'Cats' by Theo Ubique in the No Exit Cafe is inventive, intimate and home-grown
"Cats" ★★★ Now extended through Feb. 20 by Theo Ubique in the No Exit Café, 6970 N. Glenwood Ave.; $30-$35 at 773-347-1109 or www.theoubique.org
You might not be able to swing a cat inside the No Exit Café, but that hasn’t stopped the remarkably talented director-choreographer Brenda Didier from filling the joint with Andrew Lloyd Webber’s singing-dancing felines, all close enough that you could easily reach out and touch their whiskers. Inventive and infectious, Didier’s Chicago-style “Cats” features make-up and costumes (from Izuma Inaba and Matt Guthier) that go far, far beyond the usual, and that combine with frequently excellent singing from a young cast to make this intimate, family-friendly show much more rewarding than the plethora of crummy tours that used to sing for their supper in Chicago.
- Also read Nina Metz's original review from Nov. 23 in the Tribune.