Pages

Showing posts with label Mikado. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mikado. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 7, 2015

REVIEW: The Hypocrites' Trifecta of Gilbert & Sullivan Shows Are a Riotous Round of Hilarity Through 2/7/15 #Review #‎ChiILPicksList

Gilbert & Sullivan Rep

It was our great pleasure to catch all 3 of The Hypocrites' Gilbert and Sullivan musicals this past month and we highly recommend you hightail it over to The Den Theatre ASAP and see them. We loved The Mikado last year and couldn't wait to see it again and add H.M.S. Pinafore and Pirates of Penzance to the mix. These shows are great for theatre freaks, kids and adults of all ages, and the reluctant theatre goer as well. They have a small bar right in the performance space and a free range audience that's welcome to move about at will and sit, stand or lounge around the whole performance space or the traditional chairs. Click here and scroll down for loads of our past Hypocrites coverage.

Act Out:  Chicago Theatre openings, closings, reviews, giveaways, ticket sale dates and more via ChiIL Live Shows. 




The whole vibe begins more like a party than a play, with people with drinks in hand milling about and chatting up strangers, kids playing on the multilevel set pieces, and musicians everywhere. At all 3 shows we saw, there in the fray was director, Sean Graney, grinning ear to ear. And he had every right to beam like the Cheshire Cat. The Hypocrites are on to something magical and spectacular! 


I think Sean has the right idea. I kinda want to join him and spend the whole winter in The Hypocrites world of playful fun and light!











Here at ChiIL Live Shows/ChiIL Mama we can't think of a better way to spend the darkest, coldest days of the year than under the twinkling circus tent lights with The Hypocrites. Their trifecta of Gilbert & Sullivan musicals is a joyful celebration of light, color, music and ridiculous rhyme. We've never seen any troupe make better use of the promenade style. They don't just break down the 4th wall, they run rings around it! 





The Mikado is still our pick of the litter, but we dug all 3 and suggest you get a package deal and do it up right. I mean, come on, where else can you find a talented tribe of rag tag minstrels to serenade you in a pillow pile at the foot of a slide where you can snuggle a passel of stuffed animal cats, or on bunk beds, or in a rubber duckie filled kiddy pool sans water for cripes sake! I dare you not to grin. Perfect for a date night or fam friendly fun. 



We're also absofreakinlutely loving The Den Theatre's new performance space with no steep stairs, a bountiful bar and a spacious, open performance area! Joy. 







The Hypocrites' unique take on new and traditional works is something to see! Highly recommended. 

Do you want to come back to the show again? Do you want to see the other two in rep? Do you want to encourage others to do so and get a $6 discount per ticket? We created the code "comeback" for you to enter at checkout in order to do just that. 




Here's the Official Scoop:


Gilbert and Sullivan Rep 2014-15
November 26, 2014 – February 7, 2015
Music Direction by Andra Velis Simon Gilbert & Sullivan Rep
Directed by Sean Graney and Thrisa Hodits

featuring the world premiere adaptation of
H.M.S. Pinafore
Adaption by Sean Graney, Matt Kahler & Andra Velis Simon

along with the highly anticipated return of BOTH
Pirates of Penzance 
Adaption by Sean Graney & Kevin O'Donnell
and
Mikado
Adaption by Sean Graney

The Hypocrites’ 2014-15 Season will continue in December 2014 with another world premiere: a playful re-imaging of Gilbert and Sullivan’s comic opera H.M.S. PINAFORE, adapted and directed by Sean Graney, with new arrangements by Matt Kahler and Andra Velis Simon. In what has become an annual celebration of the Gilbert and Sullivan canon, H.M.S. PINAFORE will run in repertory with remounts of the company’s wildly popular productions of THE MIKADO and THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE, also adapted and directed by Graney.

Reviews:
★★★★ (out of ★★★★)   
“The Hypocrites apply their winning formula of hip deconstruction and dark comedy to the cherished operetta”
Chicago Tribune

“Spirited, affectionate, and nearly irresistible”
Boston Globe

“Terrific…The Hypocrites’ musicianship has never sounded better.”


TimeOut Chicago







For the full schedule of the rep, click here



Missed All Our Tragic this time around?
Saw it but wanted to come back or tell your friends?
Well now you have a second chance
Buy your tickets for next summer now




Looking ahead to 2015:
Pirates of Penzance, Mikado and HMS Pinafore 
now-February 7th
(tickets on sale here)

Endgame by Samuel Beckett
Directed by Halena Kays
Feb-April 2015 (tickets on sale soon)

Three Sisters by Anton Chekhov
Directed by Geoff Button
April-June 2015 (tickets on sale soon)

Remount of All Our Tragic
June-August 2015 
(tickets on sale here)

Announcement of their 19th season
coming April 2015

plus a lot of exciting surprises  
to be announced throughout the year





Tuesday, November 25, 2014

OPENING: The Hypocrites Present Gilbert & Sullivan Rep #FamilyFriendly #Theatre

The Hypocrites are truly a treat. Highly recommended. Consider gifting your loved ones with tickets to this triple play. Last year we had the pleasure of seeing Mikado and it was one of our top favorites of the year. The Hypocrites worked the promenade style exceedingly well, and pulled the audience right into the show. This year we plan on checking out the acclaimed H.M.S. Pinafore and Pirates of Penzance as well.

ChiIL Mama & the kids ChiILin' at The Hypocrites' Mikado 


Gilbert & Sullivan Rep
Directed by Sean Graney and Thrisa Hodits
Music Direction by Andra Velis Simon

featuring the world premiere adaptation of
H.M.S. Pinafore
Adaption by Sean Graney, Matt Kahler & Andra Velis Simon

along with the highly anticipated return of BOTH
Pirates of Penzance 
Adaption by Sean Graney & Kevin O'Donnell
and
Mikado
Adaption by Sean Graney


Looking for something fun to do with the family
this Thanksgiving holiday week?
Join The Hypocrites for the first week of
H.M.S. Pinafore:

Wed 11/26/2014 8:00 PM
Fri 11/28/2014 8:00 PM
Sat 11/29/2014 8:00 PM
Sun 11/30/2014 3:00 PM
Mon 12/1/2014 8:00 PM

H.M.S. Pinafore: Nov 26th-Feb 7th
Mikado: Dec 11th-Feb 7th
Pirates: Dec 18th-Feb 7th

The Hypocrites are one of our top local favorites, and the Jeff Committee seems to agree with us. We're elated to see The Mikado will return December 2014-February 2015 along with the whole Gilbert & Sullivan Rep. 


Mash Note to Mikado:

Dear Hypocrites Mikado-- We were so elated to see you last December. You lit up the darkest, coldest of times with flash and panache. We told everyone we knew about you and couldn't wait to introduce them to you. Of course you charmed anyone who came within reach of your siren's song!

You didn't just break down the 4th wall, you ran rings around it! We were so impressed with your acting, costumes, and the whole interactive, participatory vibe. You were a colorful, riotous explosion of song, dance and fun and a blast to spend an evening with.

We can't wait to see you again!
ChiIL Mama & the kids

The intimate tent like setting full of tiny bulbs was a welcoming beacon of warmth and celebration of light at the darkest time of the year. The rag tag band of circus sorts doing a hybrid of the traditional Mikado score with an utterly unique and playful spin was a compelling mix. We adore the improv elements The Hypocrites employ and the way they truly engaged the crowd and played off of them and WITH them.








Promenade staging (or shows where the audience stands and mingles in the performance space and follows the action, moving as needed) was used to great effect for The Hypocrites runaway hit, The Mikado. We've honestly never seen the 3rd wall so effectively broken down. The Mikado was playful, fun, interactive and highly effective as a promenade style piece.  

This past year, The House Theatre's acclaimed Dorian production was promenade style, as was a Midsummer Night's Dream at Strange Loop Theatre among others. Red Moon Theatre's Bellboys, Bears and Baggage, was billed as a promenade style spectacle, too. Yet we've never seen the style pulled off as well as The Mikado does.


Reviews from Mikado and Pirates:

★★★★ (out of ★★★★)   

"The Hypocrites apply their winning formula of hip deconstruction and dark comedy to the cherished operetta"
Chicago Tribune

"Spirited, affectionate, and nearly irresistible"
Boston Globe

"Terrific...The Hypocrites' musicianship has never sounded better."
TimeOut Chicago




All Our Tragic Returns June-August 2015

Missed All Our Tragic this time around?
Saw it but wanted to come back or tell your friends?
Well now you have a second chance
Buy your tickets for next summer now

The Hypocrites at
Den Theatre Mainstage 
1329 N Milwaukee  

Google Analytics