Review: ‘That's What Friends Are For' celebrates the songs of Patti LaBelle, Dionne Warwick and Gladys Knight
By then, theater founder Jackie Taylor's BET had settled into its longtime mode of paying tribute to great recording artists by including their songs within a biographical story and then hiring often knockout young talent to perform the music. The lack of so-called 'grand rights,' which apply to music within a theatrical context, was often an issue, but most of those being honored clearly decided this was a small, non-profit operation and not a problem worth pursuing.
But when it came to 'Don't Make Me Over: In Tribute to Dionne Warwick,' Warwick showed up herself to see the show. She was in my line of sight and her face looked very skeptical at first. But the young performers clearly won her over and watched her melt in real time.
That started a friendship with Taylor that even led to Warwick, who dabbled in interior design, styling BET's new theater on Clark Street.
Warwick is just a third of BET's latest attraction, 'That's What Friends Are For: Gladys, Dionne and Patti,' but the memory came flooding back. We regulars at BET also have seen a prior Patti LaBelle show: 'A New Attitude: In Tribute to Patti LaBelle' (2018), and, come to think of it, this is also not the first time the relationship between Gladys Knight and her Pips has been probed on this stage, either.
This time, using the device of a real-life reunion in Las Vegas, the song stylings of all three women can be heard in the same show, as written and directed by Daryl D. Brooks with an eye to the legacies not just of these women but of this theater. As is often the case at BET, you get a 'young' version of all three stars (Michaela Dukes is the youthful Gladys, Bri Buckley the young Dionne, and Courtney 'CO.' Driver is young Patti), and also 'mature' versions (Rose Marie Simmons is Gladys, Sybyl Walker is Dionne and Tamara Batiest is Patti).
There are stellar backup singers, a little familiar history and then one song after another rolls out into the hot Chicago summer. I don't need to list the titles. But if you're a fan of all three women, what's not to like?
Here, both Pattis steal the show, delighting the audience..
One note: I sorely missed the horn section in the BET house band, which has the most distinguished of histories in Chicago musical theater. No doubt times have become harder but that's one of this theater's signatures. Just like the fun it dispenses.
Review: 'That's What Friends Are For: Gladys, Dionne and Patti' (2.5 stars)
When: Through July 27
Where: Black Ensemble Theater Cultural Center, 4450 N. Clark St.
Running time: 2 hours
Tickets: $57.50-$67.50 at 773-769-4451 and blackensemble.org
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