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Shout!
The Mod Musical
A Swinging 60’s Sensation
Created by Phillip George & David Lowenstein
Mod Musing & Groovy Gab by Peter Charles Morris & Phillip George
Directed by Jay Falzon
Produced by Broadway in Chicago
At Drury Lane Water Tower Place
175 East Chestnut
Chicago, IL
Call 312-902-1400, tickets $45 - $55
Wednesday & Thursday at 7:30
Friday at 8pm
Saturday at 2, 6 & 9pm
Sunday at 2 & 6 pm
Running time is 90 minutes without intermission
Through June 29, 2008
Shout! is a sassy, saucy, savvy, smart, satisfying and successful escape into the ‘60’s.
Kudos to Broadway in Chicago for mounting Shout! The Mod Musical. It was so much fun! Shout! is an escape back into the female pop tunes of the ‘60’s with an emphasis on British singers. We hear infectious and soulful pop anthems and stirring ballads from Petula Clark, Dusty Springfield and Lulu, among others. With a vivid neon set, ala Austin Powers, Shout! is a swiftly paced, expertly sung and danced romp. Tunes like “To Sir with Love,” “ Downtown,” “ You don’t Have to Say You Love Me.” “Son of A Preacher Man,” “Georgy Girl,” “Don’t Sleep In the Subway.” “I Know a Place,” and “Theses Boots Were Made For Walking” came to life through the polished voices of five fantastic women.
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Each woman is identified by the color of her costume, reflecting a composite personality. There are five English girls and one American. Lauren Fijol is the Blue Girl, Megan Long is the Red Girl, Danielle Plisz is the Green Girl, Maggie Portman is the Yellow Girl while Amy Steele is the Orange Girl. These ladies produced excellent harmonies as they knocked out one 60’s pop anthem after another. They each had several solos and duets that reproduced the style of the original pop icons. Many of the hits were sung much better by these amazingly strong singers that the original singers. The disco dance style feature mechanical arm movements (choreographed by Jay Falzone) allowed all five to be in sync throughout the revue. This polished show was slickly staged and fantastically sung. Shout! contains enough solo comic bits and interludes that allowed each of the five cast members to flaunt their comic skills. From the Girl in Red’s nerdiness to the Green Girl’s sexuality, we learn about each girl’s coming of age in ‘60’s London through hit tunes and cleverly funny short skits.
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The more Shout! keeps coming at you, the more you’ll enjoy and appreciate the energetic efforts of these fabulous five talents. The ‘60’s pop hits, under the articulate enunciation of these five talents, never sounded so good. This highly entertaining show is an infectious treat that will win you over. You’d be hard pressed to see five performers execute song, dance and comedy with as much heart as do these terrific ladies. They, indeed, reach above their material. Shout! is a fine date show and a cute, light weight musical trip back into the 60’s. Audiences give the show a rousing stand ovation every night. I enjoyed this show more than I ever liked the original tunes.
Recommended
Tom Williams
Tom99@chicagocritic.com for comments
Talk Theatre in Chicago podcast
Date Reviewed: May 8, 2008
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