Steadstyle Chicago
June 2009 Theatre Review by Alan Bresloff
Evita
Lately, on the radio, I have been hearing many commercials about the city of Rockford and all that it has to offer, including shopping, water parks and the arts. Just 90 miles from Chicago's "Theater District" on the campus of Rock Valley College is a wonderful summer theater, Starlight Theatre that is geared for family enjoyment. This wonderful venue is open, but has a roof so the show goes on rain or shine. The sight lines are wonderful so there are no bad seats and the stage is large enough for a major show, with fly space. The curtain is more of a door and with the exception of the end of Act One leaving the cast frozen for several minutes, it had no bearing on the wonderful production that this community/family theater put on stage.
Produced and directed by Michael P. Webb, who started this theater 25 years ago with a production of "Evita," one can see the work that he has put into the theater he has built. The set by Andrea Bechert is glorious and certainly much more elaborate than one would expect in a theater of this type. The only drawback to the set is that it cannot be moved and therefore is used for every scene, leaving some time delays in the continuity of this classic musical written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice. This production is very family orientated. Katherine M. Webb is the costumer and one of the choreographers is Marissa Webb (probably a relative) with Laura Ann Reali.
Evita is played by Christine Edlen-Korneski, a marvelous voice and stage presence but not as small in stature as the real woman. Che is deftly handled by Jason Edlen (brother of our leading lady) who truly has this role down pat, and Juan Peron is played by Nick Korneski (husband to Evita, brother-in-law to Che) and there is another Korneski in the ensemble (their son). This is a talented family and they deserved the roles they played.
Magaldi is played by Alex Christopher McIntyre, who I don't think is related to any other cast member. He has a wonderful voice and also joins the ensemble as well as the Tango Dancers with Allie Free. The Mistress who sings "Another Suitcase In Another Hall" is ably handled by Bridget Gillenwater. As to families, the ensemble has three Garners, two Humphrey's, two Lewis's, two Gass's and three Flores's. The ensemble might be a little top heavy with women and children, but the voices were strong. I might have used a few less children and found a few more male adults to play the soldiers as the young soldiers were a bit awkward.
Overall, I must say that I was pleasantly surprised by the production. The sound was wonderful and the orchestra directed by Lisa Miller was as good as any of the big musicals in Chicago. They have a strong following with many subscribers who enjoy coming out as a family to see live theater at affordable prices. Knowing the venue, they bring jackets and blankets so they are prepared for the cool evenings that would otherwise take away from the perfect evening they share together. The story traces the rise of Evita Peron from peasant to the most powerful woman in Argentina's history. She dies young of cancer and it took years to undo the damage that she and her husband Juan Peron brought to the country. Che Guevara was not really a part of the history but the writers felt that this legendary revolutionary would serve to bring the pieces together and it works!
This is true community theater where the community is active in the production, backstage, as ushers and audience members, but the quality of the show is of a much higher quality and each member or the cast and crew gives 110% to bring the audience the best live theater they can. Hats off to Mr. Webb and his Starlight family.
Starlight Theatre is also presenting three other shows for their audiences. "The Producers" runs June 24-27 and July 29-August 2 with a matinee on June 27 at 2 p.m. I am not sure how a matinee works in the daylight. Evening shows are at 8 p.m. "David The King," an original musical co-written by Mr. Webb, will run July 8-12. "The King and I" will run June 17-20 and July 22-26 with a Sunday matinee on June 20. Tickets are $17 for adults, $16 for students and seniors. The theater is located in Rockford just minutes away from the tollway. For more information, visit www.rvcstarlight.com or call 815-921-2160. There is free parking, gas prices are cheaper in Rockford as well, and lots of restaurants in the area.
About Alan Bresloff
Alan
Bresloff, once an actor himself, has been covering the Chicago
Theater Scene since 1993, first as the Theater and Arts critic for
LaRaza newspaper, then with Salsachicago.com and then onto Extra
Newspaper and The Epoch Times. He also writes for ElImparcial
and TeleGuia. His reviews can also be seen on www.theatreinchicago.com.
Alan does not call himself a "critic" but a
"reviewer" as he tries to educate the reader about theater
itself, what is a good value, what to look for in a play or musical
and more.
"Exposure to theater is a very important part of a young person's life" he says. "Learning about the arts and culture is in fact learning about life" and he tries to explain more in his reviews than just if it is good or bad. Even some of the poor productions have some value, he often says and he would love your feedback on shows that you have seen. You can write him here or at albresloff@sbcglobal.net.