Five prostitutes have been found murdered in Ipswich, Suffolk, England, UK in 2006. This is documentary theatre about this tragedy. It is mostly about the residents’ reaction to the situation.  The musical’s lyrics and dialog uses verbatim text recorded during interviews with the residents.

This is a very interesting concept, but it fails to deliver. The plot is pretty straightforward without any big drama or surprises. It can also be a bit confusing with the actors portraying many different characters without any costume changes. Also, like many documentaries, it gets quite repetitive.

The fault is not with the cast, as it is well performed. The cast includes Rengin Altay*, Christina Gorman+ (The Moors), Alani Gross-Roberts, Rebecca Jordan+* (Be Here Now), Tina Muñoz Pandya+* (Mr. Burns), Steve Peebles~ (Flanagan’s Wake), Linda Reiter+* (This Wide Night, The Realistic Joneses), Steven Schaeffer, Leslie Ann Sheppard~* (Sheepdog), Anne Sheridan Smith (Southern Gothic, Fun Home), and Kendal Wilson. (*Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers, +Shattered Globe Ensemble Member, ~Shattered Globe Artistic Associate)

See the program here.

Cost of a ticket: $40

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Half Price –

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Get tickets now for London Road through June 3.

Quinn Delaney

After a short stint as part of the Encores! concert series at New York City Center, this revival of “Into The Woods” transferred to Broadway and now, the national tour has made it to Chicago — with all of its magic intact. The musical weaves together the stories of various fairytale characters and explores what happens after “happily ever after.”

Given its premiere as a concert, this tour is a sparse production with little scenery to distract from the plentiful talent onstage. Unfortunately for many fans, Stephanie J. Block was out for this evening’s performance and is expected to remain on vocal rest through the weekend.  

The show was still in capable hands with her understudy, Ximone Rose, who delivered a comedic and touching performance. And yet, the understudy who deserves the most praise for the evening’s performance is Ellie Fishman. The show began with Fishman filing in as Lucinda. After the opening number, the stage manager announced that due to an illness, Fishman would be stepping into the role of Cinderella for the remainder of the show (with Erica Durham then taking over as Lucinda). Cinderella’s next entrance is rushing onto the stage in a ballgown and tripping down the stairs. Her first line, “I just need to catch my breath,” was met with a roaring ovation. With next to no notice, Fishman was Cinderella and didn’t miss a beat, her crystal clear voice perfect for the role.

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There were no shortage of highlights in this show. The scene-stealing cow, Milky White, puppeteered by Kennedy Kanagawa. A knife-wielding, not-having-it Little Red Riding Hood played by Katy Geraghty. Montego Glover’s powerful “Last Midnight.” Gavin Creel making the most of each and every comedic opportunity as Cinderella’s Prince Charming.

Cost of a ticket: $52 (Balcony) to $116 (Orchestra Center)
PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Worth It
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Get tickets now for Into the Woods through May 7th!

Edward Boyle

A playwright travels to Florence, Italy to read the letters of Galileo’s daughter, Maria Celeste. She is planning to write a play about her. Maria loved science and helping her father. She was an illegitimate child, so she didn’t have the option to marry. Instead, she chose to join a convent and continued to secretly help him from there.

The play by Jessica Dickey is often humorous, such as the multiple times when a character says, “Italian Italian Italian Italian” instead of actually speaking Italian. It’s also very interesting as the history surrounding Celeste’s life is explored.

The play is very short at just 80 minutes. It would be interesting to see it presented with another short play as a double feature.     

Linda Gullum is perfectly cast as the writer. Many in the audience believed she was the actual writer of the play at the start. Emily Bosco is excellent as the daughter, eager to work with her father. Chiké Johnson (Toni Stone) is superb as the brilliant Galileo making great discoveries and publishing them against the will of the church.

Cost of a ticket: $36

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Worth It

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Get tickets now for Galileo’s Daughter through May 14^th!

Quinn Delaney

Two disfigured twin daughters go to visit their mother, whom they thought was dead. Their mother reveals that she and them were burnt in a fire started by their father. Her final wish is for them to kill him and destroy everything around him. One of the sisters is driven to complete this mission while the other reluctantly joins.

Aleshea Harris has written a very bloody fun revenge story. The audience was absolutely delighted by this production.

Aja Singletary (Relentless, Dance Nation) is excellent as the blood thirsty sister out for revenge. Ashli Rene Funhes is great as the meek sister following along. Karen Aldridge (The Moors) is devilish as the angry mother. Sherman Edwards is very good as the goofy lawyer. Donovan Session (Miz Martha, Sugar in Our Wounds) is so funny as the gay brother. Andrew Muwonge (Bug u/s) is very charming as the poetic brother. Rita Wicks is quite entertaining as the mom of the two brothers. Kevin “Chris” Minor is delightfully evil as the father.

Cost of a ticket: $44

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Worth It +

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Get tickets now for Is God Is through May 28^th!

Quinn Delaney

Monique and her daughter, Sam, arrive at her sister’s house in Brooklyn. They are running from something, but they don’t say Slowly, the truth starts to be revealed and the puzzle pieces of the dramatic situation come together.

Not a whole lot of dramatic things happen in the play. They are talked about instead of actually seen. Using flashbacks could increase the dramatics of this play.

The set designed by Regina Garcia is very impressive. They built half of a house on the stage which truly sets the scene. It’s a nice change from the shows in the ensemble theatre, where the set is always minimal.

Aliyana Nicole is very impressive as Sam. She has a major role and she delivers. Namir Smallwood (Bug, True West) delivers a complex performance as Sam’s conflicted father. Ayanna Bria Bakari (Relentless) is great as Monique who is struggling to find stability for herself and her daughter. The cast also includes Sydney Charles (MIZ MARTHA), Kylah Renee Jones (Alternate Sam), and Jessica Dean Turner (Tiny Beautiful Things).

Cost of a ticket: $70 (Orchestra Back)

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Get tickets now for Last Night and the Night Before through May 14^th.

Quinn Delaney

Tei Shi grew up between Colombia and Canada. On stage alone, she dances and sings in both English and Spanish along to her preproduced tracks. Her last headlining show in Chicago was five years ago. However, she did just open for Kimbra at Thalia Hall on February 22^nd.

For the second song in the set, she sings “BAD PREMONITION” from this year’s EP of the same name. “ It’s a bad premonition and it’s coming true / What to do? Can you just give me a sign? “ And for once can I be in the right place at the right time?” It’s a great pop song with a great groove and gets the audience dancing early on.

Later on she sings the very catchy “Matando” from her 2019 album, La Linda.  “Mi amor, tu amor / Me está matando / Me voy / Me estoy debilitando / A pesar de que te quiera tanto”. This translates to “My love, your love / It is killing me / Leave / I’m getting weak / Even though I love you so much”. This song clearly demonstrates her ability to write a great pop song.

She ends the set with “When He’s Done”. “Cause when he’s done / He’ll have taken every little bit of my heart / That’s how it starts / And when he’s gone / He’ll take the words I wrote and throw them away / That’s what they say.” This track is such a great slow groove that truly showcases her excellent vocals.

In the encore, she ends the night with her biggest hit, “Bassically”, from her 2015 debut, Verde. It has over 19 million streams on Spotify.

See the full setlist here.

Cost of a ticket: $23

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Worth It +

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Quinn Delaney

Semyon has decided that life is not worth living and he wants to kill himself. In his initial suicide letter, he says no one is to blame. When one of the neighbors discovers his intentions, he begins selling people the opportunity to meet with Semyon before he kills himself. He brings many different Soviets including an intellectual unsatisfied with the government, a romantic, a priest, a writer, and more. They all want him to use his suicide letter to further their causes.

This is a very dark comedy. While the subject matter is gloomy, the absurdity of the situation does become very funny. The more people that show up insisting that his suicide note be about their cause, the funnier it gets.

This production features an impressive 3-level set designed by Kevin Hagan. It takes full advantage of the Bookspan space as it reaches up to the ceiling. The production also features two great musicians, Carolyn Waldee and Mary Spencer, who play before the play, during the intermission, and as beggar musicians in the play.

Todd Wojcik (The Pavilion, Wellesley Girl) is excellent as the opportunist selling people the chance to meet Semyon. Kathy Scambiattera is hilarious as the snarky mother in law of Semyon. She is also the Artistic Director and co-founder of The Artistic Home. Patrick Thornton (Why Torture is Wrong and the People Who Love Them, Requiem for a Heavyweight) is so funny as the priest preaching about the evils of hell while Semyon insists he doesn’t believe in God or any of what he is saying. Also, Daniel Shtivelberg is great as Semyon, contemplating the reasons to live or die. The rest of the cast is solid as well.

See the program here.

Cost of a ticket: $42

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Worth It +

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Get tickets now for Dying For It through April 23^rd!

Quinn Delaney

On the surface, the Healys are a perfect family. The father is a partner at his law firm. The mother runs a perfect house and is loved by the community. The son was just accepted to Harvard. The daughter is a vary smart activist. But dig a little deeper, and you’ll see that each one of them has their issues to overcome.

Every song from Alanis Morissette’s debut 1995 album, Jagged Little Pill, is used along with other songs from later albums. This album is 10^th on the list of Best-Selling Albums of All Time. Alanis also wrote two new songs for the musical, “Smiling” and “Predator”.

Heidi Blickenstaff is outstanding as the complicated mother. Her vocals truly shine on “Forgiven”, in a very emotional performance.

Jade McLeod is superb as the girlfriend of the daughter. Their performance of “You Oughta Know” is an exceptional display full of raw emotion.

In addition to the drama, the musical also contains a lot of comedy. It is especially clever how they do “Ironic”.  Lauren Chanel presents it as an essay to her class. The students keep interrupting her to say that her examples aren’t really irony.

The choreography by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui is excellent. Jena VanElslander’s dancing is especially impressive. All the elements truly come together to make a world class production that is definitely worth putting on your playlist of must-see shows.

Cost of a ticket: $115

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Worth It +

Rating Scale: Exceptional Value > Worth It > Half Price > Go for Free > Don’t Bother

Get tickets now for Jagged Little Pill through April 23^rd!

Quinn Delaney

Jukebox the Ghost just released an album this year titled Cheers. For the second song of their set, they play “Million Dollar Bills”. Someone from the second floor throws million dollar bills up into the air and they rain down on the audience below. It’s a very cool visual.

https://open.spotify.com/track/3WZFEgZDpbcPkhrRXFvL8K?si=b297115459af403b

Later on, Thornewill brings out a spinning wheel with song names written on it. He has an audience member spin the wheel to determine the next song. It lands on “Postcard”. “One of the rules about the wheel, is that we aren’t allowed to practice the songs”, says Tommy Siegel, the guitarist. Still, they play it perfectly, like true pros.

The drummer, Jesse Kristen, comes to the front of the stage, and is met with great applause. He sings the beginning of the song, “Hollywood”. He draws out the words in a funny lackadaisical manner. “If all the world’s a stage, then you’re my favorite actress. If all of life’s a game, I sure could use the practice.” He then runs back to his kit and the song picks up the beat. Ben Thornewill (Piano) sings “It’s the kind of love that doesn’t exist anymore. You want Hollywood, this is real life!” It’s great lyrics like this that really describe what it’s like to be in the relationship that audiences strongly connect with.

For the encore, they begin with “You Make My Dreams (Come True)”. This is such a fun 80’s song and everyone eats it up as they sing and dance along. Hall & Oates would be proud. The entire audience walks out with a smile on their face hoping they will see this great band again soon.

See the full setlist here.

Quinn Delaney

Gus is an artist try to get into the New America show at his local art museum. The curator rejects him because he is a white male. So, he hires a black female actress to pretend to be the creator of his paintings. Eventually, the drama builds as the actress demands to have more control.

James IJames has written a funny piece directly pulled from the headlines that explores issues of racism and sexism. It is much more relatable than his avant-garde Miz Martha. At 90 minutes, it is a bit long to not have a break It would be nice if they offered some performances with an intermission.

Tenaj Wallace is fantastic as the black female actress who truly loses herself in the role. Matthew Thompson is superb and steals a few scenes as Gus’s boyfriend who is shocked by his actions. Grace Blakeman is perfect as the museum curator. Within the gallery at The New Orleans Museum of Art, her performance seems so real. Lastly, Matt Armato is solid as Gus. However, he played the character a little too normal to have come up with this crazy plan.

See the program here.

Cost of a ticket: $38

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Half Price +

Rating Scale: Exceptional Value > Worth It > Half Price > Go for Free > Don’t Bother

Get tickets now for White through March 31^st!

Quinn Delaney