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Chicago Tribune
20-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
Review: Bri Sudia shines in ‘Always… Patsy Cline' at Drury Lane Theatre
Cowboy hats and Nashville-style dresses proliferated Thursday night in Oakbrook Terrace. Not the first time I've noticed that fans of country music are more common in Chicago's western suburbs than many people think. All had assembled at the Drury Lane Theatre for 'Always … Patsy Cline,' a remarkably resilient revue by Ted Swindley that now has enjoyed a longer life than did the actual Patsy Cline herself. (Cline died in a Tennessee plane crash in 1963 when she was just 30 years old.) Based on the real-life friendship between Cline and one of her fans, Louise Seger, the revue has a long and auspicious history in Chicago. It was a massive, late-1990s hit for Northlight Theatre with folk singer Megon McDonough appearing in the title role, before the late Hollis Resnik took over when the show moved into a commercial run at the Apollo Theatre. I've reviewed this two-person (plus live band) show several other times, too, most recently about five years ago when it was staged in an intimate setting by Firebrand Theatre. Over the years, I've found that its simplicity is its biggest asset. 'Always… Patsy Cline' avoids the usual jukebox tropes of record label suits and managers who don't understand and focuses instead on delivering Cline's greatest hits within the context of a simple female friendship. Louise tells the singer's story from a fan's perspective and Patsy delivers 27(!) of the hits, mostly in honkytonk-style settings. And at less than two hours with an intermission, the show doesn't outstay its welcome. All that said, and despite my familiarity with this material, I really had an uncommonly great time on Thursday night, mostly because of the presence of Bri Sudia in the role of Louise. Sudia, recently back from appearing on Broadway for a year in the Neil Diamond musical 'A Beautiful Noise,' is far and away the best Louise I've seen. She's funny, empathetic and just so very warm; it's easy to condescend to Louise, as to all superfans, but Sudia simply refuses to do anything like that. She honors her character's obsession — at one point, she leans so far and lovingly toward Aja Alcazar's Patsy that Sudia's body occupies a diagonal plane — but also never takes her character too seriously. As a result, she feels both like Cline's great protector and also one of us. I don't exaggerate when I say this is a truly fabulous performance, a piece of acting that wrestles with this little show and makes it seem so much more than it has felt in the past. Clearly, Sudia has learned that even jukebox revues need to have stakes and they have to be able to drive the action forward, too. On the night I was there, the audience simply adored her goofiness. Alcazar is the ideal foil for that: elegant, honest, and rich of voice but also self-protected and slightly unknowable, as is the case with all stars. I suspect the skilled director, Scott Weinstein, had a lot to do with that. He knew who the real star of the piece was, even though her partner is essential to the enterprise. Colette Pollard's set is like an A-frame, a lovely evocation of small-town Tennessee, even if the band (under the lively direction of Ellie Kahn) looks a bit scrunched. And Lee Fiskness knows where to shine the kinds of lights Cline never knew. I suspect lots of my readers already know and have seen this show and, if choosing whether or not to lay down the credit card and go and bathe once again in the pleasures of 'True Love,' 'Crazy' and 'Walkin' After Midnight,' perhaps with a sweetie on hand, will merely want to know that their affection for the piece will be protected (guaranteed) and that they'll have some fresh fun (yup). Aside from admiring the straightforward artistry here and enjoying the pleasure of others, I kept thinking about Taylor Swift's famously close relationships with her fans, turning up at their bridal showers and whatnot; maybe Patsy and Louise were far ahead of their time. Review: 'Always Patsy Cline' (3.5 stars) When: Through Aug. 3 Where: 100 Drury Lane, Oakbrook Terrace Running time: 1 hour, 50 minutes Tickets: $75-$150 at 630-530-0111 and
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Editorial: Norm on ‘Cheers'? George Wendt meant far more to Chicagoans.
Anyone who craved a life of sitcom fame had not spent time with George Wendt, a man who could not walk into a restaurant or take a stroll in the fresh air without cacophonous cries of 'Norm!' coming at him from all directions from the mouths of people who seemed to think they were the only people ever to be so witty. Being a gentle and kind spirit, Wendt would smile wryly, like a man with an eternal cross to bear. He'd typically say afterward that he at least made people smile just by his existence. But for those who work or care about Chicago theater, the barfly Norm from 'Cheers' was not what first came to mind when the actor died Tuesday at the age of 76. Rather, the city's creative community lost not just one of its most important comedic actors and spokespeople, but one of its most enthusiastic supporters. Long after 'Cheers' was gone from our screens, Wendt was willing to leverage his fame and his regular-guy authenticity, being such a stereotypical Chicagoan, in service of the city that nurtured him (Wendt grew up in Beverly). He showed up for most every Second City reunion. He always talked happily to this newspaper. Playing a gruff, arts-loving Chicago cop, he even made a commercial (at no charge) for the League of Chicago Theatres with the tagline, 'Now That's What I Call Theatre.' He appeared in two shows for the Northlight Theatre: Richard Dresser's 'Rounding Third' in 2002 and Bruce Graham's 'Funnyman' in 2015. In the latter show about an old school comic, Wendt actually confronted what it meant to be known everywhere as a lovable comedian. 'People stop me on the street all the time,' his character said. ''Say something funny!'' We all have a Wowza! — the one thing that people think we do and that we're sick of doing.' For anyone who saw Wendt do that show, it was clear that Wendt's 'Wowza!' was Norm from 'Cheers,' even though he was always careful to say that he was appreciative of the fame and fortune from the beloved sitcom. Wendt long had faced health problems, but that didn't make his death any less of a jolt. Over the years, Chicago has had some entertainment figures indelibly associated with the city. The late John and the living Jim Belushi, both complex figures, certainly come to mind. So does Joe Mantegna. And Chris Farley. But while we're praising what you might call the Mike Ditka school of Chicago comedy (Da Bears), let's agree that Wendt was the gentle leader of that particular Chicago Rat Pack. So long, George. We appreciate all you did for us in this town. Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@
Chicago Tribune
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
Editorial: Norm on ‘Cheers'? George Wendt meant far more to Chicagoans.
Anyone who craved a life of sitcom fame had not spent time with George Wendt, a man who could not walk into a restaurant or take a stroll in the fresh air without cacophonous cries of 'Norm!' coming at him from all directions from the mouths of people who seemed to think they were the only people ever to be so witty. Being a gentle and kind spirit, Wendt would smile wryly, like a man with an eternal cross to bear. He'd typically say afterward that he at least made people smile just by his existence. But for those who work or care about Chicago theater, the barfly Norm from 'Cheers' was not what first came to mind when the actor died Tuesday at the age of 76. Rather, the city's creative community lost not just one of its most important comedic actors and spokespeople, but one of its most enthusiastic supporters. Long after 'Cheers' was gone from our screens, Wendt was willing to leverage his fame and his regular-guy authenticity, being such a stereotypical Chicagoan, in service of the city that nurtured him (Wendt grew up in Beverly). He showed up for most every Second City reunion. He always talked happily to this newspaper. Playing a gruff, arts-loving Chicago cop, he even made a commercial (at no charge) for the League of Chicago Theatres with the tagline, 'Now That's What I Call Theatre.' He appeared in two shows for the Northlight Theatre: Richard Dresser's 'Rounding Third' in 2002 and Bruce Graham's 'Funnyman' in 2015. In the latter show about an old school comic, Wendt actually confronted what it meant to be known everywhere as a lovable comedian. 'People stop me on the street all the time,' his character said. ''Say something funny!'' We all have a Wowza! — the one thing that people think we do and that we're sick of doing.' For anyone who saw Wendt do that show, it was clear that Wendt's 'Wowza!' was Norm from 'Cheers,' even though he was always careful to say that he was appreciative of the fame and fortune from the beloved sitcom. Wendt long had faced health problems, but that didn't make his death any less of a jolt. Over the years, Chicago has had some entertainment figures indelibly associated with the city. The late John and the living Jim Belushi, both complex figures, certainly come to mind. So does Joe Mantegna. And Chris Farley. But while we're praising what you might call the Mike Ditka school of Chicago comedy ( Bears), let's agree that Wendt was the gentle leader of that particular Chicago Rat Pack. So long, George. We appreciate all you did for us in this town.
Chicago Tribune
20-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
Review: In ‘Prayer for the French Republic,' past is prologue for a Jewish family in Paris
I first saw 'Prayer for the French Republic,' Joshua Harmon's epic exploration of the legacy, or legacies, of antisemitism, just a few weeks after the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel. At the time, I marveled at how the play, penned some two years earlier, seemed so prescient in its exploration of an upper-middle class Jewish family, feeling and being unsafe as right-wing politics begin to take hold in France in the middle of the second decade of the 21st century. Now this rich, sprawling and heartfelt drama arrives at Northlight Theatre, in a co-production with Chicago's Theatre Wit, with opening night taking place just three days after antisemitic graffiti was found on (and quickly removed from) the campus of Northwestern University, basically down the road. Northlight is even preparing to move back to Evanston, the hometown of many of its subscribers. So there I was again, marveling at Harmon's timeliness, even though his play is about a family of French jews madly in love with Paris, even when the City of Lights does not love them back. I wrote in a review of 'Good Night, and Good Luck' the other day that prescience is easier to achieve in the theater than most people think, being as human behavior doesn't change all that much, however much we think society is transforming itself. 'Prayer for the French Republic' is yet another example of that phenomenon. Antisemitism does not go out of style. The title is clever. This is a play that contains many Jewish prayers and rituals, even though many of its Parisian characters are mostly secular in how they choose to live their lives. Harmon's main point, I think, is that the characters lead split identities; fiercely French, and thus invested in that nation's future and loath ever to leave and yet keenly aware of the lessons of history, especially the one where it behooves Jewish families to have a sense of when danger is increasing to the point where is advisable to get out. Harmon's play is set mostly in 2016-17. We see an American exchange student (played by Maya Lou Hlava) who has rolled up like Emily in Paris, beret and all, at the home of her relatives, the Salomon/Benhamou family, whose past is built on a piano-selling business — it's now represented by two married doctors (played by Janet Ulrich Brooks and Rom Barkhordar) and their two adult children, one secular and feisty (Rae Gray) and the other spiritual and soulful (Max Stewart). But Harmon also shows us the Salomon family's Parisian life during and in the immediate aftermath of World War II in other scenes; the actors Henson Keys, Torrey Hanson, Kathy Scambiatterra, Nathan Becker and Alex Weisman show us a family ripped apart by the agonizing question of whether to leave or stay and, in so doing, the play makes us see in a strikingly immediate way that what happened in the middle of the 20th century is still within living memory. Even if France seems to have forgotten. All of this story is narrated by a somewhat cynical and avowedly secularist figure, another Salomon who is the brother of the female doctor (sardonically played by Lawrence Grimm) and who looks at both history and family with a jaded eye. One of the big questions of the night is whether or not his realpolitik is justified, although I don't think it's a spoiler to say that the play ends up by focusing on the promise of a new generation, which has to make its own set of decisions. 'Prayer,' which has three acts, is a long play and Jeremy Wechsler's empassioned but sometimes choppy production struggles with momentum some in Act 3, when the stakes don't entirely rise to the levels they should and the pace sags. The show could use more evenness of tone. And while the dark comedic elements are very much in place, I found myself craving more of the crucial conversational reality, offering the feeling of everyday life as it was, and is, lived, specifically in France. Still, this is a very skilled ensemble of actors and there are moments of real dramatic force. Weisman unpacks layers of trauma and I found the show's younger cast members all rich in their understanding of how much and how wisely Harmon has placed most everything in their hands. Chris Jones is a Tribune critic. cjones5@ Review: 'Prayer for the French Republic' (3 stars) When: Through May 11 Where: North Shore Center for the Arts, 9501 Skokie Blvd, Skokie Running time: 2 hours, 45 minutes Tickets: $49-$91 at 847-673-6300 and
Chicago Tribune
17-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
Northlight Theatre looks locally for its final season in Skokie
Northlight Theatre has announced a four-play subscription season for 2025-26, the final slate of shows at the North Shore Center in Skokie before Northlight's anticipated move into a new theater space that the 50-year-old Chicago-area company is building in Evanston. Artistic director BJ Jones said in an interview that Northlight is emphasizing the work of local writers and actors in the coming season. 'The World of Television' (Sept. 4 to Oct. 6), a play by Chicago scribe James Sherman, is the first title. This world premiere is set in mid-20th century TV broadcasting and will star veteran Chicago actress Cindy Gold as Gertrude Berg, best known for the CBS comedy drama 'The Goldbergs.' 'Gaslight' (Nov. 28 to Dec. 28) by Steven Dietz will run during the holidays. Jessica Thebus will direct this Victorian thriller, based on the original 1938 script of that name by Patrick Hamilton. Kate Fry and Timothy Edward Kane, a married Chicago acting couple, have signed on as the leads. 'Mary Jane' (Jan. 22 to Feb. 22, 2026), the recent Broadway hit, will follow. Penned by Amy Herzog and directed at Northlight by Georgette Verdin, this highly emotional play looks at a single mother's dedication to her ill child. 'The Angel Next Door' (April 9 to May 10, 2026) will be the final show in the season. A world premiere by Paul Slade Smith, a longtime Chicago actor who became a playwright, the play follows the fortunes of a young novelist hoping to get his work to Broadway. Linda Fortunato directs. Chris Jones is a Tribune critic.
