Theatre & Stage reviews by SalsaChicago.com critic Al Bresloff

Monsieur Chopin (Thru December 4)

For those of you who were fortunate enough to see Hershey Felder's wonderful "George Gershwin Alone" at the Royal George Theatre, can now see another character brought to life by this very talented performer- he is an actor of special skills, the ability to become his character and his work at the piano is more than fantastic- it is spellbinding. The story begins at Frederic Chopin's salon in Paris. Monsieur Chopin is teaching a piano lessen. As the lesson unfolds, he reveals secrets about the art of piano and composition as well as his own secrets.Born in Poland to a French father and Polish mother. In 1831 he arrived in Paris, alone, where he became the most sought after teacher and salon pianist of his day. Monsieur Chopin created some of the greatest melodies, waltzes, mazurkas and opuses.Monsieur Chopin passed away at the age of 39.

Some of the music that is played by Mr. Felder will be familiar to those who enjoy the classics (but as he tells the audience during the encore where he talks with us and we "sing along to Chopin") is that during the period when he wrote these melodies, they were in fact NOT classics, but contemporary music! "Nocturne in E Flat", "Prelude in G Major" and "Mazurka in G Minor" are but a few of the wonderful pieces you will hear, and while the names may mean nothing to you, once you hear the music, you will recognize much of it.

This is a beautiful production directed by Joel Zwick who masterfully utilizes the small stage of the Royal George with a perfect set by Yael Pardess, wonderful lighting effects by Richard Norwood with the aid of the projection designed by John Boesche- the overall storytelling is a wonderful experience and each little detail is handled to perfection. Even the details of the costume (Boguslaw) worn by Mr. Felder takes us back to the 1840's. Nothing is bypassed in this production- it is flawless.

"Monsieur Chopin" will run through December 4th (although there could be another extension through the Holiday Season) at the Royal George Theatre located at 1641 N. Halsted with performances as follows: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. Sunday at 3 p.m. 90 minutes NO INTERMISSION (but expect a 20 minute encore) For Thanksgiving there will be some special shows.

November 25th at 8 p.m., November 26th at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., November 27th at 2 & 5 p.m. Tickets are $45 and are available at the box office, by phone at 312-988-9000, by calling Ticketmaster at 312-902-1500, at all Ticketmaster outlets or online at www.ticketmaster.com.