I just ordered my tickets for Ragtime and the box office person told me that Quentin Earl Darrington, fresh off the recent Broadway revival, would be playing Coalhouse!
This suburban theater does good work- their recent production of Cabaret won rave reviews- and I'm even more excited than ever to see what they do with Ragtime!
I'm sort of reluctant to go back out there. I really enjoyed the production of Ragtimethat ran at the Apollo, moreso than the Broadway production. I went to one show at Drury Lane Oakbrook and left at intermission. It was a very sloppy production and that place gives me the willies for some reason. Was it a casino at one time? I did enjoy Grand Hotel and Full Monty at the Water Tower location, though.
"What can you expect from a bunch of seitan worshippers?" - Reginald Tresilian
Thanks for the heads up! My sister was really disappointed that she missed out on seeing the Broadway production, so we'll definitely have to take in this one. Drury Lane usually puts on a great show.
Thanks. The more I think about it, I might be better off letting the memories I have of the recent production remain intact as opposed to having something to compare it to.
Hey Dottie!
Did your colleagues enjoy the cake even though your cat decided to sit on it? ~GuyfromGermany
The Oakbrook has really stepped up the production values and casting. It's not a "local" theatre anymore, but seems to be regularly importing directors and performers from outside Chicago area. The productions have been getting pretty good notices as a result. It's an awkward theatre space, I admit, as if it was really a Vegas Cabaret space and the Saturday afternoon dinner geriatric show is "different" from a crowd perspective They are doing some pretty cool things with their limited space, though. I'd go to Drury Lane to see a show you've wanted to see but never did or haven't seen in quite a while. That's why we went to Sweet Charity and are going to Funny Girl.
It's a dinner theater. You go to Brunch before the 2 PM show.
And on weekdays they have huge busloads of seniors in for lunch and a show. But it's good- I've seen three shows there recently and all were at least very good. There is a whole new generation that has taken over.
To clarify - it's a "dinner theatre" in the sense that there is a restaurant attached to it, and you can purchase a dinner/theatre package. It is NOT a dinner theatre in the sense that you watch the show from a dinner table. It is a regualar theatre space with rows of seats.
"including Quentin Earl Darrington as “Coalhouse Walker, Jr.” and Valisia Lakae as “Sarah.”
Both Darrington and Lakae recently played those roles in last fall's Broadway revival (Darrington originated his role; Lakae was the understudy)". Chicago Theatre Blog
A Chorus Line revival played its final Broadway performance on August 17, 2008. The tour played its final performance on August 21, 2011. A new non-equity tour started in October 2012 played its final performance on March 23, 2013. Another non-equity tour launched on January 20, 2018. The tour ended its US run in Kansas City and then toured throughout Japan August & September 2018.
Max Quinlan was the original alternate for The Little Boy in the original Chicago production at the Oriental Theatre (Andrew Keenan-Bolger was the principal).