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Hamilton Spectator
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Hamilton Spectator
Michael MacLennan's Finales Celebrates the Art of the Last Number at Burlington's Drury Lane Theatre
Actor and director Michael MacLennan's working relationship with the Drury Lane Theatre has been long and productive. MacLennan, a versatile visionary and devotee of Canadian community theatre, has been involved in thirteen successful musicals at the Drury Lane theatre over the course of ten to twelve years. His first-ever collaboration with Drury Lane was The Secret Garden, based on the beloved novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett, in 2008. In 2025, he was the director and choreographer of the wildly entertaining musical comedy A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, which premiered at the local theatre on May 9, 2025. MacLennan is eager to share his aspirations for his upcoming show, for which he is the director and choreographer yet again, as well as the mastermind. This is the aptly-named and anticipated Finales, set to be performed at the Drury Lane Theatre in the month of June. MacLennan's longtime love for Broadway theatre has inspired him to assemble a variety pack of what he considers to be the best final numbers in the musical show business. Theatregoers can look forward to favourite tunes such as 'Everything's Coming Up Roses' from Gypsy, 'I've Never Been in Love Before' from Guys and Dolls, and 'Don't Rain on My Parade' from Funny Girl. Do you also like Chicago, Waitress, La Cage Aux Folles, and The Witches of Eastwick? They'll be included too. The show will pay ample tribute to twenty-six different Broadway hit classics. MacLennan has agreed to speak out on what he thinks is necessary for a musical show to end well, and why he is ending Drury Lane Theatre's 2025 summer season in this way. Answers have been lightly edited for flow. In your opinion, what makes a solid musical finale? It's something that will entice the audience to come back after intermission at the end of Act One. At the end of Act Two, it's the way of wrapping up the entire story. I've always found finales intriguing because sometimes they work and sometimes they don't, depending on the show. So I've always been sort of fascinated by them. That's what gave me the idea of putting a show together that was strictly the finales of shows. Generally speaking, the finale is one of the more memorable numbers in the show. We have a lot of solos in our own shows. I think a lot of people don't realize that many of the finales in a lot of shows are solos. I think everyone thinks they're flashy, splashy dance numbers, but they're not always so. It was a lot of fun putting this production together and doing the research. I think I listened to about two hundred different finales in order to put this show together. You have to sort of mix it up between ballads, up-tempo, and solos. Duets and trios, too, things like that, to make it interesting. If it were all just one big splashy dance number after another, I think it would get a little bit boring for an audience. So I'm going for a more cohesive, complete evening. What is your overall vision for your finale show? To get it produced! That's always a difficult thing when you're putting together a show, you don't know whether or not there's going to be interest. I've been very lucky that two companies have been interested, so we're going to two different theatres. The first is Drury Lane here in Burlington, and the second is the Maja Prentice Theatre in Mississauga. It was originally going to be only three performances in Mississauga, but then Rick Mackenzie from Drury Lane approached me. That was when a door opened up to go to another location. Now people will see it, and some other theatre company might say, 'Hey, I think that would work in our space, I would be more than happy to bring it here as well!' You just never know. You never know if it is going to have legs and continue on. It was the initial impetus for me to do a few shows, but if it goes to more than two locations, I would be very open to going to other theatres. It's a perfect-sized show. It's ten people and it can fit onto a lot of different stages. Do you prefer a traditional theatre or a cabaret for staging a show? I don't have a preference. But one thing I like about Drury Lane is that it is a smaller space, and it forces you to be creative with your choreography. You also have to be creative with your sets. There is also the people. The people at Drury Lane are really kind,are and the volunteers are so dedicated to that company. The people there really make it a home. It's also a little easier to do because it is a smaller, more quaint space. But the people are dedicated to that. It's been around for at least forty-five years. It's a well-loved theatre in the Burlington area. What future projects do you have in mind after Finales closes at Drury Lane Theatre? I'm actually not returning to Drury Lane for their 2025/2026 season. I'm going to be doing the musical The Prom at two locations. I'm going to be in Georgetown with Georgetown Globe Productions this fall. I'm also going to be doing City Centre Musical Productions' production of The Prom. It's going to be a full year of The Prom. ——————————————————————————————— But, for now, it's time to end with a bang. Finales is set to premiere at Drury Lane Theatre on June 13, 2025, at 8:00 p.m. On June 14, 2025, there will be a matinee show at 2:00 p.m. and an evening show at 8:00 p.m. Tickets can be purchased here. If you are based closer to Mississauga, you can buy tickets for the Maja Prentice Theatre's production here. The show will play at Maja on June 20 and 21, 2025.
Chicago Tribune
23-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
Of Notoriety: Drury Lane regional stage debut ‘The Da Vinci Code' comes with little guilt
I remember a couple years ago feeling rather guilty sitting in a theater seat at the Cadillac Palace Theatre in Chicago in March of 2023 and watching 'The Book of Mormon' on the Wednesday of Holy Week, just days before Easter. Last week, I spent my Holy Thursday in a theater seat at Drury Lane Theatre Oak Brook ready for the regional stage premiere of 'The Da Vinci Code,' based on the popular conspiracy and mystery novel by Dan Brown. Yet again, I was prepared for my own Catholic guilt given the layers and lore associated with the story as it relates to the Roman Catholic faith. What I saw during the almost three hours was a work dazzling yet dark, defiant while delivered with imagination, clever device and a heavy dose of entertaining symbolism laced with some history. I never once felt an urge for a return to my church confessional for another round of penance before Easter. Drury Lane Theatre's 'The Da Vinci Code,' adapted by Rachel Wagstaff and Duncan Abel, and directed by Elizabeth Margolius, is a thrill-ride rollercoaster with religious waves emphasizing every scene. While it was a blockbuster hit with book sales for author Brown when it published in 2003, it was never one of the selections highlighted by Oprah Winfrey's book club. The 2006 movie adaptation starring Tom Hanks was also a box office success. I have neither read the novel nor seen the film. My introduction to quirky Professor Robert Langdon, as played by Chicago theatre favorite Jeff Parker and his cryptologist sidekick Sophie Neveu, played so equally wonderful by Vaneh Assadourian, came after the curtain rose at Drury Lane's stage premiere. The deservedly long run for this production continues through June 1 at Drury Lane Theatre. 'It's a provocative play,' as it is described by Drury Lane's Managing Director Wendy Stark Prey, who thought it was the perfect work to kick-off Drury Lane's 2025-2026 season. Drury Lane uses a mostly stark stage to immerse the audience into a world of shadows in the Vatican catacombs, marble and gold adorned altars and jet-setting adventures across the London and Paris landscapes. Video effects and minimal costuming and few props are needed to transport the audience along on this dark adventure following a path of grisly murders and the hope of historical biblical treasures. The rest of the cast of 'The Da Vinci Code' includes Bradley Armacost as Sir Leigh Teabing, an incredible actor who was last seen a year ago on the Theatre at the Center stage in Munster portraying C.S. Lewis in Provision Theatre's one-man show. He is joined by Jennifer Cudahy slipping in and out of the identities of a museum docent to a church volunteer, along with John Drea sharing dual roles of Rémy and Philip with Ray Frewen as Jaques Saunière, Anthony Irons as Bezu Fache, Shane Kenyon as Silas, Janice O'Neill as nun Sister Sandrine, and then later as the identity of Marie and Leslie Ann Sheppard as Collet. Tickets range from $85-$165 at 630-530-8300 and The rest of the season follows with 'Always…Patsy Cline' (June 11 – Aug. 3); 'Dial M for Murder' (Sept. 3 -Oct. 26); 'Sister Act' (Nov. 12-Jan. 11, 2026) and 'On Your Feet! The Story of Emilio and Gloria Estefan' (Jan. 28 – March 22, 2026). Founded by Anthony DeSantis more than 70 years ago, until his passing at age 93 in 2006, Drury Lane Theatre remains a family-run organization under the leadership of President Kyle DeSantis, grandson of the late founder. To date, the theatre has staged more than 2,000 productions and has been nominated for more than 360 Joseph Jefferson Awards.
Chicago Tribune
21-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
Review: 'The Da Vinci Code' at Drury Lane puts the complicated screenplay of the story on stage
On Good Friday at the Drury Lane Theatre in Oakbrook Terrace, Easter bunnies cheered up the lobby as the venue prepared for its famed holiday weekend brunch. Meanwhile, the theater was staging a show that (spoilers ahead) posited that Jesus of Nazareth may have borne a child with Mary Magdalene. Quite the disconnect. A trip from your seat to the concession stand was to pass through two entirely different worlds. In all seriousness, it's unlikely that 'The Da Vinci Code' will undermine anyone's faith. You'll likely recall the Dan Brown novel, imagining a vast conspiracy theory involving Leonardo Da Vinci, the Priory of Sion cabal and the Catholic organization known as Opus Dei, all in service of covering up the existence of an ongoing bloodline emanating from Jesus. Brown's mystery, which has sold some 80 million copies over the last 22 years, became a hit 2006 film with Tom Hanks and Audrey Tautou and sparked much interest in its, ahem, alternative religious history. It begins with a murder in the Louvre Museum where Robert Langdon, a Harvard professor of religious symbolism and iconography (played at Drury Lane by Jeff Parker) has run into a young cryptologist named Sophie Neveu (Vaneh Assadourian). Together, the pursued pair set out on a fantastical quest, which leads them to an eccentric Englishman named Sir Leigh Teabing, played by Bradley Armacost. Will he lead our heroes to the Holy Grail? How much will we care? Drury Lane's production is directed by Elizabeth Margolius, a genuinely talented visual stylist who can achieve wonders when paired with the right material. And, indeed, there are a lot of cool digital design elements here from set designer Scott Penner and projections maestro Joshua Schmidt. But this script is not a great match for Margolius' skills. It contains so much cascading plot that you can barely keep track of things, even without all of the additional visual accoutrements that mostly confuse, especially in the early stages, when surely unnecessary heavy French accents get in the way of comprehensibility. Things do get better as the show goes on and I admire the aims here, but this chilly show just doesn't gel. I suspect that Margolius wanted to genuinely theatricalize a script that basically just sticks the screenplay of the movie onto a stage and hopes audiences will follow along as the characters flit from place to place. But this uninspired text just cannot support what she is trying to achieve here. It's too pedestrian an adaptation from Rachel Wagstaff and Duncan Abel. Margolius would have better going back to the novel and creating her own, had that been allowed. That said, if you are a fan of the novel or the film and want to be reminded of your experience, you'll likely enjoy at least some of this show, staged with an experienced cast. I'm something of a Da Vinci obsessive myself and I remember reading Brown's novel back in the day and being fascinated anew by this polyglot genius — an artist, futurist, tinkerer and thinker whose depths have yet to be fully plumbed. So there's that. The show does make you want to head to Milan to look again at Da Vinci's mysterious masterpiece. I did ask the Easter Bunny what he thought of these ritualistic nightly goings on, presumably within his earshot, but alas I got no response. Chris Jones is a Tribune critic. cjones5@ Review: 'The Da Vinci Code' (2.5 stars) When: Through June 1 Where: Dury Lane Theatre, 100 Drury Lane, Oakbrook Terrace Running time: 2 hours, 25 minutes Originally Published: April 21, 2025 at 10:45 AM CDT
Chicago Tribune
08-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
Review: In ‘Beautiful' at Drury Lane, Carole King's story begins with her as a 16-year-old songwriter
Midway through 'Beautiful: The Carole King Musical,' the chart-topping composer responds to a colleague's suggestion that she perform in public with a modest question: 'I'm just a normal person; who wants to hear a normal person sing?' He replies, 'Other normal people.' Their exchange sums up the whole vibe of this biographical jukebox musical about a middle-class young woman from Brooklyn making her way in show business and finding her own voice after years of writing hit songs for other artists. As played by Samantha Gershman in her Drury Lane Theatre debut, King is the quintessential girl next door: sweet, earnest and family-oriented. And, when she sings, mesmerizing. Unfortunately, the musical struggles to overcome one of the typical challenges for this type of show: It features plenty of nostalgic tunes of the era — in this case, pop music and rock 'n' roll of the late 1950s through early '70s — but the plot isn't all that compelling. The major conflicts stem from King's turbulent first marriage and the difficulties of being a working mother in the music industry. It's a warm story of personal resilience and growth, but the dramatic tension doesn't hold up over the course of two and a half hours. Not that this shortcoming has hampered the success of the musical, which has a book by Douglas McGrath and music and lyrics by Gerry Goffin, Carole King, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil. 'Beautiful' ran on Broadway for nearly six years, transferred to London's West End and has toured the U.S. twice. More recently, it's made the rounds of Chicago's regional theaters: the Marriott in 2023, Paramount in 2024, and now Drury Lane in a production directed by Jane Lanier with choreography by Gerry McIntyre and music direction by Carolyn Brady. The show begins with 16-year-old Carole Klein, soon to be known as Carole King, getting her first break by selling an original song at the Brill Building in Manhattan, the center of publishing and songwriting for the pop music industry at the time. A precocious student who graduated from high school two years early, she meets her future lyricist and husband, Gerry Goffin (Alex Benoit) as a freshman at Queen's College. By age 17, Carole is married, expecting their first child and writing her way to the top of the Billboard charts with Gerry. With its focus on King's early career, the show offers an inside look at how the music industry operated in this era, when fewer performers wrote their own music but rather relied on songwriting teams such as King and Goffin — and the couple's friends and rivals, Barry Mann (Andrew MacNaughton) and Cynthia Weil (Alexandra Palkovic). Ensemble members portray some of the artists they wrote for, including the Drifters (Averis Anderson, Makenzy Jenkins, Austin Nelson Jr. and Michael Turrentine), the Righteous Brothers (Maxwell J. DeTonge and Ian Geers), the Shirelles (Lydia Burke, Raeven Carroll, Alanna Lovely and Chamaya Moody) and Little Eva (Moody). Popular tunes such as 'Will You Love Me Tomorrow,' 'On Broadway' and 'The Locomotion' are given lively renditions, providing snapshots of their journeys from the writing studio to full-fledged hit. King and Weil make familiar foils in their contrasting approaches to work and family life. Both are ambitious, competitive artists, but King dreams of raising children in the suburbs while Weil resists the institution of marriage despite her budding relationship with Mann. While King comes across as a bit buttoned-up, and certainly not a fiery second-wave feminist, she asserts her autonomy in her own time and way. On opening night, the audience cheered during the scene when she finally draws a firm line with her unfaithful husband. Gershman's performance is certainly worth seeing if you're a fan of King's music. She captures King's unembellished tone and homey Brooklyn twang with a relaxed stage presence that makes her seem like someone you could get coffee with. And if you're patient, you'll hear '(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman' and 'I Feel the Earth Move' — so don't leave before curtain call is over. Emily McClanathan is a freelance critic. When: Through March 23 Where: Drury Lane Theatre, 100 Drury Lane, Oakbrook Terrace
