Playwright: Ed Furman; Score: T.J. Shanoff At: Second City at Metropolis , Performing Arts Centre, 111 W. Campbell, Arlington Heights. Phone: 847-577-2121; $28.50-$33.50. Runs through Sept. 18
At press time, the jury deciding the fate of ex-Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was still deadlocked on the federal corruption charges brought against him. That's why there was a sense of waiting for the other shoe to drop on the opening night of The Second City's revival of Rod Blagojevich Superstar at the Metropolis Performing Arts Centre in Arlington Heights.
Rod Blagojevich Superstar was a breakout hit last year as it journeyed from The Second City to an extended summer run upstairs at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater. But now the show feels like it's in a holding pattern since the final chapters of the Blagojevich saga have yet to play out.
The fundamentals of the show itself are still strong. Composer/lyricist T.J. Shanoff had a field day spoofing tunes from shows like Jesus Christ Superstar, Godspell, The Wiz and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, while playwright Ed Furman does a hilarious job of condensing and recounting the rise of the politically connected and hair-coifed Rod Blagojevich.
A few of the original players are back, including Joey Bland's full-of-himself Rod, who proudly plays by his own rules. Also back is the amusingly potty-mouthed Patti Blagojevich of Lori McClain.
Previous understudy John Hildreth now assumes the role of Roland Burris with plenty of hectoring bluster, while Dunbar Dicks and Lauren Dowden have fun playing, respectively, the show's "villains" of U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald and Illinois State Attorney General Lisa Madigan.
Annoyance Theatre veteran Lisa McQueen astutely backs up all the performers at the piano as musical director. McQueen also carries the credit of choreographer.
Other than a few costume embellishments and that iconic mop of hair for Bland's Blagojevich, there aren't any production values of note. This probably wasn't an issue at Rod Blagojevich Superstar's previous intimate venues last summer. But now at the much bigger Metropolis, the production feels a tad underpowered on a larger stage.
Director Matt Hovde could have pushed his performers to ramp up their performances to fill out the bigger space. Right now they do get the laughs, but you get the sense that they could be much heartier if they turned it up a notch.
This revival of Rod Blagojevich Superstar rounds out the evening with a quick Q&A session, when Bland's Rod finally gives his long-awaited "testimony" on the stand. Bland gives a good game answering questions, but this bit ( plus an added improv game ) feels tacked on.
No doubt this revival will be updated once the jury's Blagojevich verdict finally comes in. But until then, Rod Blagojevich Superstar continues to deliver its laughs drawn from a truly weird and lamentable chapter in Illinois governmental history.
