ARTS+ENTERTAINMENT
AE
Monday, February 24, 2020|Section 4If anyone doubted whether the
Paramount Theatre in Aurora
could pull off a legit pre-Broad-
way tryout, a project backed in
this case by Universal Studios, the
opening of “The Secret of My
Success” Friday night puts that to
rest.
Using mostly Chicago talent
and two hugely talented song-
writers, Michael Mahler and
Alan Schmuckler, who made
their bones in the city, this non-
profit theater delivered a whip-
bang, fast-paced, old-school,
we-love-New York kind of show,
filled with appealing tunes, witty
lyrics and very classy production
values, all skillfully and entertain-
ingly wrangled by the director
Gordon Greenberg.
The issue though, going for-
ward, will be whether Broadway
audiences still want to see a retroand, at times, anodyne show that
feels far removed from the cur-
rent preoccupations of American
commercial entertainment.
The show will also struggle to
differentiate itself from “How to
Succeed in Business Without
Really Trying,” the classic 1961
Frank Loesser musical which not
only comes with a similar title,
but a protagonist with much in
common with this musical’s
Brantley Foster (Billy HarriganTighe), another imaginative riser
through the corporate ranks.
Brantley doesn’t come with a
little book of success tips and his
own percussive cues; his semi-
conscious strategy is to assume a
second, more elevated persona
around the office and he’s much
less snarky, and thus blander, a
figure. But when you add in a
workplace romance with Christy
Lockhart (Sydney Morton), the
usual clutch of office eccentrics(Gabriel Ruiz plays an especially
amusing one) and various farcical
confusions of identity, the simi-
larities keep popping into your
head.
Add in the show’s plot line
about a guy moving to the big city
and persuading his mercurial
corporate bosses to save the fac-
tory crucial to the small town of
Brantley’s origin, and that evenBilly Harrigan Tighe, center, as Brantley Foster with the cast of Paramount Theatre’s world premiere of “The Secret of My Success.”
LIZ LAURENIN PERFORMANCE ‘The Secret of My Success’ ★★^1 ⁄ 2A whip-bang ‘Success’
Paramount’s production shines, but clunky retro story drags it down
By Chris Jones
Turn toSuccess, Page 5With the return home of Rod
Blagojevich, the former Illinois
governor and self-described
“political prisoner,” comes the
reprise of Second City’s “Rod
Blagojevich Superstar.”
And just as Blagojevich had
his sentence commuted by Presi-
dent Donald J. Trump, so “Rod
Blagojevich Superstar” will be
back for one night only, an April
2 performance at Second City’s
e.t.c. stage benefiting Second
City’s alumni fund and the can-
cer charity known as Gilda’s
Club.
The illustrious Chicago come-
dy theater at 1613 N. Wells St.
first staged Ed Furman and T.J.
Shanoff ’s satirical spoof of all
things Blagojevich in 2009 in its
e.t.c space, drawing inspiration
from “Jesus Christ Superstar,”
“Godspell” and similar rock
operas from the 1970s. The show
later moved to Chicago Shake-
speare Theater on Navy Pier and
then the Metropolis Performing
Arts Center in Arlington Heights.
At the time, the show was
dubbed “the passion of the Rod.”
“My party, my party, why have
you forsaken me,” sang the title
character in the opening number.
“Machine, forgive them, for they
know not what they do.”
Characters in the piece in-
cluded such real-life political
figures as former U.S. attorney
Patrick Fitzgerald, former alder-
man Dick Mell, former Illinois
attorney general Lisa Madigan
and, lest we forget, the former
U.S. Senator Roland Burris, a
Blagojevich appointee.
As reported at the time, other
highlights in the piece included a
rhyme for Judy Baar Topinka (“a
great thinka”), a Pythonesque
explanation of the full Blagoje-
vich moniker Milorad (“Serbian,
for one who is named Steve”),
and appearances by both a hair-
brush and a wig.
To make the show yet more
surreal, Madigan could be seen
on opening night, doubled upwith laughter, even though the
piece suggested she was having
an amorous relationship with
Fitzgerald.
And, stranger yet, Blagojevich
himself went to the show on
June 13, 2009, at Second City’s
invitation (and maybe with some
financial inducement). He got an
enthusiastic ovation.
“Where were you when I was
impeached?” he asked the audi-
ence.
Blagojevich was played by the
actor Joey Bland. Second City
has not yet announced casting
for the benefit, but it is expected
many of the original actors will
return. Tickets are not yet on
sale.Chris Jones is a Tribune critic.
[email protected]Blagojevich
is back, and
so is Second
City parody
By Chris Jones
Lori McClain and Joey Bland in “Rod Blagojevich Superstar.”BOB KNUTHIt has been less than two
weeks since Matthew Cherry,
the Chicago native and NFL
retiree turned entertainment
sensation, won the Oscar for
best animated short film for his
charming movie “Hair Love,” a
story about a black father doing
his young daughter’s hair for the
first time.
“Hair Love” was released in
theaters in August with “The
Angry Birds Movie 2” and came
out in December on social plat-
forms. The film has received
more than 20 million views on
YouTube, and has an accompa-
nying picture book that became
a New York Times bestseller.
Cherry, who directed and
wrote the film, came back to
Chicago Thursday for a screen-
ing of the movie and a panel
discussion about black hair and
black beauty. He was joined on
the panel by three local women:
Caroline Robinson, a cosmetic
dermatologist; Ebony Jamison, a
beauty, fashion and lifestyle
blogger; and Amina Smith of
Stadium Sports Network, who
moderated the discussion.
Cherry sat down with the
Tribune for five minutes to talkabout his Oscar win and what’s
next for him. The conversation
has been edited for space and
clarity.Q: Watching you and Sony
executive and producer
Karen Rupert Toliver — two
black people with locs — walk5 MINUTES WITH ...Chicago’s Matthew
Cherry on his Oscar
win and Kobe Bryant
By Christen A. JohnsonChicago native Matthew Cherry
won an Oscar for his animated
short film “Hair Love.”TERRENCE ANTONIO JAMES/
CHICAGO TRIBUNETurn toCherry, Page 2