Displaying items by tag: Laura Savage

Just imagine if you could be a fly on the wall during that infamous night when four legendary stars of rock and roll - Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis got together for one epic night at Sun Studios. That historic meeting had the young stars playing a variety of songs together while they shared their private sorrows and triumphs. Put it all together and you have the long-lasting recipe for success of the hit show "Million Dollar Quartet". Marriott Theatre is currently hosting the hit musical that actually plays more like a concert at times. 

Director James Moye uses the lovely theater’s in the round setting to create a new fresh and energetic staging of this show that will perk you up and make you feel the "sun" that must have been radiating out of the historic Sun Studios on December 4th, 1956 when these four young stars really did gather there to play on the same day. 

'"Million Dollar Quartet” is really an ensemble piece where all four lead characters also get a chance to shine individually during the course of the show. 

I have seen the show several times and even though these actors are playing monolithic stars and their memorable hit songs - each cast is totally unique. 

In this production Johnny cash played by Christopher J. Essex shines out as the best voice for Johnny Cash. Essex's deep rolling singing tones and gentle giant presentation are spot on and form an anchor for the entire cast to stay true to the singer they are portraying. Rustin Cole Sailors plays a nice, sensitive youthful Elvis and Shaun Whitley busts out with an excellent, rocking portrayal of Carl Perkins - blazing guitar playing and all. Marriott regular Laura Savage also impresses as Elvis’ girlfriend Dyanne, especially in her saucy rendition of “Fever”. Bassist Zach Lentino who play’s Carl’s brother Jay and Kieran McCabe who mans the drums are also a ton of fun to watch. 

But the real standout in this production comes from Nat Zegree as Jerry Lee Lewis. Zegree whose program biography states that he has played the role 350 times, is an animal in the role, prowling the stage and riding the piano like a tiger on speed. Zegree never loses sight of the brilliance of Jerry Lee Lewis piano chops and his ahead of his time, sexually charged rock and roll energy.  Zegree is a dancer, you can see that every step he takes, even while doing a headstand while continuing to batter the keys with ferocity and accuracy.

I've seen other actors play this role, but Zegree's interpretation and performance and piano playing is best I have seen. I imagine it must be difficult for an actor so multi-m talented to show off ALL of his talents in any other role. 

The show isn’t all rosy with four musical legends playing an impromptu one-night engagement. The story also delves into what an impact studio owner Sam Phillips (David Folsom) had on each of them – and how Presley, Cash, and Perkins outgrew the local music studio opting to go with big record labels like Columbia. Worry not, Phillips will be the first one to tell you he made out quite nicely.

A hearty soundtrack of favorite rock and roll classics light up the stage during the 100-minute play – toe-tapping hits such as “Blue Suede Shoes,” “Walk the Line,” “Sixteen Tons,” “Who Do You Love?,” “Great Balls of Fire,” “Folsom Prison Blues” and “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On.”

I thoroughly enjoyed the entire cast and every number in this exciting, inspiring show which was perfectly timed for the "dead of Winter" here in Chicago to warm up sleepy audiences. Zegree's showstopping, prodigy-like talents and explosive energy is a performance I will remember for a long time and makes this already great production one of the "must see" shows of the season. 

Highly recommended.

“Million Dollar Quartet” is being performed at Marriott Theatre through March 16th. For more show information visit www.marriotttheatre.com.

Newsies, the Disney film from 1992 by Alan Menken (whose run around the same time of Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin I’d put up against the work of any songwriter, on tape, on film, or on stage), was one I saw back when it hit VHS. But I don’t remember it too well. At least not the story. So, having not yet seen the Broadway adaptation of Newsies, I was curious to see if the Marriott Theatre’s production made more of an impression. And boy, did it ever.

The story’s still nothing that’ll make the “papes” (that’s what newsies call those inky, stinky things that used to provide the daily headlines), but I quickly realized we weren’t there for story. We were there for spectacle. And boy, did this production deliver.

In the round, the set is dominated by three steel girders that move to change the feel and figure depending on the needed background, but mostly harken back to turn-of-the-century NYC (partying like it’s 1899, not 1999), a city that’s growing and figuring it all out. So, too, are the newsies of the title, a pack of newspaper delivery boys of all shapes and shades and sizes, but who’ve got one thing in common – servitude to the media titans of the day. The story – one of standing up to the wealthy bullies who run things – is inspiring and as apt today as it was over a century ago, even if it doesn’t hold up to the spectacle. So let’s get to that spectacle!

Patrick Rooney as principal paperboy Jack Kelly works well as the lead. He’s got old-timey leading man looks and allure – “pizazz” they probably would’ve called it back in ‘99. And he’s got pipes, too, really letting loose on Menken’s “Santa Fe” to close the first act.

Jack’s fellow newsies have pizazz from the Bronx to Brooklyn, too. Athletes, all, they leap and bound, frolic and flip all across the square stage, charming the audience on all sides with spot-on choreography. Nick Graffagna as Davey looks and talks the part of a lad of that era, and Garrett Lutz’s bushy-haired Irishman does, too. Laura Savage and Adrienne Storrs as two newsgirls provide even more spunk and theater talent to the gang. And when the newsies storm the simple stage for ensemble numbers like “Seize the Day” and “King of New York” they make Lincolnshire’s modest forum seem simply metropolitan.

But from the get-go, the newsie who stands the tallest is young Matthew Uzarraga. As Crutchie, a disabled orphan armed with his namesake walking stick, Uzarraga first shows his skills when he joins Jack in harmony on an early take of “Santa Fe” – I’m a sucker for spot-on harmonizing, one of the things that’s hardest to do as a vocalist and when done right gives the listener goosebumps – giving me the chills. And throughout the show, Uzarraga’s crippled but plucky street urchin steals the stage whenever he’s on it, hobbling along happily and even bubbly and bright when consigned to a poorhouse bed.

My teen daughter, who accompanied me to the Marriott and who did catch the traveling cast of Newsies at the downtown Cadillac Theater a couple years back, said she enjoyed this production even more – delighted at seeing the footwork and old-timey fashions up close. So, too, did the rest of the audience – old and young, alike. So if it’s a story you’re looking for, I’ll tell you right now, Newsies is pretty much Annie, but with Worlds and Suns and Tribs instead of mops and buckets and baldheaded tycoons. But if it’s a show, a spectacle, you wanna see, then head to Lincolnshire for the Marriott’s production of Newsies, and pony up for the pomps and papes they’re sellin’!

For more show information visit www.marriotttheatre.com.

Charming, colorful and inventive, the Marriot Theater’s Madagascar – A Musical Adventure, for young audiences, is a fun-filled ride with themes that will surely resonate with both kids and adults.

Based on the popular 2005 film by DreamWorks Animation, Madagascar centers around four main characters from the Central Park Zoo: Alex the Lion (Russell Mernagh), Marty the Zebra (James Earl Jones II), Melman the Giraffe (Stephen Schellhardt), and Gloria the Hippo (Rashada Dawan).

At first glance this fun-loving group seems happy enough to perform for park visitors, especially the king of the jungle, Alex the Lion, who is in his element prancing around the stage, showing off his perfected “roar”. But when presented with the idea of freedom by a cadre of hilarious and enterprising penguins who say “it’s not natural to be in a zoo,” Marty the Zebra, to the surprise of his friends, makes a run for it.

Having lived their entire lives in captivity, Alex, Melman and Gloria are shocked that Marty would even consider leaving the comfortable life of the Central Park Zoo. But in the spirit of true friendship, they push their misgivings aside and embark on a rip-roaring adventure that eventually lands them in the exotic wilds of Madagascar.

The quirky and pompous lemur King Julien (wonderfully played by Jonathan Butler-Duplessis) is a joy to watch as he tries to incorporate Alex, Marty, Melman and Gloria, in his masterplan to rid the island of the fossa who hunt and attack his fellow lemurs. However, this plan goes awry as Alex, who now has to fend for himself in the wild, can’t contain his animal instincts and attacks Marty.

Directed and choreographed by Matt Raftery, Madagascar – A Musical Adventure, hits all the right notes in “crack-a-lackin’” style as Mernagh and Jones also shine in their roles with both chemistry and good-natured fun, as they show that in the end true friendship can overcome even the “laws of nature”.

Perhaps of the best moment of the production is the high-energy rendition of “Move It, Move It!” which gets the crowd clapping and kids, as well as adults, up on their feet.

Colorful costume and props really enhance the performance, bringing this animated favorite vividly to life. “Madagascar is already an established idea,” said Jesus Perez, costume designer and assistant director, “but since this is a live production and not a movie, it has opened up a world of creativity for us. This is the perfect vehicle for me as a designer to bring this fantastical world to life.”

The talented cast, which also includes: Leah Morrow as “Skipper,” Liam Quealy as “Kowalski,” Laura Savage as “Mort and Private,” Elena Romanowski as “Rico,” Samantha Pauly as “Maurice,” and Jed Feder as “Mason,” won’t disappoint as they sing and dance to some of your favorite tunes from the movie.

Recommended

All performances are followed by a question and answer session with the cast.

Madagascar – A Musical Adventure, playing at the Marriott Theater located in the Lincolnshire Marriott Resort, runs through April 15 Tuesdays through Sundays at 10 a.m. with certain performances at 12:30 p.m. For more information and tickets, visit www.marriotttheatre.com.