Chuck gets on to a bus and takes a seat. They put on their headphones and play “Get Low” by Lil Jon. Immediately, everyone on the bus starts dancing. They remove the headphones and everyone goes back to normal. They put them back on and the dancing resumes. It’s a simple concept, but yet so hilarious. What makes it so funny is how into the dancing all the other cast members get followed by how quickly they stop and act normally.

Everyone from the cast of Grinning from Fear to Fear returns in this show except for Andrew Knox, who is replaced by Alex Bellisle. She is excellent in the song about being white passing.  Atra Asdou (Grinning from Fear to Fear) is hilarious playing Joe Biden doing ASMR. EJ Cameron is so funny as a sleepwalker. Mark Campbell shows his expert improv chops as a video editor who is interested in anime. Laurel Krabacher was not present tonight. Lastly, Chuck Norment is powerful in the scene where their dad doesn’t talk and their mom is very critical.

Cost of a ticket: $34 and up
PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Worth It +
Rating Scale: Exceptional Value > Worth It > Half Price > Go for Free > Don’t Bother

Get tickets now for The Best Decision You’ve Ever Made!

Quinn Delaney

It is 1863 in Five Points, a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan. This neighborhood is called home by Irish immigrants escaping The Great Famine and Black Americans, born free and escaped slaves. Paradise Square is a saloon that is a true melting pot way ahead of it’s time in a young America.

From the opening number, it’s clear this is a Broadway bound musical. It’s full of big voices and strong emotions. The set is also very large with big moving parts. The drama between the characters slowly builds throughout the show. It all leads up to the Civil War Draft Riots in July of 1863.

Joaquina Kalukango is exceptional as Nelly O’Brien, the owner of the saloon. This is especially true in her show stopping number, “Let it Burn”. Chillina Kennedy is superb as Nelly’s sister-in-law and a strong leader. A.J. Shively is excellent as newly arrived Irish immigrant battling to not be drafted. Sidney Dupont is marvelous as the escaped slave waiting for his love to meet up with him.

Get tickets now for Paradise Square through December 5^th before it heads to New York City.

Cost of a ticket: $63 to $200

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Half Price +

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

Quinn Delaney

P.S. It has been 3 years since the last Broadway preview opened in Chicago. That show was Tootsie.

A waitress is living alone in an Oklahoma motel room. One day her friend introduces her to a drifter. They get along so she invites him to sleep on the floor. Slowly, they develop a relationship and get to know each other. One night, the man exclaims that he has been bitten by a bug. He kicks her out of the bed as he very carefully searches everywhere for bugs. Later on he tells her that the bugs are in his blood and that he is infected. The drama builds from there.

(Trailer from the 2006 film adaptation)

The first half of the play is a slow build. And then in the second half, things really pick up as they dive into conspiracy theories. This is truly live theatre at it’s best. The acting and production are at such a high level that the audience completely loses themselves in the story. It is very cinematic and it’s no surprise that they made it into a movie in 2006.

Carrie Coon (Mary Page Marlowe, The Leftovers) is fantastic as the waitress. She completely becomes this lonely character searching for connection. It’s amazing to see her transformation as the relationship builds. Namir Smallwood (True West, BLKS) is superb as the drifter. He expertly changes from mostly normal to a paranoid schizophrenic. Randall Arney, Jennifer Engstrom, and Steve Key are all great in their supporting roles. Tracy Letts (The Minutes, Linda Vista, Mary Page Marlowe) is a master writer. Every play he writes is a must see. He wrote this one in 1995 and it still feel completely fresh and thrilling.

Get tickets now for Bug through March 15^th!

Cost of a ticket: $20 to $110 (Most tickets are $84)

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Worth It

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

Also, check out the Carrie Coon episode of the Half Hour podcast here!

Quinn Delaney

Tonight, Dan Layus takes the stage alone and gets right into playing. He opens with their biggest hit, “Boston”. This song would normally be saved until the end, but tonight he is playing songs in chronological order. This single from 2005, hit #10 on the Adult Top 40. The audience is surprised, but they dig it.

Next he plays “Stars and Boulevards”. He says it can be a bit weird playing songs from this debut album because it was so long ago and before he even met his wife. All the Stars and Boulevards (2005) hit #1 on the Billboards chart for Top Independent Albums.

Later on he plays “Fire”. Layus only recently learned that this song almost didn’t make it on the album because the producer and the label didn’t think it fit in well. This album, Can’t Love, Can’t Hurt (2008) hit #2 on the charts.

Dan gives props to the opener, John-Robert, who played a great set. Dan and JR only just met a few days ago, but hopefully they’ll collaborate later on in the tour 

Dan says they decided to make their third album self-titled because it really felt like who the band really is. This self titled album (2011) also hit #1 on the Billboards chart for Top Independent Albums. 

To close out his set, he plays “Make Someone Happy” by Jimmy Durante. On this track, he sounds a lot like Rufus Wainwright, which is great company to be in.

Throughout the night, he looks very happy and is enjoying his time back on stage after the pandemic hiatus. The entire set is solid with the crowd singing every song. The songwriting is fantastic and the performance matches it too. The setlist for this show in the same as the one from Columbus, which is available here.

Cost of a ticket: $25 to $35

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Exceptional Value

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

Quinn Delaney

morgxn (pronounced Morgan) opens his set by singing acapella. At first he can’t be heard, but then everyone quiets down to listen. The audience quickly learns that he has a great voice. Soon afterwards he sits down and proceeds to play the keyboard while singing.

Midway through his set he plays a very slow version of Jimmy Eat World’s “Middle”. It works very well and matches his style.

“I’m going back home to the place where I belong, there’s nothing like it” he sings on “home”. He says when he thinks of home, he thinks of live music venues. It’s so great to be back home!

Later on he plays “Landslide” by Fleetwood Mac. It’s a hit and everyone sings along. It’s clear that he has a wide range of influences.

To close his short set, he plays “WONDER” which he recorded with Sara Bareilles. He released a full album of reimagined versions which includes a version by Smallpools. Written during the pandemic shutdown, this song features this great line “I wonder if anyone will hear this.”

Later on, morgxn returns to the stage for the Smallpools encore to sing the song they wrote together, “Slowdown”. It’s a great song and it’s very cool to see him reappear again on stage. It’s always great when artists that tour together do a colloboration.

Quinn Delaney

In June of 2020, the Mercury Theatre announced that they were shutting down permanently. In a tribute to them, we posted this list of their best shows. Then, in April of 2021, they announced that they would return. Thus, it is only appropriate that their first show is about a Catholic church and resurrection.

In May of 1992, the film Sister Act starring Whoopi Goldberg and Harvy Keitel was released. It was later adapted in a musical with music by Alan Menken and lyrics by Glenn Slater. The first premier was in October of 2006 in Pasadena, California It opened on Broadway in April of 2011. And now, in November 2021, it opens at the Mercury Theatre.

In the story, lounge singer Derloris witnesses her boyfriend commit murder. The police decide to hide her in a convent as a nun, the last place her boyfriend would look for her. She doesn’t fit in very well until she finds her place and becomes the leader of the choir. The choir gains widespread attention which then leads to more issues.

The cast in this production is fantastic and truly make this show hilarious and Broadway Worthy. Ed Kross (Shear Madness) is hysterical as the priest. Each time he grabs the mic, he cracks the whole audience up. Leah Morrow (Avenue Q, The Producers) is so funny as the nun who just loves everything about her job. Gilbert Domally strikes comedic gold as Sweaty Eddie, especially during his solo song, “I Could Be That Guy”. Austin Nelson is so funny as TJ with his one-liners Lastly, Alexis J. Roston’s voice is fantastic as Deloris.

Cost of a ticket: $35 – $80

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Exceptional Value –

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

Get tickets for Sister Act now through January 2^nd!

Quinn

The theme of the concert tonight is songs about heartbreak. First, she plays a string of “pre-breakup” songs.

On “younger women”, she sings “If you don’t want me anymore… just say it.” The audience eats this song of raw emotion up.  

Then there is “Phase Me Out”. “Don’t you want to stay here or do you want to phase me out?” She fully expresses the pain and heartache in this song.

“I don’t want your body, but I hate to think of you with somebody else”. This is from “Somebody Else” by The 1975. Her cover of this song has exploded on Spotify with 129 million listens. It fits in very well with her songs.

Then, there are the post-breakup songs. On “think of me” she sings, “I hope you fuck her with your eyes closed… and think of me.”

VÉRITÉ passed around two disposable cameras for fans to take pictures, like it was a wedding. Also, a boyfriend borrowed the microphone for a minute and proposed to his girlfriend. She said yes.

While most of the songs are dark, it’s actually a joyful night. Music gives us the power to feel and express these emotions which makes us feel better in the end.

Cost of a ticket: $18

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Exceptional Value –

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

Quinn Delaney