John Logan is a GOOD MAN at the Goodman.

The Goodman Theatre, one of Chicago’s leading theatrical institutions, announced their season earlier today. Well, half of their season. They’re probably still waiting to hear about rights from other shows they have up their sleeves.

(Let’s just hope Bobby (Robert) Falls doesn’t direct all the shows. His Seagull was god-awful!)

Bobby is directing the John Logan play Red, though. The show premiered in London and was a hit on Broadway, winning multiple awards including the Tony for best new play. I can't wait to see it downtown Chicago. I tried scoring a ticket to the show in NYC, but that never happened. The Goodman will be one of the first productions in the country of the show outside of the New York mounting. This has to come as a major slap in the face to Victory Gardens (VG) Theatre. John Logan is part of their Writers Ensemble. He could have easily allowed the Chicago premiere to VG, but he opted for the Goodman. The Victory Gardens Theatre is barely a step above community theatre. Of course, they won the 2001 Tony Award for Best Regional Theatre, but what have they done with that accolade besides produce mediocre theatre? Their current production of The Boys Room by Joel Drake Johnson is trite, tiresome and troubling…and not in a good drama-ish kind of way.

In other news, the American Theatre Company’s current production of The Big Meal got four stars from Chris Jones. I might just have to check it out and eat my words.

Keep warm,

WCR

The Snow Must Go On

Well, well, well… In the world of black comedy Mother Nature always gets the last laugh. Many productions and rehearsals throughout Chicago came to a screeching halt on Tuesday, February 1 and Wednesday, February 2 (and even into Thursday, February 3) as nearly two feet of snow was dumped on the Windy City in what meteorologists are calling one of the worst snow storms in Chicago history.

Here are some of my comments in regards to canceled rehearsals, frozen performances and Nazi-minded artistic directors:

Circle Theatre canceled its Wednesday rehearsal of the Kaufman/Hart comedy The Man Who Came To Dinner. Sorry to hear that. I’m sure they will need that rehearsal. Their fall/winter production of the musical tragedy comedy Kiss Me, Kate was God-awful.

All the biggies (Steppenwolf/the Goodman Theatre/Chicago Shakes) all canceled Tuesday and Wednesday performances. Smart move.

One of my favorite theatres in the city (the Annoyance Theatre) was closed because of the storm. How annoying! [I couldn't resist!]

I cannot get over how Broadway in Chicago (BiC) decided to KEEP their Tuesday night performance of Burn the Floor open? (According to Chris Jones, the audience was small, mostly made up of Les Miz cast and crew!) How unsafe of those idiots at BiC to expect paying patrons to be out in that mess of a night. Gotta make a pretty penny, eh? In the end, they probably spent more money on keeping the lights on at the Bank of America Theatre than what they made in ticket revenue, seeing how most of the tickets sold to Tuesday’s opening were comps to the cast of the newly-staged Cameron Mackintosh show in town and Chicago critics! 

And last, but not least: the American Theatre Company (we’re still waiting to hear why your Executive Director up and left? crickets?) has cancelled their Thursday, February 3 performance of their new play The Big Meal. (They’re giving this show so much freakin’ hype…like it’s a new play by Tony Kushner. Oh, wait, it’s not penned by Tony. It’s by some playwright no one has ever heard of.) I’m sure the show is in shambles and they need rehearsal time to fix it.

Now who’s having the last laugh, PJ?

That’s all,

WCR