Ariel: I had a good time.
Sharon: Me too.
A: But the biggest issue is that it felt to me that instead of a set and set design, the whole thing took place in a pinball game.
S: Yeah, the fact that they projected 90% of the backgrounds made it feel like it was trying to be a film production with live actors.
A: They were in front of video screens almost the whole time. It was really distracting. And it didn’t fit the style.
S: And they changed the set more often than they needed to, which made it feel like beat, beat, beat instead of a flowing story. And all the sets were so literal.
A:  And the story takes place all in one basic setting, they didn’t need to change the backgrounds that much.
S: I did really appreciate the set pieces that were there, I thought they were cool. The orchestra up top and the rotating centerpiece added great dimension to it.
A: Every time they revealed the orchestra it had an impact.
S: Yeah. I was unsure that live music was going to work, but it totally worked. The vocalists were great, and I was glad they were background dancers and not Johnny and Baby, which I had feared. The use of songs was good. The variation between prerecorded and live was solid. The singing and dancing were great. The acting was not as good. I don’t know if that was because of the acting or because of the direction. The movie is so sincere. And in the staged version they were hyper-caricatured versions of those characters. Baby’s sincerity is gone, it’s just her awkwardness, Lisa is just loud and you don’t care for her at all, etc.
A: Right, if you have a movie that has that archetypal feel, then you bring it on stage and lose a lot of the nuance, you reduce them down to the essence and it feels forced.
S: The combination of that with the constantly changing backgrounds/screens, plus, the audience has seen the movie and they clearly felt a responsibility to give everyone the part of the movie they’re looking forward to, and that’s hard.
A: If they left anything out they would have been criticized for leaving that out.
S: And what they ended up leaving out was the flow of it. But I did look forward to every number and scene because I too knew what was coming. But there was some really bad acting by people who are really talented at singing and dancing.
A: They weren’t allowed time to really act. Somewhere along the way pacing was sacrificed for getting every treasured moment in there.
S: It’s a tough one, to please everyone. But they included a lot of scenes that didn’t matter. I wish they had tested this before an audience of super-fans, we could have told them what didn’t matter.
A: On film you can get up in a character’s space, but in theater you’re held at a distance, so if you add more time, it has to be used really skillfully, or else it just feels like dead space. So every moment was filled.
S: Baby was a little too goofy. But they had good chemistry. I warmed up to Johnny. I liked Penny a lot.
A: The dad was more J. Peterman than Jerry Orbach.
S: Yeah, I didn’t like the dad. The mom is pretty much a throwaway character in the movie, unfortunately, and even more so here. Considering the subject matter and how strong Baby is in the movie, the mom and the sister are underused. There was also more humor than there was in the movie, which I had to get used to. I think they were trying to make it entertaining for the whole family, hence humor.
A: The beginning was a little tough to get into, the second act got a little better, but the finale was great.
S: The finale was the best dance.
A: The whole room was lit up by it.
S: And it was finally not relying on the screens. It was just the people dancing, their energy. It’s a tough one, bringing this to the stage. I think they did a pretty good job. I was entertained and wanted to keep watching. It’s worth it if you love seeing live dancing. Now I want to watch the movie again. On the big screen.

The Verdict: If you like to sit at home on your couch and watch Dancing With The Stars, the music and dancing here is well worth getting out of your house. If you’re a huge fan of the movie, you will enjoy seeing it on stage, but maybe you’ll just end up wanting to watch the movie again. And you’ll be excited to go home with a “Nobody Puts Baby in the Corner” shirt.

The Drama Talk: We felt like the producers weren’t able to make this their own, since so many different parts of the movie are iconic to the fans who will come out for this. It’s a difficult challenge, and the storytelling suffered. If the singing and dancing weren’t great, it would be a bomb, but those two aspects helped it still feel worth the experience.

The Drinks: We went out before the show (had to get back for the babysitter) to Farmer Brown. We split a bunch of appetizers, and they were all really good. Especially the ribs and the shrimp hush puppies. Ariel had an Old-Soul Fashioned, which was all kinds of tasty flavors, and nicely strong. Sharon had the Front Porch Ice Tea, which was good, but tasted pretty watery.

Dirty Dancing plays through March 2oth at the Golden Gate Theater, you can buy tickets here.

Dispatch: “Okay, it’s a 311 at 16th and Albion … at The Delirium? And there are people having sex in the bathroom, no description.”
Officer: ” … No sex seems to be happening.”
Dispatch: ” … 311, 16th and Albion, no sex happening.”

Let’s make that happen, someone with musical skillz.

Can't wait for the Capp Street ball pit! RT @Johnfpor: Capp is getting playful pic.twitter.com/wtyXEWqwVA

— Capp Street Crap (@cappstreetcrap) March 11, 2015

But then things got a little too messy and they had to take care of it.

Cleanest street in the #mission #SF pic.twitter.com/yxeHuPAWCb

— Abby Ayckbourn (@achyabby) March 11, 2015

Three buildings in the Castro burned over the weekend. Many homes were burned in an Alamo Square fire on February 1st. A man was arrested on February 2nd while trying to start a fire in a building on Valencia near 16th. A man lost his life, and multiple families lost their homes in a large fire on 22nd and Mission on January 28th.

Check your smoke detectors, look out for each other, take whatever preventative measures you can. This city has an uncomfortable history of fires and with all these recent incidents, and an arson on the loose, here’s hoping this doesn’t become a bigger thing.

In case you missed it, Capp Street Crap did a great writeup today on Mission-based non-profit Círculo de Vida losing their lease as tech company Double Dutch expands into their space in the Bay View/US Bank building.

Círculo, which serves primarily low-income immigrants who lack health insurance, provides a wide range of services – from support groups for people with cancer and their children to wigs and prostheses, case management, and in-home support for the terminally ill. Founded in 1992, it has spent the last 11 years at 2601 Mission. Now, it must leave by March 31.

Carmen Ortiz, Círculo’s founder and executive director, said that another non-profit on her floor had to leave after its lease wasn’t renewed last year and that DoubleDutch is now in that space. Even so, Ortiz said she was still surprised to receive a notice from her landlord, knowing the kind of work Círculo does.

Double Dutch claims that they didn’t know their growth was at the expense of Círculo de Vida’s displacement. Nevertheless, it’s a bad sign for our future when we lose a resource for low income Latino families dealing with cancer, so that a tech tool that helps with marketing and events can grow larger. There’s nothing wrong with Double Dutch, or the service it provides, as far as I know (and I didn’t know about them before today), but this city is becoming increasingly unable to take care of the citizens that need its help the most. I have worked for a San Francisco non-profit for almost eleven years and we have had to do a lot of restructuring over and over to be able to stay alive and effective. Even with our efforts, we would not be where we are without the grace of a landlord that truly understands what it means to invest in this city. Unfortunately, Círculo de Vida does not have such a landlord. SF real estate tycoons Vera and Robert Cort have long been targets of community & housing activists, for destroying historic murals, threatening and harassing tenants into leaving, and, in DotCom1, kicking out non-profits to bring in tech companies (number 14, under “Small-Time Scum”). Read on for the larger story on Capp Street Crap.

[pic from Círculo de Vida's Facebook page, via Capp Street Capp]

UPDATE: CSC has a response from Vera Cort.

Pretty cool! You can check it out at Urban Putt at 1096 South Van Ness at 22nd.

We have been hearing a lot about gay bars closing (Most recently The Lexington and Esta Noche) as well as a lot about the lack of mid-size performance venues. Well, we have some good news! A gay bar that is also a performance venue has just opened. It’s called Oasis and it’s a new 6,000 square foot theater / cabaret / nightclub hosted by Heklina and D’Arcy Drollinger located on Folsom Street in the SOMA district. We first got wind of this from D’Arcy himself when we interviewed him about his last show back in June, so we were very excited to check out his new show Shit & Champagne: A Whitesploitation Comedy with Dance at his new venue.

Katie: The venue is great and being there on opening night of their first performance at the venue was so fun. The energy and excitement around it all felt really special, you could feel how important it was for the people who were there.

Brittany: Yeah, the venue was amazing. Loved the cabaret style seating and the table service. It was really fun.

K: It was also refreshing to go to a show that was interactive and casual but still a formal scripted play, you really felt part of it. The thing is, it was too . . . what’s the word?

B: Campy.

K: Yes! And I’m just not a campy girl. Never been a campy, slap sticky, Austin Powers, poop humor, kind of girl.

B: Looking at the trailer for this, it’s campy as hell. It’s meant to be tongue and cheek slap stick and it delivered on that. That doesn’t mean it’s a great piece of theater. But everyone there was having a great time. There were moments I was laughing and there were performances I thought were great. D’Arcy (who wrote, directed and starred in the show) is just a delightful person. And when he’s onstage you can’t help but like him and enjoy watching him even if you don’t really follow what’s going on.

K: Maybe what could have helped us follow it better is having a couple of drinks before the show . . .

The Verdict:

The Venue: Awesome. If you don’t check out this show definitely go and check out their wide array of entertainment.

The Show: It’s drag meets the Three Stooges meets Austin Powers. Lots of really pun-ny sex jokes and cheap digs. Some of it was smart and clever, but you have to like camp.

The Drama Talk: Not great writing…maybe it’s really good writing for a campy, sexploitation, white comedy, drag show…but its not a traditional play. So don’t expect a play with a well developed plot or deep characters.

The Drinks: The Oasis has two bars as well as table service, so getting drinks is very easy. The drinks were basic, but good and well priced. We suggest getting there a little early and having one or two before the show starts.

Shit & Champagne runs through February 14th at Oasis and tickets are available at the website. Tickets are $25 in advance, $30 at the door. There are also a limited amount of tickets available on Goldstar for $12.50.

[image via El Rio]

Comedy Returns to El Rio! Although it technically never left. We just didn’t realize it was there. Now in its 6th year, this monthly comedy showcase (called Comedy Returns to El Rio) is held every 3rd Thursday and features an eclectic, multicultural mix of comedians. MC’ed by Kung Pao Comedy’s Lisa Geduldig, we saw an impressive line-up of Joe Klocek, Jabari Davis, Yuri Kagan, Lisa Geduldig AND Marga Gomez. Every month is a new line-up of some of the Bay Area’s best comedians trying out some new material. Comedy, drama talk & drinks at El Rio, what’s not to like?

Katie: For a super cheap comedy night at a dive bar I was very impressed. Lisa, the MC, has a very endearing personality, she had funny things to say, she’s likeable, and she kept the night moving. All the comedians were quick and dirty, the whole show was about an hour and a half. Usually when I go to these smaller comedy shows I like one person and don’t really like anyone else. This time I really liked everyone, except for one person…but I won’t name names.

Brittany: I thought it was hilarious. Another comedy show that I like a lot is The Business at The Dark Room, and this felt similar – people trying out new material in a small intimate space. But many of the comedians who perform at The Business are all still pretty young and aren’t necessarily doing comedy for a living. It was neat that these comedians had been in the business for awhile and could read an audience. They were really on top of it. These were professional comedians, which I wasn’t expecting since it’s a $7 comedy show.

The Verdict: Out of the many small local comedy shows this one is worth checking out. It was as good of a comedy show as you would see at the Punchline or Cobbs but waaaay cheaper.

The Drama Talk: Comedy shows very much depend on the talent that the producer books. The lineup of the show we saw was awesome, hopefully she does that for every show… we have a good feeling she does.

The Drinks: The great thing about shows at bars is it’s easy to get a drink before, during and after the show. We recommend getting to El Rio before 8pm to have a drink and snag a good seat. Then grab your second drink right before the show starts (even if you haven’t quite finished your first). There isn’t an intermission and the bar is in the next room, so getting a second drink during the show is kind of tricky. No one will judge you for double fisting, at least we won’t.

Comedy Returns to El Rio! is every 3rd Thursday of the month. Next show is January 15th at 8-9:30pm. Tix: $7-$20. Available through BrownPaperTickets or at the door. Advance Tickets-rear room/7:30pm door/8 show.

[file photo by me]

From gin & tonicah Hanukkah fetes, to ugly sweater parties, to awkward office eggnog-a-thons, your calendar may already be booked through 2015. But for those of you who are looking for a theater fix, or to find a family friendly outing while people are in town, we didn’t want to leave you hanging. Although we normally don’t recommend shows without prior viewing, with holiday parties and cold and flu season upon us, we just didn’t have time to see everything. But that’s no reason for you to miss out. So without further ado, here’s our round-up of what caught our eye this holiday season that we didn’t get to see.

Looking for laughs?

A Merry Forking Christmas
PianoFight’s brand-spanking-new-Kickstarter-funded venue is opening this week! The first show to pop the champagne on its main stage is A Merry Forking Christmas, their reliably funny choose-your-own-adventure holiday sketch show. Go check out PianoFight’s new digs, try their new bar, and forget about your holiday stress. From the mouths of marketers:

The Holidays are the most magical time of the year, unless you’re stuck in the mall on Christmas Eve. PianoFight’s A Merry FORKING! Christmas chronicles the final hours of the Christmas shopping frenzy through the eyes of a pot-dealing Santa and his cookie-stand partner in crime, a mall security guard on his last legs, a bride-to-be deserted by her would-be fiancé, and a bored mortician who’s got nothing to do until people get back to the business of dying once the holidays have ended. The fates of these five characters and whether Christmas can be saved for each is left up to the audience who will vote at crucial forks in the plot to determine the final outcome. This December, with 362,880 possible paths through the show, saving Christmas is up to you. Get your tickets here.

Looking for a FABULOUS spin on holiday classics?

Golden Girls Live: The Christmas Episodes
We went to Golden Girls last year, and it was one of our favorite Drama Talk & Drink reviews to date. The show returns to the Victoria Theater again this year with new episodes, but the same sass. Although many of the shows are already sold-out, you should try and snag tickets to this show if you can. From the mouths of marketers:

Dorothy, Sophia, Blanche and Rose return to the stage to spread a little holiday cheer, as only the Golden Girls can, with new sets and episodes for 2014. Full of heart and sass, four of San Francisco’s top drag performers bring the ladies of NBC’s The Golden Girls to uproarious life, recreating holiday episodes from the show’s run on television. Prepare yourself for Blanche’s sexy antics, Sophia’s cutting wit, Dorothy’s consternation, Rose’s endearing stupidity and lots of beefy shoulder pads. No matter the season, nothing warms your heart — or keeps you laughing — like the Golden Girls. Get your tickets here.

Looking for a family tradition?

A Christmas Carol or Nutcracker
In many families theater going comes but once a year, and often it’s to see one of these classic holiday shows. ACT’s A Christmas Carol is here for all your ghostly Christmas needs, and the San Francisco Ballet’s Nutcracker promises anthropomorphized dancing rats and sugar plums. What more could you need to make your holidays complete? Both shows run through the end of December, but because they’re a holiday-must for many, these shows tend to sell out quickly. Get your tickets fast. From the mouths of marketers:

A Christmas Carol: Featuring a lively cast of dozens, gorgeous costumes, and those deliciously spooky ghosts, the Bay Area’s favorite holiday tradition returns with a sparkling, music-infused production of A Christmas Carol. Bring your family, bring your friends, and check your “humbugs” at the door! Get your tickets here.

Nutcracker: San Francisco Ballet’s sparkling production of Nutcracker, set here in our own “City by the Bay,” has introduced audiences of all ages to the magnificent world of ballet. This holiday season, experience the beauty and athleticism of SF Ballet’s international cast of world-class dancers in Nutcracker, a San Francisco tradition since 1944. Get your tickets here.

Looking to reflect on the year?

Our Town
If you haven’t seen a show by Shotgun Players out at the Ashby Stage in Berkeley you need to. They’re a fearless company, doing some great work “determined to create bold, relevant, affordable theatre…” If you’ve never seen Thorton WIlder’s classic play Our Town you need to, because everyone needs to reflect on the transience of human life, especially around the New Year. From the mouths of marketers:

Wilder graduated from Berkeley High in 1915, and Shotgun is proud to bring this classic to The Ashby Stage. Even if you think you know Our Town, we guarantee that you’ll experience something new – after all, no one breaks down the classics like we do. With live music throughout, we will find the heartbeat of every line, every word. “That’s what it was to be alive…To be always at the mercy of one self-centered passion, or another.” Get your tickets here.

Looking for a gift?

SF Sketchfest Tickets!
If you’re stumped on what to get the person who has everything, consider giving the gift of live theater this year. There’s lots of great theater on the horizon for 2015, but one easy bet for fun is the 14th Annual SF Sketchfest: The San Francisco Comedy Festival (January 22- February 8). Tickets just went on sale this week, and popular shows are already filling up. With big names like John Hodgeman, Kristen Schaal, Maya Rudolph and even Bill Nye the Science Guy, you’re bound to find something hilarious. From the mouths of marketers:

Audiences have overwhelmingly responded to SF Sketchfest’s diverse programming which has featured performers from every major North American television comedy smash of the last 25 years including Saturday Night Live, The Kids in the Hall, Mr. Show, Arrested Development, The Upright Citizens Brigade, The State, Mystery Science Theatre 3000, Strangers With Candy, The Simpsons, The Daily Show and more. SF Sketchfest offers its audiences the rare opportunity to see their favorite performers in intimate live performances and discussions. Get your tickets here.

We can’t review all these shows, but that doesn’t mean you can’t. Let us know in the comments if you see any of these shows and liked them! Stay tuned for one final Drama Talk & Drinks before we call it quits for 2014.

“We’ve taken down all the old random photos at Cha Cha Cha and replaced them with huge (4 feet!) photos of the neighborhood around 19th and Mission Street. The printer did amazing work. The photos span from the late 1960s through 2014 and are a permanent installation. A second round will be installed in the spring.”

When it’s rainy in SF it’s a challenge just getting out of the house. But when presented with the opportunity for drag queens, fabulous boots, and a night out at The Orpheum, it’s hard to say no. So we braved the monsoon to go see SHN’s latest tour, Kinky Boots.

Katie: I hate to say it, but I’m a little disappointed. Going into this show all I knew was that Cyndi Lauper wrote the music, it won the Tony, and there were drag queens and boots involved. But given Cyndi Lauper’s LGBTQ advocacy, I thought it was going to have more substance and innovation. I guess I was expecting something more like Rent, but with fancier shoes and a few more drag queens. I came in hoping for cutting edge musical theater that would entertain you and make you think. All that kind of bullshit I love. This was just a little forced.

Brittany: That’s so funny. I had the exactly opposite reaction. I was actually pleasantly surprised. I didn’t think I was going to like this show because I had a feeling it was going to be way too fluffy, but it was actually a bit deeper than I thought it might be. I mean it’s a show about shoes, but there were moments.

K: I really loved Cyndi Lauper’s score. That’s the sort of music I like in a musical. But the lyrics were hit and miss. There were a few songs that really moved me, and the actors were super fucking talented, but the story as a whole didn’t do it for me. I thought it was a little too gimmicky. What saved it for me is that the actor who played Lola (Kyle Taylor Parker) was AMAZING, so I cared about what happened to that character.

B: You could tell Cyndi Lauper wrote this. The score was upbeat and fun, but some of the lyrics were just so corny. It felt like the songs were written by someone who writes pop songs, as opposed to someone who knows how to write songs to advance a plot and develop a character. There were definitely some exceptions though,“The History of Wrong Guys” and “Not My Father’s Son” were great, but sometimes it felt like she was just searching for another word to rhyme with shoe.

K: It’s definitely not ever going to be my favorite musical. It’s not my least favorite though, I had fun, but I just didn’t care enough. There were elements of this production that were amazing, but I just wasn’t that moved.

B: Everything was going so fast at the beginning, it was definitely hard to get into the story. It was set change after set change, new characters left and right, we were in the past, then in the present, and lots of glitter and lights. In a way it was crazy impressive. The way the set moved, and was so many different things so quickly, but it was also a bit of a sensory overload.

K: Seriously, the first half hour I had no idea what was going on.

B: It was a whirlwind, but it was fun. Really creative staging and design. Also, full disclosure, my friend (Cassie Dorland, Associate Props Coordinator) worked on the props for this show, so I may be biased, but I thought the props were pretty awesome.

K: Yeah they were! The drag queen costumes were LEGIT too! Really beautiful. Also it’s great have more representation of LGBTQ people on stage, so you can’t argue with the value of that.

The Verdict: Like Cyndi Lauper? Like drag queens? Like a fun cotton candy musical with impressive design and beautiful costumes? You’ll love Kinky Boots! Looking for something deep that may change the way people look at the world, you may be better off staying home and re-watching Philadelphia.

The Drama Talk: It makes sense that Kinky Boots won the Tony. It’s a very box-office friendly musical. Catchy tunes, fun characters, flashy costumes, nice and light. You leave this show humming a song. If you’re a Cyndi Lauper fan you’ll love that you can hear her in the music. It’s got the sound of “Girls Just Want to Have Fun”, and there’re lots of beautiful drag queens, glittery boots, and a sweet (although predictable) love story too. It’s definitely not groundbreaking but it’s fun, really well designed, and the cast is all very talented.

The Drinks: We went to Soluna Cafe for dinner and drinks before the show. Damn their burger is GOOD! Great spot to hit up before going to the Orpheum.

Kinky Boots runs through December 28th at SHN’s Orpheum Theater. All the Goldstar deals on tickets for Kinky Boots have expired, but a limited number of $40 rush tickets are available beginning 2 hours prior to curtain at the SHN Orpheum Theatre Box Office. Cash only. 2 per person, subject to availability. Otherwise, as always you can get tickets directly on SHN’s website.

Check it out on Google Maps here.

The map was created as part of a dramaturgy for The Dance that Documents Itself, opening tonight at CounterPulse and running through the 14th.

I'm thankful for public skateparks… and Smith Grinds. pic.twitter.com/5Kq6zpQlIX

— Tony Hawk (@tonyhawk) November 27, 2014

Katie was out of town, so I got to go with Brittany to SHN’s Chicago tour. I’m a big fan of musicals, and I think more people would be if they gave them a chance. Chicago is a great entry point, with its relentless energy, dark humor, sexy style and classic Fosse pizazz. This cast was great and the show was a whole lot of fun. If you really need another nudge, Seinfeld‘s J. Peterman (John O’Hurley) has awesome personality as Billy Flynn, and of course, Bianca Marroquin is amazing as Roxie. Here’s Brittany’s report:

[via SHN]

Thanks to the 2002 film version of the Broadway classic Chicago most people have an idea where they stand when it comes to this play. Since Broadway touring casts tend to be pretty uniformly great, we thought rather than do a normal Drama Talk & Drinks review of the show, we’d go backstage and give you some insights into why you might want to see this current production in particular, now open at SHN’s Orpheum Theater until November 16th.

After a quick backstage tour, we sat down with Christophe Caballero, swing and understudy for Mary Sunshine, and Adam Pellegrine, who plays Harry, Martin Harrison, and is part of the ensemble, to talk about what it’s like to perform in SF and what’s special about this current production of Chicago. Skip to the end if you want our quick and dirty assessment of the show, but Adam and Christophe had some fun things to say.

Brittany: What’s it like to perform for a San Francisco audience?

Adam: I love this city, I’ve been here a million times, but I’ve never gotten to perform here, so I get to check that off the bucket list. The audience was incredible tonight, they were ripping their seats off the floor. What I loved is they were laughing at lyrics that audiences don’t normally laugh at because they’re listening. [Musician John] Kander and [lyricist Fred] Ebb did such an amazing job with this show. It’s a masterpiece. People will hum the songs, but they may not really listen to the words. This audience was smart and they were listening, and it was great.

[Christophe, Brittany & Adam]

Christophe: I was at the back of the house because I wasn’t on tonight, but I was enjoying the audience as much as the show. They were laughing at all these little things.

B: So the show opened tonight, and I heard many of you just got here yesterday, have you had the chance to make it out in SF yet?

A: Yep, already went out. I went to the Castro last night. Got some two-for-one drink specials. People are very hospitable in this town! (laughs)

C: I got to go to dinner in Oakland with some friends last night at a lovely Italian restaurant. Today I look a class at Alonzo King Lines Dance Center, where I’ll be teaching next Friday (November 14th), so I did that.

A: Oh, the responsible one!

C: Oh, I’ll be going out! A lot of us are going out Monday night to The Edge in Castro. They’ve asked some of the ensemble guys to sing. So a few of us will be singing a couple songs each, and hopefully the company will be coming to support that.

B: Both of you have been with this tour for a while. How has this show evolved since you began?

A: With each new company the show is a different animal. This show allows not just the leads to stand out, but every ensemble member. They don’t hire a faceless dancer, they hire someone with a personality. Every company is different. I can say this company in particular, and this is my seventh contract, this is a phenomenal group. Everyone is on point and passionate, and it shows.

C: The great thing is every time this show is reorganized for a tour, you get veterans like us, we call it alumni, and some new people, and that is a great mix. You get people who can lead a little bit, showing the way of the style, or at least we have some great stories about fiascos, and then you get the new energy. The show has evolved, especially this tour. For the first time in a long time Ann Reinking has come back to Broadway and changed certain moments of choreography of the show, and that’s reflected in the tour.

B: Like what?

A: If you know the choreo, the entire end section of Gun is new. And the entirety of Razzle Dazzle is new.

C: The basic structure is still there. I just did last year’s tour, so sometimes my body will just want to go into one movement, and it’s not that any more. So it keeps you on your toes and keeps it fresh. This show’s been running 18 years, so changes keep it fresh. All the restructuring and reworking she did really changes things, I think in a really positive and wonderful way.

B: Do you feel like you’re discovering things about the play after all these years working on this?

C: When someone does something completely different, like Bianca (who plays Roxie) will sometimes mix it up, and I’m like “Oh no she didn’t”, and it makes a joke pop. Or when you get new ensemble members, it’s always exciting to see what they’ll do to make it their own.

A: Our principals are amazing, they’re never phoning it in. Every night I feel like Bianca is rediscovering her monologue, and you’re always entertained.  I’m always entertained. I know what the punchline is going to be, but I always laugh because I’m watching her find it. Every moment you’re on stage as an ensemble member, you’re a different person, and you’re part of the scene. You can be in the cell block, you can be in the court room…

C: Yeah, you’re on call and in the scene the whole show, so that keeps you focused and learning…

A: And it keeps things moving. The show is 2 and a half hours and it goes like that! (snaps)

B: Any parting shots? What’s your final selling point for this show?

A: My selling point would be, there’s a reason it’s a classic and it’s been running for 18 years. It’s still cutting edge, it’s still super present and fresh. It’s just a good time.

C: I think what’s great is this show takes a look into the whole idea of false celebrity. It’s so relevant now. With so many hit shows on TV being reality shows, I think exploring what can turn a normal person into a celebrity, and what it does to them, is a really interesting. That desire to be a celebrity. This show is about a woman who will do anything, including murder, to become a star. So not only are you laughing your ass off, you’re enjoying amazing music, gorgeous bodies, great dancing, but you’re also getting a glimpse into that conversation. If Paris Hilton could play Roxie Hart we’d be set for life.  So I think that’s a pretty good reason to see this show too.

The Verdict: The boys are right. This show is just a good time. If you like Chicago, you won’t be disappointed.

The Drama Talk: Everyone in this show is indeed on-point, but particularly Bianca Marroquin who plays Roxie Hart. Of course she’s a triple threat, because you can’t play Roxie without being an amazing singer, dancer and actor, but the specificity and exuberance which she brings to Roxie really made the show. In a musical where it’s hit-song-after-hit-song it can be hard to make really human characters, but she succeed in creating a deeply imperfect but endearing Roxie. If you’re a Seinfeld fan it’s also pretty cool to see Seinfeld‘s J. Peterman (John O’Hurley) seamlessly pull of the role of the sleazy but successful lawyer, Billy Flynn. He’s got a great voice and knows exactly how to razzle dazzle a crowd.

The Drinks: We got to crack open a few bottles of wine with Adam and Christophe, so we didn’t need a bar after the show. But if you want to keep the 1920s vibe going head over to Bourbon and Branch, which is a short hike away, and pretend you’re still living in those speakeasy jazz fueled days.

Chicago runs through November 16th at SHN’s Orpheum Theater. There are currently some $50 tickets available on Goldstar or you can always purchase tickets directing on SHN’s website.

More about the memorial and Ted here. Donations in his memory can be made to the Tenants Union, or to the fund for Falcor, his dog, who needs medical care.