Chicago Shakespeare's "Henry V"

My girlfriend Julie and I were very excited to have these tickets to Chicago Shake's current production of "Henry V."

Founded and formed in 1986 by Barbara Gaines, Chicago Shakespeare Theater has been consistently doing great work for 38 years. They are celebrating their 25th anniversary at their incredible space at Navy Pier, it is home to year-round presentations of plays, musicals, world premieres, family productions, and theatrical works from around the world.

Their latest production, being performed in The Yard space located behind the main stage in the complex, is of one of The Bard's most beloved plays, "Henry V," and it is pretty glorious.

The terrific ensemble cast of "Henry V" now playing at Chicago Shakespeare Theater.

There is no need to go into the complex and detailed plot of the play, which many of us are already familiar with, so I'll just tell you about why this particular production is so strong.

Directed by Chicago Shakes Artistic Director Edward Hall, this muscular, fast-moving, loud and dynamic show is really a wonder to behold.

Hall uses his cast of 13 gifted performers to play multiple roles (in the army and in the sovereignty), do some complex set changes, sing, fight, battle and accomplish some other remarkable feats over the course of the two-hour and forty-five minute running time. It is truly an ensemble production in every sense of the word.

This show had me from the very beginning when the ensemble entered the space singing The Pogues' "A Pair of Brown Eyes" while setting up the stage for the epic story that is about to unfold. When you sing a Pogues song...you got me.

The music performances in "Henry V" are outstanding, and add to the effectiveness of the production.

In fact, the use of music in this production is altogether extraordinary, from the creative music cues that include everything from old Welsh lullabies to Supertramp, to the live performances of "London Calling" and "Anarchy in the UK" by the ensemble, it all works beautifully. The use of soccer chants and other group stagings to rile up the troops is also unique and well executed.

This is obviously a play about war and conflict, and on that level, Hall does some really smart, efficient, and powerful things to stage the many battles. Through great use of sound, lights and props, the battle scenes are exciting, scary, and seem much bigger than they really are. It brings a massive scope to a theatrical space that's not very big.

The very talented, very hard-working cast is just outstanding juggling multiple roles with ease and confidence. The stand-outs include Scott Aiello, Sean Fortunato, Demetrios Troy, Rachel Crowl, and the always terrific Kate Fry. And, finally, as the young and inexperienced king himself, Elijah Jones is excellent. He plays Henry with a smart combination of streetwise confidence and ego that hide the uneasy fearfulness that he carries with him.

There are some strange tonal shifts in "Henry V" that I've always thought were just weird. That last scene between Henry and Francis for instance, always seemed wildly inappropriate to me, like some wacky rom-com popped in to visit a serious war drama. Hall and the cast manage to get through the scene while maintaining a sense of seriousness and satisfying finality.

Taken moments before the show began. This beautiful space is used magnificently in this production of "Henry V."

Overall, this is a great production that brings new light to a classic piece through some striking stagecraft, great acting and technical contributions of the highest quality. In other words, it's another phenomenal piece of work from Chicago Shakespeare Theater.

"Henry V" runs through October 6th in the Jentes Family Courtyard Theater at Chicago Shakespeare Theater on Navy Pier.

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The Lord of the Rings: A Musical Tale

Yes, as strange as it sounds, there is in fact, a musical based on J.R.R. Tolkien's trilogy of books, the same books that inspired Peter Jackson's magnificent trilogy of movies.

When I first heard about this thing, I was immediately skeptical and expected the worst.

I mean, how on earth can you condense Tolkien's sprawling work down to three hours? And still have time for musical numbers?

And, who the hell wants to see Frodo and Gandalf sing and dance? I know I didn't.

Well, I am shocked to report that I actually enjoyed this musical journey to Middle Earth, and, despite some flaws, it is definitely worth seeing.

First, a little background.

This show began in 2006 in Toronto. It then made its way to the West End in London where a different version of it opened in absolutely disastrous fashion with brutal reviews from critics and almost no box office.

The show closed (quietly) with no one ever expecting it to rear its head again, but it was tinkered with, rewritten, rethought, and scaled-down considerably.

The new version debuted last year in Berkshire, England, and now it has opened in the United States in Chicago at Chicago Shakespeare Theater at Navy Pier. I attended Opening Night.

The show's book and lyrics are by Shaun McKenna and Matthew Warchus, with music by A.R. Rahman, Varttina (a Finnish rock band), and Christopher Nightingale. The whole venture was directed by Paul Hart.

I was a little leery when we arrived to find cast members dressed as hobbits interacting with the audience (I'm not a huge fan of "crowd work").

Bilbo Baggins' "eleventy-first" birthday is celebrated on and around the set made up as the Shire. Very soon, I was won over by the characters and the music and was ready for the show to begin.

To begin with, the musical closely follows the original story .

Frodo Baggins and a "fellowship" of characters including elves, hobbits, and dwarves set about on a long journey to destroy a cursed ring while being pursued by evil wizards, Black Riders, orcs, glowing eyes, talking trees, and the monster lusting for the ring, Gollum.

It all builds to a huge climax in which the ring must be destroyed by throwing it into the fiery depths of Mt. Doom. You know the story.

Despite the fact that there are A LOT of necessary cuts (it's already three hours long) from the original text, the story actually works, and remains pretty compelling despite some missteps along the way.

Problems with the show include inconsistent performances (some are MUCH better than others, and some of the poor performances are given by actors playing major roles); some songs are completely unmemorable; lyrics are sometimes muddled and hard to understand; and the first act is waaaaay too long.

On the plus side, the good performances are REALLY good. The songs that work work beautifully and there are some genuinely emotional moments that reminded me of the best and most effective things in the books and movies.

On the simplest of levels, this is a very entertaining, colorful and lively show that is lovely to watch, and ultimately, it really does have a pretty big emotional payoff.

The costumes are beautiful, the sets are imaginative, the special effects are clever, impressive, and oftentimes stunning.

The stagecraft on display here is simply dazzling as some huge, epic action set-pieces are recreated brilliantly with puppets, cloaked actors, lighting, and wonderful use of projections.

The battle with Shelob, the giant spider, is staged magnificently, as are the confrontations with horses, dragons, trees, and other beasts that are cleverly brought to life. Brilliant stagecraft that is expertly executed.

I also LOVED the way the the Orcs are portrayed in Hip-Hop inspired costumes with spray-painted gas masks.

Every time the Orcs appear on stage, it's a jolt of energy that combines an exciting mixture of great dance choreography and fighting. Again...great stagecraft.

One of the show's most impressive features is that almost all of the actors play their own instruments while they sing and dance, bringing a lovely immediacy to the grand proceedings in a very unique fashion.

There are standout performances (and a cameo by John Lithgow...yes, THAT John Lithgow), but the show is all but stolen by Tony Bozzuto as Gollum, who is gloriously creepy, incredibly physical, and very funny. He can also sing.

Overall, a pretty wonderful piece of theater that I didn't expect to enjoy as much as I did.

Yes, it's too long and the first act could easily lose at least 20 minutes. The emotional elements are sometimes forced and you will inevitably find yourself comparing it to Peter Jackson's masterwork, but it's still an entertaining and fulfilling piece of theater that made me feel good.

Julie and I talked about the show all the way home, and continued to reference it the next day....so yeah, that's good theater.

After the show

"The Lord of the Rings: A Musical Tale" is playing through September 1st at Chicago Shakespeare Theater at Navy Pier.

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