ONLY 1 SHOW LEFT! DON’T MISS!

By Venus Zarris

While driving back from the grocery story my partner declared that she has been living with a gay man for the last ten years, referring to me. This statement was a result of a little ‘Name That Show Tune’ game that I created for her where I would enthusiastically hum songs from musicals and she would then have to guess the song and or show.

This is not the first time, nor is she the first person, to have labeled me a gay man because of my love of show tunes. Well, I contest that show tunes are not just for gay men, lesbians, drag queens or theater peeps. Show tunes are for ANYONE who loves great musical storytelling; anyone willing to suspend disbelief long enough to open up to the kind of magic that gives you goose bumps, breaks your heart and reminds you that love is dangerously delightful, devastatingly disappointing, euphorically intoxicating, romantically rapturous and poignantly real.

Bailiwick Chicago infuses new life and new love into Chicago’s musical theater scene with their spectacular production of Show Us Your Love! It is hard to imagine that one little one-hour musical review can have so much impact, but Show Us Your Love packs more crowd-pleasing moments in that all-too-brief hour than many musicals deliver in an entire run.

From Pippin to Hair to Sunday in the Park with George and every amazing prize in between, Bailiwick Chicago’s dazzling ensemble compels, engages and enchants! (They had me at Pippin.) This is quite simply one of the most complete evenings of live entertainment you can find.

Enough cannot be said for this spellbinding cast. They are not just gifted singers and performers, but they are incomparable musical storytellers. Their great voices, charming characters, impressive focus and off-the-chart charisma drives Show Us Your Love. Funny, evocative and subtly sophisticated; they are a remarkably shining and fantastically fresh example of the pool of talent that Chicago has to offer. You walk into an unassuming little upstairs bar in Andersonville and are transported to magical musical moments of rapture by these delightfully darling dream weavers.

Sean Effinger-Dean, Mark LeBeau Jr., Emily B. Macomber, Eric Martin, Matther W. Miles, Abby E. Sammons, Jill Sesso and Brittany Townsley are names to watch out for. Each and everyone of these outstanding talents delivers show-stopping moments of solo sensation and their collective choral work is bone-chillingly brilliant!

Writer/Director Kate Garassino creates a review of magnificent musical offerings. You are just as thrilled with the unfamiliar selection as you are with the old favorites. From the simple and straightforward to the challenging and complex, nothing is lost and every nuance is revealed.

Musical Director Robert Ollis pulls every bit of energy and vocal excellence out of this incomparable cast and finishes off the musical miracle with an extraordinary three-piece orchestra. The balance of sound in this problematic space is perfectly maneuvered by the singers, band and Sound/Lighting Designer Michael Dunbar.

Special praise must be given to stand-in Conductor/Piano Player Brett Rowe. Although never steeling focus, his profoundly impressive work is so breathtaking that it could have made for an incredible night of music in-and-of-itself. His is another name to look out for as where it is found, great things are sure to follow.

If this review reads more like a love letter then so be it. Bailiwick Chicago shows us more that just the possibilities of next season’s productions, they remind us of that wonderful melancholy that hits you the minute a great musical starts; melancholy because you know that it will end. Show Us Your Love leaves you with the possibilities of the best that musical theater has to offer! Do not miss this tantalizing tucked away treasure!

4 STARS

ONLY 1 SHOW LEFT! DON’T MISS!

(“Show Us Your Love” has been EXTENDED through March 28 and plays Sundays at 7:30pm at Mary’s Attic, 5400 N. Clark Street. Tickets available at www.bailiwickchicago.com or at the door on the night of each performance.)

ONLY 1 SHOW LEFT! DON’T MISS!

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