The Secret Garden in Theo

On Sunday, I went to see The Secret Garden at Theo Ubique. I love their Sunday scheduling – they start at 6 PM, so it’s not a matinerr which completely breaks your day, but also not too late (for me, all days of the week are the same in term of bedtime, so I always prefer the earlier start).

My friend with whom I went told me earlier that that was the only show she wanted to attend this season. I liked others as well, but I understand why she said so – it’s a lovely music and a beautiful story. And the production is perfect! As usual, I hope that they will post some videos from the show later, and I will be happy to share them!

“Some Like It Hot”

This musical was on stage for only two weeks, and it was a primary reason I returned to Chicago one day earlier: it was part of our subscription and the only chance to see it!

The musical significantly differs from the 1959 movie, and the most important difference is the image of Daphne. The ending of the movie (“Nobody is perfect”) leaves the question of “what happened next” open-ended. In the 2022 musical, everything is more logical and there is no room for doubt, which makes the ending really perfect!

“Never Better” Musical

Theo Ubique Cabaret just opened the season with the new musical Never Better by Preston Max Allen. Today was a preview and only the second run of the show. I am so impressed! It’s different from anything I saw at Theo before. It’s a very tragic story, not even pretending to be funny, and the acting is just stunning! Each character is so true to life, and for all of the two hours, it’s so real that you forget you’re in the theater, and you worry about the characters and what will happen next.

The show runs for five more weeks, so if you are around, come and watch it!

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Back To The Future Musical

I haven’t seen the movie, and I didn’t know the synopsis (and didn’t want to read any reviews before I saw it for myself), so I went in on Wednesday with an open mind.

I liked the show; There is nothing deep and philosophical, but everything is put together really well; the music and lyrics are great, and the special effects are amazing. Great entertainment and it’s exactly what I needed to balance my insane workload.

Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil

Yesterday, I took my friends to see “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil” at the Goodman Theater. Goodman rarely stages musicals, and when it does, they are priced way more reasonably than Broadway shows. I had four tickets left on my “Whenever Goodman” subscription, which gave me very good mezzanine seats – I do not think you can have the stage view as good as that in any of the Broadway theaters!

The show was spectacular! I always enjoy seeing the reaction of people experiencing an American musical live for the first time! I remember my own experience of feeling never-ending happiness following the perfect movements of the dances and enjoying every bit of music.

The pictures below are official photos of the show from the Goodman Theater website- enjoy!

Theo Ubique Little Night Music

I knew there will be video clips later, and here it comes! Enjoy!

Theo: Little Night Music

I went there with a friend on Friday night: great as always! Unfortunately, they don’t post any videos until the show is almost over, so the only thing I have now is this collage of promotional photos.

My friend said that she feels this show would be better on a bigger stage, but I love how Theo does it in an intimate setting, with the artists moving around the tables. I’ve subscribed for their next season. Unfortunately, I didn’t talk my friend into the subscription, so it looks like I will have to buy an extra ticket for each show separately 🙂

Death Becomes Her

My neighbor, with whom we have most of the subscriptions, is traveling for the next couple of weeks, so we exchanged tickets for several shows. We ended up with three shows in one week, and that’s why I was unable to go to Joffrey one more time.

That being said, on Friday, it was Death Becomes Her. As I learned later, it was the week of the world premiere, and Chicago was fortunate to experience a pre-Broadway run of this show.

It was perfect in all possible ways. Brilliant acting, singing, and dancing, amazing costumes, sets, and stunts. It reminded me of Karel Capel’s play Makropulos Affair. I love pretty much everything Karel Capek has written, including his short stories and plays, and I think his legacy has been unjustly forgotten. The Makropulos Affair and The White Disease are my favorites, and I am so sad that his plays never get any attention anymore. Even RUR, which gave the world the word “robot” – how many people know what it’s about?

In any case, Death Becomes Her reminded me of one of my favorites. Since the show has just been launched, there are very few videos available, and they do not give any idea about how awesome the show is. I hope there will be more to come!

Theo: A Tribute To Sondheim

I finally found clips from yesterday’s performance!

Theatrical

Very briefly about my two cultural outings.

We saw Purpose At Steppenwolf with Igor a week ago. I didn’t like it that much. I was hoping I would like it a lot, but in the end, my impressions are inconclusive. The reason might sound ridiculous: I felt like “they talked too much.” But seriously, the play starts with a very long monologue of the main character, and there are multiple very long monologues closer to the end. And also, possibly because it was still a preview performance, many of them didn’t sound natural. All characters were perfectly recognizable, and I liked all the actors, but still, I didn’t get a feeling of play as one powerful piece, as I was hoping for.

Then, I went to see Peter Pan at Nederlander Theater on Thursday, and that was a pure joy! So well put together, the music, the set – everything, The flights are done so naturally, it’s so easy to believe :). Knowing a little bit about young actors and what it takes, I can only admire the work of the producers, especially having how big the roles are.