It’s Only a Play originally opened off-off-Broadway in 1982. It was revived in 1986 off-Broadway. In 2014, it had its Broadway debut with a rewrite by Terrence McNally to bring it into the current day. The scene is an opening night party at the producer’s penthouse in Manhattan. The cast and staff are anxiously waiting for the reviews to come in.

Terrence McNally (Anastasia) has written a hilarious and timely play. All the references to the current Broadway productions and Broadway stars are very well done. It’s a true ensemble piece where every actor has a chance to shine.

Layke Fowler is perfect in the role of the coat boy, a newcomer to the city eager to be an actor.  Sean Michael Barrett (The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee) is so funny as James Wicker, the former theatre actor who now has a hit TV show and is best friends with the playwright. Melinda “MJ” Deamon (The Shady Lady, Born Yesterday) is stellar as Virginia Noyes, a former Broadway star making her return. Nat Kier (Born Yesterday) is so funny and eccentric as the director who is tired of good reviews. Valerie Gerlock (Boeing Boeing, The Real Inspector Hound) is great as the new producer. Danne W. Taylor is superb as the theatre critic. He delivers some of the best lines of the night. Joshua Paul Wright (Boeing Boeing, The Shady Lady) is outstanding as the playwright. He is so likeable and funny and a true staple of SSP.

Cost of a ticket: $30

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Get tickets now for It’s Only A Play through May 21^st!

Quinn Delaney

Kat is a middle aged music composer and a new mother living in Brooklyn. She creates art installations that only a few hundred people ever see and also does soundtracks for video games. Her boyfriend is touring the country in a Journey cover band. She isn’t sure if he will return, so she creates a video for an online dating site, Cupid’s Leftovers. She gets messages from many explorers including Ernest Shackleton, who set out to cross the Antarctic from ocean to ocean in 1914. He loves her music and he draws her into his adventure to the end of the world.

This is a modern romantic comedy musical with a true story historical element. The book is by Joe DiPietro, music by Brendan Milburn, lyrics by Val Vigoda, and orchestrations & additional music by Ryan O’Connell. It is hilarious, adventurous, and the music is fantastic as well. They also use real video footage from Shackleton’s journey.

https://open.spotify.com/album/74mp8sra6lXQ3a8yWbqa2e?si=sk2J0XNKRhKMS4UxsnfLOg

Elisa Carlson (Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story) is very impressive as Kat. She is on stage for the entire production and she sings while playing electric violin, drums, and keyboards. Andrew Mueller (Jesus Christ Superstar) is hilarious as Ernest Shackleton. He has a great adventurer’s voice and truly sells the character.

See the full program here.

Cost of a ticket: $63 (House Level)

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Get tickets now for Earnest Shackleton Loves Me through June 1^st!

Quinn Delaney

Brit Floyd is full of impressive musicians that play a lengthy three hour show. Damian Darlington, the musical director, is excellent on vocals and all the guitars he plays including a slide guitar. Ryan Saranich is an outstanding multi-instrumentalist on saxophone (especially on “Us and Them”), percussion, guitars, bass, and keyboards. Eva Avila is exceptional on vocals. She receives a well deserved standing ovation after “The Great Gig in the Sky”. The rest of the band is solid and includes Ian Cattell (Vocals, Bass), Edo Scordo (Guitars, Vocals), Matt Riddle (Keyboards, Synths, Hammond, Vocals), Arran Ahmun (Drums, Percussions), Randy Cooke (Drums, Percussions), Genevieve Little (Backing Vocals), Jesse Lee Houllier (Backing Vocals), and Chess Galea (Backing Vocals).

During “Comfortably Numb”, they put on a bit of theatre. A man comes out and slumps on a comfortable chair in front of a TV. Ian Cattell puts on a doctor’s coat and examines the man. Afterwards, he gives him some drugs with a giant needle that brings him to life for a moment. It’s a cool little scene that brings the song to life.

The best lyrics of the night are during “Another Brick in the Wall”. Everyone sings along: “We don’t need no education / We don’t need no thought control / No dark sarcasm in the classroom / Teacher, leave them kids alone”.

They also have very impressive lights and lasers along with a video screen displaying graphics throughout the show. Put all together it creates a very impressive production that is one of the best tribute shows in the world.

See the full setlist here.

Cost of a ticket: $30 (Balcony) to $110 (Middle Front)

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Quinn Delaney

The Interrupters kick things off at lightening speed with “Take Back The Power”. “Are you a leader or will you follow? Are a fighter or will you cower? It’s our time to take back the power!” The band brings a highly infectious energy that instantly spreads through the packed sold out crowd at the House of Blues.

This tour is in support of their latest album, 2022’s In The Wild. They play “Raised By Wolves” from this album early on. “You left a child out in the wild, and I was raised by wolves. I was raised by wolves, woo!” The “woo” sounds like a wolf howl which is so fun to sing.  

Late in the set, the lead guitarist, Kevin Bivona, tells a story about their early career. In 2014, shortly after their self titled debut album was released, Laura Jane Grace was playing a surprise show in Orange County. On Twitter, she asked who should open at this show. The Interrupters responded that they should. Laura responded, great, be there at 430! They returned the favor tonight having Laura open for them.

The band infuses a lot of different musical genres to their sound including punk, ska, and rock. “Kiss The Ground” showcases their reggae chops.

Kevin says the band loves Chicago. He goes on to name all the places they have played including Riot Fest in 2013 and Wrigley Field opening for Green Day, Fall Out Boy, and Weezer on August 15, 2021.

All their songs are so much fun to sing along to. On “She Got Arrested”, everyone sings along. “She got arrested / For shooting down her man / US. Marshals /Caught her outside of Spokane / She said, “I’d do it again / Do it again / Do it again, I’d do it again!”

The lead singer, Aimee Interrupter, is absolutely fantastic. She gives off Gwen Stefani vibes. It won’t be surprising if they reach No Doubt levels of success.

See the full setlist here

Cost of a ticket: $50

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Quinn Delaney

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

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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)
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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

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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 +

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

Quinn Delaney