“Hey sista, go sista, soul sista, flow sista”…
Another fun night of musical theater last night. Long-awaited…
as MOULIN ROUGE was one of the biggest shows around when the world shut down about two years ago… just as it was about to arrive in Chicago! When we all did our best to survive the craziness of a worldwide pandemic. So again, it felt GREAT to be back in a theater with a live cast performing on stage.

So let’s talk about the elephant in the room… sure, we had to show proof of vaccine & stay masked the whole time… but I’m still loving it. And yes, the show was well worth the wait!!! Oh yeah, and there REALLY is a big elephant in the room!!!

“Voulez-vous coucher avec moi, ce soir?”… thank you Lady Marmalade!!!

Everything went “wrong” last night… at The Broadway Playhouse in Water Tower Place. A fun slapsticky who-dunnit farce… kinda like if Sherlock Holmes and Monty Python had an illegitimate Broadway baby!!!

Masked & triple-vaxxed… it felt so great to be back to live theater last night! It has been FAR too long. Sure, some last minute free tickets helped too! We went to see the new “revival” of OKLAHOMA! An updated twist on the original Rodger’s & Hammerstein musical.

While there were a lot of talented performers onstage, I think there were also a “few” bad choices along the way. I understand trying to update it a bit… but I was “confused” by the lack of scene changes, the IKEA furniture, the total black-out dialogues, the video close-up projections & the dream dance scene… which honestly, is a little much in the movie too?!

But again, the talent was there… and it felt so great to back in a beautifully classic theater again! One step closer to a small bit of “normal” again.

And while I’m sliding down that proverbial slippery slope, here’s another fun musical diversion for the “HAMILTON” fans out there… okay, really for any of you missing live musical theater these days!!! Such a great flashback to better times… and be sure to wait for that final note!!!

Anyone looking for a little mid-afternoon musical holiday diversion?!
Any “HAMILTON” fans out there… if so, you’ll LOVE this one!!!
Brilliantly written. Perfectly performed.

Now I really want to see the entire show “Hamilton-ized.”
Maybe some of the “Island of Misfit Toys” can become the Schuyler Sisters??? Hermey as Thomas Jefferson… or even better, the Abominable Snowman as Aaron Burr?… or would that be Aaron BRRR…!!!

One of the benefits of “self-isolating” in my studio tonight was that I could sing out loud… and there’s no one there to tell me to keep it down!!! Watched “OKLAHOMA” tonight for free streaming online with Hugh Jackman… long before his Wolverine days!

Amazing architecture & beautiful mosaics adorn the lobby of the theater… perfect for the style, era and “over-the-topness” at the Nederlander Theater downtown.

Last night was the last day… the last chance… the last dance… the last performance of SUMMER – The Donna Summer Musical here in Chicago. It was a fun flashback “jukebox musical” where I was surprised that I knew more of the songs, but less of the story! Even better as we scored some spontaneous last-minute half price tickets on the main floor!!!

A wonderful evening of musical theater to finish off the year. A beautiful rendition of the classic THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA. Lots of great voices, incredible performances and some really innovative & intriguing set designs & lighting effects… like the magical staircase that kind of appeared out of nowhere!!! Brilliant.

A beautiful way to end the year in a beautiful Chicago theater. Amazing architecture, design & craftsmanship. Always beautiful at the Cadillac Palace Theater… even with the big chandelier “still under wraps”… and then again after they had “repaired it and wired parts of it for the new electric light. Perhaps we can frighten away the ghost of so many years ago… with a little illumination.”