All My Sons ***1/2
If you’ve always thought of Arthur Miller’s “All My Sons” as the archetypal father-son drama, get yourself to Kimberly Senior’s revelatory, gut-wrenching revival for TimeLine Theatre. No matter how many times you’ve seen this 1947 story about two business partners who made faulty airplane cylinder heads during World War II, Senior and her cast will make you feel like you’ve never met its female characters until now. And though she has no time for sentiment, Senior understands this is a play that needs to make an audience cry; the two are not the same. This production is dominated by two performances: Janet Ulrich Brooks’ forceful take on Kate and Cora Vander Broek’s sad but clear-eyed Ann. What amazed me the most wasn’t so much the raw emotions on display, but how well Senior captures the feeling of fearful dread as we wait for the long-troubled Keller homestead to be blown to bits over revelations of who was really to blame for the engines that killed American boys. Through Oct. 4 at the Greenhouse Theater Center, 2257 N. Lincoln Ave.; $25-$35 at 773-404-7336
America: All Better! *** 1/2
The frightening, funny revue on the Second City mainstage is called “America: All Better!” — but that doesn’t stop the cast from delivering a darkly comic show about these yin-and-yang times in Chicago. Targets of Matt Hovde’s stellar revue, which benefits from a terrific cast of unusually diverse styles and talents, include Rahm Emanuel — here described as a “really scary Precious Moments figurine.” The nasal, sharp-edged Joe Canale, whose characters include a polar bear terrified of global warming, gives the show its bite. And Anthony LeBlanc debuts a pickup line of the future: “Let’s make our own Obama.” Open run at Second City, 1616 N. Wells St.; $20-$25 at 312-337-3992.
Cabaret ****
Of all the characters who populate John Kander and Fred Ebb’s masterful Broadway concoctions, none is as mesmerizing, or terrifying, as the Emcee of “Cabaret.” “Wilkommen,” he sings, opening up his bag of ironic tricks and welcoming you to the gloriously horrible party taking place in Berlin. If you’re at a good production of this iconic musical — and director and choreographer Jim Corti’s eye-popping new revival at Drury Lane Oakbrook is a great, great production — your heart lands in your mouth when the Emcee sings “Tomorrow Belongs to Me,” lest history rewrite itself. The brilliance of Corti’s conception and Patrick Andrews’ dazzling performance is that this Emcee neither stands apart from that 1930s world, nor dominates it with his personality. This superbly sung show dances deliciously on the knife-edge between sensual abandon and fascist capitulation. Through Oct. 11 at the Drury Lane Theatre, 100 Drury Lane, Oakbrook Terrace; $29-$38 at 630-530-0111.
Graceland ****
Ellen Fairey’s beautiful, haunting play takes place in the eponymous cemetery — or, as one character puts it, “bone orchard” — on Chicago’s North Side. It’s the Air and Water Show weekend, which unsettles Fairey’s likable but lost characters, all trying to cope with their troubled lives even as fighter jets roar overhead. “Graceland,” in a world premiere at Profiles Theatre under the deeply sensitive direction of Matthew Miller, centers on a sister (Cheryl Graeff) and brother (honestly played by Eric Burgher). They’re at the cemetery because their father just blew his head off, piling on to his children’s problems. Fairey’s drama is a must-see for anyone who follows important new plays from and about Chicago. “Graceland” is about the stresses of life, the consequences of lousy choices and the difficulty of making connections in a big city. And, ultimately, this simple, brief and unpretentious little play is about finding bits of happiness where you can. It touched me greatly. I think it would do the same for you. Through Sunday at Profiles Theatre, 4147 N. Broadway, then extended through Nov. 15 at National Pastime Theater, 4139 N. Broadway; $30-$35 at 773-549-1815.
The History Boys *** 1/2
Alan Bennett’s powerful and sophisticated play about Northern English teenagers studying for admittance to Oxford and Cambridge Universities is one of the best plays ever written about education. And Nick Bowling’s Chicago premiere for the 90-seat TimeLine Theatre is more intimate, more enveloping, more stirring and, in parts, more emotionally sophisticated than the popular London and New York original. As the two main teachers — one a deeply flawed dreamer, one a self-loathing pragmatist — campaigning for boys’ minds, Donald Brearley and Andrew Carter are both excellent. But “The History Boys” is all about the boys and Bowling has found a vivacious, empathetic, yearning pack, many of whom are barely out of school themselves. Through Oct. 18 at TimeLine Theatre, 615 W. Wellington Ave.; $25-$42 at 773-281-8463.
Jersey Boys ****
As the music of the Four Seasons and their rise from Newark to the top of the pop-music charts, “Jersey Boys” delivers a smash-hit adult night out on the town. The Chicago production is still running strong — albeit with a little less buzz from the audience — with several new Seasons, including Dominic Scaglione Jr. as a terrific Frankie Valli, one of the best I’ve seen. Open run at the Bank of America Theatre, 18 W. Monroe St.; $30-$110 at 312-902-1400.
Light in the Piazza ***
Adam Guettel’s soaring score and poetic lyrics turn Elizabeth Spencer’s 1960 story about an American woman vacationing in Tuscany with her mysterious, childlike daughter into a loving, musical meditation on the demands of parenting, the agonies of marriage and the redemptive possibilities of love. At once melodic, wise, romantic and intensely emotional, “Piazza” is one of the most beautiful shows ever created for the American stage. If you were to ask me to name the most perfect musical of the last two decades, its title would be my unhesitating answer. Despite a few staging missteps, this new Marriott Theatre production is beautifully sung and performed. And in the case of Summer Smart’s pitch-perfect turn as Clara, the young woman trying to reconcile romance and insecurity, it is exquisitely sung and performed. Through Sept. 20 at Marriott Theatre, 10 Marriott Drive , Lincolnshire; $45 at 847-634-0200.
Million Dollar Quartet *** 1/2
Great balls of fire! Here’s a hit. This commercial musical has the kind of jaw-dropping performances that lift your feet from the floor. It’s based on an actual night in 1956 when Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash showed up at Sam Phillips’ Sun Studios for a jam session — and contains two dozen iconic musical numbers. The artful director, Eric D. Schaeffer, doesn’t go for fake celebrities — the actor-singers evoke the essence of their guys, but are also great performers in their own right. “Million Dollar Quartet” is headed for New York in the spring, giving Chicago producer Gigi Pritzker her Broadway debut. Open run at the Apollo Theater, 2540 N. Lincoln Ave.; $25-$64.50 at 773 -935-6100.
Studs Terkel’s Not Working ***1/2
The city of Chicago surely is a perennially amusing beast — and nobody meat-packs the local laughs like Second City. There are two reasons that director Matt Hovde’s shrewd new e.t.c. revue is the best since the days of Jack McBrayer and Keegan-Michael Key. Since the show celebrates Studs Terkel’s urban poetry, the writing is much richer and thicker than usual. And in a well-timed, 90-degree turn from Obamarama and Blagomania, this is a hilarious show composed almost exclusively of Chicago material about ordinary people, which comes as great comic relief. Open run at Second City e.t.c. Theatre, 1608 N. Wells St.; $20-$25 at 312-337-3992.
HOTTEST TICKET
More intense, less pretense
Last of My Species, The Fearless Songs of Laarna Cortaan ***
Redmoon Theater’s latest outdoor spectacle is billed as a collaboration with Norwegian pop icon Laarna Cortaan. Cortaan is a Redmoon creation, a spoiler we have no hesitation in revealing because it spoils no part of a cheerfully strange new production that wades more deeply and deliciously into parody than this company’s past endeavors. “Last of My Species” substitutes a sense of fun for past artistic pretensions. And it’s scaled right for this lakeside space. The cast is massive. The trademark Redmoon machines — those human-powered vehicles that land somewhere between carnival floats, whimsical gadgets and kinetic sculptures — are especially large and flamboyant. And while the cast is by no means overburdened with great singers, it does include the talented circus performers Tony Hernandez and Rani Waterman. This is a genuinely weird piece that keeps you compelled for 75 minutes because you’re never quite sure where the show is going, and certainly not where Cortaan has been.
Through Sunday in South Belmont Harbor at Lake Shore Drive and Belmont Avenue; $15 at 312-850-8440 and redmoon.org
STAR RATING
**** Excellent
***Good
** Fair
* Poor
