In one of several charming anecdotes told by Joan Curto in her new Cole Porter cabaret show now playing at Davenports Piano Bar through February 10, she talks about how Broadway legend (and former Porter muse) Patricia Morison told Curto over lunch, “Oh, honey. Cabaret is dead.” Watching Curto revel in every Porter innuendo and… Read More Joan Curto celebrates Cole Porter in de’lovely musical revue
Profile’s Ambitious Remount of Hit Hellcab Delivers Unexpected Holiday Hope Im sure we’ve all encountered a hellacious cab experience or three — the driver who used the drive from Andersonville to Boystown as an opportunity to issue a sermon about how all gays are going to hell and then proceeded to creepily hit on me;… Read More HuffPo Reviews: Profiles’ ‘Hellcab’ and Bernstein revue at Davenport’s Piano Bar
This audition video for Goodman Theatre’s Crowns is quite charming. These two young actresses look like they’re completely gobsmacked to be working on this show, and their energy is infectious. Now I’m even more excited to see this Goodman revival. *** Maybe old news to some, but Writers’ Theatre’s A Little Night Music has scored… Read More This and that in Chicago theatre
“This is the first show I’ve done in my 13 years performing at Davenports that is perfectly themeless,” said the effervescent Joan Curto of her new cabaret show, This is New, which she premiered at Davenports Piano Bar this weekend (I caught the final show last night). However, the show does indeed have a theme:… Read More Joan Curto offers ‘Something New’ at Davenports
Have you ever wrapped a towel around your head as a makeshift turban and emoted “With One Look” into a mirror, or longed for the day the word would accept a tall, white guy playing Effie White just so you could rip through “And I’m Telling You” eight nights a week? Anybody? Nobody. Admit it:… Read More A perfectly mismatched evening at Davenport’s ‘Un-Type Cast’
Musical theatre is a risky undertaking. So many parts must seamlessly meld together in order to make a show sing, and one small crack can derail the entire operation. This is particularly the case in commercial Broadway theatre, where it’s all a big numbers game. As a result, there’s a landslide of flop musicals out… Read More Cult Broadway flops are celebrated in winning new Davenport’s cabaret show
Christopher Pazdernik clearly loves his musicals. As the mastermind behind the new revue at Davenport’s, it’s an art: the songs of Stephen Schwartz, he serves as the host for the evening, infectiously leading us through the musical theater composer’s life and work. And what work it is: Schwartz is one of the great American musical theatre… Read More Stephen Schwartz gets an energetic tribute at Davenport’s
Planning an evening of one composer’s work can be a tricky thing, especially if the composer is a relatively unknown commodity. First, there’s the risk no one will come, as they’re not sure what the evening will sound like; and second, and most importantly: what if his/her work isn’t engaging enough to fill an entire… Read More Review: ‘The Distance You Have Come: The Music of Scott Alan’ @ Davenport’s Piano Bar
Becky Chicoine, Lina Kernan, Katherine L. Condit, and Shannon Strodel will perform in ‘The Distance You Have Come’ at Davenport’s Piano Bar & Cabaret. Over the past few years, I’ve increasingly heard about composer Scott Alan. Seems he’s the hot new cabaret tunesmith. So I’m looking forward to hearing his songs performed by these exciting… Read More Tonight: The Distance You Have Come: The Music of Scott Alan
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