Snider, infamous lead singer of Twisted Sister, has created and stars in a VERY funny, VERY rocking and (sshhh!) VERY sweet new holiday musical, guaranteed to rock your holiday at the Broadway Playhouse, through January 4, 2015.

*The Mercury Theater remounts The classic Chicago musical,THE CHRISTMAS SCHOONER. It sets sail again for 2014 featuring a powerful, moving story, an exquisite score of original music and traditional holiday favorites, and a company of 25 actors and musicians, through December 28, 2014.

Holiday comedies include:

The Second City and Goodman present TWIST YOUR DICKENS. Scrooge, Tiny Tim, three ridiculous ghosts and a cast of The Second City’s funniest members take the Goodman by storm, as wicked parody, daring improve and a host of guest celebs run rampant, through December 28, 2014.

*Theater Wit features David Sedaris’ classic comedy SANTALAND DIARIES, through December 28, 2014.

Nuns4Fun’s interactive bingo show. CHRISTMAS BINGO: IT’S A HO-HO-HOLY NIGHT runs at the Royal George Theatre Center, through January 4, 2015.

Other notable works include:

*Chicago Shakespeare Theater presents A Q BROTHERS’ CHRISTMAS CAROL, a hip-hop holiday treat set to a bangin’ beat, through December 31, 2014.

About Face Theatre presents BIG RED AND THE BOYS, a non-traditional, boozy night of songs, stories and spirits, through December 20, 2014.

Chicago a cappella presents HOLIDAYS A CAPPELLA. Enjoy this perfect mix of familiar holiday tunes, Renaissance Carols, Chanukah songs, Christmas spirituals and contemporary classics, through December 20, 2014.

*Profiles Theatre remounts their annual hit, HELLCAB, which portrays the story of a cab driver in for the longest night of his life as he transports a bizarre and mysterious array of customers through the gritty streets of Chicago on Christmas Eve, through January 11, 2015.

Hot Tix

Hot Tix offers half-price tickets to more than 200 Chicago area theaters, full price tickets to all Ticketmaster events including concerts and sports, and Play Money gift certificates. Hot Tix tickets are always half-price and may be purchased up to a week in advance of the performance.  Hot Tix ticket centers are located in the Loop at 72 E. Randolph Street, the Chicago Tourism Center and on North Michigan Ave. at the Waterworks Visitors Center located at 163 E. Pearson and Block Thirty Seven, located at 108 N. State St.  Hot Tix are available for purchase online at HotTix.org.  

About Chicago theater

Chicago theater is the leader in the U.S. with more than 250 theaters throughout Chicagoland, comprising a rich and varied community ranging from storefront, non-union theaters to the most renowned resident theaters in the country, including 5 which have been honored with Regional Tony Awards, and the largest touring Broadway organization in the nation. Chicago’s theaters serve 5 million audience members annually and have a combined budget of more than $250 million. Chicago produces and/or presents more world premieres annually than any other city in the nation. In 2009-10 alone Chicago theater companies produced more than 130 world premiere productions and adaptations. Each year Chicago theaters send new work to resident theaters across the country, to Broadway, and around the world. 

The League of Chicago Theatres’ Mission Statement

The League of Chicago Theatres is an alliance of theaters which leverages its collective strength to promote, support and advocate for Chicago's theater industry locally, nationally and internationally. The League of Chicago Theatres Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the art of theater in the Chicago area through audience development and support services for theaters and theater professionals.

For a comprehensive list of Chicago productions, visit the League of Chicago website, www.chicagoplays.com.  Discounted tickets are available at www.hottix.org.

OPENING: The Christmas Schooner at Mercury Theater

Tonight ChiIL Mama and Sage will be reviewing at opening night of The Christmas Schooner at Mercury Theater. We like our holiday sugar and spice with a dash of the macabre, so we're very much looking forward to this tale of ship wrecks and evergreens. Check back for our full review shortly. The Christmas Schooner has been delighting audiences for hundreds of productions including a twelve year run at Chicago's Bailiwick Repertory Theatre but this will be our first time to see it!

LIVELY NEW CAST OF THE CHRISTMAS SCHOONER sets sail at Mercury Theater Chicago, 3745 N. Southport Avenue. 

A new cast of award-winning actors are set to bring new life to Chicago’s beloved holiday musical THE CHRISTMAS SCHOONER, running November 26 through December 28, 2014. Jeff Award winner Stef Tovar takes the helm as the Schooner’s new captain, alongside Brianna Borger as the Captain’s wife Alma Stossel. 

The whole family will enjoy this heart-warming musical story of the first Christmas tree ship and the family who risked their lives to fill Chicago with the Christmas spirit. Hailed as "A sacred part of a Chicago Christmas!" by the Chicago Tribune, the production features a powerful, moving story, an exquisite score of original music and traditional holiday favorites, and a company of 25 actors and musicians. The production is helmed by the Jeff-award winning team of L. Walter Stearns (Director), Eugene

Dizon (Musical Director) and Brenda Didier (Choreographer).

The shipwreck of the Rouse Simmons, known as 'The Christmas Tree Ship,' served as inspiration for THE CHRISTMAS SCHOONER. Her captain and crew risked the notoriously violent winter lake to bring Christmas trees from Michigan's Upper Peninsula to Chicago's German immigrants. Each year, Captain Herman Schuenemann would sell trees right off of the ship at the Clark Street Docks, and was known to give free trees to the needy. On November 23, 1912, the ship was swept up in a terrible storm. It was not until 59 years later that she was discovered, lying in 170 feet of water. Today the Rouse Simmons and her cargo of 5,500 well stacked trees remain preserved in the cold, fresh waters of Lake Michigan and her legend has grown to mythical proportions. The Blaine Nickelodeon - the silent film theater that now houses the Mercury - opened that very same year.

THE CHRISTMAS SCHOONER has entertained audiences in hundreds of productions including a twelve year run at Chicago's Bailiwick Repertory Theatre. A timely and uplifting tale of love, THE CHRISTMAS SCHOONER is a poignant ode to the rich legacy of Chicago and a reminder of our responsibility to celebrate the living while honoring our heritage. In 2011, Mercury Theater Chicago revived THE CHRISTMAS SCHOONER with a full orchestra and an all-star cast, garnering a "Best Production" nomination for the 2012 Jeff Awards. The production has been called "A grand family tradition!" by the Chicago Tribune and "An inheritance to be treasured...Highly recommended!" by the Chicago Sun-Times. Time Out Chicago Kids says that "A slice of Chicago history and an emotion-packed, Christmas-themed tale of redemption give the Mercury Theater Chicago's production of THE CHRISTMAS SCHOONER all the trappings of a family holiday tradition in the making!"

THE CHRISTMAS SCHOONER is written by John Reeger (book) and Julie Shannon (music and lyrics) and will be brought new life by cast members Jeff Award winner Stef Tovar as Peter Stossel, Brianna Borger as Alma Stossel, and James Wilson Sherman as Gustav Stossel. Rounding out the crew on this year's schooner voyage are William Anderson, Brian Bohr, Kelly Anne Clark, Jaclyn Dougherty, Elizabeth Lanza, Leah Morrow, Michael Pacas, Eric Parker, Jim Rank and Daniel Smeriglio. The scenic design is by Jacqueline and Richard Penrod, with costume design by Carol J. Blanchard and lighting design by Jason Epperson.

The beautifully renovated Mercury Theater Chicago is an intimate jewel box of a theater in the heart of the Southport Corridor, a sophisticated neighborhood of restaurants and boutiques just steps from Wrigley Field. A delightful theater destination, Mercury Theater Chicago takes care of its guests from the moment they arrive with valet service, dining at its adjoining restaurant, Deleece, and post-show libations at Cullen’s Bar & Grill. Under the leadership of Executive Director L. Walter Stearns, Mercury Theater Chicago will follow THE CHRISTMAS SCHOONER with the devilishly delightful THE ADDAMS FAMILY– THE MUSICAL (...which we also can NOT wait to see here at ChiIL Mama/ ChiIL Live Shows!!).

The performance schedule for THE CHRISTMAS SCHOONER is Wednesdays at 7:30pm, Thursdays at 3:00pm and 7:30pm, Fridays at 8:00pm, Saturdays at 3:00pm and 8:00pm and Sundays at 3:00pm and 7:30pm.

Individual tickets range from $25-$65, and are available online at www.MercuryTheaterChicago.com, over the phone at 773.325.1700, or in person at 3745 N. Southport Avenue, Chicago.