Topdog / Underdog premiered off-Broadway starring Don Cheadle and Jeffrey Wright in 2001. It transferred to Broadway the following year. It was revived in 2022 on Broadway and won the Tony for Best Revival of a play. And now, in February of 2024, it opens at the Windy City Playhouse, the new home of Invictus Theatre Company. (Their old home was The Frontier in Edgewater.)

Two brothers are living in a squalid house. Lincoln plays the 16^th president in an arcade, who repeatedly gets shot by the customers. Booth steals from department stores, but he wants to run a 3-card-monty game. He wants Lincoln to teach him so he can make a lot of money and win over Gracie.

This play is very well written by Suzan-Lori Parks. The drama slowly builds to an intense climax. It’s a very intimate stage. During the curtain call, the weight of the performance is still hanging on the actor’s faces and in the audience.  

Mikha’el Amin is excellent as Lincoln, who is glad he stopped playing the game and got a steady job. DeMorris Burrows is fantastic as Booth, who envisions great wealth coming from the game.

Cost of a ticket: $28 (Previews and Mondays)

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Get tickets now for Topdog / Underdog at Windy City Playhouse through March 31^st!

Quinn Delaney

Early in the set, they play “Complainer” from their 2019 album, New Age Norms 1.  “You say you want to change this world / Well, you must really believe in magic / Stand up and show them who you are / Don’t sit around and complain about it.” This a great tune that gets the sold out crowd dancing.

Next up is “So Tied Up”, which they recorded with Bishop Briggs. “So (so tied up) / We’ve been here before / So (so tied up) / You want something more / Lover, best friend, my worst enemy / You know I won’t let you get away.” This track has such a great beat and it keeps the great vibe going.

They close their set with “First” from their 2014 album, Hold my Home. This is their most popular song on Spotify with over 257 million streams. “First you get close, then you get worried / You wanna light it now, the candle from both ends.” It’s a giant sing-a-long for this one.

The encore begins with “Love is Mystical” from their 2017 album, LA DVINIE. “Love is mystical / Love will break the chains / You might feel invincible / And you might be afraid / Light in darkness will show you the way / Give you the power to believe again”. This one is a rocker and the audience eats its up!

They finish the night with “Something Is Not Right With Me” from their 2008 album, Loyalty to Loyalty. “I tried to call you collect / You said you would not accept / Your friends are laughin’ cause / Nobody uses pay phones.”

At the end, the audience leaves with giant smiles on their faces after a great night of music.

See the Cold War Kids full setlist here.

Quinn Delaney

The host for the evening is David Crabb. He tells a great story about being a camp counselor. He had to go talk to the camper after he was caught sneaking a look at the Russian worker’s showers. He ran into the camper many years later on the NYC subway. The camper was with a big group of friends and told him that he designed jewelry for Beyonce. David was so glad to hear that he was doing well.

The first storyteller is Danny Artese. He talks about coming out to his friends and his family when he was 12, but not being able to come out in public. He had a big crush on a fellow classmate and the song “If” by Janet Jackson perfectly described how he felt. “Never once you looked at me / Don’t even realize that I’m wantin’ you / To fulfill my needs, think what you want.” It’s a great story about youthful desires.

Elain Gale is the second storyteller. She compares her past marriage to spiderwebs. When a web gets destroyed, a spider just starts rebuilding a new one. So, now that her married life is over, she has to start building a new life. It’s an interesting comparison in which she also mentions the study by NASA about web creation by spiders on different drugs. 

The third storyteller is Sam Feirstein. He weaves together the story of growing up being called “Fat Sam” (from the 1976 movie Bugsy Malone) and his friend getting him an audition to be a model in a commercial. He is very excited to be praised for how he looks since he lost the weight he had growing up, but things don’t go as he hoped.

The last performer is Peter Kim. He tells a story about growing up in Flushing, NY with an abusive father. He is very happy when his parents get divorced and he begins living with just his mother. One day, his mother says that she plans to move to Virginia to live with her new boyfriend. Peter has to choose whether to move with her or stay in town and live with his father. He is a junior in high school at the time. It’s an excellent story about big decisions.

Catch the next live show of RISK! on Tuesday, 3/19/24, and listen to the podcast anytime here.

Cost of a ticket: $23

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Quinn Delaney

Chloe Radcliffe has cheated on her partners many times. She has created this hilarious and gutsy one woman show to tell her story. Cheating is something that most people don’t talk about, and she wants to bring it out of the darkness. She talks a lot about her upbringing. Her parents were never married and they split up when she was a baby. Her father moved to another state, but still visited every month. Neither of her parents remarried, so she never saw a healthy relationship growing up.

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She talks through her many relationships and the moment when she cheated. It’s something people don’t usually talk about, so it’s fascinating to hear. The entire time she is weaving in hilarious jokes. It’s a whirlwind of a story that is expertly crafted with a great balance of serious moments that has the entire venue silent and comedy that has everyone laughing. It’s great comedic storytelling that will surely lead her to great things.

Cost of a ticket: $22.50

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Follow Chloe on Instagram here.

Quinn Delaney

The novel version of I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter was released in October of 2017. The Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago staged the world premiere in February of 2020. Now it is playing at the Greenway Court Theatre in February of 2024.

Julia is the 15-year-old daughter of Mexican immigrant parents. She is attending the funeral of her older sister, Olga, who was tragically hit by a bus. Julia is devastated by this loss and struggles to make sense of some things that she finds in Olga’s room. But still, Julia manages to get back to her life and plan her quinceañera and to begin dating.

Isaac Gómez (La Ruta) has expertly adapted this novel to the stage. While the play does begin in tragedy, this play is mostly light-hearted and funny. It’s a great coming of age story that reminds us all of our time in high school.

Gabriela Machuca is outstanding as Julia. Impressively, she is on stage for the entire hour and 40 minutes. She displays a great range of acting during this time. Noelle Howe is excellent as Julia’s best friend, who helps her greatly to get back to normal. Heather Lee Echeverria is excellent as Olga, the perfect Mexican daughter. Presciliana Esparolini is so strong as Amá (mother), who grieves the hardest. Jacob Cherry is great as Julia’s love interest. The rest of the supporting cast is also solid.

Cost of a ticket: $42
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Get tickets now for I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter through March 3^rd!

Quinn Delaney

Mayer Hawthorne takes the stage with his band to a great applause and jumps right into the music. He plays “Love Like That” from his 2016 album, Man About Town. “Yeah, I want a love / Strong like a heart attack / To fire me up / I want a love like that.” This is such a great soulful song that it sounds like a classic that has been around for decades.

Next up is “Back Seat Lover” from 2013’s Where Does This Go. This track has such a great groove and it has everyone in the whole venue dancing along.  

A little later is “Breakfast in Bed”. “Just me and you and Mister Sunshine / Let’s order breakfast in bed / And leave the ordinary world behind”. It is such a slow sexy jam. It’s also a great moment when he sings “Good morning California” with a big smile on his face. Hawthorne had commented earlier that it was great to be back home in California after touring across the country during winter.

Later on, he sings the title track from 2023’s “For All Time”. This song has an epic sound and Mayer’s vocals truly shine on this one.

He ends the set with “The Walk” from 2011’s How Do You Do. This is his most popular song on Spotify with over 49 million streams. “From the moment that I met you / I thought you were fine, so fine / But your shitty, fucking attitude / Has got me changing my mind.” This is such a great fun breakup song that has everyone singing along!

To end the night, a member of the crew hands everyone a drink. The drink is the name of the last song, “Henny & Gingerale”. This is a fantastic song and the perfect way to close out the encore.

See a recent setlist here.

See our old review of Mayer Hawthorne from July of 2016 here.

Cost of a ticket: $48

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Quinn Delaney

A woman is dealing with a very loud upstairs neighbor. Another woman is dealing with a troublesome ex-lover. They both decide to visit a shop of curiosities to solve their issues.

Steve Yockley (The Flight Attendant) has written a darkly humorous and fun play. As the plot develops and the mysteries unfold, it gets funnier and crazier. The Road Theatre Company does a superb job with the script and the result is great theatre.

Christina Carlisi (All About Steve) is excellent as the nosey neighbor. Andrea Flowers is great as the other woman seeking alternative solutions. Gloria Ines is so sweet and charming as the store owner. Billy Baker is great as her business partner who does the dirty work. Jordan Moore (Alternate) is so funny as the loud neighbor. Justin Lawrence Barnes and Meeghan Holaway are solid in their supporting roles.

Get tickets now for Mercury through March 2^nd!

Cost of a ticket: $42

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Quinn Delaney

The novel version of Strangers on a Train by Patricia Highsmith was released in 1950.  The film version was released in 1951 and directed by Alfred Hitchcock. It was adapted by Craig Warner for radio in 2004 and for the stage in 2013. And now it is playing at Theatre 40 in Beverly Hills.

Two men meet on a train, Charles and Guy. Charles comes up with the idea for a pair of perfect murders. Charles will kill Guy’s wife and Guy will kill Charles’ father so that they will both be free. Guy laughs this off as a joke, but then Charles goes ahead and murders the wife. Afterwards, Guy refuses to murder the father. However, Charles isn’t going to take no for an answer.

This is a very suspenseful and intense play. The sound design by Nick Foran is excellent and truly heightens the drama. The costume design by Michael Mullen is so sharp.

Joe Clabby is excellent as Guy. It’s impressive seeing him navigate the unforseen that comes his way. Michael Mullen is superb as Charles. He completely immersed himself in his character’s personality and delivered an unforgettable performance. Anica Petrovic is great as Guy’s love interest. She utilizes her wits and the passion she holds for Guy to support her husband while navigating complete uncertainty. The supporting cast is absolutely solid, as well.

All the pieces come together to make this a world class production!

Get tickets now for Strangers on a Train through February 18^th!

Cost of a ticket: $38

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Quinn Delaney

Welcome to the World Famous Comedy Store on Sunset in Hollywood, CA! Tonight’s show is called Keys to the Store. It is hosted by Avery Pearson. It features him playing comedic songs on the keyboards (aka, keys) and key comedians from the LA scene.

Iliza Shlesinger (Good on Paper) is due to give birth next week. She talks about the difference between how men congratulate her verses how they congratulate her husband. To her husband, it’s all high fives. It’s like, cool man, you like to fuck, me too! She does a very funny man impersonation. But then to her, it’s a sign that she is already carrying another man’s seed, so it’s a very low-key congratulations. 

Pete Holmes (Crashing) jokes that he wishes his daughter could see how good she has it. He imagines a Christmas Carol style ghost visiting her and taking her back in time to see how his father treated him. The ghost takes her to an example of his father apologizing to him, and it is just complete nothingness, because it never happened!

Andrew Santino (Beef) has a great bit about mis-naming the drug that he is taking and saying Levitra. He calls up his doctor and gets his nurse on the line. He tells her that it is giving him really bad diarrhea. She asks if it happening while he is performing. He thinks that she recognizes his name and is flattered, and then responds that it happens right after he finishes. She asks if gets on his partner, and he responds that he does a solo act! 

Jim Jefferies (Legit) asks the audience to notice how they feel after the following two sentences. “My husband is coming” and then “My wife is coming”. After the first, the response is “Great, he can help out.” After the second, the response is “Oh, no. Are you in trouble?” 

Ahamed Weinberg jokes about how in the future, the police will be replaced by an app called “Help”. Instead of calling 911, you’ll use the app and then it will tell you that Andrew with AK47 is 23 minutes away. Then, you’ll freak out when you see his car icon spinning. When he finally arrives, he’ll apologize and say his uber was so slow!

Cost of a ticket: $40 plus two drink minimum

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Get tickets now for Keys to the Store on March 11^th!

Quinn Delaney

This play is based on a true story. It is 2012 and Dana Delany is working on Body of Proof on ABC. Peter Gallagher connects her with an enthusiastic fan. He is a 13-year-old boy named Cam who has had two heart transplants. They send direct messages to each other on Twitter throughout the day and become close. One day, Cam is admitted to the hospital and Dana gets updates from his family. Dana makes plans to fly to Costa Rica, where Cam lives. 

Jen Silverman (The Moors, The Roommate) along with Mike Donahue, Dane Laffrey, and Dana Delany have created a truly compelling and thrilling play from Delany’s own the digital archives. The audience is at the edge of the seats waiting to see what happens next. The sets are incredibly realistic and the digital projections behind them are very impressive. This is a Broadway worthy-production. 

Dana Delaney is so warm and charming playing herself. Fans of her work on Desperate Housewives and China Beach will likely be a bit starstruck seeing her on stage. Thomas Murphy Molony is fantastic as Cam, who is so wise and mature for his age. Dot-Marie Jones (Glee) is superb as Cam’s family. Her acting talents are on full display. 

Cost of a ticket: $65 (Main Floor Side)

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Get tickets now for Highway Patrol through February 18th. 

Quinn Delaney