Aladdin At
the Chicago Shakespeare Theater By Dan Zeff CHICAGO—The
Chicago Shakespeare Theater recommends its exhilarating production of “Aladdin”
for audiences five years old and up. It’s true that children will enjoy the
color and fantasy of the show but the real benefactors will be the parents and
grandparents who will really dig the hip humor and high energy choreography. The production is the latest in the series of annual summer
shows the CST aims at youngsters, and as usual it proves the point that
theatrical magic happens when a famous children’s story meets the resources and
imagination of a world class theater. “Aladdin” is an adaptation of the Disney hit animated film
about the young Arabian Nights hero who defeats the wicked vizier and weds the
sultan’s daughter, with the aid of a big blue genie. The 1992 film featured
terrific animation, a droll book, and an award winning score by Howard Ashman,
Alan Menken, and Tim Rice. The CST version is buoyed by an equally droll book by Jim
Luigs that incorporates the major songs from the film. The CST hired a
remarkably strong cast for a children’s show by employing the great Larry Yando
as the nasty vizier Jafar, Derek Hasenstab as the on-stage manipulator and
voice of Jafar’s wisecracking parrot Iago, and Joseph Anthony Foronda as the
sultan.
That trio of A list actors is complemented by Bill Larkin’s
hilarious Robin Williams-ish turn as the genie who emerges from the enchanted
lamp, Melissa Espinoza as Princess Jasmine, and Tony Clarno as Aladdin. The
company is filled out with Karissa Barney, Sean Blake, Alex Goodrich, Jillian
Jocson, and Erik Kaiko taking multiple roles in multiple costumes that must
have created a controlled frenzy of clothing changes off stage. The production values are well up to the expected CST high
standards. The costumes designed by Debbie Baer are numerous and colorful.
Brian Sidney Bembridge’s scenic design takes us into the exotic world of the
Arabian Nights. Meredith Miller designed the amusing puppets, notably the fantastical
plumage sported by Iago the parrot. The special effects are a delight, like the magic carpet that
rises high above the stage to transport Aladdin and the princess. The dramatic
lighting (designed by Jesse Klug) and billowing smoke materialize and
dematerialize key characters. James
Savage designed the sound and Melissa Veal the wigs and makeup (presumably
including the genie’s Blue Man Group skin tone). How hip is “Aladdin?” Early in the intermissionless 70-minute
show, three aristocratic suitors make their pitch to marry the princess. The
first is a young black man introduced as “the prince formerly known as the
artist.” Show me a five year old who will pick up on that gag. The script is
full of such clever bits, most of them funneled through Bill Larkin’s genie,
though Larry Yando, the definitive sneering Disney villain, contributes his
share along with Hasenstab’s Iago. The score takes a handful of the movie’s songs and recycles
them into a full score deftly arranged and orchestrated by Bryan Louiselle. The
small electrified band delivers an especially fulsome sound. The production is an impressive debut for
director-choreographer Devanand Janki. He’s responsible for the sprightly
humorous dances and shows himself a master of the CST playing space, which
isn’t automatically hospitable for musicals. If “Aladdin” was an audition for
further work at the CST, Janki passed with honors.
A number of parents and guardians brought children below the
suggested five-year-old age limit and we heard the chirping of three-and
four-year olds throughout the performance commenting on the story. In one way
their piping voices were intrusive, but it was a tribute to the production that
the actions on stage could engage the attention of such a youthful audience so
completely. For these little people, “Aladdin” likely was their first exposure
to live theater and they couldn’t have experienced a better introduction. “Aladdin” runs through August 30 at the Chicago Shakespeare
Theater on Navy Pier. Most performances are Wednesday at 11 a.m., Thursday
through Saturday at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., and Sunday at 2 p.m. Tickets are $23
for adults an $18 for children 5 to 12 years old. Call 312 595 56500 or visit www.chicagoshakes.com. The show gets a rating of four stars. July 2009 Contact Dan at zeffdaniel@yahoo.com.
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Willy Wonka
at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater
By Dan Zeff
CHICAGO—The Chicago Shakespeare Theater’s production of “Willy Wonka” may not be as dark as the original Roald Dahl novel or as eccentric as the two motion picture adaptations, but as children’s theater it’s 65 minutes of complete delight.
“Willy Wonka” is this summer’s young people’s play at the CST
and the reaction of the audience at my performance endorses the merits of the
show more than any adult critical rumination. The large audience was swarming
with day camp groups and kids supervised by grandparents obviously drafted to
chaperone the youngsters at what possibly was their first live theatrical
experience. Aside from the occasional chirping from three and four year olds
(who never should be taken to any theater under any circumstances) the
spectators were spellbound, and that doubtless included many who were
acquainted with either movie version or Dahl’s 1964 novel.
The original novel, called “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” is a tale about a fantastical man named Willy Wonka who owns and operates the world’s greatest chocolate factory. The young hero is Charlie Bucket, the only child of the poor but honest Bucket family. Charlie wins a highly prized golden ticket as one of five children from around the world permitted to tour the wonderful chocolate factory with Willy Wonka himself as guide. Four of the winners are nasty, selfish, and destructive. Willy Wonka deals out summary justice to them, destroying each one with his or her major vice. Charlie survives to become Willy Wonka’s protégé and heir.
The CST adaptation uses the musical score by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley from the 1971 movie that starred Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka. That tuneful and clever score included the hit song “The Candy Man.” The CST version condenses the movie into a little more than an hour without an intermission, still retaining the salient points of the plot. The show is good enough for more extended stage time and one wonders why the Walt Disney organization hasn’t seized on the vehicle for a lavish live presentation. The work certainly has as much spectacle potential as “Beauty and the Beast” and considerably more bite in its story.
These annual CST summer shows have never dumbed down to their young audiences, and that’s one of the many virtues of “Willy Wonka.” Those four unpleasant golden ticket winners all get their comeuppance without the benefit of any false rescue at the end. The decent Charlie Bucket is the only child left standing, and properly so. Before his final triumph, there is a realistic sense of spirit-crushing poverty in the rendering of the Bucket family, including the elder Buckets portrayed by Meredith Miller’s wonderfully evocative puppets.
As Willy Wonka, Sean Fortunato has the look and manner of Gene Wilder and much of Wilder’s sly humor. Fortunato is a commanding and droll Willy and he captures the attention and admiration of the audience from his opening appearance.
The CST wisely avoids casting a child as Charlie Bucket. Rather than trying to coax eight performances a week out of a boy actor, no matter how precocious, the CST casts the adult Patrick Andrews as Charlie and he perfectly captures the character’s youthful yearning and pluck. The audience has no difficulty accepting Andrews as a child and he, as much as Fortunato, holds the show together.
The supporting players are employed from the A list of Chicagoland actors, further evidence that the CST does not stint in quality no matter how young and possibly unsophisticated the audience may be. The veteran Paula Scrofano plays Charlie’s warm and sympathetic mother. Melanie Brezill, Jessie Mueller, Travis Turner, and George Andrew Wolff are all excellent in evoking the four disagreeable golden ticketed children. Mark David Kaplan does a marvelous Eric Idle impersonation as a radio reporter, a comic bit that will be lost on the child viewers but is a hip bull’s-eye for adult Monty Python idolaters.
The staging delivers as surprisingly complex and imaginative visual representation of the magical chocolate factory, thanks to the ingenuity of Alan Edward Schwanke’s colorful set design. Alison Siple designed the costumes, notably Willy Wonka’s extravagant suit and the outfits worn by the chocolate factory workers called Oompa Loompas. Diane Ferry Williams designed the lighting, James Savage the sound, and Melissa Veal the wigs and makeup.
In hiring Joe Leonardo as director, the CVST assured itself of a production that is lively, creative, and intelligent. Leonardo has been handsomely assisted by Stacy Flaster’’s choreography. Linda Slein conducts the satisfying small orchestra.
I attended an 11 a.m. weekday performance, which gave me the entire afternoon on Navy Pier to entertain my spouse and two adolescents from California (who loved the show). We walked a few steps from the theater to the dock and took a 30-minute thrill ride on a speedboat called the Seadog. The ride was the perfect coda to the play and a recommended diversion for families who will enjoy striking views of the Chicago skyline from the harbor and don’t mind getting wet and having their stomachs churned a bit.
“Willy Wonka” runs through August 17 at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater on Navy Pier. Performances are 11 a.m. on Wednesday and Thursday, 2 and 7 p.m. on Friday, 11 a.m. and 2 and 7 p.m. on Saturday, and 2 p.m. on Sunday. Tickets are $18 for children 12 and under and $23 for adults. Call 312 595 5600. For further information, visit www.chicagoshakes.com.
The show gets a rating of four stars. July 2008
Contact Dan at zeffdaniel@yahoo.com .