Beach Fly is up first. They play a hilarious song about a monkey stealing a mango right out of their hands. It’s full of monkey sounds and it’s very fun. Afterwards they play “Thinking Of You”. It’s a fantastic reggae rock love song with a smooth groove. It shows that this young band has a lot of potential. 

Next up is Coyote Island. Early on they play “River” from their 2024 album Holy Illusion. This excellent reggae rock track features a great solo by the lead guitarist. “Ain’t nothing left to hide when we are free!” This band is also on their way to great things. 

Surfer Girl takes the stage last. They are thrilled to be headlining in Chicago for the first time. They opened for The Elovaters and Shwayze at the Bottom Lounge last year. They play “Evil” from their 2022 album, Sunrise. “Evil walks my way sometimes / But I’ve seen where it’s coming from / So I give it hell but let it run / Even if I press rewind / I can’t fix everything I’ve done / So I might as well be giving love.” This song has such a great vibe that takes the audience away to a warm tropical beach. This surely won’t be their last headlining show in Chicago.

Cost of a ticket: $25

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Exceptional Value

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

Quinn Delaney

The scene is a bathroom in a gay bar. A drug addict is searching for more medicine. A man is proposing to his boyfriend. A mom is there to support her son. A guy refuses to hook up without protection. A drag queen gets ready to perform. A lesbian couple has an argument because the other didn’t say “I love you” back to her. Cut to a news reporter talking about a dramatic event that takes place at the bar that changes the tone completely. 

Juwon Tyrel Perry has written a great slice of life play about the community in a gay bar. It’s funny and dramatic in a good mix. Everyone in is the cast does an excellent job portraying their character. The play is a bit short at just 70 minutes. Perhaps they could add an intermission before the news reporter and then add each of the characters responding to the big event afterwards, instead of just the one. 

Cost of a ticket: $30

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Discounted +

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

Get tickets now for Flush through December 8th. 

Quinn Delaney

Into the Woods first opened on Broadway in 1987. It won Best Score and Best Book at the Tony’s. A film version was released in 2014 starring Anna Kendrick, Meryl Streep, Chris Pine, Emily Blunt, James Corden, and Johnny Depp. In February of 2023, it opened at the Paramount Theatre. It also appeared at The Nederlander Theatre from April 25th to May 7th, 2023. And now, in November of 2024, it opens at the Chopin Theatre. 

Everyone knows the stories of Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk, and Rapunzel. But what happens after the original stories end? Into the Woods explores just this and discovers that ever after isn’t always happy.

This production is quite intimate. It’s in the small basement. The set consists of two pianos in the center and the audience sits around the walls of the room. 

There are some really great one-liners in this play such as “I was raised to be charming, not sincere” and “My father’s house was a nightmare; your house was a dream. Now I want something in between.” Pay close attention to catch them all.

Cost of a ticket: $60 (Reserved Seating)

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Discounted

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Get tickets now for Into the Woods through December 22nd!

Quinn Delaney

A police officer and his wife welcome a son into their lives joyously. He grows up to be a protester. He jumps turnstiles and spits in an officer’s face. This leads to a lot of tension at home. It also leads to the son having a major confrontation with the police. 

Even on the main floor, it’s a bit hard to hear. The volume needs to be about 15% louder to clearly hear the words. In the meantime, listening devices are available at the coat check for free. It would also be helpful to have the surtitles be much lower. 

In this opera, too much of the drama happens between the scenes. We don’t get to see the action take place, or even the initial reactions of the characters to these big events. 

The operatic singing by the entire cast is fantastic. Zoie Reams is excellent as The Mother doing her best to raise a black son. Kenneth Kellogg is great as The Father who deals with police violence from both sides. Travon D. Walker is impressive as The Son rebelling against the system. Lastly, Norman Garrett is solid as The Reverend. 

Cost of a ticket: $129 (Main Floor Sides)

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Discounted +

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

Get tickets now for Blue through December 1st. 

Quinn Delaney

Concert:

Cory Wong at the Salt Shed (November 22nd) – Cost of a ticket: $60 (GA)

Cory Wong is touring in support of his latest album, Starship Syncopation. Check out the track “305”. 

Cory Wong was last in Chicago at the Salt Shed as part of Vulfpeck at Rose on the River on July 7th of this year. See the review here.  Before that, he was at the Vic Theatre with Cory and the Wongnotes on February 19, 2022. See that review here. After reading those two reviews, it will be clear that this upcoming show will be exceptional!

See a recent setlist here and get tickets here. 

Dance:

Visceral Dance Chicago at the Museum of Contemporary Art (November 21 – 24) – Cost of a ticket: $25 – $80

Visceral Dance Chicago has been a part of many Dance for Life performances, including 2024 and 2021. 

This upcoming program includes three World Premieres by Kevin O’Day, Marco Palomino, and by Founder/Artistic Director, Nick Pupillo. It also includes Mad Skin by Pupillo and 18+1, by Gustavo Ramírez Sansano.

Theatre:

Kokandy Productions Presents Into The Woods at the Chopin Theatre (Through December 22) – Cost of a ticket: $50 (GA)

Kokandy has a great track record. For proof, check out our reviews of American Psycho: The Musical and Cruel Intentions: The 90’s Musical. 

This show is already getting great reviews, which you can see on it’s Theatre in Chicago page. 

Get tickets here. 

Quinn Delaney

“Our daughter is getting married today.” Cut to the couple looking at wedding venues. The bride-to-be comments that the altar is kind of small. “Whores!” says the church host as she kicks them out. Cut to a grieving family member looking for a funeral location. They again comment on the altar. “Whore!” says the host and kicks them out. She is then approached by a coworker, who insists that she should not keep shouting “Whores!” at potential clients. The host says this place is too important to just let anyone rent it. This scene was all completely improvised by the talented cast. 

Tim Metzler (Oh, The Places You’ll Glow) is so spooky and creepy as the ventriloquist doll. Javid Iqbal’s (What the Elf?) dancing is so joyously funny. Claudia Martinez’s (Oh, The Places You’ll Glow, Great Altercations) sexual secrets segment is very popular. Terrence Carey (Great Altercations) is hilarious as the roommate saying goodbye to the spider living in his bachelor pad. Jenelle Cheyne (What the Elf?) is so funny as the church host. Lastly, Meghan Babbe (Oh, The Places You’ll Glow, Great Altercations) is solid in her many roles. 

The major theme of a magic show in this revue may not appeal to all comedy fans. While this is not the funniest show they have ever done, there are some funny moments. 

Cost of a ticket: $46 (GA)

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Discounted

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Get tickets now for Best Kept Secret: Tell Everyone! 

Quinn Delaney

Beth is having dinner with her married friends, Gabe and Karen. They are telling her about their trip to Italy as she tries to keep herself together. Eventually, she breaks down and says that she and her husband, Tom, are splitting up. 

Donald Margulies has written a riveting play that is very well paced in this production. It won the 2000 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The audience is at the edge of their seats soaking up every detail as they try to decide if they are on Beth’s side or Tom’s side and will either of the couples stay together. This style of ensemble drama is similar to The Big Chill. 

Sarah Seidler (The Real Inspector Hound) is excellent as Beth, who is truly torn up by the breakup. Dana Muelchi (Proof) is superb as Karen, who is disgusted with Tom. N. Emil Thomas is great as Gabe, who withholds his judgement until he hears Tom’s side of the story. Alex Oberheide is solid as Tom, who has a compelling tale to share. 

Cost of a ticket: $30

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Exceptional Value –

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

Get tickets now for Dinner with Friends through November 23!

Quinn Delaney

The Dip formed in 2013 at the University of Washington in Seattle. Their retro soul style is similar to that of The California Honeydrops. See our recent review of them here. Both bands have excellent energy on stage and great horn sections. 

Early on, the group plays “Slow Sipper” from their 2019 album, The Dip Delivers. This one has a great groove and is so much fun to sing along to. “She’s a slow sipper / She’s taking it slow / That’s why I love her and I / Can’t get her off of my mind.” 

A bit later, they play “Atlas”. “Don’t put the world on your shoulders / ‘Cause you know it ain’t your load to bear”. The whole band really shines on this one. 

Midway into set, they play Bobby Caldwell’s “What You Won’t Do For Love” from 1978. They do a great job with this song, and it sounds so sexy and smooth. 

Soon afterwards, they all gather around one microphone for a few acoustic songs. One of these is “Real Contender” from their 2022 album, Sticking With It. The audience happily sings along “I wanna be a real contender / Whether you see it or not / I know it’s in there / Somewhere this thing that we got / For once in my life I am sure of something”.  It’s such a beautiful love song. 

They end their set with “Sure Don’t Miss You”, which is their most popular song on Spotify with over 72 million streams. “Hey, someday I might miss you / But I sure don’t miss you right now / I was blue as a man could be when you left me / But I sure don’t miss you right now”. This is such a happy track about getting over a breakup. 

Cost of a ticket: $33

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Exceptional Value

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

Quinn Delaney

The night begins with a screening of Scream of My Blood: A Gogol Bordello Story. Afterwards, Eugene Hutz and Sergey Ryabtsev came on stage for a full 2 hours.

The Q & A session format was Eugene and Sergey playing songs blended in with answering the questions.  Recalling a scene in the documentary of Eugene becoming upset giving a phone interview, he said how emotionally draining answering questions was to him.  So understandably, Eugene raises his spirits during Q & A by playing his beloved music in this stripped down setting.

A tense situation arises when an emotional young man asked how could Eugene write the song lyrics, “Borders are the scars of the Earth”, when borders are the only thing stopping the Russians from killing his grandma. Eugene took a a long, uneasy moment to answer, painfully turning the question over in front of the live audience. To summarize his long winding answer, when Eugene wrote the song “We Rise Again” in 2012, he was much more hopefully and optimistic.  It was before the brutal Russian invasion of Crimea and the current invasion of Ukrainian, which was considered an absurd impossibility. He no longer feels borders are like scars on this planet. Maybe we realize that we want to form scars when our wounds are still gushing.  Then, Eugene and Sergio really laid into playing the next song.

Cost of a ticket: $35
PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Worth It +
Rating Scale: Exceptional Value > Worth It > Discounted > Go for Free > Don’t Bother

Brian Bolton