Guys and Dolls
Rick McCain Rick McCain

Guys and Dolls

Guys and Dolls is an entertaining musical comedy that tells the story of an unlikely romance that blooms between a flamboyant gambler (Sky Masterson), a stern missionary (Sarah Brown), and a charming showgirl, Miss Adelaide, who's in love with cunning crap game manager, named Nathan Detriot.

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The Music Man
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The Music Man

Based on Willson's Iowan childhood, this classic American tale centers around a charismatic traveling salesman named Professor Harold Hill, a swindling antagonist in River City, Iowa. Known for his deceptive ways, Hill plotted from the minute the train pulled into the River City station, which spelled trouble with a capital T. Hill creates a fraudulent but frightening stir amongst the people about a crime (Ya Got Trouble) that could enter their community with Billards while seeking to scam River City by promising to bring in a safer environment by assembling a children's band.

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Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead
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Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead

I enjoyed the chemistry of Nate Burger (Rosencrantz) and Erik Hellman as Guildenstern. Their 21st-century, quirky mannerisms were mesmerically humorous, similar to Laurel and Hardy, Abbott and Costello, and Lorenzo Rush Jr., who always performed well, gave another exceptional performance. I loved anything with a Shakespearian dialogue; however, Stoppard's play isn't for the casual theater enthusiast. There is a reason why this bleak, angst-rid·den dark comedy play isn't performed regularly.

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The Choir of Man
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The Choir of Man

You are part of the night's entertainment as soon as you enter the theater. The stage boasts an open bar, where you can enjoy a pint of beer while mingling with others, including some actors. This allows you to soak in the atmosphere and interact with the performers, making you feel like you are a part of the show even before it begins.

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The Unfair Advantage
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The Unfair Advantage

The Unfair Advantage is a rare and intimate setting that provides an upfront and personal experience that makes you believe you can catch Milas in the act. But think again. When you think you see it, his subtle and baffling moves are just another reason why the event is called The Unfair Advantage.

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Jersey Boys
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Jersey Boys

Exceptional, remarkable, phenomenal, incredible, enthralling and riveting. I can't mention enough superlatives to express how this play captures you from beginning to end. Mercury Theater Chicago continues shelling out hit productions, and Jersey Boys is A Must-See of the must-see plays.

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Peter Pan
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Peter Pan

Peter Pan is the guiding light for the dreamers of the future. We can't lose the wonderful world of our imagination to robotic intelligence that assimilates how we feel from past writings of our fantasies and dreams. We need new, younger dreamers who will change the world with imaginative thinking that is crazy enough to believe we can create films, provide sound, and even fly to other worlds.

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PURPOSE
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PURPOSE

Jenkins doesn't use a specific person as the antagonist; he uses the issue of dysfunction, and its effect within a family can be a prevalent theme across different backgrounds and social strata. The beauty of Purpose is that it touches the soul of all dysfunctions within us, including the turmoils within society and things that threaten our inner resilience.

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Love Song
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Love Song

Isa Arciniegas, who played Beane's imaginary robber, turned love interest performance was impressive. She was Beane's conjured alter-ego who protected and loved him. She first enters his life as a thief, symbolically depicting life robbing him of normalcy. Molly soon becomes a caring and protective figure and love interest, freeing him from his mental prison and his dark past of loneliness and despair.

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A Streetcar Named Desire
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A Streetcar Named Desire

Williams's agitated sister, Rose, is considered the true inspiration behind his protagonist character, Blanche DuBois, who comes to live with her sister Stella and her sister's husband, the antagonist Stanley Kowalski. Williams's characters all seem to have some form of schism personality via post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

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The Penelopiad
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The Penelopiad

Atwood, who considered the story of Penelope and her maids during Odysseus's absence as a neglected storyline by scholars, showing the oppressive ancient Greek society was toward women, takes a closer look at the life of Odyssey, but through the eyes of Penelope, who after waiting for two decades, finally shares her tales of love, fear, isolation, and shame.

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The Time Machine - A Tribute To The 80's
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The Time Machine - A Tribute To The 80's

Focusing on the theme of great 80s groups and lead singers that catapulted a new era in music and were the backbone of what inspired today's singers, Brooks dropped the mic with a Who's Who list on great 80s music that had the audience clamoring for more.

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Mrs. Doubtfire
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Mrs. Doubtfire

There is no doubt that this musical is fire! Based on the 1993 comedy-drama film of the same name, this two-act, two-hour, and thirty-five-minute production will entertain you while simultaneously making you laugh and cry. It's a witty thrill ride that will warm your heart from the moment the curtain goes up.

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The Band’s Visit
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The Band’s Visit

Orin Wolf, a Broadway and tour producer, was interested in adapting a story into a play. However, he felt the play would be too similar to the movie. Instead, he turned the story into a musical, making it a musical play instead of a play with music, adding a new and vibrant dimension to the audience's experience.

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Girl From The North Country
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Girl From The North Country

Girl From The North Country has the best singing from a national touring cast I have heard since reviewing theatrical plays. Their singing and harmony were outstanding and worth the ticket price alone. Still, the acting in this production is superb.

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Antigone
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Antigone

Bent brilliantly blends Greek tragedy with modern-day gospel, rap, and Greek step-dancing that's innovative and creatively opens the door to a new audience seeking to recreate its own unique genre when examining historical plays.

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A Home What Howls
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A Home What Howls

A Home What Howls deals with the resistance of a people seeking the rights to the land promised over the persistence of those placing governmental eminent domain laws to seize their land.

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Judy’s Life’s Work
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Judy’s Life’s Work

"Judy's Life's Work" is a touching and enthralling tear-jerker about Xavier and his sister Charli, who has loved and supported her brother since she was three. In the wake of their mother's passing, Xavier, an acclaimed former boxer wrongfully imprisoned for a crime committed by a friend, and Charli, a talented pre-med student, come together to navigate the path forward for their mother's revolutionary medical research.

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Notes From The Field
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Notes From The Field

The cast features Mildred Marie Langford, Adhana Reid, and Shariba Rivers, who performed outstandingly. Shariba Rivers' galvanizing and sterling rendition of Pastor Jamal Harrison Bryant was compelling and inspiring, capturing the mystical movement Bryant calls for justice during Freddie Gray's eulogy.

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Highway Patrol
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Highway Patrol

With so many celebrities sharing their private lives for financial gain, the most genuine part about the play is that Delany opens up and allows us to see her vulnerability to getting trapped in an online relationship without doing her due diligence.

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