'Million Dollar Quartet' one year old -- and still rock solid

Who knows what really happened on that legendary December afternoon in 1956 when Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and Elvis Presley all happened to show up at producer Sam Phillips' Sun Studios in Memphis, Tennessee?

Grande dame

The mother of American modern dance? A poster child for pursuing "la vie boheme"? The model of the liberated woman in the early decades of the 20th century? A cautionary tale about the perils and pitfalls of celebrity?

Bernstein's 'Mass' is celebrated

In 1971, while the Vietnam War was still raging, Leonard Bernstein wrote "MASS: A Theatre Piece for Singers, Players, and Dancers," a work commissioned by Jacqueline Kennedy for the opening of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. Though it drew on liturgical passages from the Roman Catholic mass that were sung in Latin, it had additional English lyrics penned by Bernstein, Broadway composer Stephen Schwartz (now of "Wicked" fame) and Paul Simon, and it drew on elements of rock, jazz, blues, hymns, opera and Broadway.

Fresh life breathed into 'Young Frankenstein'
Hedy Weiss: Talk about reanimating a seemingly dead thing. In "Young Frankenstein," Mel Brooks and his crackerjack collaborator, director-choreographer Susan Stroman, have reached back to the days when true musical comedy -- complete with catchy tunes, impossibly leggy chorus girls, giggle-inducing one-liners and non sequiturs, nutty characters, eye-popping dance routines and plain old vaudeville sex jokes and shtick -- ruled the Broadway stage.

American Theater Company making big plans
Fresh from huge box office successes with its past two shows — “Yeast Nation” and “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” — the American Theater Company, led by artistic director, PJ Paparelli, is making big plans.

With 'End' result, Next affirms human nature
Hedy Weiss: They are four people in various states of spiritual hunger, with one of them binging on faith, another forgetting to eat, a third secretly snacking on science and a fourth happily omnivorous. Yet whatever the state of their "appetites" might be, the characters in "End Days" provide plenty of food for thought and an array of bittersweet side dishes.

Some dazzling surprises launch Dance Chicago
Hedy Weiss: Dance Chicago, the annual festival of all things danceworthy from inside (and just beyond) this city, is the variety pack of dance programming. Every taste, texture and style of movement is on display during this monthlong event that, for the first time this year, is being staged at several different venues in the city and suburbs.

Drury Lane assembles a thoroughly delightful 'Millie'
If you look closely, many of the people who find the greatest success in New York have actually fled there from small towns in the Midwest and beyond. Determined to satisfy all their pentup dreams and appetite for discovery and prosperity, they will need all the grit and delusional thinking they can muster to survive.

Brooks turns 'Young Frankenstein' into monster smash
Hedy Weiss: Mel Brooks' fixation on "Frankenstein" began when he was still in kneepants. "I must have been just five or six when I first saw the movie [James Whale's 1931 classic, "Frankenstein"], and it left an indelible impression on me," Brooks recalled during a recent chat. "I still remember that it was summertime, and after I got home I told my mother to close the window. ... I was convinced that Frankenstein's monster was going to climb up and eat me."

'Silk Road Cabaret' leads to triumph of diversity

In 1991, when "Miss Saigon" was headed for its Broadway debut, a huge controversy erupted over the use of British actor Jonathan Pryce, who is white, in the role of the Eurasian pimp dubbed the Engineer.

Irish stage traditions fold into 'Farce'

They clearly are bonkers. Or perhaps they have been ingesting some insane blend of steroids and amphetamines. Or maybe they are just penniless actors using their shambles of an apartment as a place to rehearse.

Redmoon's White House plans become less ghostly

The initial invitation came a little more than a month ago in the form of a phone call to Chicago's Redmoon Central from Washington, D.C., but nothing can be said officially, even now.

Redmoon to do Halloween show at the White House
Hedy Weiss: It’s still very hush-hush, top secret and high security in nature. But word has it that Chicago’s Redmoon Theater, which has made its mark during the past 19 seasons as the masterful creator of grand-scale spectacles staged both outdoors and in traditional theaters, has been invited to the White House for a special Halloween performance on Saturday.

'Silk Road' leads to triumph of diversity

Back in 1991, when "Miss Saigon" was headed for its Broadway debut, a huge controversy erupted over the use of British actor Jonathan Pryce, who was white, and was to play the role of the Eurasian pimp dubbed the Engineer.

Giordano dancers keep up 'Dynamic' pace

The Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago company -- which is dancing sensationally these days -- never skimps. Its 10 dancers rarely get a chance to breathe between pieces. And the sheer aerobic power they bring to the stage for close to two hours -- to say nothing of their bravura overall technique and high-flying partnering skills -- is enough to make you wonder about the availability of oxygen machines in the wings.

This monster's hard to follow
Hedy Weiss: In one way or another, director Sean Graney and his company, the Hypocrites, have spent the past couple of seasons exploring what the ancient Greeks called "hubris," and what we might term self-destructive pride.

Rhoads finds humor among thieves

I had a happy sense of deja vu as I took my seat at the Dance Center of Columbia College for "Punk Yankees."

Dance Chicago takes bold step by moving to multiple venues

This season marks the 15th anniversary of that monthlong smorgasbord known as Dance Chicago. And John Schmitz, the festival's artistic director, is doing everything in his power to shake things up.

Cabaret show extends Silk Road to Broadway

Think of the Silk Road as the interstate highway system of the ancient world. An interconnected series of routes spanning 5,000 miles -- from China and India through Asia Minor and on to the Mediterranean -- these were the roads on which everything from textiles, spices, perfumes, jewels, ideas, technology, various diseases (and, yes, slaves, too) were transported for nearly 3,000 years. Primarily traveled by merchants, pilgrims, missionaries and soldiers, it's a good bet that artists also made their way along these often treacherous pathways.

'Addams Family' moves in for Loop premiere 'tryout'
Hedy Weiss: Well, there goes the neighborhood. Yes, "The Addams Family," that notably eccentric American gothic clan (that also happens to be a universally comprehensible nuclear family) has taken up residence in the Loop. So don't be surprised if you bump into Gomez (Nathan Lane) or Morticia (Bebe Neuwirth) -- though the truth is, the Addamses rarely, if ever, leave home.

Rogers Park company's effort a Quixotic success

The Rogers Park neighborhood has gradually evolved into a genuine "theater corridor," with the Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre, Lifeline Theatre, the side project and Raven Theatre now forming a little cultural hotbed in the area. The four theaters have even joined in a marketing initiative -- a Flex Pass promising 40 percent savings on regularly priced single tickets.

Good vs. evil do battle joyously
Hedy Weiss: Hellfire and damnation, and a whole lot of heavenly singing and earthly argumentation. That's what you get in "The Message Is in the Music (God Is a Black Man Named Ricky)," Jackie Taylor's red-hot new musical for the Black Ensemble Theater.

Luna Negra taps Spain's Sansano as artistic chief

Luna Negra Dance Theater, Chicago's 10-year-old company devoted to evoking the full spectrum of Latino life through dance and music, has a new artistic director. He is 31-year-old Spanish choreographer Gustavo Ramirez Sansano.

These 'Heroes' face more daunting enemy than war
Hedy Weiss: War is hell. We all know that. But not every war takes the form of armed combat. And not every great battle ends with a chest full of medals. Just consider that most daunting of battles: the fight to retain some sense of dignity, self-worth, independence and respect in old age.

Chicago novel charms onstage
Hedy Weiss: I would happily exchange a ticket to any big fat Broadway show for one to "The House on Mango Street," Tanya Saracho's beguiling, bittersweet, music-infused stage adaptation of the bestselling 1984 novel by Sandra Cisneros about growing up on the streets of Chicago's Humboldt Park neighborhood in the early 1960s.

'History Boys' wins 5 Jeff Awards, 3 categories tie
“The History Boys” went straight to the top of the class Monday night as the 41st annual Jeff Equity Awards for excellence in Chicago-area theater were announced at Skokie’s North Shore Center for the Performing Arts. But along with TimeLine Theatre’s “Boys,” which received five Jeffs, many others earned top marks.

Lubovitch's 'Othello' puts poetry in motion
Hedy Weiss: Among the many miracles of Shakespeare's plays is that for all their pure verbal splendor, they also happen to speak brilliantly as dance. Just think of the ballets inspired by "Romeo and Juliet," as well as those based on "The Taming of the Shrew," "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and even "Hamlet," and you realize how well the playwright's sharply defined characters and plots lend themselves to visceral movement.

Julia Rhoads finds treasure in Lucky Plush repertoire

During a recent phone conversation with choreographer Julia Rhoads, her children -- two girls, ages five and three, and a boy who is just one -- were making happy noises in the background. In the foreground, however, were the probing thoughts of this Chicago-based artist whose company, the dance-theater troupe with the zany name of Lucky Plush Productions, is celebrating its 10th anniversary. Rhoads was talking about "Punk Yankees," the evening-length work she has been devising over the course of a year, and which is set to have its world premiere next Thursday at the Dance Center of Columbia College.

Staging a spectacle despite economy's woes

The Joffrey Ballet's 2009-10 season involves the mounting of two full-length productions -- the Joffrey debut of "Othello" and a remount of "Cinderella" -- as well as its annual revival of "The Nutcracker" and a spring mixed bill that will feature two world premiere works. Although the company doesn't break out its annual budget by individual production, "Othello," two years in the planning, is certainly a pricey undertaking, with a total cast of 65 (the full company, trainees, and supers, including children), plus a full orchestra.

American Blues Theater gets its groove back

American Blues Theater, which bills itself as "Chicago's second oldest Equity ensemble company," has devised its rebirth. The company, which was founded in 1985, renamed itself the American Theater Company in 1997 when it moved to its home at Byron and Lincoln and then last season underwent an acrimonious "theatrical divorce" when a new artistic director was brought in, has reassembled most of its 25 members.

Another 'Carol' crowds Goodman's
Charles Dickens will be getting the all-star treatment this holiday season in the form of a national touring production of "A Christmas Carol." The show, which will play eight performances -- Dec. 22-27 at the Civic Opera House, 20 N. Wacker -- which is currently slated to star Academy Award winners F. Murray Abraham as Ebenezer Scrooge and Timothy Hutton as Bob Cratchit, plus a host of other big names.

McCullough's 'Bed' made of pain, beauty
Hedy Weiss: It is not the actual nuts and bolts of the story that Mia McCullough tells in her new play, "Lucinda's Bed," that makes it so exceptional. Rather, what renders this world premiere at Chicago Dramatists so captivating, and so heartbreakingly real, is the insight, pain, raw beauty, truth, deep maturity and impressive originality of her storytelling.

Myth's no match for Haiti reality
The powerful dictator of a wealthy island nation named Haiti is believed dead after a plane crash. His self-abusing queen appears ill-fit to take control of a country threatened by a rebel group, while the queen's children are too young to rule, and her relations with her stepson (whose mother was "a foreigner") are tense, to say the least. In fact, the queen has an incestuous passion for the young man, and it can no longer be contained.

Stoppard play adds another dimension

I've seen a good number of productions of "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead" over the years. But not until Thursday's opening of the razor-sharp, bristling tragicomical, often-revelatory take on Tom Stoppard's careermaking 1966 play at Writers' Theatre could I actually envision the playwright sitting at his desk at the moment of creation and, in an almost palpably giddy state, congratulating himself on the absolutely delicious brilliance of his idea.

Shakespeare, Greek mythology get contemporary spins

Fabrice Calmels, the dancer with the Apollonian physique, whose height (6 feet-6 inches) might more easily qualify him as a member of the Bulls than the Joffrey Ballet, confesses that he found it difficult to read Shakespeare's "Othello" in English. Nor did he ever read it in his native language, French, during his nine years of academics and intensive dance training at the Paris Opera Ballet School.

'Wonderettes' sugar & spice -- and not too much more

'The Marvelous Wonderettes," the little show that has enjoyed a long life in its Off Broadway incarnation, and is now in its local debut at Northlight Theatre, is the theatrical equivalent of eating a whole box of sugary, pink and white-iced cupcakes. You get a nice little buzz while you're ingesting the stuff, but feel a bit depleted as it moves into your bloodstream. And while in social and musical chronology this jukebox musical overlaps with such things as "Forever Plaid," "Peggy Sue Got Married" and "Jersey Boys," it seems even less substantial than any of those enjoyable but decidedly lightweight properties. Its "book" by Roger Bean (who has also directed) is barely a slender pamphlet, and its song list of nearly three dozen pop classics is mostly sticky sweet in the first act (when it focuses on the 1950s), with a welcome bit of saltiness entering along with the shift to the 1960s (and such songs as "Wedding Bell Blues," "You Don't Own Me" and "Respect").

Quality of LaBute's 'Mercy' is strained

"The Mercy Seat," Neil LaBute's "post-Sept. 11, 2001" meditation, begins on the morning of Sept. 12. By now, Ben, who works in a lower Manhattan office building, realizes that while thousands perished the day before, he not only was spared by his latest act of adultery, but also might just have lucked into a long-term rescue scenario.