I am not a theater critic but I have been devoted to covering theater since my early 1980s reports on the explosion of Chicago storefront theaters for National Public Radio. On The Mara Tapp Show in the 1990s, I was honored to host weekly conversations about and offer scenes from some of Chicago’s best shows, and delighted when those interviews filled houses for our local theaters.
In 2015, at the request of friends, I started a series of emails with recommendations for shows I thought worthy of patrons. Some years later, actors, directors and publicity people in Chicago’s theater world prevailed on me to share these raves, a request I accepted, especially in light of the increasing tensions in the theater world and need to keep Chicago theaters healthy. Read more…
Find out what the critics think at the Review Round-up on the website of TheatreInChicago.com.
Breaking News
Theater fans have a fine reason to rejoice in what has been an especially excellent Fall season! The League of Chicago Theatres has a new impossible-to-resist deal called It’s Theatre Season! Theater-goers can get buy-one-get-one-half-price tickets to select shows on Hot Tix. It’s Theatre Season starts Thursday, October 2 and runs through Monday, November 24, 2025. It’s good for select shows onstage in October, November and December 2025. Information and tickets will be available at hottix.org.
Theater Raves has been renamed Raves to reflect the fact that I am now also raving about music performances and art exhibitions. Here’s to raves about all the arts!
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Theater Raves
Jekyll and Hyde
Kokandy Productions at the Chopin Theatre through December 21
Highly Recommended
“There’s such a fine line between a good man and a bad,” says Dr. Henry Jekyll. And, in this oh-so-familiar story, he will cross that line repeatedly. His transgressions become so frequent that the line bears repeating.
Kokandy Production’s arresting revival of Robert Louis Stevenson’s gothic horror novella electrifies this iconic tale thanks to the Drama Dream Team of Director Derek Van Barham, Music Director Nick Sula, who leads a talented 15-person orchestra, Choreographer Brenda Didier, whose steps are always sublime, and a flawless cast of 12. Together they elevate the 1990 musical that ran for four years on Broadway. That adaptation reimagined Stevenson’s tale as one about a brilliant young research doctor whose father’s mental illness drives him to explore a cure for the evil in all of us that he believed caused it. Unable to persuade his colleagues to let him use human subjects, Jekyll decides to experiment on himself, leading to his dual existence as the good doctor and evil murderer. The musical also features two women, one for each man.
Leading the talented Chicago cast is David Moreland, passionate and acrobatic in his portrayal of the moral romantic Dr. Jekyll, as well as the evil, menacing Mr. Hyde. Moreland expertly moves between these opposites, showing kindness, ethics and love as Jekyll and snarling rage driven by a twisted set of ethics as Hyde. His portrayal reveals when his murders of hypocrites go awry. Nathan Calaranan gives Jekyll’s compassionate senior colleague, Sir Danvers Carew, the wisdom and gracious honesty of a man who advocates for Jekyll’s scientific pursuits, and is equally convincing as the adoring father of Jekyll’s fiancé Emma. Emily McCormick’s Emma is ideal and in beautiful voice as the loving woman who will stand by her man without losing her spirit or herself. Ava Lane Stovall is stunning and sexy as the other woman, Lucy Harris, star of a house of entertainment, and the prostitute with whom Hyde becomes obsessed. Her singing drew enthusiastic applause at the performance my Ingenious Editor and I saw. Kevin Webb is winning as Gabriel John Utterson, Jekyll’s devoted but appropriately skeptical lawyer and best friend. Jon Parker Jackson’s Bishop of Basingstoke is as pompous and righteous as he should be. Rounding out the cast are a collection of lords, ladies, sirs and secretaries – Ismael Garcia, Quinn Kelch, Quinn Rigg, Gabby Sauceda-Koziol, Quinn Simmons and Maiko Terazawa – who are disingenuous and odious in all the right ways. Everyone but Moreland as the divided Jekyll and Hyde plays multiple roles and all shimmer in each, be it in their acting, their singing or their dancing.
What’s remarkable about this Jekyll and Hyde is how nearly perfect it is. The actors excel. The directing, music and choreography are flawless. The production team is exemplary. All deserve kudos but a few merit more words of praise. Sotirios Livaditis two-level set and G “Max” Maxin IV’s lighting suit the action and allow the musical to easily morph from Henry and Emma’s engagement party to Jekyll’s lab to a house of entertainment and prostitution to the late-night streets of London. Rachel Sypniewski’s costumes hug and define everyone. One of the great pleasures of this production is the way she brings out the beauty in all shapes and sizes, especially in the Rubenesque women and portly men. Her vision of Emma as a confection in pink and white is a heavenly dream, and her black-and-red form-fitting outfits for Lucy lift the temperature. I’ve never seen such gorgeous belts on women so effectively used – or costumes, for that matter, that walk the line between Gothic, innocent and dominatrix. And Sypniewski is not restrained by gender, which is fitting – pun intended – for a cast that crosses gender lines. The lace-up vest she puts on Henry Jekyll is breathtakingly provocative and hints as his other side. The see-through shirt that the music director shows off when he removes his jacket after intermission is delightfully revealing. The white asylum caps that the orchestra members wear locate us.
A word about the songs: Lyrics here seem accessible yet they convey profound emotions and truths that define each of the relationships. They are deceptively simple and, at the same time, profoundly expressive. When Emma steps out of a loving duet with her concerned father, widowed way too young, and notes that he hoped she would “grow up and look like her” mother, one can’t help but be struck by her insight.
At intermission, my Insightful Editor and I turned to each other to express our astonishment and delight at the genius of this show. Between us, we’ve spent decades seeing musicals and plays, good and not, but this one grabbed us both. Do yourself a massive favor and see it before it closes. Aside from the brilliance of the cast and production, it will rattle your ethical and moral world even as it engages and delights your every sense.
Chicago: Queerly Adapted From The Play You’ve Never Heard of That Inspired The Musical You Can’t Get Away From
Photography by Tom McGrathTCMCG photography.
Redtwist Theatre through November 23
Recommended
Who could have guessed that Chicago, the 1975 Broadway musical featuring the talented trifecta of Bob Fosse, John Kander and Fred Ebb, started as a 1926 play by a Chicago Tribune reporter. Then again, this is Chicago, a city where corruption is King and a good story is always worth telling and embellishing.
Playwright Maurine Dallas Watkins spent eight months covering, among other things, the trials of two women who claimed their corruption by men and liquor led them to murder. Watkins’ focus on them, their companions on the female cell block, the corruption of the legal system and the interest of the press and public in these “celebrities” – yes, even back then – led to her cynical parody Chicago. Fosse made multiple requests for the rights. Watkins declined but, after her death, her estate sold them to him. The result was the award-winning musical Chicago. Now Redtwist has “queerly” reimagined it with, among other touches, women playing men, in a new farcical adaptation by Eileen Dixon, who also directs, and Dusty Brown. Thanks to their collaboration on and directing, the eight-person cast has a terrific time honoring the cynical and corrupt core of Chicago AKA Chicago. At its center is Roxie Hart, who murdered her lover and is hoping to get out of Cook County Jail and make it in Vaudeville. Along the way, she encounters a bevy of Jazz-Age beauties also behind bars, a pair of opportunistic lawyers, including her slick one, and some reporters far too eager to get the scoop.
Chelsea Rolfes gives us a snappy and quicksilver Roxie Hart, always plotting her next move, ideally one that keeps her in the spotlight. JT Nagle is her loving and loyal husband Amos, until he’s not, a role he manages to make sweet and wimpy at the same time. Jack Seijo brings the arrogance of a pompous and slimy lawyer who knows how to win to his role. Laura Sturm plays Velma Kelly, Roxie’s high-class competitor for the celebrity murderess role with proper pretention and experienced attitude. Many of the actors play more than one character, and they do it with relish. Jasmine Robertson is spectacular as Zelda Morton, the matron who calmly and wisely keeps the imprisoned murderesses under control, catering to them as needed and getting a bit on the side. Her judge is equally fine as he presides over Roxie’s trial. Caroline Kidwell displays admirable range as she moves with ease between the main and easily corrupted prosecutor, a mentally unbalanced murderess and Go to Hell Kitty. Macaria Chaparro Martinez’ Keystone Cop Sergeant Murdock is a stark contrast to her Magdalena, a Spanish-speaking murderess who evokes our sympathy – at least a little. Then there’s the press, ably misrepresented by Ashley Anderson, whose “sob sister” reporter Mary Sunshine is all empathetic naivete. And there is Moe Watkins, an amalgamation of several characters from the 1926 play that the adapters combined as a tribute to Playwright Maurine Dallas Watkins, portrayed by Shaina Toledo as a reporter who understand corruption and how to spin a story.
Several of these actors also sing and play instruments between scenes, which shows off their talents and fits right in. Kudos to Caroline Kidwell who, in addition to her acting, is the show’s music director. Brandii Champagne’s creative set for this small box stage has looming jailhouse doors that swing open and shut to contain women and mark spaces of the freedom they are not enjoying. Madeline Felauer’s costumes are great fun, appropriately sexy, silly or serious when they should be. A shoutout to the police sergeant’s mobile mustache.
Chicago: Queerly Adapted From The Play You’ve Never Heard of That Inspired The Musical You Can’t Get Away From led to a discussion with the Brilliant Redhead, who accompanied me. Sexism persists, we agreed – that’s a no-brainer – and we were impressed by the creativity of its victims in this play, even without violence. They lied. They cajoled. They tried. However, when it’s necessary, women take matters into their own hands, using guns, knives and whatever is at hand to set matters straight – all puns intended. In this Redtwist season of “Defiant Femmes,” the Redtwisters have put a new twist on the old story.
Chicago has had many interpretations, perhaps because it a good fit for its urban namesake, which has also experienced many variations of its corruption. All this might be enough to shake your faith in the Fourth Estate and the legal system, let alone the goodness of people, except that you’ll be shaking with laughter, which will cloud your vision of reality – or at least give you a lot of chuckles. After all, this is Chicago so take some time out to enjoy this ride.
Strange Cargo: The Doom of the Demeter
City Lit Theater through November 23
Recommended
Those with a weakness for haunting ocean tales will want to board the Demeter, now navigating turbid waters in Chicago’s appropriately named Edgewater neighborhood. Strange Cargo: The Doom of the Demeter is a hybrid of Herman Melville’s Moby Dick, Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness and Bram Stoker’s Dracula, not to mention a fine choice for those seeking Halloween drama.
In this story inspired by the seventh chapter of Stoker’s classic, and reimagined by Timothy Griffin, the captain of the Russian cargo ship Demeter is persuaded to accept a large coffin-like crate of dirt from a Transylvanian count for its journey to England. Of course, the count’s faithful servant will accompany it and, it turns out, so will much more of an equally odious nature. As he watches his crew members disappear in the revered Agatha Christie one-by-one death dance, the captain does his best to figure out their mysterious departures and guide his ship to safe shores. City Lit’s collaboration with the immensely creative Black Button Eyes Productions adds much to this show, starting with the excellent directing of Black Button Eyes Ed Rutherford.
His solid cast is led by the Russian Captain Gorodetsky, who’s driven by devout Christianity in the best sense of the word, putting compassion above all else and possessing a great wisdom about the human soul. He’s also given to quoting scripture and even draws a parallel to Odysseus’s lengthy journey. Stage Veteran Brian Parry carries the captain’s mantle with sure shoulders, imbuing his role with authenticity, amiability and admirable wisdom. “How terrible is wisdom when it brings no profit to the wise,” he says more than once, and you believe every syllable. Robert Howard plays the Second Mate Post, who is the captain’s dear friend from childhood, with a warmth and wisdom that match Parry’s. Together they show the best side of male bonding. So, in fact, do many of the other pairings in Strange Cargo: The Doom of the Demeter. There’s not a weak link in this solid 10-person crew of seamen, and it’s worth noting that some are ensemble members or have performed with Redtwist Theatre right up the street from City Lit. Romanian First Mate Basarab is delivered with tortured passion by Alex Albrecht who is paired with his countryman Gusa, the youngest in the crew played with agility and spirit by Jennifer Agather. The other Romanians and Russians onboard are portrayed with proper relish and zest by Riles August Holiday, Andrew Bosworth, Ross Compton and Nathaniel Kohlmeier. Cameron Austin Brown as Munir, the young Turkish recruit, brings the right nervousness to the role. Herb Metzler plays the count’s Transylvanian servant with the proper ooze and haughty deference. And when we finally meet the devil, he is so darn charming and full of classy, well-spoken evil that he’s almost impossible to resist.
The eerie special effects in this show work particularly well together with the contributions of City Lit and Black Button talent that puts creative spins on the unexpected. DJ Douglass’ projections, Joe Griffin’s sound design and Liz Cooper’s lighting put us on a stormy sea so believeable that we almost feel the pelting rain. Beth Laske-Miller’s costumes are exactly suited to every actor. Jeremiah Barr’s props and puppets are impressively realistic yet beautiful. Ruby Lowe rings her atmospheric two-level set with the rigging that the sailors can scale with ease.
Strange Cargo: The Doom of the Demeter honorably upholds the tradition of sea stories with macabre twists, tales that thrill us. It’s well worth the wait for the surprises that come. Consider this one a new take on part of the iconic Dracula and a perfect Halloween show. Let it shake your bones for this scary season.
Revolution(s)
Photos by Brett Beiner.
Goodman Theatre through November 22
Highly Recommended
Radical Chicago Roots run deep in this rage-filled but breathtakingly beautiful tale of two generations of fighters on the Southwest side of our city. Revolution(s) is, above all, a multidimensional love story with a hopeful Socialist heart and a soul set on justice.
This world premiere comes to us courtesy of some folks with fine progressive pedigrees who know whereof they speak. Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Tom Morello, best known for his time with Rage Against the Machine, and Chicago native Zayd Ayers Dohrn, an award-winning dramatist and educator, collaborated on the punk/metal/hip-hop musical. They raided Morello’s musical repertoire and crafted a story around it that includes such hits as “Let’s Get The Party Started,” and even a folk version of “The War Inside.” My Music Man, who accompanied me to this show, was pretty darn excited about that, and made sure I knew that Morello is the nephew of Jomo Kenyatta, the Kenyan anti-colonial activist and politician who served as its first president. Impressive pedigree indeed. Ayers Dohrn’s roots are not shabby either. He is the son of Bernardine Dohrn and Bill Ayers, who spent the 1960s and ‘70s in The Weather Underground, a counterculture group of young radical left activists.
These extraordinary roots have bloomed into the lyrical Revolution(s), a story about Black life in Chicago. It may seem odd to call a punk/metal/hip-hop musical lyrical or beautiful but this one is thanks to the talent that got it onstage, the lyrics by Morello and other artists and the parallel stories of a young couple and his parents, all fighting for a better world. It might not be the way you would go about changing the world but there is a passion here that bestows beauty and hope on these relationships.
Director Steve H. Broadnax III deftly mines the passion and politics of his stellar cast and chorus. Al’Jaleel McGhee as the father of this family gives us a Black man broken but strong, and deeply committed to his style of justice and equality. His beloved, and the mother of his sons, is sharply portrayed by Jackie Burns who can shift from radical to maternal in a flash. Their progeny start this story. Hampton Falk-Weems, perfectly played with the right mix of rage, passion and hope by Aaron James McKenzie, returns from Afghanistan to discover that his South-side neighborhood is also still a war-zone. Suddenly he is a soldier again instead of the musician he wanted to be. His brother Ernie, in an equally ideal portrayal by Jakeim Hart, is fighting his own battles of family and future. Hampton’s beloved, Alysia Velez, who impressively embodies sass, sexiness and smarts, and his friend, nicely played by Billy Rude as a white man who knows what time it is, await this fallen soldier. And then there is Sunny, cousin to the McGhee’s Leon, Hampton and Ernie’s father. Michael Earvin Martin gives us a solid read of that family member, who is honest yet forgiving, tough yet loving.
Revolution(s)’ march includes the parallel stories of the Falk-Weems parents starting in 1989 and their sons in 2016, offering a lovely continuity that emphasizes strong familial lines and legacies. Or is it simply shared racial history and understanding of the relentless oppression of Blacks by whites? Both actually, which is what gives this story teeth and courage. Names are important here. Hampton is no doubt named after Chicago Activist and Black Panther Leader Fred Hampton, who was murdered by the FBI and local law enforcement. The younger generation bears both parents names, Falk-Weems, perhaps for Guy Fawkes, part of the failed Gunpowder Plot to assassinate a British King, and, my Music Man speculated, Weems after African American Artist Carrie Mae Weems. Whether that is intentional may not matter. What matters is the possibility that this is another layer of radical meaning.
What does seem intentional is the refreshing presence of Revolution(s)’ two Caucasians, Mother Emma Falk and Hampton’s best friend Sean. Unlike many plays that address racism, these two are not the usual predictable one-dimensional stereotypes but full-fledged people with enough comprehension of the ravages of racism to want to join the revolution.
There is much musical talent in Revolution(s) from the intense and often lovely singing to the lyrics and music of Tom Morello and the many other musicians whose works make appearances to the orchestra that makes the music happen. One concern that my Music Man and I shared was an inability to hear the lyrics all the time but perhaps that’s in keeping with the sense that this is a punk/metal/hip-hop performance. In fact, it made my Music Man want the show to be outside, ringed by people like him singing along they sway. Millicent Johnnie’s choreography and makes you want to dance along. Derek McLane’s warehouse set hovers over all but allows for more intimate spaces. Raquel Adorno’s costumes that fit each character. Greg Hoffman’s well-timed and evocative lighting and Stehanie Farina’s sound design join these and all contribute to the whole of this show.
In the midst of all this music and song, politics and passion, there is parental wisdom. “Kids try to be a little bit like their parents,” the mother notes, “and maybe parents should be a little more like their kids.” The father asks his younger son if he is happy with the way the world is. When his son says no, he tells him there’s more than one way to change the world. It seems only fitting that the finale is “Whatever it takes.” We phrased it slightly differently in my South-side childhood home and with our children, drawing on the directive of a famous South-sider: “By Any Means Necessary.” And that is the attitude you should take about seeing this inspiring show. Make it happen.
Ugly Lies the Bone
Shattered Globe Theatre through November 15
Highly Recommended
A woman in a high-tech mask is trying to comply with the automated voice interrogating her but her bitterness and confusion bleed through. It doesn’t take long to figure out why she is angry.
Among the many dramatic explorations of the experiences of veterans, Ugly Lies the Bone explores new and welcome territory. In just under 90 minutes, it goes beyond the expected traumas of war to reveal the effects of chronic emotional and physical pain on the veteran victims, as well as those who love and care for them with thoughtful intelligence and piecing humor.
Credit goes to Playwright Lindsey Ferrentino for her sharp script, Director Jonathan Berry for his expert directing and an exemplary five-person cast. Christina Gorman is that veteran Jess, who’s brought her broken body and damaged soul home after three tours in Afghanistan. Gorman persuasively moves between rage, despair and humor and gives us a woman whose sharp wit, honesty about her pain and refusal to be a victim immediately engage us. Cyd Blakewell plays her sister Kacie with unpitying empathy and sibling love, which is tempered by her understanding of her role as the family caretaker. Barbara Figgins mothers these two sisters in more ways than one, both as Jess’ virtual reality therapy voice and as their mother, whose warm maternal care clearly sets the standard for their love and loyalty. Eddie Martinez’ portrayal of Kacie’s boyfriend is facile and shows Kelvin’s many sides, some quite surprising. Christopher Acevedo is Jess’ ex-boyfriend and he gives us a man of secrets, nicely handling his good and bad sides.
The production team is equally gifted. Lindsay Mummert’s set captures both the other-worldliness of Jess’ virtual reality therapy, the simple home of the sisters and other spaces they visit. Kotryna Hilko’s costumes and Saskia Bakker’s props are a perfect fit. On the technical side, Brandon Wardell’s lighting, Erin Pleake’s projections and Christopher Kriz’ original music and sound design complement the show so well as to make them a seamless part of it.
Ugly Lies the Bone has much to say about the effects of war beyond what we might imagine. It does so with a rawness, humor and sensitivity that is often missing from such dramatizations. It also offers a story about the beauty of familial bonds that is full of hope, which makes its arresting starkness both enjoyable and illuminating. This is one you should see.
Veal
A Red Orchid Theatre through November 9
Recommended
The regal figure in icy white at the end of the stage looks bored yet haughty, an intriguing pose for the young Queen of North America whose reign follows a violent coup. She preens. She struts. She sits as her attendant makes sure all is perfect.
Soon three people show up in her palace, and it turns out that they were all in middle school together. They have come in this terrible time, walking through the devastated post-coup landscape, to ask a favor of Queen Chelsea. It also turns out that those early pre-teen and teen years were not a good time for everyone assembled. What transpires over the next 90 minutes reveals exactly what happened.
This is not easy play to watch despite its moments of humor because it explores the challenges of middle school and bullying. It fits right into the recent spate of plays and movies about that very subject. In that universe, Veal is a fine specimen because of this production.
Alexandra Chopson plays Queen Chelsea with the right combination of icy cruelty that masks pain and abuse. Chopson makes her desire for revenge palpable. The three classmates are particularly persuasive in their portrayals. Jojo Brown is Franny, the friend asking the favor, and expertly vacillates between fear and hope. Alice Wu as Noa and Carmia Imani as Lulu are adept at letting their nervousness, insecurities and kindness emerge. Jasper Johnson plays the Unnamed Male Concubine as an ideal attendant whose ruler’s every whim is his duty. All are at their best under dado’s direction.
Tianxuan Chen’s eerie lighting and scenery are perfect for this show. They are well-complemented by Connor Blackwood’s sound design, Izumi Inaba’s costumes and Ab Rieve’s props.
Veal offers a worthwhile contemplation of the dangers of bullying and a chilling view of a dystopian future. Revenge is a key concept in this show. If that, and bullying by those in power, sound familiar in these challenging times, this is a show for you.
Musical Homage
Remembering Tom Lehrer
I was about 11 when Tom Lehrer jumped into my consciousness and stole my intellectual heart.
I’ll blame it on my parents who were crazy about this genius mathematician-turned-showman, the author of some of the wittiest satirical songs most of us had ever encountered. We spent many a night after family dinner wearing out the vinyl on Lehrer’s That Was the Year that Was. By the time I was12 I knew all the lyrics on that album, and a couple other well-worn records by Tom Lehrer. For true Lehrer devotees, picking a favorite song is impossible but singing as many as possible as often as possible is impossible to resist – much to the annoyance of non-Lehrer fans or other sorts of American Puritans he would most certainly eschew. Fortunately, my parents were far from that, and I had the good luck to marry a man who happily sang Lehrer along with me, though he was usually in key. So Lehrer’s late July death at 97 hit me with enough of a smack that it’s taken me a while to collect my thoughts, and to trace his impact on my life.
In my junior year of high school, my mother was offered a visiting professorship at Harvard Law School, an opportunity she happily accepted for many reasons, not least among them that she’d not been able to accept the full scholarship Radcliffe offered her because her parents couldn’t afford to send her across the country for college. Already a surly teenager, I was eager to escape the irritating pretensions of the University of Chicago, where the administration often made racist and other horrible decisions that eclipsed the good work and politics of my parents and their friends and colleagues. My parents took the view that while the Hyde Park neighborhood had some merits and lots of smart and wonderful people, it also possessed a cloyingly small-town nature that required true city folks like us to leave it often to explore the delights of Chicago, and to find decent restaurants. Given this, my adolescent spirit was prepared to dive into in the cosmopolitan charms of Cambridge and Boston. That disappeared as soon as I discovered that pretense and academic pedigrees were an art form at Harvard compared to the rumpled, multisyllabic, grumpy nature of your average U of C habitué or Hyde Parker.
The fact that I was sent to a “school for young ladies” in a Cambridge house did not improve my teenage outlook. However, one fact, and that school’s proximity to it, elated me. Tom Lehrer taught at Harvard and lived nearby. Call me naïve but, at 15, I thought the best way to meet him was to go to his house every day after school and sit on his steps in the hopes that he would emerge or come home after work whereupon I would express my admiration of his brilliant lyrics and fawn all over him. Weeks went by. This did not happen. Finally, one cold afternoon, the door opened and my heart leapt. A woman peered out and asked me why I was sitting on her porch every day. I explained that I wanted to meet Lehrer and asked if this wasn’t his house. Yes, she replied, but he had the good sense to go to Santa Cruz that winter and she was renting his house. Crestfallen, I went home and consoled myself with art. At that time, I intended to be a dancer and choreographer so I persuaded one of my two school friends, both also outliers, to join me in creating a dance to Lehrer’s “The Vatican Rag.” Her Czech mother sewed our nuns’ habits from old pillowcases, and we used Mardi Gras beads that doubled as belts we could swing around and as rosaries.
We started performing our “Vatican Rag” around Cambridge. People seemed to like it, except for one woman who found it scandalous and turned to express her view to my father, who was sitting next to her. “That’s my daughter,” he said with some pride. He was a professor of humanities and religious studies among other subjects so I like to think that it was more than mere paternal pride.
The Cambridge grapevine, it turns out, was as good as the Hyde Park one. When Lehrer returned to Cambridge in the spring, word reached him that two girls were performing a dance to his “Vatican Rag” around town. Connections were made, and Lehrer came over to our house, singing and playing the piano while I performed our dance for him. His delight was contagious but not nearly as enormous as mine. My mother, herself delighted, filmed this encounter. Alas that ancient videocassette returned with me to Chicago only to become the one piece of my luggage the airlines have lost forever so all I have is the memory of that remarkable afternoon – and, of course, Lehrer’s glorious song.
I headed off to Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota in the Fall but was so smitten with Lehrer that I managed to stay in touch with him. He was campaigning for George McGovern by singing at fundraisers, and the Twin Cities were on his tour. I got to spend an intoxicating evening following Lehrer around and watching him work his magic on crowds. By then, he’d performed on Sesame Street, singing adorable little ditties about “silent e” and its alphabetical relatives. He tickled the Twin Cities audiences by sharing the “Adult X-rated” version of “Silent E.”
As I’ve revisited his repertoire since his death, I’ve been struck by the giddy joys Lehrer’s lyrics cause in songs like “New Math” and “The Elements,” and the relevance of his lyrics in so many songs from “Pollution” to “Who’s Next?” Consider these from “National Brotherhood Week:”
Oh the white folks hate the Black folks
And the Black folks hate the white folks
To hate all but the right folks is an old established rule
But during National Brotherhood Week
National Brotherhood Week …
It’s fun to eulogize the people you despise
As long as you don’t let them in your school
Oh the poor folks hate the rich folks
And the rich folks hate the poor folks…
Oh the Protestants hate the Catholics
And the Catholics hate the Protestants
And the Hindus hate the Muslims
And everybody hates the Jews
But during National Brotherhood Week
National Brotherhood Week
National Everyone-Smile-at-One-Another-hood Week
Be nice to people who are inferior to you
It’s only for a week so have no fear
Be grateful that it doesn’t last all year
I was moved to discover in the many odes to and obituaries to Lehrer that he decided to release the rights to all his songs, telling his fans, “So help yourselves, and don’t send me any money.” He even had a website created for people to download his songs.
No doubt that only expanded Lehrer’s following, as does his songs’ infectious singability, which has made me continue to sing Lehrer’s songs across so many decades whenever and wherever the spirit moves me, which is often. Our children grew up on Lehrer’s songs as well, and I am now introducing my grandbaby to his oeuvre. I’m sure she’ll enjoy the kiddie versions of his Sesame Street songs when she learns to read but, for now, we’re working our way through the age-appropriate highlights of his adult repertoire so she can decide what her favorite will be.