Results tagged “broadwayinchicago”

Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein is too funny. There are too many overused jokes, too many corny gags, and too much suggestive language. Watching the musical at the Cadillac Palace Theatre is like overdosing on Halloween candy. Sure it’s enjoyable and delicious, but in the end, you’ve consumed nothing substantial and you feel a little sick.

Despite what you may think, we don’t set out to be cruel. But, in the case of Cats, showing this weekend at the Cadillac Palace Theatre, rather than pointlessly ridiculing spandex clad actors who are clearly happy to have a job, we thought we would put this famously bad musical in perspective.

Spring Awakening opens tonight at the Oriental Theatre and you should cast away your Broadway in Chicago qualms and go. We admit we haven’t seen the touring cast, which really can make all the difference with these BIC shows, but the material is dynamite and will rock you intellectual brains out. Based on a banned nineteenth century play about children dealing with their “budding sexuality,” the show breaks the musical theater mold and gives us hope for the future.

If you didn’t get tickets for the midnight showing of Harry Potter, there’s other ways to tickle your film fancy than seeing Daniel Radcliffe fight Voldemort for the sixth time. The Chicago Outdoor Film Festival opens tonight, and each following Tuesday, Grant Park will become Chicago’s very own drive-in, minus the cars and backseat make-out sessions.

Broadway in Chicago is not the most recession-friendly institution, but it's taking a break from its tickets prices tonight. During Taste of Chicago, Broadway in Chicago will present a concert featuring its current and upcoming big-budget musicals. (You can finally see part of Jersey Boys!) Original Broadway stars of Mary Poppins Ashley Brown and Gavin Lee, Roger Bart from Young Frankenstein, and yes, the entire cast of Jersey Boys will be there.

Tracy Letts’ epic August: Osage County will close its doors on Broadway this Sunday after 648 performances, making it one of the longest running plays in Broadway history. And while you might think we’re finally going to stop hearing about it now, you’re wrong.

We know Chicago is famous for the intimate storefront scene and the omnipresent itinerant theaters, but the powerhouses also have some good stuff to offer. And no, you’re not selling your theatrical soul if you actually enjoy Broadway In Chicago. We do, but sometimes it’s cost, not quality, that prevents us from attending, as we’re sure you understand. So here’s a handful of ways to get cheap cheaper tickets to some of Chicago’s iconic thespian hangouts.

What’s the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear Shrek The Musical? It’s probably somewhat similar to your reaction to Legally Blonde The Musical, which comes to Chicago in exactly two weeks. Well, we’re going to go out on a limb here and say that Shrek The Musical brings an unexpected delight and you should go see it when it launches its first national tour in Chicago in June 2010.

Broadway in Chicago (BIC), the production group responsible for bringing national tours ‘round our way, has launched an iPhone application.

The Golden Globes and the Oscars may have come and gone, but awards season is still going. The League of Chicago Theatres gave out the 2009 Broadway in Chicago Emerging Theater Award to Rogers Park-based theater company, the side project, on April 1. While the mere giving of the award didn’t perk our news-gathering ears, the side project’s upcoming show The Rocks has us intrigued, partly due to the vague description on the website - "20-somethings talk about…stuff." Chicago Dramatists’ Resident Playwright Mark A. Young wrote the play as a follow-up to his successful New Orleans at the same company in 2006. The show is in repertory with The Bird Sanctuary, by award-winning playwright Lynne McMahon. (This show’s descriptions starts with “50-somethings”….the juxtaposition already has us excited/nervous.)

Musical theater has been on our minds lately because frankly, we’re having trouble finding it in Chicago. Not just any musical theater - new work that originates in the second city. Sure Wicked had a nice run but the show began with an out-of-town try-out in San Francisco. Jersey Boys is still going strong, but the show’s ticket prices don’t really appeal to the masses. National tours come through all the time, most rrecently with Rent opening this week. But let’s face it: it’s just a cheap ploy to make a lot of money. (Original cast members Anthony Rapp and Adam Pascal are way too old to play struggling 20 year olds in the East Village.) And to add insult to injury, each one of those shows is based on some prior piece of work.

The Dusk til Dawn Cultural and Artistic Celebration that is Looptopia is upon us once again. Even though last year was sort of a let down, there was still plenty of cool stuff that happened and we've got hopes this year will be better, especially after officials said they'd scale things down and be better prepared for the crowd. Bank of America or no Bank of America, the show must go on. For a full schedule, click here or pick up one of their comprehensive brochures at various business establishments around the Loop. We're keeping an eye on the the weather and hoping it doesn't throw too big of a wrench into plans.

Our summer to-do list just got better: Get a tan. Ride our new bike. Listen to a live performance of “Part Time Lover” while eating 10-ticket pizza with 3 million people! Stevie Wonder is set to return to the Taste of Chicago on June 28, twenty long years after the last time he played our little local tourist trap festival of food.