Chicago Music and Theater

APRIL BRINGS SHOWERS OF TOP MUSIC AND THEATRE
By Joseph Cunniff​

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Following is a look both forward and back to some of the best in Chicago music and theater:
   

JAZZ SHOWCASE: More and more people are discovering the pleasures of the Jazz Showcase, comfortably located in an historic building in the Printer’s Row area downtown. 
   

Founded in 1947, it is one of the oldest jazz clubs in the world, and presents leading national and international musicians. A recent example was Pianist Miguel de la Cerna, known for blending jazz,blues, and gospel. His grandfather was pianist General Morgan, who recorded with Billie Holiday, and his aunt was pianist and singer Gloria Morgan.
   

Celebrating his 65th birthday, de la Cerna enchanted the audience with standards including “I’ll Take Romance,” and “Yesterday;” paid tribute to Ramsey Lewis with gospel-tinged renditions of “Wade in the Water,” “In Crowd,” and “Hang on Sloopy;” and chilled-out the room with cool music from “West Side Story.”
   

With the ultra-melodic bassist Eric Hochberg and the fiery drummer Greg Artry, the musicwas captivating.
   

April highlights at the Showcase should include star saxophonists Eric Alexander and Vincent Herring April 9 through12, with a 4 p.m. matinee on Sunday, April 12. 806 S. Plymouth Court, in the big red brick Dearborn and Polk Building, once a historically important train station. jazzshowcase.com (312) 360-0234.
   

LYRIC OPERA is presenting two remarkable shows in April. Puccini’s beloved “Madama Butterfly” is reimagined by Director Matthew Ozawa as a fantasy of Japan, seen through Western eyes.     
An all-Japanese, all-female design team debuts with the scenic design collective known as “dots,” costume designer Maiko Matsushima, and lighting designer Yuki Nakase Link. They make a superbly colorful and visually dazzling show. 
   

A fabulous cast showcases Korean-American soprano Karah Soh in a marvelous debut as Cio-Cio San, American tenor Evan LeRoy Johnson as Pinkerton, and the splendid singing actors Zachary Nelson as Sharpless, Nozomo Kato as Suzuki, and Rodell Rosel as the marriage broker, and other standouts.
   

VenezuelanConductor Domingo Hindoyan and the Lyric Opera Orchestra received a well-earned ovation, playing magnificently throughout. 

“Madama Butterfly plays again April 6 at 7, April 9 at 2, and April 12 at 2. lyricopera.org. (312) 827-5600.
   

Lyric is also presenting, sung in Spanish, “El ultimo sueno de Frida y Diego,” an opera about Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, composed by Gabriela Lena Frank with a libretto by Pulitzer-Prize winning playwright Nino Cruz, on April 1 at 2 and April 4 at 2. (312) 827-5600.
   

BLACK ENSEMBLE THEATER presents “The Jackie Wilson Story,” about the rise and fall of the legendary R&B singer. The way he sang, and his moves while he sang, were a big influence on Elvis Presley. Wilson’s hits include “Lonely Teardrops” and “(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher.”
   

BET Founder, Jackie Taylor writes and directs the show, which features knockout singing and dancing by Jaitee Thomas as Jackie Wilson, the gospel-inspired Rhonda Preston as Eliza Mae Wilson, Solomon Langley as Sam Cooke, and a super-energetic cast of with no weaknesses.
   

Audiences are loving the show, which runs through April 28. 4450 N. Clark St. www.blackensemble.org. (773) 769-4451.
   

THEATER WIT presents the Pulitzer-Prize nominated new play “The Ally,” in which a well-meaning professor finds himself in a firestorm, by Itamar Moses and directed by Jeremy Wechsler through May 2. Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont. theaterwit.org. (773) 975-8150.
   

TIMELINE THEATER has realized their dream, a $46 million theater complex at 5023 N. Broadway with a 250-seat blackbox theater, a bar open to the street, and more. Thie first show in the new space will be Ibsen’s “An Enemy of the People” in May. timelinetheatre.com. (773) 281-8463.