“Personality: The Lloyd Price Musical”

****The Studebaker Theater at the Fine Arts Building is alive and well and filled with energy. The venue has been restored and after the last musical, took some time to find the right play for this comfy theater. The show is a biography celebrating the life and career of Lloyd Price. There are many music lovers who danced to his music and loved what he brought to the table, and yet, don’t know his name. Songs like “Tutti Frutti”, “Stagger Lee”, “Lawdy Miss Clawdy”. his signature song, “Personality” ( which is also the name of the play), and a host of others.

Chicago is used to biographies with music, as for decades, Jackie Taylor and her Black Ensemble Theater have featured an amazing number of these, This production is larger in scope on a much larger stage with far more scenery (David Gallo and Viveca Gardiner) and glitz. The book by B. Jeffrey Madoff and Lloyd Price and the music and lyrics are products of the genius of Price.

Sharpley directed by Sheldon Epps with slick choreography by Edgar Godineaux, this is two hours and fifteen minutes ( one 15 minute intermission) of high-energy story-telling. Saint Aubyn brings Price to the stage and serves as our narrator until the second act, when he takes over playing himself. In the first act, young Lloyd is played by Darian Peer, a dynamic talent with a great range. The only flaw I saw in these two talented men is that their height was not equal. This is something that I saw and has no bearing on the way they complimented each other in the scenes where they played off one another.

We witness him growing up from a boy to a man with all the problems that a young Black person had to deal with. Even when he was writing songs, others would do “covers” and outsell his recordings. Pat Noone’s “Tutti Frutti” is a prime example of what happened to talented people in this era. And yes, he was stronger and better.

The ensemble of players is extraordinary. They change roles, costumes  ( Raquel Adorno) and wigs (J. Jared Janas) regularly and never get mixed up as to who they are and what their function is. People like Karl Hamilton ( playing a multitude of roles) are fun to watch as they become different people that had an impact on the life of our hero. Alexandria Reese, Miles Boone ( a powerful Little Richard), Donterrio ( Satchmo ), Josh Houghton, Donnie Hammond, Alanna Lovely, DeMone Seraphin ( who among his characters plays Daddy and Fats Waller), and Stanley Wayne Mathis as Harold Logan. DYNAMITE!!!

The band ( onstage) is led by Shelton Becton and composed of Paul Mutzabaugh, Rafe Bradford, Dwayne Bradford, Michael Ross, Matt Wifler, and Michael Ross. They fill the theater with great sounds ( sound by  (Robert Kaplowitz and Jordan Tani) and lighting by Jeff Croiter.

“Personality” will continue at The Chicago Studebaker Theater at the historic Fine Arts Building. located at 410 S. Michigan Avenue

Thru – Sep 3,  The schedule is a little uneven for typical theater but there are other functions on many Thursday night, thus no performances and unlike most venues, they do have shows on Monday nights.

Parking is discounted at Grant Park ( bring a ticket for validation- $13). The area is also part of the NASCAR run, so be aware of that as well.

to check out tickets and performance schedule visit PersonalityMusical.com

To see what others are saying, visit www.theatreinchicago.com, go to Review Round-Up, and click on “Personality: The Lloyd Price Musical”.

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