Sondheim on Sondheim
Playwright: Bruce Graham
At: Northlight Theatre,
9501 Skokie Blvd., Skokie
Tickets: 847-673-6300 or
www.northlight.org; $25-$78
Runs through Feb. 28
First Date
Book: Austin Winsberg;
Score: Alan Zachary and Michael Weiner
At: Royal George Theatre,
1641 N. Halsted St.
Tickets: 312-988-9000;
www.theroyalgeorgetheatre.com; $15-$59
In an open run
It may take years for some Broadway musicals to finally materialize in local Chicago productions, but sometimes that wait is a bonus. Take for instance the Windy City premieres of the 2010 revue Sondheim on Sondheim by Porchlight Music Theatre and the 2013 musical comedy First Date at the Royal George Cabaret.
Both musicals benefit by the intimacy of their smaller Chicago spaces—especially in the case of First Date, which probably felt puny on a Broadway stage. In the case of Sondheim on Sondheim, director Nick Bowling teamed with set designer Jeffrey D. Kmiec to suggest the study where Stephen Sondheim composed most of his songs. This all feels more cozy and inviting rather Broadway's high-tech shifting video screens.
Center stage is a grand piano where music director Austin Cook ( sporting a beard to suggest Sondheim himself ) amazingly pounds out all the glorious melodies. The video clips that are so integral to Sondheim on Sondheim ( and also James Lapine's 2013 HBO documentary Six by Sondheim ) appear on the back wall of the upper floor by projection designer Mike Tutaj, while an immensely talented ensemble of singer-actors stride in as they sometimes reenact full sequences from musicals like Passion or Merry We Roll Along, or sing round the piano as if guests at a fabulous cocktail party.
And what's served up is a feast of sophisticated and insightful musical theater all dedicated to the creative highs, lows and detours of Sondheim's New York career that spans from West Side Story in 1957 to Road Show in 2008. Sondheim on Sondheim is definitely a must see for anyone who loves musicals, and particularly those who bow at the shrine of Sondheim's genius.
First Date can also be lots of fun, though it's more a disposable entertainment on par with the off-Broadway hit I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change ( which previously enjoyed a long run in the same space ). First Date certainly has potential, since playwright Austin Winsberg and songwriters Alan Zachary and Michael Weiner all comically tap into the universal anxieties of anyone attempting to navigate the dating scene.
The main focus is a blind date between Aaron ( Charlie Lubeck ) and Casey ( Dana Parker ), who are interrupted by the fey waiter ( John Keating ) and the imagined friends, family and ex-partners who constantly butt in to offer their advice ( all nicely played by the likes of Cassie Slater, Shea Coffman, Anne Litchfield and Adam Fane ).
Although far from perfect in its construction, First Date gets its job done, particularly in director J.R. Rose's production that suits the Royal George Cabaret to a tee. Just like Porchlight's Sondheim on Sondheim, Chicago audiences get the better deal with First Date due to the intimacy of the shows and their many fine performances.
