1999 was a big year for the muse. So 14 years later, it’s high time to update the pop culture images of Sharon Stone and Salma Hayek as mythology’s daughters of Zeus. Enter Dani De Waal. (And for effect, Ms. De Waal, please make your entrance from the audience, under spotlight.) Truth is, Stone and […]
“Book of Mormon” = Book of Awesome. And … that’s what I posted on Facebook after seeing the Chicago production of the Tony Award-winning musical, in town through June 2. Taking the show in with a friend, she asked afterward exactly how I was going to write about it, and this is what I said: […]
If you had told me 22 years ago, back when I was managing Frontera Grill and Topolobampo, that in 2012 I would be writing a theatre review of Chef Rick Bayless starring in a Tony-winning theater production, I would have laughed. Sure, Rick is a fantastic chef. But can he act? Can he dance? Can […]
“South Pacific” is a real treat—especially in this national tour rendition, based on the 2008 Tony Award-winning production at Lincoln Center. Strong cast members with wonderful voices tell the romantic story of two couples on a tropical island during World War II and the challenges that wartime brings them. Baritone Marcelo Guzzo, who has performed […]
There are simply not enough accolades to bestow upon “Memphis.” The 2010 Tony Award-winning Best Musical is running at Chicago’s Cadillac Palace through December 4. But a single word of advice to musical-theater lovers suffices: Go. It’s obvious in the show’s first 3 minutes that the audience is in for a special treat. Clear storytelling, […]
