'The Showtune Mosh Pit' for December 5th, 2012

http://www.steelbeamtheatre.com/

And we can’t forget the return of the musical, “A Klingon Christmas Carol.” Yes, that’s right. The Klingon people, planet, language or whatever it is from the world of Gene Roddenberry’s “Star Trek” (and also a 1960s by-product, by the way), have become the theatrical means of delving into Dickens in a fresh way. It’s at the Raven Theatre on N. Ashland (or is it Clark?) through December 30, co-produced by Commedia Beauregard. And there’s a whole host of writers and translators, including Christopher Kidder-Mostrom, Sasha Walloch, Laura Thurston, Bill Hedrick, Chris Lipscombe, Jon Silpayamanant, Il Troubadore and Terrence Donnelly. I can only imagine! The show is in Klingon, with English supertitles.

http://www.cbtheatre.org/tlhingan/klingon-christmas-carol-2012/

There’s a “topsy-turvy” version of the story, called “Bah, Humbug!,” that’s playing at the Piccolo Theatre in Evanston, now through December 22, 2012. It’s inspired by the English “panto” tradition, and was written by Tina and Robert Burbidge, with music and lyrics by Rich Maisel. The company’s twelfth annual holiday panto, with a cast of 17, is directed by John Szostek and choreographed by Vanessa Hughes.

http://www.piccolotheatre.com/The-Plays/Bah-Humbug.html

And a new movie adaptation of Dickens’ story is winding up a weeklong post-LA premiere engagement at the Music Box Theatre on Southport Avenue, where it has received a lot of media attention and some celebrity sightings. It’s “Scrooge And Marley,” an independent film written with a modern-day gay and lesbian setting, and filmed entirely on location here in Chicago. And it’s chock-full of original music, much of which is performed onscreen, though often in excerpts from what must be full tracks on the soundtrack album that’s available (score by the Annoyance Theater’s Lisa McQueen). The film stars Skokie native and Los Angeles actor David Pevsner as Ben Scrooge, with Tim Kazurinsky as Marley, Bruce Vilanch as Fezziwig, David Moretti as Bob Cratchit, Ronnie Kroell, Megan Cavanagh and JoJo Baby as the Ghosts, and a whole host of Chicago film, television, theater and LGBT community names and faces that many Mosh Pit peeps will recognize (the afore-mentioned David Cerda and Ed Jones, to name just two). Really, it’s a film that everyone reading this is much closer to than they might realize. It’s playing at select screenings around the country this month, with two more screenings at the Music Box (tonight and tomorrow afternoon) and also on December 21, 22 and 27 at the Gene Siskel Film Center on State Street. You can already buy it to own as well. And who knows? Someday, it may be adapted as a stage musical! I can already see it happening, totally…. (Need any help with that script, you guys?)

http://www.scroogeandmarleymovie.com

Another popular holiday title that is usually performed in venues other than theaters is “The Nutcracker,” the ballet with music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (pick your spelling) that inhabits ballet spaces and concert halls this time of year. But the House Theatre Of Chicago has hit upon a theatrical telling of the story of Clara and her Prince, her uncle and those rats, that has been getting really good reviews this year! Directed and choreographed by Tommy Rapley, with a book by Phillip Klapperich and Jake Minton, lyrics by Minton and music by Kevin O’Donnell, it’s at the Chopin Theatre through December 30. Johnny Arena, Brenda Barrie, Paige Collins and Benjamin Sprunger star.

http://thehousetheatre.com/

Porchlight Music Theatre is presenting a twist on the holidays with “Best Musical!: Holiday Edition!” It’s a completely improvised musical comedy, different every time, starring Joey Bland, Lauren Dowden, Erica Elam, Colette Hawley, Kevin Sciretta and Tim Sniffen. James Beaudry directs. It’s at Stage 773 on Wednesdays through December 19.

http://porchlightmusictheatre.org/best-musical/

Also at Stage 773 this month, though of a non-holiday theme, is “The Improvised Sondheim Project.” Running on Thursdays through December 20, this sounds hard! It stars Joey Bland (again), Jeff Bouthiette, Katie Dufresne, Erica Elam, Aaron Graham, Nicole Hastings, Matthew Van Colton and Mary Cait Walthall, with direction by John Hildreth and music direction by Amanda Murphy. Nothing like dueling singprov troupes!

http://www.chicagoplays.com/show/stage-773

And, for a little traditional Sondheim, you have one more weekend to catch “Company” in Naperville, courtesy of the BrightSide Theatre. Directed by Jeffrey Cass, it runs through December 9 only, in the Theatre at Meiley-Swallow Hall on the campus of North Central College. I believe Peter Sipla is Bobby, and I hope that Michelle McKenzie-Voight is Joanne.

http://brightsidetheatre.com/

So we’re in full swing with the whole December thing! And the weather is catching up, I’m afraid. But there’s a lot of theater out there, so I know you are running about town, catching as many shows as you can! I will see you next week, when we’ll have a big, new elephant in the Mosh Pit living room, er, theater community. And before then, I'll see you under the video screens.....—PWT

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Paul W. Thompson, a contributor to BroadwayWorld.com since 2007, is a Chicago-based singer, actor, musical director, pianist, vocal coach, composer and commentator. His career as a performer, teacher and writer is centered at Paul W. Thompson Music, located in Chicago’s historic Fine Arts Building, where he teaches the great songs of Broadway to the next generation of musical theater performers. A native of Nashville, Tennessee, Paul was raised in a family of professional musicians and teachers, steeped in classical, gospel, country, pop, sacred and show music. Dubbed a “thin, winsome lad” at the age of 13 by a critic for the Nashville Banner, he earned two degrees in musical theater (a B.F.A. with Honors from Baylor University and an M.M. from the University of Miami, Florida), plus an M.B.A. with Distinction from DePaul University. Paul’s memberships include Actors’ Equity Association, the American Guild of Musical Artists, the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (proud voter for the Grammy Awards!), the National Association of Teachers of Singing and New York’s Drama League. Moving easily between the worlds of classical music, religious music, classic pop and musical theater, Paul has appeared onstage or in the orchestra pit in concerts, musicals, operettas and operas in 30 states and in Europe, in a career spanning more than 35 years. His Chicagoland stage credits include “Forever Plaid” at the Royal George Theater and twenty mainstage productions at Light Opera Works. Paul joined the Chicago Symphony Chorus in 1995 (he was Tenor I Section Leader for four years and sings on two Grammy-winning recordings), and is one of Chicago’s foremost liturgical singers, marking 20 years as a member of the choir at St. James Cathedral (Episcopal) in 2011.He has composed and arranged a number of anthems, hymns and songs for worship and concert use, and collaborates on the creation of new works of musical theater. Paul can be found on Monday nights watching showtune videos at the world-famous Sidetrack nightclub, the inspiration for his weekly column, “The Showtune Mosh Pit.” His proudest achievement is that he has seen the original Broadway production of every Tony Award-winning Best Musical since “Cats.” No, really. Since “Cats!”

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