Playwright: Joe Plummer. At: Black Ensemble Theater, 4520 N. Beacon. Phone: 773-769-4451; $45. Runs through: Aug. 29
Theresa's Lounge ranks among Chicago's most venerated shrines to the American music inspiring cult followings throughout the world ( including the landmark "British Invasion" of the 1960s ) . Those frequent references to "the boys down in the basement" in the lyrics of composers like Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon and Howlin' Wolf can be traced directly to Theresa Needham's subterranean room in the Bronzeville district.
This latest revue by the Black Ensemble Theater ( BET ) whose new playhouse breaks ground in Septemberrecreates a day and a night at the celebrated club just before its eviction and relocation in 1983 after more than 30 years of hosting the musicians who would come to represent their genre. It was the beginning of the endthe new site closed its doors in 1986, just three years later. But on this evening, despite ominous phone calls from the lawyers doing battle with the landlord, the Blues reaffirms its power to reunite spouses gone astray, elevate poor boys to propitious careers, and restore optimism to citizens weary of fortune's setbacks, accomplishing its task with a minimum of talk and a maximum of joyful noise.
Well, what did you expect? For more than 20 years, BET's reputation has rested on documusicals featuring young artists whose infectious exuberance easily draws audiences into the shared experience offered by live performance. ( A BET show typically includes a number where audience members are invited to climb over the fourth wall and dance with the cast, with even a critic or two occasionally spotted among the revelers. )
But for those preferring to stay in their seats, there is spectator entertainment aplenty, starting with a five-piece orchestra, diverse in both race and gender, replicating the sound of Theresa's original house band, which included such now-legendary names as Junior Wells and Buddy Guy. Before long, we are witness to such classics of the repertoire as "The Thrill Is Gone," "Born Under A Bad Sign" and "Back Door Man" ( crooned in stalker-tempo by the always-arresting Rick Stone ) , along with some less-frequently performed tunes such as "Down Home Blues," delivered in Trinity Murdock's charismatic baritone; a "You Can Have My Husband" to peel paint off the walls, courtesy of Noreen Starks; and a show-stopping "Hard Times" by Rhonda Preston as the formidable Ms. Needham herself. Look for surprise guest artists further on in the run, or, if you dare, sign the "Blue Monday" open-mic listthis is Theresa's, after all.