****  I always tell my readers and listeners that the beauty of “live theater” is that you always see a new production, even if it is a play you have previously seen. A different director, choreographer, set, venue and cast make all the difference in the world and tonight Blank Theatre Company of Chicago proved my point ( and then some!!). Their current production of “Promises, Promises”, the musical version of Billy Wilder’s  and I.A.L. Diamond’s “The Apartment”, is being presented in the studio at The Greenhouse  Theatre, which is probably the tiniest stage in Chicago for a musical, and under the clever direction of Danny Kapinos, it worked!

The musical has a book by Neil Simon and music by Burt Bachrach with lyrics by Hal David ( they wrote many of the big songs of their time) so when you hear the title song, “Promises, Promises” and “I’ll Never Fall In Love Again”, you will find yourself drifting back to another time in your life. The theater is very small so the actors have to go off stage right, leaving the venue ( into the lobby, which tonight was filled with the Jeff Award Members having their Holiday party), but again, it worked. The set (Spencer Donovan) was simple, yet functional. A wall that has panels that allow conversion to give the illusion that we are in other places and even the conversion from office to “the apartment” with chairs covered  by a blanket worked.

The tech for this show was incredible with choreography (Lauren Solana Schmelzer) that made the tiny stage appear larger and the special choreography ( intimacy: Greta Zandstra and fight: Tony Pellegrino) worked. The music direction by Aaron Kaplan was a delight and although the theater is tiny, I suggest that the company use microphones to help the people in the back row hear every blessed word. They are too precious to miss. Hats off to Cindy Moon for her costumes ( maybe with the exception of the hat that Chuck adapts in his executive position). The orchestra of four musicians made the music perfect and the use of a chorus of singers for back-up was ideal: great work by Isabela Barry,Allison Rose Macknick, Stephanie Stockstill, Dayle Theisen and Flower Wong.  They are also players in the story as characters.

The story , for those of you who never saw the movie “The Apartment” is about a young man Chuck Baxter ( an incredible performance by Rory Schrobilgen) who is just a worker in a company. He is in many ways “invisible” to those around him. How can he move up the ladder. When one of his superiors finds out where Chick lives ( very near the building they work in) and has his own apartment, they use him for the key so they can have their “love life”. He is fairly naïve and allows this to take place as his rise up the corporate ladder takes place. Along the way, as his position rises, his stature with one of the other employees, Fran Kubelik ( deftly handled by Brandy Miller) also does and he finds himself falling for her.

The big boss asks for the use of the apartment and Chuck rises further, not knowing that the big boss, J.D. Sheldrake (Craid Zeller) is having an affair with Miss Kubelik ( in his apartment, no less). Comes the holidays,(Christmas and New Year) and all hell breaks loose. I won’t go into details, but as the story goes on, you will see a happy ending. This is a strong ensemble ( not in numbers, but definitely in talent). The aforementioned players of the chorus along with Ed Rutherford and Eddie Ledford and Reginal Hemphill and Andres J. DeLeon and the incredible Kingsley Day as next door neighbor Doctor Dreyfuss ( he has some of the best comedic lines ever in a musical comedy).

If you are looking to enjoy a night out where you can laugh your troubles away and just feel good, this is one for you to put on your calendar. Understand the venue is tiny so make sure you plan ahead as I am pretty sure they will sell out on this one.

“Promises, Promises” will continue thru – Dec 30, 2023 with performances as follows: