All stories by Dennis Polkow on BroadwayStars

Tuesday, October 1, 2024

Static Sorcery: A Review of “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” at Broadway In Chicago by Dennis Polkow

What distinguishes “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” is not the story that is told but the way in which the story is told.

SOURCE: www.newcitystage.com at 08:00AM
Thursday, September 19, 2024

An Embarrassment of Riches: A Review of “Rigoletto” at Lyric Opera by Dennis Polkow

A triumph all around that is not to be missed.

SOURCE: www.newcitystage.com at 08:00AM
Friday, September 13, 2024

Anthony’s Aria: The Curtain Falls on the Freud Era at Lyric Opera by Dennis Polkow

Freud has been the general director of Lyric Opera since 2011—the titles of president and CEO were added in 2015—the first person recruited from outside of the company to run it in its s…

SOURCE: www.newcitystage.com at 08:00AM
Friday, August 30, 2024

Outside Opera: A Review of Sunday in the Park with Lyric by Dennis Polkow

Lyric Opera’s free pre-season preview concert in Millennium Park has gone from a September extravaganza to a more modest August concert called “Sunday in the Park with Lyric.” 

SOURCE: www.newcitystage.com at 08:00AM
Tuesday, August 20, 2024

Time After Time: A Review of “Back to the Future: The Musical” by Broadway in Chicago by Dennis Polkow

“Back to the Future: The Musical” attempts to flesh out the film’s representation of both the 1950s and the 1980s with a post-millennial overlay.

SOURCE: www.newcitystage.com at 08:00AM
Wednesday, July 17, 2024

Diva Director: A Review of “Ain’t Misbehavin’” at Drury Lane Theatre by Dennis Polkow

Every voice is sterling in terms of technique and diction but especially in terms of dynamics, expression and blend, revealing just how gifted Waller is as a songwriter.

SOURCE: www.newcitystage.com at 08:00AM
Thursday, June 20, 2024

Midnight View: Jason Robert Brown is Songwriting on Demand for Goodman World Premiere Musical by Dennis Polkow

Composer and lyricist Jason Robert Brown is sitting in a room with a piano at the Goodman Theatre. A rehearsal of his much-anticipated musical of “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil�…

SOURCE: www.newcitystage.com at 08:00AM
Wednesday, May 22, 2024

Slow Death: A Review of “Death Becomes Her” at Broadway in Chicago by Dennis Polkow

It is obvious that the elements and talent are in place and that the potential is there for this to become a really killer show. Maybe by Broadway.

SOURCE: www.newcitystage.com at 08:00AM
Friday, May 17, 2024

Holy Homicide: A Review of “Murder in the Cathedral” at City Lit by Dennis Polkow

City Lit is advertising its season-closing production of “Murder in the Cathedral”—which is director and outgoing producer and artistic director Terry McCabe’s last—as “the first…

SOURCE: www.newcitystage.com at 08:00AM
Friday, May 3, 2024

Pre-Mortem: How to Make a Musical of “Death Becomes Her” by Dennis Polkow

Chris Herzberger has been working on the launch of the pre-Broadway world premiere of the musical of “Death Becomes Her,” currently underway in previews at the Cadillac Palace with a May…

SOURCE: www.newcitystage.com at 08:00AM
Wednesday, May 1, 2024

Going Jersey, Chicago Style: A Review of “Jersey Boys” at Mercury Theater by Dennis Polkow

It has been a fourteen-year dream of director Stearns for “Jersey Boys”—such a popular show in its original Broadway in Chicago run that a separate multi-year Chicago company was creat…

SOURCE: www.newcitystage.com at 08:00AM
Monday, April 22, 2024

Luck is a Lady Tonight: A Review of “Guys and Dolls” at Drury Lane by Dennis Polkow

The best element of this production is the dancing, wonderfully choreographed by Dan Knechtges.

SOURCE: www.newcitystage.com at 08:00AM
Friday, April 19, 2024

Laughter Through Tears: Larissa FastHorse’s “The Thanksgiving Play” at Steppenwolf Bears Ingenious Truths with Humor by Dennis Polkow

The juxtaposition of brutal historical awareness with comedy makes “The Thanksgiving Play," which will be presented at Steppenwolf Theatre, such a unique experience.

SOURCE: www.newcitystage.com at 08:00AM
Wednesday, March 13, 2024

Going Out and Coming In with a Bang: A Review of “Aida” at Lyric Opera by Dennis Polkow

It was an inspiring bit of casting to reunite soprano Michelle Bradley and tenor Russell Thomas as the doomed lovers Aida and Radamès.

SOURCE: www.newcitystage.com at 08:00AM
Tuesday, March 5, 2024

Theo Theophany: A Storefront Theater’s Journey to Inclusivity by Dennis Polkow

Back in the early years of the non-Equity storefront theater company known as Theo—which began as Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre—it was pretty much founder and artistic director Fred Anzevi…

SOURCE: www.newcitystage.com at 08:00AM
Monday, March 4, 2024

Family Doubt: A Review of “Mrs. Doubtfire: A New Musical Comedy” at Broadway in Chicago by Dennis Polkow

The best thing about “Mrs. Doubtfire: A New Musical Comedy” is that it restores the heartfelt message of the original book—that divorce doesn’t have to be an end for a family, but ca…

SOURCE: www.newcitystage.com at 08:00AM
Friday, February 23, 2024

Kindling a Fire: A Review of “The Matchbox Magic Flute” at Goodman Theatre by Dennis Polkow

When new Goodman artistic director Susan V. Booth asked Mary Zimmerman what she might want to do this season, a small-scale rethinking of “The Magic Flute” was the response. That means …

SOURCE: www.newcitystage.com at 08:00AM
Monday, February 19, 2024

Dylan-izing the Depression: A Review of “Girl From the North Country” at Broadway in Chicago by Dennis Polkow

The action takes place in Duluth, Minnesota, but playwright Conor McPherson’s Irish melancholy weighs heavily throughout, with nods to O’Neill and Wilder.

SOURCE: www.newcitystage.com at 08:00AM
Monday, January 22, 2024

Pulling No Punches: Terence Blanchard’s Eclectic Journey from Jazz to Opera by Dennis Polkow

Eclectic is an overused word. But in the case of trumpeter, pianist and composer Terence Blanchard who rose to the top of the jazz world, has composed scores for more than fifty films and mo…

SOURCE: www.newcitystage.com at 08:00AM
Friday, December 22, 2023

Whos’ Grinch: A Review of “Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical” at Broadway in Chicago by Dennis Polkow

In its initial Broadway run in 2006, the show broke box-office records. It has been a seasonal phenomenon ever since.

SOURCE: www.newcitystage.com at 08:00AM
Tuesday, December 5, 2023

Revival Meeting Revival: A Review of “The Wiz” at Broadway in Chicago by Dennis Polkow

The Broadway-bound fiftieth-anniversary revival of “The Wiz” gets to the heart of what made “The Wiz” so special: song and dance.

SOURCE: www.newcitystage.com at 08:00AM
Monday, December 4, 2023

The Chronicles of Nativity: Using C. S. Lewis as a Conduit for Christmas by Dennis Polkow

The setting of “Christmas with C. S. Lewis” is a group of American historians visiting England at Christmastime. “Because Lewis was a professor of medieval and Renaissance literature, …

SOURCE: www.newcitystage.com at 08:00AM
Monday, November 20, 2023

Witch Way: Chicagoan Melody Betts Eases Down the Roads of “The Wiz” by Dennis Polkow

“The training is what helps me to sustain and maintain the instrument,” says Betts, referring to her foundation as an operatic soprano. "…I will be maintaining what I’ve learned trai…

SOURCE: www.newcitystage.com at 08:00AM
Friday, November 17, 2023

Double Divas: A Review of “Jenufa” at Lyric Opera by Dennis Polkow

This is only the third time that “Jenufa” has been performed at Lyric Opera, but a number of things made Sunday afternoon’s opening an historic occasion.

SOURCE: www.newcitystage.com at 08:00AM
Tuesday, November 14, 2023

Ghost of a Show: A Review of “Beetlejuice” at the Auditorium Theatre by Dennis Polkow

Take away all the heart and soul of the property and fill the evening with overblown songs that stop the action rather than advance it and you have “Beetlejuice” the musical.

SOURCE: www.newcitystage.com at 08:00AM
Monday, November 13, 2023

French Fireworks: A Review of “Daughter of the Regiment” at Lyric Opera by Dennis Polkow

For this rare revival, Lyric chose a Laurent Pelly production that uses maps for scenery and sets the work in World War I.

SOURCE: www.newcitystage.com at 08:00AM
Monday, November 6, 2023

Something Is Wanting: A Review of “Company” at Broadway in Chicago by Dennis Polkow

Sondheim’s first truly Sondheim-esque musical, Bobbie is turning thirty-five and single in a world of couples. The pressure is on from her married friends to make the plunge.

SOURCE: www.newcitystage.com at 08:00AM
Wednesday, October 25, 2023

Heading for the Highlands: A Review of “Brigadoon” at Music Theater Works by Dennis Polkow

This dance-driven melodic fable of a mysterious village in the Scottish highlands that appears once a century is pure enchantment, as the current Music Theater Works production reminds us.

SOURCE: www.newcitystage.com at 08:00AM
Thursday, October 12, 2023

Halloween Hoopla: A Review of “Holy Ghost Bingo: God, Goblins & Games” at the Greenhouse Theater Center by Dennis Polkow

Resurrection Mary, the Iroquois Theatre fire ghosts, local lore galore. And like Halloween itself, some real chills are part of the fun.

SOURCE: www.newcitystage.com at 08:00AM
Friday, October 6, 2023

Satchmo Century: New Musical Looks at the Legacy of Louis Armstrong by Dennis Polkow

“We’re trying to find that balance of how much of the personal, how much of the cultural and how much of the overall impact that the man had. We can’t ignore his impact on music. We al…

SOURCE: www.newcitystage.com at 08:00AM
Wednesday, October 4, 2023

Moving Monster: Joffrey Presents Late Choreographer’s Epic and Empathetic Take on “Frankenstein” by Dennis Polkow

This production takes you into the world of Mary Shelley in the most visually stunning way.

SOURCE: www.newcitystage.com at 08:00AM

All that Chat

2024-2025 BROADWAY SEASON
Jun 05, 2024: Home - Todd Haimes Theatre
Jul 11, 2024: Oh, Mary! - Lyceum Theatre
Jul 30, 2024: Job - Hayes Theater
Sep 12, 2024: The Roommate - Booth Theatre
Nov 14, 2024: Tammy Faye - Palace Theatre
Dec 12, 2024: Cult of Love - Hayes Theater
Dec 19, 2024: Gypsy - Majestic Theatre
Mar 15, 2025: Purpose - Hayes Theater
Apr 01, 2025: Glengarry Glen Ross
TBA: Titanic