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

On “Phase Me Out, she sings “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 133 million listens. It fits in very well with her 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 are the post-breakup songs. On “think of me” she sings, “I hope you fuck her with your eyes closed… and think of me.”

This tour is in support of the album she just released on February 24^th, love you forever. She plays seven songs from this album, including “by now”, which is the last song of the night.

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.

See the full setlist here.

Cost of a ticket: $25

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Exceptional Value –

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Quinn Delaney

Annie first opened on Broadway in 1997. It won the Tony Award for Best Musical. In 1982, the film version was released starring Carol Burnett and Albert Finney. In 2014, a new film version was released starring Cameron Diaz and Jamie Foxx. Now, in March of 2023, it opens at the Cadillac Palace Theatre.

It is 1933 and Annie is living at an orphanage in New York City. Her parents dropped her off when she was a baby in 1922. A local billionaire, Mr. Warbucks, has his secretary choose an orphan to spend two weeks at his house for Christmas. Annie is selected and they quickly form a strong bond. He wants to adopt her, but she wants to find her parents. So, he agrees to launch a big search and offer a $50,000 dollar reward to anyone who can prove they are Annie’s parents.

This musical has fantastic songs. On “Tomorrow”, Annie sings “When I’m Stuck With A Day That’s Gray And Lonely / I Stick Out My Chin And Grin And Say / The Sun’ll Come Out Tomorrow / So You Gotta Hang On ‘Til Tomorrow, Come What May / Tomorrow, Tomorrow, I Love You, Tomorrow / You’re Always A Day Away.” It’s such a great optimistic song and it sounds great at this performance.

Another big song from the show was used in JAY-Z’s hit from 1998, “Hard Knock Life”. The chorus features children singing “It’s the hard knock life for us. Instead of getting treated, we get tricked. Instead of kisses, we get kicked!” It’s not often that an rapper will use a song from a musical. In this instance it works really well.

This cast is fantastic. The kids are especially remarkable as they act just as professionally as the adults. The very well trained dog is also very impressive.  This musical is truly fun for the whole family. It’s a great balance of dialog and songs. It’s truly funny and heartfelt.

Cost of a ticket: $86 + fees (Orchestra)

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Get tickets now for Annie through March 19^th!

Quinn Delaney

The first set is all acoustic. It’s a very mellow and relaxing set.

The second set is electric and kicks off with “Righteous”. It’s a rocker and the vibe is instantly transformed.

Later on comes “Trademark”.  It is such a cool groove and it puts a smile on everyone’s face.

“Nothing Can Keep Me From You” is one of just a few songs with lyrics in the second set. “If you could just, give me one more try / ‘Cause I’m down on my knees”. It’s a great song about asking for one more chance at love.

Up next is “Manhattan”. It invokes a classy night out in downtown NYC, no lyrics required.

A very long extended intro leads into his masterpiece, “Cliffs of Dover”. The audience erupts into applause when they recognize the song. His fingers fly across the fretboard during this fantastic rock song. It’s the perfect way to end the set!

Cost of a ticket: $84 (Orchestra)

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See the full setlist here.

Quinn Delaney

An American in Paris is a new musical that won four Tony Awards in 2015. However, it doesn’t feel like a modern musical as it is based on the 1951 film of the same name. The music also doesn’t sound like it’s from the 50s. That’s because it’s from George Gershwin’s orchestral piece of the same name from 1928.

In the story, it’s 1945 and World War II has just ended. Jerry “missed his train home” and has decided to stay in Paris to become an artist. On his first day there, he meets Lise — and he is instantly smitten. He runs into her again soon after and learns that she has a serious boyfriend, a nightclub performer. He doesn’t let this deter him and he continues to pursue her. On a professional level, he strives to be a graphic designer for a ballet. The composer that is working on the music for the ballet also has a crush on Lise.

An American in Paris is half musical – half ballet. The best parts of the musical half are “I Got Rhythm”, “‘S Wonderful,” “I’ll Build a Stairway to Paradise,” “They Can’t Take That Away From Me,” and “Fidgety Feet”. The cast does an excellent job singing these songs. The dancing is fantastic as well. A ballet within the show takes place in the second act that showcases the talents on stage. Even the Joffrey Ballet would be impressed.

The play is completely in English, but there are a few French touches. Here are a few translations:

Merci – Thank you

Monsieur – Mr., sir

Madame – Mrs., ma’am

Merde – Shit!

Brianna Abruzzo (Spielberg’s West Side Story) is graceful as Lise. Her ballet dancing is most impressive. Michael Starr (Eric Andre’s Bad Trip) is fantastic as Jerry Mulligan, the ambitious and romantic American. Their chemistry together is very strong. Nicholos Barakos is very funny and charming as the composer, Oscar Levant’s role in the film. He steals a few scenes. Lucas Coatney-Murrieta is fantastic as the nightclub performer. The scene where he is writing his proposal letter to Lise is outstanding.

Cost of a ticket: $126 (Front) to $66 (Back)

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Will Jerry end up with Lise? Find out now through March 12^th at An American in Paris!

Quinn Delaney

“I think I’d like you better naked / Layin’ out on the floor (you know, I like it like that)” sings Betty on “WEEKEND” in the very first line of the first song of the first night of the US BIG! Tour. Immediately the party is started as her two dancers join her onstage and they begin their choreographed dance.

Soon afterwards, they bring out her keyboard and she sits down to play “BIG”. “Ten feet tall and I’m proud of it / You can’t make me smaller, you’ll never make me fit / ‘Cause, baby, I was born to be big.” It’s a big beautiful ballad and it sounds excellent live.

“I’m not exactly your type (ooh-ooh) / That’s alright / If you’re lonely, I can be your man tonight” Betty sings on “I CAN BE YOUR MAN”. It’s a great dance pop song that gets the whole crowd dancing. At some concerts, everyone is just waiting to hear the old hits, but tonight everyone is just as excited to hear the songs from the new album, BIG!, which was just released on October 14, 2022.

To start the encore, Who sings “Blow Out My Candle”. “You can blow out my candle / But you’ll never put out my fire.” It’s a simple line, but such a strong statement about fighting against people trying to bring you down.

To close out the night, she sings her cover of Donna Lewis’ 1996 hit, “I Love You Always Forever”. This is such a fantastic song that she put her own spin on. It’s a perfect close to the night that sends the crowd out with giant smiles on their faces.

See the full setlist here.

Cost of a ticket: $48

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Catch Betty Who on tour now across the US including a stop in Chicago at the Riviera Theatre on March 21^st.

Quinn Delaney

Zolita opens with “I F*cking Love You” and the high energy party gets started. It’s a great dance pop song that gets everyone moving.

Midway through the set, she invites an audience member on stage named Ashley and she sings “Ashley” to her. With the acoustic guitar, it sounds a lot like a Plain White Ts ballad. It’s another song that shows her great range.

Late in the show she plays, “Before He Cheats” by Carrie Underwood. The entire crowd eats it up and sings along at full volume. “’Cause the next time that he cheats, Oh, you know it won’t be on me.”

For the encore, she sings her biggest hit, “Somebody I F*cked Once”, which has over 19 million streams on Spotify.  “You might be someone I could love, Or you’re just somebody I fucked once”. It’s a perfect punk pop anthem and an excellent closer for the night.

See the full setlist here.

Cost of a ticket: $25

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Quinn Delaney

Hattie McDaniel was the first African American women to be nominated for an Oscar. She was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Gone With the Wind in 1940. In the cocktail lounge at the Ambassador Hotel in Hollywood, California, she is deciding whether or not to attend the award show. They won’t let her sit with her cast and have set up a table in the very back for her. The bartender is trying his best to get her to attend. He dreams of directing the movie he wrote. The maid wishes to be a professional singer, but has become skeptical that this is even possible.

A highlight of the play are a few songs by the cast. They sing acapella and with the piano. The original songs are “Moonlight” and “Cali Girl”. The lyrics are written by the playwright, LaDarrion Williams, and the music is by Malkia Stampley.

Gabrielle Lott-Rogers is graceful and charming as Hattie McDaniel, offering to help out the others with their dreams while being hesitant to attend the award show. Charles Andrew Gardner is excellent as the bartender displaying great hope and ambition. Mildred Marie Langford is great as the maid, showing cynicism for all dreams.

Cost of a ticket: $47

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Get tickets now for Boulevard of Bold Dreams through March 19^th!

Quinn Delaney

Lucia Whalen is the host for the evening. She reveals that she is queer and recently dated some women. However, it was too much work, so she is back to dating men! She says she is dating a vegan man, aka, the lesbian of men. She jokes that he goes down on her for protein!

Chris Bader is up next. He talks about how he was born in the US to Iranian parents. His given first name is Baubak, but after kids started calling him ball sack, his mother changed his name to Chris. Since he was born in the US, he feels like he is white. He also reveals that he just turned 40 and now he is the creepy old guy at the club, which he never wanted to be.

Erica Nicole Clark is a teacher in Northbrook, IL. She is the only black teacher and all her students are white. She is currently teaching kindergarten and she likes to do Fucked Up Mondays. She tells them the craziest story from the news, tuned down a bit. Then, she asks for solutions to the problems. One of the kids suggests that they put all the racists on a place to Antarctica without coats. When Erica says they probably couldn’t get them on the plane, another students says to just redirect a plane headed to Florida, because they definitely won’t have jackets!

Siobhan Townsend is the closer for the night. She starts by singing “Everyone Wants to Rule the World” by Tears For Fears. Next, she sings “Stupid” by Lizzy McAlpine. 

She closes with a couple of songs from musicals, “A Summer in Ohio” from the musical The Last Five Years and “Fly into the Future” from the musical Vanities.

She has a great voice and a charming stage presence. The only thing missing is an introduction to the songs.

Cost of a ticket: $25

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Get tickets now for The Den’s Best!

Quinn Delaney

Toni Stone is based on the book, Curveball: The Remarkable Story of Toni Stone, the First Woman to Play Professional Baseball in the Negro League by Martha Ackmann. It was published by Chicago Review Press in 2010. In June of 2019, it opened off Broadway. And now, in February of 2023, it opens at the Goodman Theatre.

In the 1950s, Toni Stone becomes the first woman to play professional baseball. She plays for the Indianapolis Clowns. The coach pushes for the pitchers to go easy on her, against her wishes. She is also resistant to getting married, as her only love for the longest time has been baseball. The team is mostly accepting of her, except for one player. Toni’s best friend is Millie, an owner of a brothel, who is full of life’s wisdom.

The play is mostly a joyful historical look in the life of Toni Stone during her baseball career. She does encounter racism and sexism, but they don’t dominate the story. There is also plenty of humor mixed in.

Tracey N. Bonner is impressive as Toni Stone. She is front and center talking for the majority of the 2.5 hour play. Also, she capture’s Toni’s enthusiasm for the game expertly. Jon Hudson Odom (Ms. Blakk for President)  is superb as the wise Millie. She turns her lifetime of experience into great advice. Kai A. Ealy is hilarious as the goofy King Tut. Victor Musoni (How We Got On, The Most Spectacularly Lamentable Trial of Miz Martha Washington) is charming and funny as Jimmy. The rest of the cast are also excellent in their supporting roles.

Cost of a ticket: $65 (Front Orchestra)

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Get tickets now for Toni Stone through February 26^th!

Quinn Delaney