Watching Brian Dennehy, still as handsome, graceful and light on his feet at 71 as at 51, I have to ask myself in disbelief, has it really been twenty years since I last saw him perform on the Goodman stage in “The Iceman Cometh”?  It seems just like yesterday. The great thing about an actor’s actor like Dennehy, is the way he can utilize all the knowledge he has acquired during his long and illustrious career and still bring a freshness, a youthfulness, an energy and presence that is uniquely his own to every role. 

I recently ventured out to the Hemmens Theater in Elgin, a simple 45-minute drive from downtown Chicago to see one of my favorite rock performers, Rick Springfield, in action and was very pleased with the venue. First of all, the abundance of free and handicapped parking makes for easy entry and an economical night, now that ticket prices for concerts continue to soar.

The venue itself was well equipped with several bars to serve the crowd and drinks are allowed into the theatre. Also, there were lots of bathrooms for the ladies, which for some reason is still a problem in many area theatres at intermission time. 

The most important part of any concert venue is of course the sound and sightlines. I was a little further back - about halfway back towards the center of the house but the sound was still absolutely pristine. Although they could use one more aisle down the center to allow guest to move out of their rows to rest area more quickly, the seats themselves were roomy enough to allow you to enjoy the show and dance around a little without bumping elbows with fellow patrons.

Now that I know where the Hemmens is and how to get there quickly, I will definitely add it to my professional watch list for artists I cover in the future and you should too!

For more information on upcoming shows and directions check out the Hemmens.org website and get ready to rock!

Chicago Ford Center/Oriental Theatre

I really enjoyed this production starring Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth from start to finish.  The play opens with a wonderful group number celebrating daughter Wednesday’s transition from child to woman, in which her pigtails are ceremoniously removed and she is welcomed into the long history of the family tree. Her mother, Morticia, sensuously played by Bebe Neuwirth, reminds her of their hopelessly romantic family creed, which is what Wednesday must find in a mate, “Passionate and true, forever- even after death!”

The whole show centers on wonderful feminist themes of sexual and romantic awakening and reawakening for the various characters, especially the women. Mrs. Alice Beineke played by  Carolee Carmello, mother of Wednesday's (Krysta Rodriguez) new and scarily “normal” beau, has an absolutely show stopping number during “Double Jeopardy” wherein she realizes the love has gone completely out of her marriage. It is mournfully and masterfully sung and the audience responded in kind with long thunderous applause.

Some of the new musicals don’t have any songs that really stand alone and stick in your mind but the song” Let’s Not Talk About Anything but Love” which expresses Gomez’ eternal fixation on romance has a wonderful feel and lyrics reminiscent of classic Cole Porter.

There lots of genuine laughs courtesy of the accomplished Nathan Lane, and Grandmama played by Jackie Hoffman who consistently does excellent, very funny character work. She has a great line where she admits she smokes marijuana in the attic, but claims it’s medicinal - she has gingivitis!  Jackie says about the role, “I’m from an Orthodox Jewish home in Queens, and my first contact with the Addams Family was from paging through The New Yorker and finding those cartoons. They were just so weird and dark and smart and very funny. I think of Grandmama as having a thick European accent, maybe a bit senile, and always mixing some sort of potion. My costume? I’m kind of like some ancient hippie from Woodstock who wears a crazy poncho and cool granny glasses. And I can tell you, I use everything I ever learned from working at Second City in this part.”

One specific thing I was eagerly awaiting though which never materialized was a real dance number for Bebe Neuwirth, who played Morticia with beauty and sexy charm. I realize most musicals now are choreographed with the future touring company and long run in mind wherein the major dance moves are reserved for the chorus of dancers only in order to save wear and tear on the leads, but Bebe, also one of my favorite Jewish actresses, is well known as an accomplished dancer and still has the legs to prove it. When she finally rips the constrictive Morticia dress and Nathan exclaims in surprise, “You have legs!” I got ready for her showstopper, but alas it was just more of the very safe, simple easy dance moves watered down for her and Nathan and the chorus to sort of walk through.

The mostly older crowd of critics and fans at the Chicago World Premiere dug The Addams Family too, as was evidenced by their enthusiastic clapping along with the Addams family theme, na na na na- clap clap, at the end of the show. It made us all feel like a kid again, kids who came from our own crazy but loveable Addams families and lived to tell the tale!

Do you have a dream? The kind of dream that makes your whole family both respect your audacity and think you are crazy at the same time? The kind of dream that may take decades to fulfill, while quite possibly bankrupting your life savings?

If you have ever seen an All-Star basketball game with the “best of the best” passing, shooting and dribbling with uncanny ease - you know what it is like seeing the cast of Steppenwolf Theatre’s The Seafarer in action. 

Meet me in St. Louis, now running at The Drury Lane Theatre Water Tower Place through December 21^st, is an absolutely delightful production of one of my favorite shows.Imagine you are a young girl, newly in love and in love with one of the greatest and most advanced cities in the world.

Sexy, Sassy and Classy! 

Family comedian, Louie Anderson, and the all male revue “Thunder from Down Under” share the same stage space at the Excalibur Hotel.