Displaying items by tag: Marc LeWallen
'Bette: Xmas at the Continental Baths' celebrate the holidays with a legend, "The Divine Miss M"
Caitlin Jackson as Bette Midler recreating one wonderful cabaret night at the Continental Bathhouse in New York city is a heartfelt, moving and entertaining way to remember and celebrate Bette's humble and "hungry" beginnings as a performer with the legendary “Tommy” (Tommy Robb) her pianist.
I really can't say enough about how talented Caitlin Jackson is as a comedienne and vocalist to be able to carry off this show with such style. Jackson's own vocal stylings are superb and many of the songs were delivered so strongly and such emotional insight into Midler's early struggles as a sexually liberated woman searching for love through her loneliness brought me to tears.
I actually lived in the historic pre-war luxury building, The Ansonia, on 72nd and Broadway showcased in Woody Allen's film Manhattan, for 4 years right after graduating from college. The bathhouse was long gone when I lived there in 1983-1988, but sometimes when I was doing laundry in the cavernous basement of the Ansonia, I imagined I could still hear the sounds of Bette's exquisite voice and the excitement of her loving fans laughing and clapping for her bawdy, yet tender humor.
I think Caitlin Jackson has a marvelous, powerful voice and does Bette Midler's humor and patter (taken almost verbatim from one show) justice without doing a full on impersonation which allows the audience to feel they are seeing the young Bette for the first time.
I had forgotten just how many of Midler's amazingly moving songs are about her extreme loneliness and heartbreak in love relationships - "Empty Bed Blues," “Long John Blues,” “Do You Wanna Dance?” and, of course, "I Shall Be Released" and "Waiting for my new Friends to Come," so I was really happy to discover that this Christmas Edition wisely pumps up the Joy factor with several fantastic renditions of toe tapping Christmas songs and the ever popular "Superstar," "Baby Please Come Home" and "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy".
Sydney Genco and Allison Petrillo are a delight as her backup singers and bring their bright sexy dame harmonies and dance moves that really help support Jackson - who otherwise carries every minute of this very demanding vocal and theatrical "one woman show". 'Bette: Xmas' is adapted by both Artistic Director David Cerda and Jackson, and Jackson also directs this production along with Marc LeWallen while music direction is handled by Tommy Robb.
I highly recommend seeing this unique and talent-filled Hell in a Handbag production, which has only been improved from its original Summer form by being lit up with Christmas lights and the Joy of Christmas.
‘Bette: Xmas at the Continental Baths’ is being performed at Mary’s Attic through December 31st.
Harris Theater Presents return of Chicago Black Dance Legacy Project, Aug. 28
16 July 2026 in Upcoming DanceFollowing last year’s smashing sold-out engagement, the Joan W. and Irving B. Harris Theater for Music and Dance proudly presents the return…
Oil Lamp Theater Announces its New Home
15 July 2026 in Theatre BuzzOil Lamp Theater, currently at 1723 Glenview Road, announces its new future home will be at the former Ten Ninety Brewing Co.…
Nothing Without a Company presents The Trouble With My Hair: Coloring, Cutting, and Coming into Who I Am - Five Performances across Chicago, August 21st-30th
15 July 2026 in Upcoming TheatreNothing Without a Company (NWaC) is proud to announce five performances of The Trouble With My Hair: Coloring, Cutting, and…
Theater Wit presents the Chicago premiere of Adolescent Salvation, August 14-October 3
15 July 2026 in Upcoming TheatreOver the course of one night, through a haze of tequila, texting, and Taylor Swift, three teenagers banter, bicker, and…
No Dogs’ Delivers an Unfamiliar Earnest
15 July 2026 in Theatre in ReviewOscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest is one of the greatest farces ever written. His wordplay caricatured high society,…
Northlight Theatre inaugurates the first season in its new home in Evanston with the World Premiere of Jeffrey Hatcher's new adaptation of The Front Page
14 July 2026 in Upcoming TheatreNorthlight Theatre, under the direction of Artistic Director BJ Jones and Executive Director Timothy J. Evans, opens its new theater in Evanston with The Front…
TimeLine Theatre announces cast & production team for world premiere THE BIRTH OF THE PILL
14 July 2026 in Upcoming TheatreA bold story about the controversial creation that reshaped women’s lives is the focus of The Birth of the Pill,…
City Lit announces World Premiere adaptation of SHANE, playing August 21 – October 4
13 July 2026 in Upcoming TheatreFull cast and production team have been announced for City Lit's season-opening production of SHANE, Mark Pracht's World Premiere adaptation…
PrideArts' World Premiere of WINDOWS, August 7 – 23
13 July 2026 in Theatre in ReviewPrideArts' 2026-27 season will open in August with the world premiere of Chicago-based playwright Matt Schutz's WINDOWS, a comedy of LGBT…
Steppenwolf Presents ALEX EDELMAN: WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO - August 12 – 16, 2026
13 July 2026 in Upcoming TheatreFollowing a critically-acclaimed, sell-out run of Just For Us at Steppenwolf Theatre and around the globe, Tony and Emmy Award-winning comedian Alex Edelman returns…
DIRTY DANCING: the MUSICAL WILL PLAY BROADWAY IN CHICAGO’S JAMES M. NEDERLANDER THEATRE SEPTEMBER 9 – 20
13 July 2026 in Upcoming TheatreGet ready to have the time of your life! Broadway In Chicago is pleased to announce that single tickets for DIRTY DANCING:…
A Thoughtful Evolution of Her Own Making: Overshadowed Theatrical Productions’ My Fair Lady
12 July 2026 in Theatre in ReviewOvershadowed Theatre Productions brings fresh energy to one of musical theatre’s most enduring classics, offering a spirited and thoughtful take…
A Legendary Transformation: John Mulaney’s Historic Night at Wrigley Field
12 July 2026 in Theatre in ReviewJohn Mulaney didn’t just perform at Wrigley Field. He made history there. In a venue synonymous with baseball legends, rock…
Powerhouse Performances on Display in Gwydion's Dry Powder
11 July 2026 in Theatre in ReviewIn the sharp-tongued world of Sarah Burgess’s Dry Powder, presented by Gwydion Theatre Company at the Greenhouse Theater Center, the…
The Beautiful Overthinking of Gary Gulman’s 7th Hour
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Production of THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST Does Not Fully Recognize Its Importance at Oak Park Festival
09 July 2026 in Theatre in ReviewIt is possible that Oak Park Festival Theatre’s production of Oscar Wilde’s 1895 “trivial comedy for serious people,” The Importance…
Suffs and the Women Who Refused to Wait
09 July 2026 in Theatre in ReviewSuffs is a musical about history, yes, but more importantly, it is a musical about momentum: who creates it, who…
Court Theatre presents the Spotlight Reading Series A Century of Black Progress August 7 – 22
09 July 2026 in Upcoming TheatreUnder the leadership of Marilyn F. Vitale Artistic Director Avery Willis Hoffman and Executive Director Angel Ysaguirre, Court Theatre proudly presents the Spotlight Reading…
Great Lakes Operetta presents Orpheus in the Underworld at Bramble Arts Loft July 10-19
08 July 2026 in Upcoming TheatreGreat Lakes Operetta is delighted to present its first full-length, fully-staged operetta, Jacques Offenbach’s seminal work, Orpheus in the Underworld! Originally…
Nonesuch Releases Natalie Merchant’s Cabinet of Wonder, Music from Singer-Songwriter’s Collaboration with Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chicago Children’s Theatre, August 21
08 July 2026 in Theatre BuzzNonesuch Records releases Natalie Merchant’s Cabinet of Wonder—a digital collection of seventeen songs and accompanying videos from the acclaimed singer-songwriter’s…
Oil Lamp Theatre to present I Love You Because August 14 - September 13
07 July 2026 in Upcoming TheatreOil Lamp Theater, currently presenting The Last Five Years, now extended through July 19, is proud to announce the cast and creative…
Sandbox Theatre Collective to Stage HENRY IV, PART 1 at North Center Irish Pub
07 July 2026 in Upcoming TheatreSandbox Theatre Collective has announced their production of William Shakespeare’s Henry IV, Part 1. Directed by Alex Albrecht and running…
Making its Broadway in Chicago debut, Jekyll & Hyde will play a limited engagement at the Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place
02 July 2026 in Upcoming TheatreBroadway In Chicago announced today that tickets for Kokandy Productions’ critically acclaimed, multi-award-winning revival of JEKYLL & HYDE will go on sale…
Absurdist Satire ‘Do You Feel Anger?’ Captures Toxicity in Workplace Today
01 July 2026 in Theatre in ReviewSet in a debt collection call center, Do You Feel Anger? captures how a toxic workplace manifests itself in today’s…
Uptown Music Theater of Highland Park presents Disney’s The Little Mermaid
01 July 2026 in Upcoming TheatreThe Broadway musical - Disney's The Little Mermaid - will hit the Uptown Music Theater stage this summer in Deerfield,…
Collaboraction Theatre announces July shows and events in its new House of Belonging in Humboldt Park
01 July 2026 in Upcoming TheatreCollaboraction Theatre Company’s new House of Belonging is now fully activated in the Kimball Arts Center, 1757 N. Kimball Ave…
Babes with Blades Presents the World Premiere of the Queer Pirate Joy play, YO HO. Beginning Saturday, July 25th
01 July 2026 in Upcoming TheatreBabes With Blades Theatre Company's (BWBTC) 2026 season opens with a world premiere, yo ho., by playwright SMJ, directed by…
Goodman’s Iceboy! Is a Full‑Tilt Blast of Comic Mayhem
30 June 2026 in Theatre in ReviewGoodman Theatre’s Iceboy! arrives as a gleefully off the rails musical that blends Broadway glamour, Neanderthal chaos, and theatrical myth…
Collaboraction’s The Light Youth Ensemble, 19 Chicago teens intent on careers in the arts, each passionate about positive social change, announce 2026 Summer Tour
30 June 2026 in Upcoming TheatreWhat’s on the minds of Chicago’s youth?Find out when Collaboraction Theatre’s 2026 The Light Youth Ensemble brings their talent, fused…
All The World's a Stage and Chicago Merely The Best Player: 'As You Like It' in Chicago Parks this summer
30 June 2026 in Theatre in ReviewIs there anything more alluring than a summer night in Chicago? The lakefront beaches, the meandering pathways, the festivals and…
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TimeLine Theatre announces cast & production team for world premiere THE BIRTH OF THE PILL
Written by Buzz Center StageA bold story about the controversial creation that reshaped women’s lives is the focus of The Birth of the Pill, a world premiere play launching TimeLine Theatre’s 30th Anniversary season in September. The Birth of the Pill —by playwright Jessica… -
Nothing Without a Company presents The Trouble With My Hair: Coloring, Cutting, and Coming into Who I Am - Five Performances across Chicago, August 21st-30th
Written by Buzz Center StageNothing Without a Company (NWaC) is proud to announce five performances of The Trouble With My Hair: Coloring, Cutting, and Coming into Who I Am. This is a solo performance, written and performed by award-winning storyteller Ada Cheng, which intimately…
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Theater Wit presents the Chicago premiere of Adolescent Salvation, August 14-October 3
Written by Buzz Center StageOver the course of one night, through a haze of tequila, texting, and Taylor Swift, three teenagers banter, bicker, and push each other to the edge of danger — with consequences that could prove lethal. Theater Wit presents the Chicago…
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Harris Theater Presents return of Chicago Black Dance Legacy Project, Aug. 28
Written by Buzz Center StageFollowing last year’s smashing sold-out engagement, the Joan W. and Irving B. Harris Theater for Music and Dance proudly presents the return of Chicago Black Dance Legacy Project in a one-night-only performance themed Dancing the Archive: Embodied Histories, Collective Power. As performed by ten extraordinary…
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