PRODUCTIONS
Tracing the Light — Acorn Theatre, Three Oaks, Michigan
The Trouble with Peggy — Blue Rider Theatre, Chicago
Orlando — Piven Theatre, Chicago
Frida: The Last Portrait — Court Theatre, Chicago
The Adventures of Pinocchio — Lifeline Theatre, Chicago
Liberace: The Magic of Believing — Theatre X at Pabst, Milwaukee
Shouts & Whispers — Lifeline Theatre, Chicago
Tales from the Front — Organic Theatre, Chicago
Rhinoceros — Theatre X, Milwaukee
The Desire of the Moth for the Star — Theatre X, Milwaukee and Honolulu, Hilo, Hawaii
American Enterprise — Organic Theatre, Chicago
The Three Musketeers — Absolute & Organic Theatres, Chicago
Danny and the Deep Blue Sea — Victory Gardens, Chicago
Passing On — Blue Rider Theatre, Chicago
Frida: The Last Portrait — Blue Rider Theatre, Chicago
AWARDS
Jeff Citation for Original Music — Frida: The Last Portrait (original Blue Rider production)
Two ASCAP Popular Special Awards (1996-97 and 1995-96)
Chicago Artists International Program grant for musicological research in rural Italy (1998-9)
CRITICISM
Frida: The Last Portrait — Court Theatre, University of Chicago
“Michael Vitali’s music especially helps elevate this work well above the standard stage biography.”
Joel Henning, Wall Street Journal
The Adventures of Pinocchio — Lifeline Theatre, Chicago
“A charming, lyrical score… unusually strong lyrics… clever music… a touching, imaginative production.”
Hedy Weiss, Chicago Sun-Times
“…like a journey through a fun house with frightening and delightful surprises, multiplied with songs in styles ranging from operetta to music hall, but they all ring true.”
Nancy Maes, Chicago Tribune
Liberace: The Magic of Believing — Theatre X at the Pabst, Milwaukee
“A fluid, throbbing, galvanically exciting score.”
James Auer, Milwaukee Journal
“A dark, brooding score… an ironic vision of the American dream with an undeniable fascination.”
Richard Christensen, Chicago Tribune
The Desire of the Moth for the Star — Theatre X, Milwaukee
“Michael Vitali has composed authentic-sounding [fifteenth-century] music, which he has realized synthetically with uncanny fidelity. The Desire of the Moth for the Star is of such quality one is tempted to contend that it transcends praise.”
Jay Joslyn, Milwaukee Sentinel
The Three Musketeers — Absolute and Organic Theatres, Chicago
“…it is impressive not just in its epic scale, but also in its sparkling energy, marvelous attention to detail, dazzling technical polish and unabashed passion. [Director Warner] Crocker’s flowing, endlessly inventive staging is set against Michael Vitali’s vibrant, Renaissance-flavored score.”
Hedy Weiss, Chicago Sun-Times
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