A New Attitude: In Tribute to Patti LaBelle at Black Ensemble Theater

Chicago Tribune - Recommended

"...My whole row at the regular Thursday performance had a great time together. I found myself sitting next to a LaBelle superfan with a voice worthy of being on stage, and, as the show rolled through so many great hits from "On My Own" (featuring Mark Yacullo as Michael McDonald!) to "You Are My Friend," I had sweet sounds and memories coming at me from all directions. The great thing about the LaBelle catalog is that you've got wild takes on standards such as "Danny Boy" or "You'll Never Walk Alone," gospel numbers such as "When You've Been Blessed" and retro-excess such as "Love and Need and Want You Baby.""

Chicago Sun Times - Recommended

"...Director-playwright Ruben Echoles packs "Tribute" with cannonball songs, music delivered at maximum velocity and impact. Vocally and orchestrally, the show is one of the top musical biographies BET has staged in its 41-year history. ("Herstory" if you will, since BET is the house that Jackie Taylor built)."

Chicago Reader - Highly Recommended

"...The way in which A New Attitude blazes through Behind the Music-style milestones makes LaBelle's unique career journey look almost indiscernible from that of just about every other diva BE has covered, but as a pastiche of a legend, there's no denying how hot this revue burns."

Stage and Cinema - Highly Recommended

"...As with all the fabrications from B.E.T. founder Jackie Taylor's hit factory, the draw is the score. Placing us present at the creation so lightning can strike twice, beside the title song, pile-driving triumphs include Patti's career-making "You Are My Friend," "On My Own," "If You Asked Me," and "If You Only Knew." There's a "Danny Boy" that gives black Irish a new feel and an alphabet song from Sesame Street that's picture perfect. We get both a three-number Bluebelles medley and a four-strong Patti one. It's a characteristically generous 150 minutes. Add in Echoles' costumes, gorgeous beyond the cornea's capacity, the first and last words on the LaBelle look. You'll get a "new attitude" too."

Let's Play at ChicagoNow - Highly Recommended

"...This electrifying musical is a "must-see" and has a running time of 2 hours-20 minutes (including a 15-minute intermission) in two acts. Featuring the young Patsy played by the very talented Thomas who went to Thornwood High School, studied at Columbia College Chicago and has worked at several Chicagoland theaters along with the older Patti played the unconquerable voice of Bless. Bless is also a Chicago Native from Proviso East High School and a Drama Instructor/Director/Elective Teacher at LEARN Charter School Network. These two ladies have made Chicago proud."

Around The Town Chicago - Highly Recommended

"...The current production, " A New Attitude: In Tribute to Patti LaBelle", is one of the best things I have seen on their stage in some time. Written and directed by Associate Director Rueben D. Echoles, this production features a song book that is delightful and an ensemble of performers that will knock your sox off! So those of you who have backed off- TIME TO RETURN!"

WTTW - Highly Recommended

"...Echoles’ show follows the dependable BET-style biographical formula, beginning with LaBelle’s early years in Philadelphia when she was still Patricia Louise Holt, a surprisingly shy young girl who adored her father, Henry (Trequon Tate), a gambling man who was sent packing when he became abusive towards LaBelle’s mother, Chubby (Kylah Williams)."

Chicago Theatre Review - Highly Recommended

"...Black Ensemble Theatre is presenting, once again, what it does better than any other Chicago venue. It’s offering up a well-written, sometimes touching, often humorous and spectacularly soulful jukebox musical biography of one America’s best-loved singer/songwriters. Patti LaBelle, now 70+ years young, has had a career that’s spanned decades. She’s overcome abuse, racism, prejudice and professional jealousies to become a Legend and a National Treasure. An inductee into both the Grammy and Songwriters’ Halls of Fame, named by Rolling Stone as one of the 100 Greatest Singers, with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and nicknamed The Godmother of Soul, Ms. Patti LaBelle’s star is shining brightly in Chicago."

Chicagoland Theater Reviews - Highly Recommended

"...Patti Labelle was not a hit machine during her long career, though her recordings frequently made the charts and she did have a couple of #1 numbers in "On My Own" and "Lady Marmalade" (1975), a stomping hymn to a New Orleans hooker and. But what sells her music, and is so prominent at the BET, is Patti's level of emotional commitment. She is a theatrical performer but she sells her songs with an honesty that reached out to the listener, no matter how outrageous her costumes in her LaBelle days. Her vibrant personality must have rubbed off on the BET production because every performer on stage seemed to love being in the show."

Chicagoland Musical Theatre - Highly Recommended

"...This lively musical not only charts the ups and downs of Patti’s family and romantic life (I admit, many an unexpected tear were shed) as well as the influence of singing at church, but also looks at her musical influences, including Sarah Vaughan, Dinah Washington, James Moody, Cab Calloway and others."