The Movement You Need is a sweet one man show by Brendan Hunt (Co-creator, writer, and actor of Ted Lasso) about growing up in Chicago and The Beatles. Here are the top 5 stories from the show:

When he was very young, he couldn’t say his name and would say “Na Na”. His mother called him “Na Na” for her entire life.  When he first heard songs with “Na Na” in them, he thought they were about him. 

He worked at Boom Chicago in Amsterdam for five years. This is where he learned to love soccer. 

When he was in London writing for Ted Lasso, Jason Sudekis kept texting someone while they were trying to work. This eventually led to him getting to see Paul McCartney rehearsing and then meeting him afterwards. 

He won a pair of tickets through a radio station to see Paul McCartney play in a 300-person capacity bar in Joshua Tree. It was a three-hour show that was the smallest show he had played since the early 1960s when The Beatles were playing in Hamburg. 

“The movement you need is on your shoulder” is a lyric from “Hey Jude”. He has The movement you need tattoed on his shoulder.

Cost of a ticket: $65

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Get tickets now for The Movement You Need through May 10th. 

Quinn Delaney

Xochi has found great success from writing a novel based on her family. Using this money, she buys a lakehouse and invites her twin brother to come celebrate with her. On this visit, tragedy strikes that changes their lives forever. 

Paloma Nozicka (Enough to Let the Light In) has written a thrilling and suspenseful mystery. It’s intellectually enthralling. This production has audience members on the edge of their seats watching to see what will happen next. 

At 105 minutes, it would be nice to have an intermission. There are plenty of scene changes where it can be easily added.  Join the Pro-Intermission movement here. 

Paloma Nozicka (The Thanksgiving Play) is fantastic as Xochi, who suffers from stress induced delusions. Brian King (Hundreds and Hundreds of Stars) is so charming and caring as her boyfriend. Eddie Martinez (Ugly Lies the Bone) is superb as her older brother, who is an alcoholic cop. Charín Álvarez (Passage, La Ruta) is great as Xochi’s mother, who deals with the tragedy in the best way that she can. Ayssette Muñoz is very sweet as the mother’s new friend who is very helpful during this time. Yona Moises Olivares’ performance as as Xochi’s twin is exceptional.

If after seeing this play, you’d like to discuss the ending, please reach out via our Facebook page.

Cost of a ticket: $50

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Get tickets now for Both through May 24th! 

Quinn Delaney

A husband walks in on his wife sleeping with a young man. He chases him around the room with a bottle until the young man runs into a wall and passes out. So, they handcuff him to a chair. When he wakes up, they ask him to be the judge and decide whose fault it is that lead to this situation. 

Scooter Pietsch has written a very witty play about infidelity among the rich. The history of their relationship is slowly revealed in great style. This production is greatly directed by Jason Alexander.

Enrico Colantoni (Just Shoot Me) is hilarious as the husband, who really wants to cut into some flesh with his swordstick. Rebecca Spence is excellent as the wife who does her best to avoid bloodshed. Nick Marini (Cobra Kai) is superb as the young man who finds himself way over his head in the middle of their complicated marriage. 

Get tickets now for Fault through May 24th! 

Cost of a ticket: $76

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Good Value

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Quinn Delaney

For the second song of the night, Howie Day plays “She Says” from his 2000 album, Australia. He says he has to play this one early in the set because it has so many high vocal notes that are a bit harder to hit in his 40s as opposed to when he wrote it in his 20s. “And when she says she wants someone to love / I hope you know / She doesn’t mean you”. 

Midway into the set, he plays “Treetops” from his 2015 album, Lanterns. “Cause we’re dancing on the treetops tonight / We’re hiding from the people and the lights”. It’s a great joyful song that contrasts with a lot of the sad songs he is playing tonight. 

Late in the night, he plays “Bunnies”. This is one of his more experimental songs. It features a lot of loops and improvisations. Also, it stretches out to about 10 minutes. “Sometimes you just have to see where it goes,” says Howie afterwards. 

To close out his set, he plays his biggest hit, from the 2003 album, Stop All The World Now. This song has over 516 million streams on Spotify.  “Even the best fall down sometimes / Even the wrong words seem to rhyme / Out of the doubt that fills your mind / You finally find / You and I collide”. Unfortunately, he only plays about half of the song before he goes into a cover medley using the same chords. 

See the full setlist here. 

Cost of a ticket: $58

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Good Value

Rating Scale: Exceptional > Good Value > Discounted > Go for Free > Don’t Bother

Quinn Delaney

Thomas Dolby opens with a cover of “Blue Monday” by Orgy. It’s a great choice for the first song. “How does it feel? How should I feel? Tell me, how does it feel / To treat me like you do?”

After a few songs, Dolby and his band play a few movements of his ’80s symphony combining the songs of many of the hits from that decade. He includes Michael Jackson, U2, Talking Heads, Pink Floyd, and many more. He hopes that orchestras will be playing it by next year! 

Later on he plays “Hyperactive!” from his 1984 album, The Flat Earth. The title perfectly captures the energy of this fast-paced song.

For the final song of his set, he plays his biggest hit, “She Blinded Me With Science” from his 1983 album, The Golden Age of Wireless. This song has over 26 million streams on Spotify. A video plays featuring cameos from many celebrities saying “science” including Hillary Clinton, Reggie Watts, JFK, and Aaron Paul. The crowd eats it up as they dance and sing along to this joyful track.

See the full setlist here. 

Cost of a ticket: $37 (GA), $77 (Seats on the main floor)

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Good Value (for GA)

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Quinn Delaney

Lee Fields has been singing since the 1960s. He helped fellow stars Sharon Jones and Charles Bradley get their start. Now that they have passed, it is up to him to carry on their legacy and keep the classic soul music alive.  

Early in the set, they play “Ladies” from their 2009 album, My World. It’s their most popular song on Spotify with over 30 millions streams.  He truly shows his love for women on this one. “Short ones, tall ones, big ones, small ones! Beautiful ladies / Lovely ladies / You look so good in the summertime”. It’s such a fun a song that has everyone dancing along.

Later on they play “Never Be Another You” from their 2016 album, Special Night. “There will never be another you / You’re one of a kind / Heaven shouldn’t be better ’cause there is nothing / I said nothing, nothing as good as this”. Wow, this man really knows how to write a fantastic love song. It’s no surprise that there are a lot of couples in attendance tonight. 

Lee says the following song was used in a Super Bowl commercial in 2023. It’s “Forever” from his 2022 album, Sentimental Fool. “I wanna hold you forever / I’m gonna love you forever / I know forever might seem like a / Mighty long time”. It’s a great slow love song that is perfect for a wedding and for the end of the set. 

In the end it was clear that Lee Fields still loves to sing and is keeping soul music alive.

See a recent setlist here. 

Cost of a ticket: $37

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Exceptional –

Rating Scale: Exceptional > Good Value > Discounted > Go for Free > Don’t Bother

Quinn Delaney

Bat Out Of Hell – The Musical is a loose retelling of the Peter Pan story. Strat is the leader of “The Lost” who never ages and falls in love with Raven, who also falls for him. 

The music is the highlight of the performance. Early in the second act is 1977’s “For Crying Out Loud”. “And I will receive somebody with open arms, open eyes / Open up the sky and let the planet that I love shine through / For crying out loud, you know I love you”. This is such a theatrical song and it fits in perfectly in this context. 

The penultimate song is “It’s All Coming Back to Me Now”. Jim Steinman refused to allow Meat Loaf to record this song because he saw it as a “woman’s song”. Celine Dion’s 1996 version is the one that became famous and has over 391 million streams on Spotify. “But when you touch me like this / And you hold me like that / I just have to admit that it’s all coming back to me / When I touch you like this / And I hold you like that / It’s so hard to believe, but it’s all coming back to me / It’s all coming back, it’s all coming back to me now”. The performance of this song is excellent! 

The show ends with Meat Loaf’s biggest hit, 1993’s “I’d Do Anything For Love (But I Won’t Do That)”, which has over 336 million streams (combining the two versions). “I would do anything for love, I’ll never lie to you and that’s a fact / But I’ll never forget the way you feel right now, Oh no, no way.” The lyric “But I Won’t Do That” sounds like there is something she is asking him to do that he won’t do. It would make more sense if it was “And I Won’t Do That” to describe never lying and never forgetting the feeling. 

Cost of a ticket: $97 (Orchestra)

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Good Value –

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Unlike most musicals, this tour only does only one night in each city and is playing in some quite small towns. Get tickets now for Bat Out Of Hell – The Musical! Also, get tickets here for future shows at The Auditorium. 

Quinn Delaney

Henry Percival is an author who lives in the Connecticut woods. He had one big hit a long time ago about a white man killing his black fiancé. The book came out after the author’s fiancé died under mysterious conditions. Everyone assumed that the book was the true story of what happened, but Percival was never convicted or punished for this crime. Xan Smith is a young black journalist who has come to interview him and get him to confess for a new biography about him. Did he actually kill his fiancé and will he confess? 

Kurt McGinnis Brown has written a very compelling and engaging play that has the audience on the edge of their seats waiting to see what happens next. It’s a great exploration of non-fiction vs fiction. 

Gary Houston is very good as Henry, who is very slow to answer Xan’s questions. His performance does seem to lean towards a certain conclusion. Perhaps he should play it more down the middle to keep the audience more unsure of what will happen. Shelby Marie Edwards is excellent as Xan, who is determined to discover the truth and publish it.

Cost of a ticket: $47 (GA)

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Good Value

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Get tickets now for The Official Biography through April 19th! 

Quinn Delaney

It’s 1927 in Chicago and Ma Rainey is booked to record at the studio. Her band has arrived and is rehearsing. After a long wait, Ma finally arrives escorted by a police officer. Her manager talks to the officer and manages to smooth out the situation. He is always the fixer for Ma’s issues, and he manages to get everyone ready to record when another problem comes up. 

August Wilson (Joe Turner’s Come and Gone) has written a fantastic play about blues music and the people who recorded it in the 1920s. 

Ma Rainey was inducted into the Blues Foundation’s Hall of Fame in 1983. Seven years later, she was inducted to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. 

E. Faye Butler (Fat Ham, The Nacirema Society) is outstanding as the diva, Ma Rainey. She has a lot of demands and is constantly threatening to leave if they are met. Marc Grapey (Superbad, Sex and the City) is great as her manager, who does his best to handle all her requests. Matt Decaro (Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Office) is very good in the tough role of the owner of the studio who is sick of all her demands. Scott Aiello (A View From the Bridge) is solid as the police officer . 

Al’Jaleel McGhee (Revolution(s), Henry Johnson) is spectacular as Levee, the trumpet player and songwriter with big ambitions and a dark past. The rest of the excellent band includes Cedric Young (Lindiwe, Familiar) on bass, Kelvin Roston Jr. (Clue) on piano, and David Alan Anderson (The First Deep Breath) on guitar. Jabari Khaliq (Purpose) is great as Ma’s son, who has a stutter but still wants to speak on the record. Lastly, Tiffany Renee Johnson (Blues for an Alabama Sky, Passage) is so fun as Levee’s romantic interest. 

Cost of a ticket: $64 (Main Floor)

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Good Value +

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Get tickets now for Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom through May 3rd!

Quinn Delaney

—

Ben Kweller takes to stage solo and begins to play “Park Harvey Fire Drill” from his 2025 album, Cover The Mirrors. Midway into the song, the rest of the band joins him on stage and they all sing around one mic. “And all the Kwellerheads say / Sha sha sha / Shashashashasha / La la la / Papapapapa / Papapapapa”. He’s quoting his own songs, “How It Should Be (Sha Sha)” and “Falling” from his 2002 album, Sha Sha!

On bass today is Christopher Mintz-Plasse. He plays a right-handed bass upside down. Many fans recognize him as an actor from Superbad and Kick-Ass. He is also spotted on the balcony next to the stage watching the entire set of The Format!

Kweller talks about how Chicago has always been one of his favorite cities to play. He says that Q101 was a huge key in his success as they were the first to put one of his songs in their playlist. It was “Wasted and Ready”, which they play next. This song is his most popular on Spotify with over 4.9 million streams. “She is a slut but ex thinks it’s sexy / Sex reminds her of eating spaghetti”.  He plays it with great passion and the audience eats it up.

Later on, they play “Starz” from his 2021 album, Circuit Boredom. “’Cause I can’t find my thoughts when the lights go out / I see stars / Brighter than the Milky Way / I see stars / Wishing that one day / They would be ours.” This is great new rocker that further proves he can still write great songs.

To close out the set, they play “Penny on the Train Track” from his self-titled 2006 album.  “I’m just a penny on the train track / Waitin’ for my judgement day / Come on baby girl let me see those legs / Before I get flattened away”. This is such a great song with a driving beat and the energy in the room is fantastic.

See a recent setlist here. 

Cost of a ticket: $65 (GA)

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Good Value

Rating Scale: Exceptional > Good Value > Discounted > Go for Free > Don’t Bother

Quinn Delaney