Displaying items by tag: Manny Buckley

Under the deft direction of American Blues Theater’s Executive Artistic Director Gwendolyn Whiteside, Frank Capra’s beloved holiday classic It’s a Wonderful Life is reborn as a charming 1940s radio broadcast. With vintage microphones, live foley effects, and a versatile ensemble shifting seamlessly between characters, the production becomes more than a retelling - it’s a joyous homage to the art of storytelling itself. Audiences are invited to step back into the golden age of radio, where imagination takes center stage and George Bailey’s timeless journey resonates anew.

In Bedford Falls, George Bailey devotes his life to helping others, setting aside his own dreams for the good of his community. But when financial disaster strikes on Christmas Eve, he begins to doubt his worth. Enter Clarence, a guardian angel, who reveals a chilling vision of a world without George - a town consumed by Mr. Potter’s greed and stripped of hope. Confronted with the profound impact of his generosity, George rediscovers the value of his life. As his neighbors rally to support him, he learns that true wealth lies not in money, but in friendship, love, and the lives he’s touched.

By casting the audience as “studio listeners,” the production erases the boundary between stage and spectator. Foley effects—the slam of doors, the crunch of snow—lend a tactile realism that cinema rarely achieves. The ensemble’s deft shifts in voice and character populate Bedford Falls with remarkable clarity, their energy carrying the narrative even through George’s darkest moments. The touchstones are all here: George’s sacrifices, Potter’s greed, Clarence’s intervention, and the jubilant finale of community over isolation. In radio-play form, these familiar beats gain fresh resonance, reminding us that sound and imagination can be more powerful than spectacle.

The ensemble of It’s a Wonderful Life: Live in Chicago! shines with warmth, artistry, and undeniable chemistry, breathing vibrant new life into this holiday treasure. At the heart of the production, Brandon Dahlquist embodies George Bailey with a sincerity that feels both timeless and immediate. His performance is layered with emotional depth - capturing the optimism of youthful dreams, the weight of sacrifice, and the aching vulnerability of despair. Dahlquist’s portrayal is not only heartfelt but profoundly inspiring, reminding us why George Bailey remains one of the most enduring figures in American storytelling. With every gesture and inflection, he draws the audience into Bailey’s journey, making the character’s triumphs and struggles resonate as if they were our own. It is a performance that anchors the show with humanity and elevates it with grace.

Equally compelling is Ian Paul Custer, who delivers a masterful dual turn that showcases both his range and precision. As Clarence, he radiates warmth and gentle humor, embodying the guardian angel with a tender humanity that uplifts the story and offers moments of levity. In stark contrast, his portrayal of Mr. Potter is steeped in chilling authority - a ruthless presence whose greed and menace cast a long shadow over Bedford Falls. The seamless transition between these two extremes underscores not only Custer’s remarkable skill but also the production’s emotional contrasts, reminding us that the heart of It’s a Wonderful Life lies in the tension between compassion and cruelty, hope and despair.

Justin Banks infuses Harry with an effortless charm, while Audrey Billings embodies Mary Bailey with a luminous blend of grace, resilience, and radiant warmth. Her presence anchors every scene, offering both steadiness and emotional depth as she navigates the joys and hardships of George’s journey. Manny Buckley lends Joseph a dignified gravitas, and Dara Cameron sparkles as Violet, bringing wit, vivacity, and a touch of glamour to Bedford Falls. Michael Mahler elevates the atmosphere as the charismatic Announcer, while his live piano accompaniment bathes the production in nostalgic glow, perfectly evoking the golden age of radio.

Rounding out the ensemble, J.G. Smith delivers a dazzling performance as the Foley artist, transforming everyday objects into extraordinary tools of imagination. With impeccable timing and inventive flair, Smith crafts the soundscape that breathes life into Bedford Falls - snow crunching underfoot, doors creaking open, coins clinking, and bells ringing with holiday cheer. Each effect is not merely background noise but a vital layer of storytelling, immersing audiences so completely that George Bailey’s world feels tangible and immediate. Smith’s artistry underscores the magic of live radio theater, reminding us that sound alone can transport us across time, space, and emotion. It’s a masterclass in creativity and precision, and his contribution ensures the production resonates with authenticity and wonder.

Together, this gifted ensemble weaves storytelling, music, and imagination into a seamless tapestry - proving that collaboration, heart, and craft are what make this production truly wonderful.

The magic begins even before the curtain rises. Arrive early and you’ll be treated to a lively pre-show experience, where the stage comes alive with playful antics, warm laughter, and spirited music. Cast members set the tone with a burst of energy that instantly draws the audience into the festive spirit. It’s more than a warm-up - it’s an invitation to step into the world of Bedford Falls with joy already in the air. By the time the official performance begins, you’ll feel like part of the celebration, swept up in the camaraderie and holiday cheer.

For close to 25 years, American Blues Theater has brought Frank Capra’s classic to life in the form of a 1940s radio broadcast. It’s a Wonderful Life: Live in Chicago! has earned its place as the second longest-running holiday production in the city.

American Blues Theater has discovered a beautiful new permanent home just west of Andersonville. The venue strikes the perfect balance - intimate yet expansive - with seating that is both comfortable and generously spaced. Fully ADA accessible and thoughtfully designed, the theater even offers the convenience of its own dedicated parking lot right beside the building. The parking is easy and the theater offers free spots for disabled patrons.

Recommended!

It’s a Wonderful Life: Live in Chicago! is being performed at American Blues Theater through December 28^th. For tickets and/or more show information, visit https://americanbluestheater.com/2025-its-a-wonderful-life-live-in-chicago/.

I’ve often said despite the larger houses producing August Wilson plays, they tend to work better in intimate spaces. After all, Mr. Wilsons’ inspiration came from intimate settings. He would write in bars, cafes, restaurants, and other places where his characters would be right in his face. He would often write long hand and sometimes on napkins to make himself invisible as a writer. It was important for him to catch the dialect, the accents, and the energy of his characters. Mr. Wilson began his career writing for small theaters, schools, and community centers where space was at a premium.

American Blues minimalist production of “Fences” under the direction of Monty Cole is powerful, bold, and beautiful. I love when theaters take chances. No guts, no glory….and there is plenty of glory here.

To contain the largest of emotions within boundaries, Scenic designer Yeaji Kim has created a huge, whitewashed fence reaching the heavens on both ends of the playing area. On the north end it appears to still be under construction. On the south end there is a door leading into the house while when closed is unnoticed. There are 5 cushions for players to be seated when they are not on stage. There are 60 chairs in total on either side of the playing area. It’s akin to a baseball field. The characters are so close you can count the beads of sweat on their brow, their emotions so big, no regular sized fence was going to hold them in.

We get up close and personal with Troy Maxson. Kamal Angelo Bolden’s Troy was not encumbered by anyone who previously played this role. This Troy was much more complicated than I’ve ever seen, FULL STOP. At varying times, this Troy showed love, he showed anger, he showed fear, he was a child, he was a monster, but most of all he showed a vulnerable side. It’s the vulnerability the audience connected with. Despite his ugliness, his meanness, and boorish ways if we look deep into his eyes, we see a man hurt. We see a man who values work more than education. In those rare moments of silence, we see what could have been, and our hearts ache for him.

Playing opposite Troy is the hard-working Rose, his wife of 18 years. She knows this man; she has built her life around him. She soothes over his relationships with his sons.  She is the heart and soul of this family. She cooks, she cleans, she loves. She is saint like in her patience with Troy until she isn’t. We see mini eruptions until it grows too much to control until she loses herself or does she find herself.  Shanesia Davis’ beautifully understates Rose until she can’t anymore. It is some beautiful theatre having a front seat to her emotional build.

A man like Troy Maxson needs all the support he can muster, and no one does it better than his friend and confidant, Bono, engagingly played by Martel Manning. No one could question Troy about his dalliance except Bono. Manning brilliantly steps into the lion’s den and raises the issue. I loved the way his mannerisms changed when talking to Troy about “that gal”.

Troy’s two sons born a decade apart, to two different women are Cory, energetically played by Ajax Dontavius and Lyons, the charismatic William Anthony Sebastian Rose II. Troy treats both men the same the only difference is Cory lives in his home, so he has more control over him.  He verbally abuses Lyons. Special shout-out to Charlie Baker, the Fight & Intimacy Director. Unbelievable stagecraft. The fights and intimacy looked awful real. I almost ducked when Cory was swinging the bat.

Rounding out this family is Gabriel, Troy’s brain damaged brother, played with wonderful control by Manny Buckley. I loved how tight and controlled Buckley played Gabriel. He played the character with great respect for brain damaged people without forfeiting characterization. Gabriel sees what we can’t see. He feels what we can’t feel. Buckley expressed this perfectly.

Stephanie Cluggish’s costumes suggested the times. I especially like what she did with Rose’s funeral outfit. Very inventive.

This production had an air of spirituality, of otherworldliness, I’ve never seen before. This was largely the result of Jared Gooding’s lighting design.  It worked beautifully

In Wilson’s N.Y. Times obituary, he is quoted as telling the Paris Review: “I think my plays offer (white Americans) a different way to look at black Americans. For instance, in ‘Fences’ they see a garbageman, a person they don’t really look at, although they see a garbageman every day. By looking at Troy’s life, white people find out that the content of this black garbageman’s life is affected by the same things – love, honor, beauty, betrayal, duty. Recognizing that these things are as much part of his life as theirs can affect how they think about and deal with black people in their lives.”

Yeah right, let’s hope this is true. In any case, American Blues Theater and Monty Cole has put these characters on full display with all the fury and might deserving of them and a weary America thanks you.

“Fences” runs through Aug. 6 at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont. For tickets visit americanbluestheater.com or phone (773) 975-8150.

There are a few plays that focus on the love between two brothers. There are even fewer that will allow you to understand the brother’s fears, desires, and dreams throughout their heartfelt journey together. A story of two brothers who not only try to find peace between each other but peace within the gritty environment they inherited. The second installment of acclaimed playwright and screenwriter Tarell Alvin McCarney’s Brother/Sisters trilogy, The Brothers Size, returns to the Steppenwolf theatre for the first time since its celebrated Chicago 2010 premiere.

The Brothers Size is the story of Oshoosi Size and his return home from prison. He lives with his tough older brother, Ogun Size, who runs an auto shop by himself. Ogun pushes Oshoosi to find work and to start rebuilding his life, but Oshoosi has bigger dreams than his older sibling and fantasizes himself in the company of a woman or driving around without a care in the world with his best friend, Elegba. The brother’s opposing views on life cause them to clash. Challenging them to find a way to understand one another. Elegba jumps in and out of Ogun and Oshoosi's life as a devoted friend who served time alongside Oshoosi. Oshoosi embraces Elegba as not only a friend but sometimes a lover, but Ogun can’t help but see Elegba as a threat.

Director Monty Cole brings this play to life with a dark, mulch covered stage that evokes the feeling of being inside an industrial environment where men work under a full moon with beads of sweat dripping off their fingertips; dreaming of better days. The stage is a reflection of the hard labor Ogun pushes upon himself to maintain. A life Oshoosi shuns away from, seeking a paradise his brother can never understand. After Oshoosi and Elegba find himself in trouble with the law again, Ogun is left with a decision that could change not only his brother’s life but his own.

McCraney's In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue was the basis for the Oscar-winning film Moonlight directed by Barry Jenkins, for which McCraney and Jenkins won an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay. The middle piece of his acclaimed triptych is another brilliant piece from McCraney’s catalog. The Brothers Size is written with a raw and poetic language, enriched with West African Yoruba mythology. Not only are the characters borrowed from its tales, but the play uses the mythology as a device to drive the story. In the first scene, each character enters the stage to the beat of a drum. They’re chanting and stomping the stage barefooted, side by side, connecting to their ancestors who walked around as beautiful, free men. An undeniable parallel as each character throughout the play struggles to find freedom within themselves.

In his Steppenwolf debut, Patrick Agada (Oshoosi Size) brings an electrifying energy to the stage that has to be pointed out. Manny Buckley (Ogun Size) and Rashaad Hall (Elegeba) give passionate performances that are not overshadowed by Agada’s nor superior. They weave together into a sweet harmony similar to a jazz ensemble that’s been playing together for years. When they share the stage, their performances melt together into a stunning work of art, and when its time to stand out on their own they do so in a way that seems effortless.

McCarney quoted: "The prison industrial complex as we know it...destroys families—and changes lives forever." The Brothers Size gives insight into the reality of a loved one trapped in a system that was never designed for him/her to succeed. It unveils the depth of brotherly love and how the grief caused by this complex is not a burden solely rested on those who’ve been imprisoned but shared with the loved ones they left behind.

Through October 19, 2019 at Steppenwolf Theatre.

Having read that Six Corners was the “third in a loose Cop trilogy” by playwright Keith Huff, I was concerned that not seeing the first two stories (A Steady Rain and The Detective’s Wife) would lessen my experience. But from the moment I entered the theatre the stage was set, both literally and figuratively.

Thanks to the realistic set design, I was transported from a theatre to the Six Corners Police Precinct to watch this mystery unfold. The use of lighting to move the story between locations was especially effective as it simulated the fluorescent lights of the police station or the dimly lit bench at the bus station. The incorporation of a moving wall, however, was too complicated and not essential. That it failed during the show causing a disruption should be a signal to the creative team that it should be removed rather than risking another distraction. In my opinion, the pacing improved without it.

The opening scene brought the precinct to life, as we looked in on Detectives Nick Moroni (Peter DeFario) and Bernadette Perez (Monica Orozco), two burnt-out cops feeling the stress of failing marriages, being absentee parents, and being cops; not to mention the sexual tension between them. With a fast-paced verbal exchange full of both insults and empathy, it was clear that these two detectives were not looking forward to another late night dealing with the murder of a CTA employee. Relying on ethnic stereotypes of a chest-beating macho Italian and a fast-talking fiery Latina switching between English and Spanish, the actors’ portrayals were at times cartoonish as they overacted to earn some laughs. I assume this was intentional direction, and not the actors taking license.

In subsequent scenes we join the detectives as they investigate the crime by interviewing the only two witnesses, Carter Hutch (Manny Buckley) and Amanda Brackett (Brenda Barry), as their stories slowly unravel. Are these two witnesses really just strangers in the wrong place at the wrong time? Can they convince the detectives (and the audience) that they truly were Good Samaritans? Buckley and Barry portrayed their characters with emotional honesty and integrity. They were believably sympathetic as they displayed a nervousness and uneasiness that you might feel after witnessing a murder. Barry stood out to me for her portrayal of the struggling pregnant late-night waitress.

Intertwined with the murder investigation, we see a backstory develop as the show travels back in time. We are at the bus stop where an 8-year-old girl, Katie Yates (Lyric Sims), is alone after being separated from her mother. She encounters a stranger, a transient, BJ Lyles (Byron Glenn Willis) who she innocently befriends. Sims’ portrayal of 8-year-old Katie Yates was perfectly on point bringing an innocence to the child that felt real. While Willis adeptly portrayed transient BJ Lyles as a sympathetic character, he still gave the audience reason to mistrust his character as he got eerily close to the vulnerable child.

As the Backstage Guide reveals, the writer is influenced by CPD’s reputation for disregarding civil rights, inequality in treatment of female police officers, the blue code of silence, and the lack of public trust.

Throughout the story, the writer subtly weaves in evidence of unconscious bias and inherent racism. At the same time, he develops characters who are outwardly sympathetic even as their faults, deceptions and corruptions are exposed.

In spite of my criticisms, I enjoyed and am recommending this play, directed by Gary Griffin. The story line is well conceived and presented. More importantly, the subtext is both thought provoking and relevant.

Winner of the Edgegerton Foundation New Play Award, American Blues Theater’s production of Six Corners by Keith Huff runs at Stage 773 through March 24, 2018.