They're the Rodney Dangerfields of evening entertainments. They are shunned by the press after their premiere, but they run for decades, propelled solely by word-of-mouth. They are where businesses send clients and concierges send tourists. Thousands of otherwise non-theatergoing citizens are devoted to them. Real-life birthdays, weddings, anniversaries and reunions are celebrated with their assistance. They earn more money in a week than most theater companies make in a year. They employ hundreds of actors who would otherwise be slinging lattés or slopping Whoppers to make that month's rent.
They are the Interactive Shows, promising and delivering clean, capable, no-stress fun, year after year. They must work extra hard to make everything easy for their audiences, and still they get no respect.
The progenitor of them all, Shear Madness, closed recently after 20-plus years. But Chicago playgoers can still spend an evening solving a murder, violating the Volstead Act, toasting the happy couple at an Italian Wedding, and keening into their beer at an Irish Wake.
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A DINNER PARTY TO DIE FOR
The senior representative in this genre began in 1987 playing to private parties and corporate groups, by 1997 expanding to include public performances. Its founder, Ron Rubin, continues to script the various shows, as well as play in them, assisted by producer/host Rick Dianovsky.
The Premise: We are diners in a restaurant where the waitstaff and guests—three in all—are murdered during the course of the meal. The investigating detectives ask our help in identifying the culprit.
The Show: The plot is remarkably well-constructed, given the disruptions demanded by the interactive imperative. The recognized company members—as opposed to the actors posing incognito as guests—are thorough in seeing to it that everyone present has their moment of participation. Name-tags make for easy intimacy, the violence is strictly G-rated, and amateur sleuths are encouraged to take notes as the clues accumulate, since there are prizes for those coming closest to guessing whodunit.
Food, Drink, Toys etc.: Varies with the eatery hosting the event. At Pazzo's on the Friday before Christmas, so-so entrees were delayed until nearly 9:30.
Audience Demographic: Three corporate groups and an all-female Aikido Club, plus a few couples, all in uproariously festive mood that may have been a factor in extending the evening's running time.
The Nutshell: Think of the dinner as a stage prop and enjoy the smart writing.
How To Find Them: Various locations, city and suburban. Phone (630) 887-9988.
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TOMMY GUN'S GARAGE
The eldest sibling in terms of public accessibility, Sandy Mangens theme revue made its 1988 debut in the South Loop industrial building shadowed by the Howard-Dan Ryan El that remains its home to this day.
The Premise: We are Prohibition scofflaws in a Chicago speakeasy during the Roaring Twenties.
The Show: More cabaret than improv, the two-hour revue is performed by a cast of Equity actors, many of them familiar faces on the musical comedy circuit. Songs and dances alternate in swift succession with vaudeville skits and rapid-fire patter by our Master of Ceremonies (played by David Gordon on the night I attended), the road-runner pace facilitated by 'The Professor' on piano (in real life, Gregg Opelka, composer of last season's runaway hit, La Vie Ennui). The actors chat in Damon Runyon dialect with the customers, but only a half-dozen spectators are pulled onstage in the course of the show.
Food, drink, toys etc.: A surprisingly good dinner, served before the start of the show. Lots of souvenirs for sale, and you can pose for your photograph with a replica Thompson submachine gun in front of an authentic 1928 Ford Model A.
Audience Demographic: Busloads of tourists, corporate groups, extended families, anniversary couples and the occasional media celebrity.
The Nutshell: Comprehensive entertainment for the money, PG-13 humor and low-budget spectacle redeemed by professional-quality performers.
How To Find Them: 1239 S. State St. (in the back). Phone (312) 728-2828.
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TONY 'N' TINA'S WEDDING
The flagship production had just celebrated its five-year anniversary in New York when the Chicago franchise opened in 1993, settling into its custom-built space on the third floor of Piper's Alley.
The Premise: We are guests at the wedding ceremony and subsequent reception of Tony Nunzio and Tina Vitale. The newlyweds want only to get on to the honeymoon, but their families and friends have their own agendas.
The Show: The audience by-play sometimes tends toward the nebulous, with young players not yet certain of their characters leaning on spectators likewise unsure of their duties, but the scripted sections of the show are clean and fast-paced, and the choreographed song-and-dance numbers first-rate within their populist universe. With the exception of the Macarena and the Chicken Dance, most of the music dates from circa 1975, but the band dubbed Danny Dolce and Fusion attack their repertoire with endurance, enthusiasm and unexpected proficiency.
Food, Drink, Toys etc.: In keeping with the scenario, the fare is the standard Italian-caterer menu, but second helpings are permitted and the bar never closes.
Audience Demographic: The Wednesday before Christmas, mostly midlifers in executive gear, with a few Gap-clad young couples and ladies-of-leisure in actual wedding attire.
The Nutshell: Cute and corny, with minimal ethnic stereotyping (nobody sings 'Che La Luna' but we get a sweet 'Santa Lucia' before the evening is over).
How To Find Them: Pipers Alley, 230 W. North Ave. at Wells Street. Phone (312) 554-8844.
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FLANAGAN'S WAKE
The baby of the bunch, having only run for a piddling nine years. But it spawned an empire for the Noble Fool (fka Zietgeist) ensemble, most notably their own Olympic Village-style playhouse right in the Loop.
The Premise: We are the American branch of Flanagan's clan, come to mourn the departed after his untimely demise.
The Show: Name tags are required, with all men having a 'Patrick' and all women, a 'Mary' affixed thereto. Dialogue encompasses mock eulogies, commentary on current events (a Trent Lott joke by the 4 o'clock show Dec. 14), oracular homilies, improvised songs and ersatz-Gaelic doubletalk. Spectators may be drafted on extremely short notice to contribute plot material, a rendition of 'Danny Boy,' or a Riverdance line. Stereotypes are broad and blatant, humor is sometimes bawdy without ever becoming mean-spirited. Expect to be ridiculed for your wardrobe, residence or surname.
Food, Drink, Toys etc.: The performance room has its own bar. Audiences are encouraged to drink before, after and during the show.
Audience Demographic: Front row dominated by rowdy dowagers in gaudily sequined sweaters. Gentlemen attempt to keep a low profile, to no avail.
The Nutshell: The actors find sparkling repartee in the feeblest audience response.
How To Find Them: 16 W. Randolph Street. Phone (312) 726-1156.
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For many playgoers, the logistics of schlepping from restaurant to theater, with all its attendant complications—parking space, bus stops, umbrellas or snowshoes—is all part of the evening's amusement. But those preferring a more relaxed experience would do well to take advantage of these often-ignored one-stop shops on the Chicago theatre scene.
