With Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo at McCormick Place this weekend, I knew I would be spending a lot of time downtown. My busy weekend started by attending SuperFreak: The Rick James Story at Arie Crown Theater.

One of Motown’s hottest artists of the 1980s, James led a fascinating life. SuperFreak delves into James’ turbulent lifestyle while featuring all of his popular songs. Playing young and adult James respectively, James Ambrose Johnson, Jr. and Stokley Williams (known as Stokley) give powerful performances, both acting and singing. One of the most impactful scenes had Stokley and Brown together as James spoke to his younger self for inspiration.

Like James, the musical is multilayered. It is raw and outrageous, even foul at times. It is also emotional and heart-tugging. SuperFreak reveals a more sympathetic side to James, who was too often in the news for the wrong reasons, while still showing the dark side of his character.

Held at Arie Crown Theater, SuperFreak filled the 5,000-seat venue. The audience was an interesting mix of ages and races, made more unique by C2E2 attendees adding the musical like I did.

Produced by Je’Caryous Johnson and Ty James, James’ only daughter, SuperFreak runs about 2.5 hours but moves along quickly. SuperFreak only ran for two days in Chicago but had plenty of other stops scheduled on the tour, which should land the musical on Broadway in the future.

— John Wroblewski, online writer