Steadstyle Chicago
	October 2009 Theatre Review by Alan Bresloff
	The Glorious Ones Bohemian Theatre Ensemble aka BoHo is known as a company that seeks plays that utilize their pillars: truth, beauty, freedom and love.  Each of the four shows that they present each year stand for one of these pillars.  Their current production, "The Glorious Ones" represents love.  This musical by Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens deals with Commedia Dell'Arte and is 90 minutes of pure fun.  Right up front, I will tell you that this show is not for children or prudes.  Based on a novel by Francine Prose, this is a story of seven actors, all the types of what might be called type-casting, in a  street troupe that do improvisational theatre.  Along its way, we learn how all of what they built and gave to the audiences was changed by something called a script.  Yes, an actual story with a start, middle and ending replaced the way they worked and caused the end of this particular troupe.  This show is a mixture of slapstick, melodrama and basic Commedia Dell'Arte as told to us by their leader, Flaminio (deftly handled by Eric Damon Smith).  There are some very theatrical terms that will cause true theater people to laugh in hysterics in this cleverly scripted tale. We have a wooden stage and some clever little set pieces designed by Director Stephen M. Genovese, who utilizes the little storefront theater on North Glenwood Avenue to perfection.  Might I mention, for those of you who have not been to this venue before, it is very tiny, with a little stage and an audience so close they can almost reach out and touch the actors.  But this troupe uses it well and often they amaze me with the clever ways they do.  The cast they have assembled is very talented and handles some of the tricky music with great skill.  Danni Smith plays Columbina, the voluptuous leading lady, and is very sexy in the role.  She is the lover of Flaminio and is adored by all of the men in the company except one, the leading man Francesco.  Courtney Crouse handles the "straight man" hero role with style and class.  Francesco was discovered by Flaminio and taught the tricks of the trade, but later is responsible for the change they all will face.  He meets and falls in love with Isabella (the charming Katie Siri) and all hell breaks loose. The other members of the cast are Tom Weber as Pantalone, John Tafian as Dottore (a very strong "quack") and Dana Tretta as Armanda, the "dwarf" devoted to Flaminio who has collected items of his in her knapsack that she keeps with her always.  Ms. Tretta can do almost anything on stage and be radiant.  Her final song in this production will bring a smile to your face, while at the same time bringing a tear to your eye.  I think that one of the features of this musical is that it will make you laugh and it will make you sad (only near the end, and for just cause).  But in the end, you will have been entertained for some ninety minutes by an energetic and talented cast and Nick Sula's musical direction.  The costumes by Theresa Ham are sheer perfection for the period and Katy Peterson's lighting fills in the moods.  If love is what BoHo wanted to emphasize with this production, they succeeded. "The Glorious Ones" will continue through November 21, 2009 at BoHo Theatre at the Heartland Studio located at 7016 N. Glenwood Ave. in the Rogers Park neighborhood.  Performances are Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., Sunday at 2 p.m.  Tickets are a mere $22, just a little more than a movie ticket, and a far greater experience, and can be purchased by calling 866-811-4111 or online at www.BohoTheatre.com.  There is street parking available and you are not far from the red Line stop at Morse.  If you want, you can park at Morse and Ravenswood and use the shuttle or take a little stroll.  You might also want to dine at The Heartland Cafe, just around the corner.   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.