|
WINDY CITY TIMES
|
|
|
One Name Only
THEATER REVIEW
by Mary Shen Barnidge 2012-10-17
|
|
This article shared 2549 times since Wed Oct 17, 2012
|
|
Playwright: Rueben Echoles. At: Black Ensemble Theater, 4450 N. Clark St. Tickets: 773-769-4451; www.blackensembletheater.org; $55-$65. Runs through: Nov. 11
The PG-rated sister of the bunker drama is the sorority house playtypically centered around a group of girls endowed with diverse temperaments (but uniform ambition) who undergo an array of personal crises/learning moments before finishing wiser and sometimes happier. The roots of Rueben Echoles' musical pageant in such female-driven classics as Stage Door and Women In White render its premise immediately recognizable, even to theatergoers unfamiliar with the currently popular manifestations of this dynamic: the televised contest and the so-called "reality" show.
The "One Name Only" competition giving Rueben Echoles' musical pageant its title borrows chiefly from America's Got Talentwhose squabbling judges, oily emcee and snapshot backstage interviews it invokes satirically, while the device of having the final contestants live communally in a mansion belonging to the recording company providing the prizesis a nod to such faux docusoaps as Big Brother. The various levels of the sing-off under scrutiny incorporate assigned selections from the superstar repertoireAretha Franklin, Gladys Knight, Beyonce Knowles, Adele, the late Whitney Houston and othersguaranteeing a roster of pop anthems to stir the blood and pull forth the hankies.
Echoles has assembled a squad of fresh-on-the-scene belters and warblers to portray the contestantscool cutthroat divas, scrappy ghetto mamas and sweet homebodies displaying the appropriate nervousness at first in order to highlight their growing confidence later, augmented by a few BET veterans playing much-missed kinfolk and "guest celebrities" (notably, Rashawn Thompson as an emcee no smarmier than his role requires). Robert Reddrick's orchestra generates, almost literally, wall-to-wall melody that keeps our emotional intensity on the brink of fulmination, even without the television-studio cue cards exhorting spectators to enthusiastic expression of their endorsementsor disapproval, as the case may be.
Plot complications, such as they are, revolve around the usual gynocentric backstorieshusbands, children, parents, power games and schoolgirl crushesbut you don't need a plot when you have Dawn Bless channeling Patti LaBelle (garbed in a cocktail dress that makes you wish that costume designer Ruthanne Swanson had a retail shop) bringing the audience to its feet barely halfway into her transcendent rendition of the Hollywood classic "Over The Rainbow." By the final full-cast chorus, your only unfulfilled desire is for a house big enough to invite the entire company (or at least the brass section) over after the show. |
|
|
|
This article shared 2549 times since Wed Oct 17, 2012
|
ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE |
---|
|
| | Hubbard Street Dance Chicago announces programs for May 17-19 season finale 2024-04-17 --From a press release - CHICAGO — Hubbard Street Dance Chicago (HSDC) announced program selections for Spring Series: Of Joy, the final installment of Season 46, Abundance. The engagement will include four unique works, once ...
|
| | LGBTQ+ film fest Queer Expression to feature Alexandra Billings in 'Queen Tut' 2024-04-12 --From a press release - CHICAGO — Pride Film Fest celebrates its second decade with a new name—QUEER EXPRESSION—and has announced its slate of LGBTQ+-themed feature, mid-length and short films for in-person and virtual events in April and May. QUEER EXPRESSI ...
|
| | Open Space Arts's COCK offers a complex but compelling take on relationships 2024-04-08 By Brian Kirst - Premiering in 2009, Mike Bartlett's COCK was a comic revelation, exploring notions about fluidity and sexual labelling long before they became commonplace discussions. Granted, conversations about these issues will always ...
|
| | Jeff Awards launches submission period for Impact Awards 2024-04-06 - The Jeff Awards announced the opening period for applications submissions for its 2024 honors to help inspire early career artists of color in the Greater Chicagoland area. Two recipients will be selected for awards of $10,000 ...
|
| | SHOWBIZ Outfest, Chita Rivera, figure skaters, letter, playwright dies 2024-04-05 - For more than four decades, Outfest has been telling LGBTQ+ stories through the thousands of films screened during its annual Outfest Los Angeles LGBTQ+ Film Festival—but that event may have a different look this year because ...
|
| | SHOWBIZ Dionne Warwick, OUTshine, Ariana DeBose, 'Showgirls,' 'Harlem' 2024-03-29 Video below - Iconic singer Dionne Warwick was honored for her decades-long advocacy work for people living with HIV/AIDS at a star-studded amfAR fundraising gala in Palm Beach, per the Palm Beach Daily News. Warwick received the "Award of ...
|
| | WORLD Israel court, conversion therapy, death sentences, Georgia bill, fashion items 2024-03-29 - Israel's Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the Population Authority must register female couples as mothers on the birth certificates of their children they have together, The Washington Blade reported. The decision was made following a petition ...
|
| | City Lit Executive Artistic Director Brian Pastor talks theater, comics, queerness 2024-03-26 - City Lit Theater has announced its programming for the 2024-25 seasonwhich will be the company's 44th. It will also be the first season to be programmed under the leadership of Brian Pastor (they/them), who will assume ...
|
| | The Jeff Awards announces the 50th anniversary awards for non-equity theater 2024-03-26 --From a press release - A complete list of recipients can also be found online in the Non-Equity and News and Events sections at www.jeffawards.org. (March 25, 2024 - Chicago) — Celebrating its 50th anniversary awarding recognition for Non-Equity theater, the ...
|
| | SHOWBIZ Queer musicians, Marvel situation, Elliot Page, Nicole Kidman 2024-03-21 - Queer musician Joy Oladokun released the single "I Wished on the Moon," from Jack Antonoff's official soundtrack for the new Apple TV+ series The New Look, per a press release. The soundtrack, ...
|
| | THEATER Chicago's City Lit has anxiety on tap with 'Two Hours in a Bar' 2024-03-21 - Two Hours in a Bar Waiting for Tina Meyer by Kristine Thatcher with material by Larry Shue Text Me by Kingsley Day (Book, Music and Lyrics). At: City Lit Theater, 1020 W. Bryn Mawr Ave.. Tickets: ...
|
| | Jamie Barton brings nuances of identity to her Lyric Opera 'Aida' performance 2024-03-18 - Chicago's Lyric Opera is currently featuring a production of Giuseppe Verdi's Aida starring Michelle Bradley as Aida, Jamie Barton as Amneris and Russell Thomas as Radamès. The opera runs through April 7, 2024, with Francesca Zambello ...
|
| | Queer Eye's Jai Rodriguez is set to slay at The Big Gay Cabaret 2024-03-05 - Out and proud performer Jai Rodriguez is set to play at The Big Gay Cabaret this March for three days. Presented by RuPaul Drag Racer Ginger Minj, this monthly series highlights the wide world of cabaret ...
|
| | THEATER 'R & J' puts a female, queer spin on Shakespeare 2024-03-05 - Romeo and Juliet is the theatrical gift that keeps on giving. It's been reworked for the masses numerous times, whether in direct adaptations or musicals such as West Side Story. Shakespeare's plotline points have even inspired ...
|
| | Center on Halsted hosts 6th Annual Intergenerational Talent Show 2024-03-03 - On the evening of Feb. 29, Center on Halsted held its 6th Annual Intergenerational Talent Show in front of a packed audience at the Hoover-Leppen Theater. The event brought together participants of the Center's youth and senior ...
| |
|
|
|
|
| NATIONAL Trans woman killed, Tenn. law, S. Carolina coach, Evan Low, Idaho schools | | Through a queer lens: Photographer Paul Mpagi Sepuya discusses Chicago exhibition | | WORLD Ugandan law, Japan, Cass report, Tegan and Sara, Varadkar done | | Q FORCE launches 2024 election efforts in Chicago | | SHOWBIZ Jerrod Carmichael, '9-1-1' actor, Kayne the Lovechild, STARZ shows, Cynthia Erivo | |
|
|
|
|