Articles by Lawrence B. Johnson
Jazz composer’s song-cycle for Dawn Upshaw tops Chicago agenda for Australian ensemble
Preview: It sounds like a perfect mix of guests for a dinner party, the composers queued up for the Australian Chamber Orchestra’s concert April 15 at Orchestra Hall. George Crumb and Anton Webern will be arriving together, so to speak, along with Schubert and Grieg – and a newcomer whose radical voice should give the affair a good jolt.
‘Butcher of Baraboo’ sharp on characters, wit but the dicey plot could stand another whack
Dark comedy at A Red Orchid. 2 stars.
‘We Are Proud to Present’ a play that crawls before it walks – and then knocks you flat
A stunner at Victory Gardens. 4 stars!
Remy Bumppo romp: Blessing’s ‘Chesapeake’ evades leash, mutes bark of political theater
Shaggy dog revenge story. 3 stars.
CSO debut: Pianist Lugansky shows Russian school still thrives with grand Rachmaninoff
Review: Sensational. That, in a word, was Russian pianist Nikolai Lugansky’s debut April 5 with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and guest conductor Charles Dutoit. The tall, assured pianist – one could only think of the young Van Cliburn – made epic poetry of Rachmaninoff’s formidable Third Piano Concerto in a performance that probed a deep vein of lyricism and simply transcended technical issues. ****
Role Playing: Chuck Spencer flashes a badge of moral courage in Arthur Miller’s ‘The Price’
Interview: Chuck Spencer relishes poking through the piled clutter during his first long, solitary, silent minutes on stage at the beginning of Arthur Miller’s play “The Price,” at Raven Theatre.
In a week to remember, pianist Mitsuko Uchida bridges the lyrical realms of Schubert, Mozart
Commentary: Pianist Mitsuko Uchida’s two appearances this last week at Orchestra Hall, in a recital of Schubert’s late sonatas March 25 and her current concerts playing and conducting Mozart concertos with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, resonate not like discrete encounters but rather like an epic testimonial to her phenomenal art.
In ‘Freud’s Last Session,’ an ailing analyst wrestles with death and a Christian convert
Debating God at the Mercury. 3 stars.
It’s ‘The Seagull’ as smoke-and-mirrors romp in stylish Lunt-Fontanne frolic ‘Ten Chimneys’
Review: That master of the modern English comedy of manners, Noel Coward, might plausibly have written “Ten Chimneys,” the light-hearted toss of a play now occupying Northlight Theatre. It is so stylish, so wry, so – well, ephemeral. ***
Role Playing: Rebecca Finnegan finds lyrical heart of a lonely woman in ‘A Catered Affair’
Interview: So perfectly does Rebecca Finnegan blend her painful lyric pauses into the narrative flow of “A Catered Affair,” at Porchlight Music Theater, that you scarcely notice she has ramped up from speech to song. Then the swelling power of that voice grabs you, and you realize you’re watching something special: an accomplished actor who’s also a genuine singer.
Surprise! Renée Fleming and Yo-Yo Ma spring serenade on lunch crowd at Thompson Center
Soprano and cello, burgers and pizza.
Williams’ ‘Camino Real’ reshaped as director sets lyricism on a collision course with libido
Carnal carnival at Goodman. 3 stars.
Role Playing: Bill Norris pulled the seedy bum in ‘The Caretaker’ from a place within himself
Interview: The scruffy creature with darting eyes who calls himself Davies looks like his last bed was a cardboard box on the street. He is the elusive but palpably real character at the core of Harold Pinter’s play “The Caretaker,” now on the boards at Writers’ Theatre, and he’s brought to wheedling, calculating life in a masterful piece of acting by Bill Norris.
Raven Theatre sifts through debris and debate of ‘The Price,’ but can’t deliver the payoff
Arthur Miller on memory’s attic. 3 stars.
Virtuosity on display, CSO and Zukerman burnish Brahms concerto, 2nd Symphony
Review: Sometimes, in the course of a symphony orchestra season, it’s good just to hear the band dial up the core German repertoire and show what it can do. That’s exactly what the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and music director Riccardo Muti did March 8 in a sumptuous double dose of Brahms, the Violin Concerto with soloist Pinchas Zukerman and the Second Symphony. *****
With a vision of grace in the Arizona desert, Strawdog draws life from ‘Petrified Forest’
Desperate souls in a diner. 4 stars!
Chicago Shakespeare’s teen-length ‘Shrew,’ pulling out laugh stops, shows way to do Will
Spunky side of the Bard. 4 stars!
In a bold CSO debut, English conductor meets twin challenges of Mahler and Schoenberg
Review: Stepping in to pinch hit for Pierre Boulez may not be the least stressful way to make one’s conducting debut with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Subbing on short notice to take over Boulez’s rare pairing of Mahler’s song-symphony “Das Lied von der Erde” and Schoenberg’s Piano Concerto – that’s quite a debut.****
Lyric Opera commissions a young Peruvian’s first stage work, setting of Lima hostage crisis
The Lyric Opera of Chicago has commissioned the first opera from 33-year-old Peruvian composer Jimmy López, and will present the new work’s world premiere in December 2015.
As German bombardment strands Leningrad, political fear feeds desperation in ‘Hunger’
Portrait of duress at Lifeline. 4 stars!
In Porchlight’s ‘Catered Affair,’ a musical about ordinary people proves a dramatic jewel
A play verging on opera. 4 stars!
Darn that ‘Dream’ – Chicago Shakespeare does double take on Bard’s lovers, fairies
It’s a midsummer night… 4 stars!
Wrestling with sins of the flesh, a porn star finds salvation comes at a cost in ‘Hesperia’
Sex and religion at Writers’. 4 stars!
Lyric Opera ventures into American musical with a ‘Show Boat’ that you can’t help lovin’
Song and dance on the Delta. 5 stars!
It’s all about the verbs, present and veiled past, as lies collide in ‘The Girl in the Yellow Dress’
Student-teacher clash at Next. 4 stars!
To beat of song and dance, ‘Ameriville’ sounds cautionary tales of life on the short end
Stompin’ at Victory Gardens. 3 stars
Steppenwolf’s dark view of ‘Time Stands Still’ frames a close-up of war’s toll
Some wounds heal slowly. 4 stars!
When ethnic roots snag the American dream, idealism stumbles in ‘Disgraced’
Meltdown at Amer. Theater Co. 5 stars!
‘Aida’ at the Lyric Opera: Verdi’s tragedy hits the pitches but misses some dramatic notes
The Princess’ rival is her slave. 3 stars
In Orff’s earthy ‘Carmina Burana,’ Muti guides CSO and vocal force to Fortune’s throne room
Review: Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus with the Chicago Children’s Choir conducted by Riccardo Muti. Maria Grazia Schiavo, soprano; Max Emanuel Cencic, countertenor; Stéphane Degout, baritone. Through Jan. 28. *****
