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





Wednesday, October 30, 2013

ACT OUT HOLIDAY THEATRE: The Hypocrites Mikado at Steppenwolf - ChiIL Mama's ChiIL Picks List #ChiILPicksList

The Hypocrites is proud to announce the return production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Mikado adapted and directed by Founding Artistic Director Sean Graney. The Mikado will be remounted at the Steppenwolf Garage (1624 N Halsted St) this coming winter.

Here at ChiIL Live Shows we dig Sean Graney's vision and have long enjoyed and respected his direction.   With Graney and Halena Kays at the helm, they've steered The Hypocrites right, and this troupe has become a top favorite of ours... and of the Jeff committee too.



The Mikado will open on November 17, 2013 at 4pm. Previews will take place on November 14, 15 & 16 at 8pm. There are 40 performances scheduled with evening performances at 8pm and matinees at 4pm. The Mikado will close on December 29, 2013. Ticket prices are $36 and can be purchased by visiting steppenwolf.org or by calling 312-335-1650. Running 80 minutes with no intermission, The Mikado is appropriate for audiences of all ages.

It is that time of year again for the return of The Hypocrites’ critically acclaimed Gilbert and Sullivan canon. After performing Pirates of Penzance for enthusiastic audiences both at the American Repertory Theatre (A.R.T.) in Boston the past two summers and at the Chopin Theatre for three years straight, The Hypocrites are excited to bring back Mikado, a beloved re-imagining of Gilbert & Sullivan’s famous operetta this winter. In January 2014, Pirates of Penzance will go on to perform at Actors Theatre of Louisville, home of the Humana Festival.

The Mikado features a talented cast of ten who act as their own orchestra. This production will feature unfathomable amounts of operetta hits and is intended to provide a summer-like secular experience for fun-loving Yule time ticket buyers.

The Hypocrites’ Mikado remount stars company members Robert McLean, Matt Kahler, Christine Stulik and Zeke Sulikes. They are joined by returning Mikado cast members: Shawn Pfautsch, Emily Casey, Erik Schroeder and Dana Omar as well as newcomers Jim DeSelm and Kate Carson-Groner. Matt Holzfeind and Lauren Vogel will be understudying multiple parts for this production.

Sean Graney has directed over 30 productions for The Hypocrites since 1997. He was a participant in the NEA/TCG Career Development Program for Directors. He has won three Joseph Jefferson Citation awards for the Direction of Sophocles: Seven Sicknesses, Equus and Machinal. He has directed Edward II (Chicago Shakespeare), The Hairy Ape (Eugene O’Neill Festival at Goodman Theatre), The Comedy of Errors, The Mystery of Irma Vep and What the Butler Saw (Court Theatre),Yankee Tavern (Milwaukee Rep), The Elephant Man (Steppenwolf for Young Audiences) and is currently on fellowship at Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University
The creative team also includes Scenic Designer Michael Smallwood*, Properties Designer Maria DeFabo*, Lighting Designer Heather Gilbert, Choreographer Katie Spelman, Costume Designer Alison Siple* and Music Director Andra Velis Simon.

Founding Artistic Director Sean Graney* created The Hypocrites in 1997 and is currently run by Artistic Director Halena Kays* and Managing Director Megan Wildebour*. The Hypocrites are recognized as groundbreakers that defy the audience’s expectations. The company has grown significantly in the past few years, receiving acclaim for productions at Steppenwolf Garage (ThreePenny Opera and 4:48 Psychosis), Goodman Theatre, Museum of Contemporary Art, DCA Storefront and Chopin Theater. The company’s smash-hit production of Our Town, directed by David Cromer, transferred in 2009 to Off-Broadway, Los Angeles and Boston. 

Pirates of Penzance has appeared at American Repertory Theatre twice and will enjoy another run at Actors Theatre of Louisville in 2014. American Theatre Wing, best known as the creator of the Tony Awards, presented The Hypocrites with one of the 2013 National Theatre Company awards this year. Upcoming shows in the 17th season include The Tennessee Williams Project at Chopin Theatre and Into the Woods, a co-production at Mercury Theater Chicago.

The Steppenwolf Garage is dedicated to new plays, emerging artists and millennial audiences for the American theater. It offers artists the opportunity to present their work with the scale, space and resources it merits. For audiences, it provides opportunities to engage in multigenerational conversation about the new, provocative work emerging from Chicago’s diverse and vibrant theater scene.

The Hypocrites’ 17th season is supported in part by American Theater Wing, The Alphawood Foundation, The Gaylord & Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, The Illinois Arts Council, The Jordan & Jean Nerenberg Fund for the Future, Peoples Gas and a grant from the WPB, the Special Service Area for the Wicker Park and Bucktown neighborhoods.


*=denotes company member

ACT OUT OPENING: Hypocrites Smash Hit Mikado Back at Steppenwolf's Garage Theater



THE MIKADO 
IS BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND--
this time at Steppenwolf's 
awesome Garage theater


There's too much flirting going on in the town of Titipu- and it's against the law! So the Mikado (emperor of all) decrees that heads must roll. But what can you do when love is in the air?

The Hypocrites' smash hit Mikado is back. This re-imagination of beloved Gilbert and Sullivan will feature unfathomable amounts of operetta hits and is intended to provide a summer-like secular experience for fun-loving Yule time ticket buyers of all ages.



"★★★★" Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune
Don't wait. Book your tickets now and come join us! 
Matinees at 4pm
Evenings at 8pm  
Running time is 80min, no intermission
Buy your tickets here

Select performance discounts:
Book your night with us at Mikado for a performance between November 14-22nd and you'll only pay $15 for the ticket. Use this linkhere or enter promo code 15013. You can also call 312-335-1650 to do it over the phone. Hurry. Limited quantities for a limited time.


Reviews from 2012's first production of  our "Supremely joyous" Mikado:


"★★★★"(out of four stars) 
"glorious...outrageously enjoyable" 

"One of the most enjoyable, creative pieces of theater I've seen all year! People: go see The Mikado!!!!" 
Rick Bayless (via Twitter), Top Chef Masters winner

"joyously daft...bright and evocative" TimeOut Chicago 

"Sean Graney and Kevin O'Donnell made it much shorter and they also made the songs more funny. It was funny to begin with, but they made it even more funny, which is the best of all things you can do with a play."  Ada Grey, Age 9

"intoxicating, exhilarating, unexpected production that is sure to be on my list of the ten best productions of the year (yep, it's that good). " Francis Sadac, From the Ledge






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