Items filtered by date: November 2007

Playwright Jackie Sibblies Drury titled the play ‘Marys’ Seacole to emphasize its depiction of multiple Marys.  Jerrell L. Henderson and Hannah Todd direct the collective Marys in kaleidoscopic vignettes at breakneck pace.

Mary Jane Seacole was a British-Jamaican nurse. At the outbreak of the Crimean War she applied to the British War Office for work with the casualties. When her request was denied, she traveled independently to Balaklava and, using salvaged driftwood, packing cases, and iron sheets, set up the "British Hotel" behind the lines, where she provided nutritious food and “comfortable quarters for sick and convalescent officers”. 

Seacole came from a tradition of Jamaican and West African “doctresses”, who mastered folk medicine by treating fellow slaves on sugar plantations. These Creole doctresses prioritized hygiene decades before Florence Nightingale adopted it. From them Seacole learned to employ hygiene, ventilation, warmth, hydration, rest, nutrition and empathy.   

MARYS SEACOLE opens with Stephanie Mattos (Mary) standing imperiously in a spotlight. After a perfectly-timed silence she declares, "I am a Creole, and have good Scots blood coursing through my veins." Seacole was equally proud of her black ancestry: "I have a few shades of deeper brown upon my skin which shows me related – and I am proud of the relationship – to those poor mortals whom you once held enslaved, and whose bodies America still owns.” 

MARYS SEACOLE seesaws across continents and over time to diverse high points of Seacole’s life. The frenzied vacillation of time and space can be disorienting, time-traveling at breakneck speed between the Kingston of her childhood, the British Hotel in the Crimea, and the menial work in her old age. Accompanying Mattos on this odyssey are Duppy Mary (RJW Mays), Mamie (Mackenzie Williams), May (Jesi Mullins), Miriam (Izzie Jones) and Merry (India Whiteside).

What strikes me most forcefully in MARYS SEACOLE is the racism. When Seacole applied for a position with Florence Nightingale, the Lady with the Lamp wrote, "I had the greatest difficulty in repelling Mrs. Seacole's advances, and in preventing association between her and my nurses (absolutely out of the question!)... Mrs. Seacole introduces much kindness - also much drunkenness and improper conduct".  

Seacole disingenuously observes, "Was it possible that American prejudices against colour had some root here? Did these ladies shrink from accepting my aid because my blood flowed beneath a somewhat duskier skin than theirs?" A lodger at the British Hotel describes Seacole as "an old dame of a jovial appearance, but a few shades darker than the white lily" – this from one of her supporters!

Joe Johnson’s stark set, strategically lit by Matt Sharp with Assistant Karen Wallace, allows the characters to dominate. Costumes by Anne Wooden are fabulously period, and Ivy Treccani doesn’t clutter the production with unnecessary Properties. Fight Choreographer Jesi Mullins (who also plays May) is particularly excellent in the dustup during the final scenes. Dialect Coach Adam Goldstein does almost too good a job: the Jamaican patois is so authentic I occasionally had trouble understanding! William Massolia (Artistic Director), L.J. Luthringer (Sound), Matthew R Chase (Production), Anna Walker (Stage), and Danny Halminiak (Technical Director) collaborate to forge a seamless whole of the mercurial chronicle.

The traditional role of Woman as Healer is overshadowed throughout by the even-more-traditional aspect of racism. Mary Seacole was largely forgotten for nearly a century; when in 2016 she was honored with a statue at St Thomas’ London Hospital, controversy arose from those fixated on Florence Nightingale’s legacy.  Salman Rushdie cites Seacole as an example of ‘hidden’ black history: "See, here is Mary Seacole, who did as much in the Crimea as another magic-lamping lady, but, being dark, could scarcely be seen for the flame of Florence's candle." 

My befuddlement with the peripatetic narrative is eclipsed only by my appreciation of a masterwork superbly executed.

MARYS SEACOLE is performed by Griffin Theatre Company at the Raven Theatre

This is the fourth or fifth time I’ve seen Shakespeare’s MACBETH, though not since the 2009 Babes with Blades’ all-female-cast production. That was memorable, and continues to stand as my favorite rendition of The Scots Play. 

But Three Crows comes damn close!  Edited and most ably directed by Dusty Brown (th/th), MACBETH is Three Crows’ first production since lockdown. I’ve seen nearly a dozen shows since the lights came up in Chicago theatres. Companies are pouring the creative energy from all those dark seasons into their comeback(s), and the result is spectacular; nothing short of a Renaissance.

One issue often being addressed is gender identity. Programs include actors’ pronouns in their bios, and shows are cast without regard to gender.  And BTW, for anybody listening out there, I’m still waiting to see Macbeth produced with the Thane & his Lady cast as a male/male couple. Just sayin’!

This production puts superb actors in every role. The part of Macbeth is obviously key, and Steve Peebles (h/h) rises to the challenge magnificently, from his plaited red hair and beard to his compelling voice. His every line, every expression, eloquently express the tragedy of this brave general degenerating into madness. Though incited by witches and wife, it is Macbeth’s own long-suppressed lust for supremacy that ultimately compels him to slay his liege lord. 

Alex Amery (h/h) is a splendid Macduff, and when he proclaims “Macduff was from his mother’s womb / untimely ripp’d” I broke out in cold shivers. King Duncan is another crucial, if short-lived character, but Stephen Dunn (h/h) makes the role noteworthy, as do Brandon Beach (h/h, Malcolm), Eamon McInerny (h/h, Lennox), Richard Bronson (h/h, Ross), Nathaniel Negron (h/h, Banquo), and Kit Ratliff (th/th) as Fleance.

In addition to the eerie Weird Sisters, Hannah McAuley (sh/h), Judith Laughlin (sh/h), and Lindsey Becker (sh/h) also play Seyton, Porter, and Page, roles that exhibit Shakespeare’s customary snippets of humor. Though it’s hard to summon a snicker in the midst of treason and carnage, they truly are hilarious! But when these same players that lately provoked glee don their ghoulish tree-branch tiaras (or are those bones?), their very presence is fearsome. With their serpentine postures and ghoulish expressions, the witches hardly need invocations to send chills up one’s spine.

Catherine Councell (sh/h) is captivating as Lady Macduff. Her timid manner and extravagantly gravid belly make her violent death particularly moving.

And so I come finally to Lady Macbeth, played by Three Crows’ Artistic Director Selena Lopez (sh/h). Many actors play the Lady as contemptible, but Lopez brings a complexity to the role that gives us deeper understanding of her motives, and of the Macbeth marriage. The Queen is childless, but such is the covenant between them that Macbeth does not cast her aside. Somehow he knows he will never achieve greatness without her initiative, but they both fail to credit the decency in their souls that makes their ambitions ungovernable, so both become demented by self-reproach. And despite his fealty to his barren wife, it is Macbeth’s lack of an heir that motivates his decision to slay Banquo, whom the witches prophesied will father a line of kings. This lineage is horribly displayed to Macbeth in his remorseful specters.

Which touches on the amazing work of the Creative Team. Where to begin in such a brilliantly produced work? Set & Props Designer Kelliann Keeler (sh/h) uses the limited space ingeniously – the addition of a cistern at center stage is a clever solution to several scenes, from the Macbeth’s washing their hands to disposal of Banquo’s corpse and its reappearance as a ghost, along with the other apparitions conjured by King Macbeth’s insanity.

None of these effects could be credible without the skillful work of Lighting Designer Piper Kirchhofer (sh/h). Flashes of lightning are augmented by rolling thunder (thank you, Sound Designer Samuel (h/h) Fitzwater-Buchart!), and the lights are key to setting the mood throughout. Speaking of sound, I can’t say if Director and Stage Manager Amy Rappa (sh/h) specifically instructed the soldiers to stomp heavily during entrances and exits, but it’s effective on several levels, not the least of which is the vibration shaking my chair. Technical Direction comes from Nathaniel Negron (h/h), in addition to his work as Banquo. House Manager Sam Karpowitz kept the venue safe for the sold-out event.

Stage fighting is a challenge in such close quarters, but Violence Designer Michael Bevis (h/h) manages by staging the battles in slowed motion – a realistic approach, as the characters are using the claidheamh-mòr, or Scottish broadsword. This two-handed sword used by 16th-century Highland Scots averaged five feet in length, and its weight made it a singularly unwieldy weapon.

Kudos to Costume Designer Selena Lopez (in addition to her other trivial [sic] duties as Artistic Director and Lady Macbeth!). I do so love men in skirts! (as I once told a kilted Scotsman in Glasgow; he was so tickled he gave me a bite of his fish-n-chips – both the chips and his legs were scrumptious). And does Lopez also manage the Makeup? It’s brilliant: Macbeth’s eyes are piercing – and I already mentioned the Weird Sisters.

It doesn’t matter how many times one sees MACBETH – new productions always evoke new details to exclaim over.

At the Redtwist Theatre in Edgewater. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Nobody does camp like Hell in a Handbag Productions. Ensemble-developed, oddball parodies of queer iconoclasts are what they do best. For their 21^st season, longtime collaborators Tyler Anthony Smith and director Stephanie Shaw meld Barbra Streisand’s enduring legacy with Mary Shelly’s classic horror story. A cast of loveable weirdos round out the world premiere of this clever Halloween special.

Hell in a Handbag ensemble member Tyler Anthony Smith has been creating one-man shows throughout Chicago’s fringe scene for years. He’s also been a regular feature at Hell in a Handbag over the years. Tyler reunites with director Stephanie Shaw for a story that only his irreverent mind could come up with.

‘Frankenstreisand’ is the story of Dr. Barbra Frankenstreisand’s return to the stage after a 27-year performance hiatus. Only this time, she has her eyes set on a prize higher than an Oscar, a Grammy or even a Tony. Loosely based on the very real 1990s rumor that Barbra tried to have her dog cloned, Frankenstreisand intends to clone her beloved, but dead dog, Samantha. With the help of her assistants Hunchback (Dakota Hughes) and Frau (Brian Shaw), Frankenstreisand returns to the stage for the ultimate performance. Both Hughes and Shaw bring a great deal of physical humor to their quirky roles in Smith’s bizarre little script.

This festive Halloween show is a love letter to ‘The Rocky Horror Show’. The 85-minute musical features your favorite Babs songs, each with reconfigured lyrics for context (and likely to avoid copyright infringement). Streisand fans will cackle hearing these hilariously twisted versions of their favorite showtunes. With every number, deranged Frankenstreisand inches closer to giving her cloned pup the spark of life.

Smith knows his Barbra trivia right down to the costumes and together with designer Beth Laske-Miller they’ve recreated some of her signature looks. Wigs by Keith Ryan lend an extra layer of humor to Smith’s cartoon villain version of Barbra.

This play heavily relies on the audience’s knowledge of Streisand lore. Even the biggest fan might find themselves Googling certain facts as they’re leaving the theater, such as does she really have a shopping mall under her house? It’s no secret Barbra Streisand is kooky and perceived as demanding, and this makes her all the riper for satire.

Smith takes his historian-level interest in Barbra and does his own thing. Mixing in some of her signature qualities: the Brooklyn accent, the long fingernails and of course, the schnoz, he also blends in his own Tim Curry-flavored affects that lean into the more overtly sexual. This is a Barbra who doesn’t take herself as seriously.

A musical about Frankenstein and Barbra Streisand may seem like two ideas thrown into a blender with some bong water, but Tyler Anthony Smith has created a hilarious monster with ‘Frankenstreisand.’ It’s both a tribute to the great diva, and an homage to B horror movies of the 1950s.

Through October 31 at Hell in a Handbag Productions. 4702 N Ravenswood. For tickets and or more inforation, click here. 

Described as a play-pageant-ritual-celebration, WHAT TO SEND UP WHEN IT GOES DOWN is both scripted and improvised, participatory and performed – for the purpose of empowering Black People’s response to WHAT GOES DOWN: past, present, and future violence against Black People.

“IT? You know what IT is. IT is that terrible thing that happened, and that is going to keep happening.  IT always happened just yesterday and IT just keeps happening again tomorrow”

This review is really hard to write, mainly because I don’t feel qualified to judge the work. WHAT TO SEND UP WHEN IT GOES DOWN is a participatory event, its purpose to generate a place for catharsis, cleansing, and healing … for Black People. The audience is informed, gently but unapologetically, that WHAT TO SEND UP WHEN IT GOES DOWN is by Black People, about Black People, and for Black People – although all who approach with respect are welcome.

And amazingly that’s absolutely true!  There were lines / jokes / vignettes that I couldn’t appreciate, that I simply didn’t get, but at no point did I feel excluded. The moments of disconnection were my problem:  I, as a white person, couldn’t understand the significance of those lines / jokes / vignettes. The moments of exclusion were deficits in my comprehension; they were in no way generated by the Black People.

BTW, I capitalize Black People because those two words are spoken – shouted, proclaimed, cried, announced, groaned, exclaimed – frequently throughout, and the spoken words are always unmistakably capitalized.

WHAT TO SEND UP WHEN IT GOES DOWN is written by Aleshea Harris, produced by Congo Square Theatre in partnership with LookingGlass Theatre, and directed by Daniel Bryant (Congo Square) and Erika Ratcliff (LookingGlass).

The ensemble includes Jos N. Banks, Chanell Bell, McKenzie Chinn, Alexandria Moorman, Willie “Prince Roc” Round, Joey Stone, and Penelope Walker. Each and every one of this cast are extraordinarily talented at acting, singing, and dancing. Though many of the vignettes are scripted, every word is unmistakably authentic. I can’t begin to imagine how emotionally exhausting each performance must be. I feel honored by their willingness to share it with us.

On the Creative Team are Sarah Grace Goldman (Dramaturg), Sydney Lynne Thomas (Set & Props Designer), Alexis Chaney (Costume/Wig/Makeup Designer), Levi Wilkins (Lighting Designer), and Charlique C. Rolle (Movement Coordinator). Victor Hugo Jaimes is Stage Manager, Estrellita Beatriz Production Manager, and Alexis Carrie designed the costumes. 

Together, this team – production and cast – create an awesome and enduring experience.  Six days later, I’m still having regular moments of recollection and new insight; I predict these perceptions and inspirations will continue for some time.

WHAT TO SEND UP WHEN IT GOES DOWN is Highly Recommended for all audiences; for people who identify as BIPOC, it’s downright ESSENTIAL.

BOTTICELLI in the FIRE is a delight! I’ve got a lot to say about this production, but if you want to cut to the chase:  See BOTTICELLI in the FIRE!   

I’d little idea what to expect, except that queerness would be a major theme, and I’m afraid reading this review won’t prepare you for it either. All I can say is Prepare to be delighted! Or, as lead player Alex Benito Rodriguez (h/h) says, ‘Dripping with delight’.

Alex Benito Rodriguez is a good place to start. He’s Sandro Botticelli; Alex Benito Rodriguez really IS Sandro Botticelli, to a T. Though, oddly, our seatmate confided that they know Rodriguez personally, and offstage he’s quiet and unassuming. Just goes to show what a fine actor Rodriguez is, as those adjectives SO do not describe Sandro Botticelli! 

He opens the show by stumbling down the aisle with a bottle of chianti and assuring us that if he hears a fucking cell phone go off he will fucking kill its owner. He goes on to inform us that five centuries is far too long to be misunderstood; he therefore proposes to tell his story to us. Rodriguez / Sandro is completely delectable, and we’re eager to hear his story.

Kudos to Casting Directors Adelina Feldman-Schultz (sh/h) and Catherine Miller (th/th) – the entire cast meets the high standard set by Rodriguez. Yuchi Chiu (h/h) plays Sandro’s BFF Poggio di Chullu wonderfully as a sort of Cassandra, trying to warn Sandro of the perils outside his doors.  And then there’s young Leonardo da Vinci (John Payne th/th), with their très-70’s polyester bellbottoms, flowery blouse, and dreadlocks to the waist.

O. M. G.

Which is not to downplay the rest of the players! Jenece Upton (sh/h) as Madre Maria is as talented as she’s gorgeous. Andrew Cutler (h/h) is a perfectly smashing Lorenzo De Medici; I love seeing the tats on his knees when he dons shorts (plaid!) to play squash with Sandro. And his wife! Neala Barron (sh/h) as Clarice Orsini has such enormous stage presence she almost overshadows Rodriguez …. Almost.

The friar Giralomo Savanarola’s frenzied sermons are instigating the Venetian people to burn artwork and seditious books … and people. At the top of this category are (naturally) queers. Christopher Meister (h/h) is a strident and menacing Savanarola from the moment he appears with his portable karaoke machine (like those guys down on State Street), bawling imprecations on the sodomites.

BOTTICELLI in the FIRE is set in fifteenth-century Venice: it’s the dawn of the Renaissance, but Venezia is suffering a plague epidemic, with corpses littering the streets. The poor are way poor, and the rich are – well, Medicis – fortressed in their palaces and reveling in their extravagant pleasures. 

Lorenzo de Medici has commissioned his dear friend Sandro Botticelli to paint his wife Clarice. Sandro is happy to comply, but his muse is spurring him to create a highly unconventional portrait: a life-size full-frontal nude of Clarice as Venus, goddess of love and beauty, rising from the waves.

I’m going to throw in a non-sequitur here. In the mythical story, Venus is the daughter of the primordial deity Uranus, son of Mother Earth Gaia. Uranus marries Gaia (the Greek gods pulled stunts a mink breeder wouldn’t allow) and they had eighteen children. Uranus hated his kids and hid them from Gaia, who was so pissed off she gave her youngest son, the Titan Kronos (Father Time to you), a scythe made of indestructible adamantine (don’t ask, I don’t know). With this weapon Kronos castrated his father Uranus and tossed his junk into the sea. Uranus’ seed fertilized the ocean foam, and from that white foam rose Venus, born a fully-grown woman. For some peculiar reason this provenance made her Goddess of Love and Beauty.   

Educational exegesis over; back to Sandro Botticelli painting Clarice. He’s painting her in the nude, so Sandro (having but scant familiarity with female genitalia) needs an up-close view of her privates, and what better way to ponder her pudenda than cunnilingus? Clarice vigorously and repeatedly agrees.

In wanders young Leonardo Da Vinci, creating precisely the distraction Sandro does not need. John Payne (th/th) plays Leo with grace and elegance; one totally understands Sandro’s infatuation, despite its dangers. Poggio, who truly loves Sandro, pleads with him to sever both disastrous relationships, but Sandro is inexorably reckless. His sole objective is pleasure, particularly the sort that can be found inside a man’s pants … preferably Leonardo’s. 

Celebrated playwright Jordan Tannahill (h/h), the ‘enfant terrible of Canadian theatre’, wrote BOTTICELLI in the FIRE in 2016, but the correlations between 1480’s Venice and 2022 Chicago are even more relevant: plagues, bookburnings, anti-LGBTQ rhetoric legislation and assaults, and the renaissance of Chicago theatre after two years of dark houses.

Director Bo Frazier (th/th) describes themself as trans non-binary, queer, and neurodivergent – a theatre maker using imagination to tell traditionally excluded narratives. Frazier says:

As a queer and trans person watching more than 300 anti-LGBTQ+ bills introduced across the country in the last couple years, it has been both exhausting and terrifying to live in America where freedom is only meant for Christian, white, cisgender, able-bodied males.

With Assistant Director Dionne Adsdai (sh/th), Frazier directs BOTTICELLI in the FIRE from this mindset, beseeching us to battle these negative forces by doing all we can to empower queer joy. Their exceptional direction of BOTTICELLI in the FIRE is an excellent start.

The production of BOTTICELLI in the FIRE is masterful (Anastar Alvarez, th/th, Production Manager). The simplicity of the set created by Lauren Nichols (sh/h, Scenic Designer) and Theresa Lammon (Poster Designer) frees us to enjoy the play and players without being distracted by objects (Caitlin McCarthy, sh/h, Props) except, of course, the easel holding an enormous veiled canvas. Costume Designer Hilary Rubio, (sh/h) balances this simplicity by her sumptuous use of sheer, flowing and net fabrics, and anachronistic clothing.

Oi! Did someone say ‘anachronism’? I recently wrote a review where I criticized the anachronisms, but in BOTTICELLI in the FIRE the temporal bloopers are frequent, deliberate, and absolutely necessary. It’s hilarious when Sandro reads a text message from Lorenzo Medici, and music director Andres Fonseca (h/h), with Sound Designer Willow James (h/h), deliver a score that manages to blend rock, hip-hop, and Gregorian chant; I love when the ensemble chants da Vinci’s Vitruvian man’s proportions in plainsong.

And they dance, too! Singing and dancing commensurate with their phenomenal acting – this is unquestionably a multi-talented cast.

Co-Technical Directors Abbie Reed and Peter Wilde work with Stage Manager Oswald Avila (h/h) to regulate the pandemonium that regularly erupts onstage, making it both comprehensible and non-threatening – to us, any road! As for the characters, Intimacy & Violence Coordinator Micah Figuero (h/h) has his work cut out for him, and produces brutal attacks as compelling as the copulation(s!). The lighting, designed by Benjamin Carne (h/h), complemented the action splendidly; he used the spots brilliantly [sic].

What more can I say? The only negative I can dredge up is that (SPOILER ALERT!) I was disappointed there were no nude scenes. But not everyone has my taste for the salacious!

Which reminds me – like Hunter Clause’s WBEZ Rundown, I have One More Thing: I’m drawn specifically to events that feature LGBTQ+ issues; my companion is not, but she was as delighted by BOTTICELLI in the FIRE as me!

Highly Recommended!

I found DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE to be weird.

Well, it’s supposed to be weird, right? It’s a weird and spooky story about Dr. Henry Jekyll, a respectable, conventional Victorian physician, liberating his dark side: a persona named Edward Hyde, whose cruel and amoral exploits prove ruinous. Yeah. Weird. Perfect for the shuddersome All Hallows Eve season.

Robert Louis Stevenson wrote DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE as a novella in 1886; expanded to full-novel length in 1891.  There have been hundreds of stage and film adaptations of the tale, from its first stage presentation in 1887 to films starring John Barrymore (1920), Spencer Tracy (1941), Boris Karloff (1953), and many others.

Here is a new adaptation, written by Michael Dalberg and produced by Idle Muse Theatre Company, in which the issues of class and gender, intimacy and violence that clash in the original story are amplified. Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde ran in 1971 as a B-movie; Dalberg turns this around by casting a woman, Brandi Jiminez Lee (sh/h) as Dr. Henry Jekyll. Choosing tall dark & handsome Jack Sharkey (h/h) as Mr. Edward Hyde is significant as well. Mr. Hyde is a thoroughly loathsome character, and virtually all adaptations exhibit a face and physique to match. Sharkey’s Hyde, however, is cultured and sensual, an Edward Hyde that I found by no means repugnant – at first, any road. Which is not to say he’s a good guy! just a really slick one.

Stevenson wrote JEKYLL & HYDE to explore the dichotomy between our public and private selves, even more relevant in Victorian times than today. In the play, the dyad extends beyond Jekyll vs. Hyde.  The story is told by Jekyll’s solicitor (and admirer) Gabriel John Utterson, masterfully played by Shane Richlen (h/h), and the contrast between this worthy Victorian gentleman and the unconventional Henri Jekyll is as sharp as that between Jekyll and Hyde – in fact, I found myself scratching my head about his devotion: hie thee to Al-Anon, John Gabriel! 

Other characters mirror the good/evil dichotomy as well. Dr. Hastie Lanyon, played by Joel Thompson (h/h), friend to both Utterson and Jekyll, is the first to learn that Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are one and the same, a grim discovery that haunts Lanyon to his death. Richard Enfield (Ian Saderholm, h/h) is another ideal Victorian gentleman; he is the first to witness Hyde committing a violent crime, while Sir Danvers Carew, played by understudy Ross Compton (h/h), is the first person we actually see Hyde slay. The assault is also witnessed by the Maid (Hanna Beth Mitchell, sh/h), an intermittent character used for comic relief. One final character mismatches Hyde: Dr. Jekyll’s butler Poole (Ross Compton), whose devotion to his master starkly contrasts with Hyde’s treachery.

So, why am I calling this production weird? To begin with, the contradiction seems to extend into the plot. I had real trouble following all the aspects of the story: murder and virtue, rape and seduction, revenge and passion, with snippets of addiction, past sexual molestation, homosexuality, and incongruous heterosexuality tossed in haphazardly.  At the interval I confessed my confusion to my companion, an ardent fan of Stevenson’s novel, and was amazed (and relieved) to learn she was equally befuddled.

And there was a large group seated in front of us who laughed extravagantly throughout (including at things I saw no humor in) – clearly they did not share our misgivings. We concluded they were friends of the cast, devoted and true, and god love ‘em for it. But they were another weird thing.

I was dismayed by the missed opportunities. For example, why, when evil Hyde was a white man and good Jekyll a Black woman, was there absolutely no mention of race? One of the reasons I was interested in this adaptation was the casting of a Black woman in the role of Jekyll, but that didn’t seem at all relevant to the play. I notice this particularly since I’ve seen Chicago theatre come back from covid with much attention on issues of racial and gender disparity, yet this production made no use of multiple openings. And, though sexual abuse is frequently alluded to, its import as a motive is relegated to a throw-away line at the end. I’d like to have seen that issue fleshed out far more. 

The production as a whole was discombobulating, beginning with the script and continuing through its interpretation by director Morgan Manasa (sh/h), with artistic director Evan Jackson (th/th), dramaturges Elizabeth MacDougald (th/th) and Tristan Brandon (th/th) [also props designer and literary manager]. There were glaring anachronisms—the Maid smoking on the street in 1885? And while Elizabeth Blackwell obtained her MD in 1849, Elizabeth Anderson didn’t become the first British female physician until 1865, yet the issue of feminism and suffrage is decidedly underplayed. And I question several choices (rock music between scenes?) made by music & sound director L.J. Luthringer (h/h), and lighting & projection designer Laura Wiley (th/th). 

I wish Jessie Gowens’ (sh/h) costumes had done more to distinguish the various Victorian Gentlemen. Carrie Hardin (sh/h), speech and dialect coach, allowed traces of Yorkshire to slip into London. Fight choreographer Libby Beyreis (sh/h) suffered unfairly by comparison to the Babes with Blades’ production of Richard III, which I saw just a few days earlier. I found the seduction scenes unconvincing, but intimacy designers Samantha Kaufman (sh/h) and Courtney Abbott (sh/h) had quite a challenge with Hyde’s despoilment of Jekyll – though I did love Hyde’s line, “Just think of it as masturbation.” In fact, I was definitely intrigued by the casting of Jekyll and Hyde as two completely different characters.

Stage managers Becky Warner (th/th) and Beth Bruins (sh/h), with scenic designer Stina Taylor (sh/h), created a set that required frequent rearrangement of all the furniture, which I found more disruptive than expressive. The remainder of the creative team are Kati Lechner (th/th), covid compliance officer, production manager Shellie DiSalvo (th/th), treasurer Mara Kovacevic (sh/h) and Gina Marie Hoskins (sh/h) in marketing.

Please remember that my description of the play as ‘weird’ is just that: my description. The cast was superb, and did an excellent job, particularly co-stars Brandi Jiminez Lee, Jack Sharkey, and Shane Richlen. And I’m always pleased when an understudy (Ross Compton) steps forward to give a fine performance.

Goodman Theatre welcomes back audiences with Lynn Nottage’s Broadway hit, “Clyde’s”. Collaboration between Goodman and playwright Lynn Nottage goes way back, including the 2019 production of her second Pulitzer Prize winner “Sweat”. This food-filled dramady is directed by Kate Whoriskey who has directed several of Nottage’s plays around the country.

Lynn Nottage was one of the busiest playwrights in New York this year, with three of her shows running on New York stages at the same time! Nottage is the first woman to have won the Pulitzer Prize twice in her career. Both of her Pulitzer winning plays have been produced at Goodman. The first play, “Ruined”, was part of Goodman’s New Stages festival in 2007. It was revived in the Owen space the following season and was awarded the Pulitzer in 2009. Since then, Goodman has produced “By the Way, Meet Vera Stark” and “Sweat” by Nottage.

“Clyde’s” was hit on Broadway in 2021, closing in early 2022. The single act play tells the story of a group of recently released ex-convicts working at Clyde’s, a grease spoon diner. The truck-stop sandwich stand is their only hope for employment, but Clyde the owner (a former convict herself) is unreasonably wicked.

“Clyde’s” is lighter fare than Nottage’s previous Goodman engagement, “Sweat”, but it doesn’t shy away from life’s grittiness. Nottage has an appreciation for the working class of America and often uses unglamorous settings to explore some of society’s deepest fractures. Main characters Letitia (Nedra Snipes) and Rafael (Reza Salazar) spend their working hours jumping as high as Clyde commands, but in between the verbal and physical assaults, they daydream about the perfect sandwich. The perfect sandwich being both literal and a metaphor for life without the unsavory baggage of former incarceration. They’re inspired by ethereal head chef Montrellous (Kevin Kenerly) who brings a sense of peace to the cook line. Kitchen dynamics change when quiet newcomer Jason (Garrett Young) joins the team.

An intimate cast led by understudy Danielle Davis as Clyde brings this seemingly simple story to life. Simple doesn’t mean shallow. There’s a lot of meat on this play. In one act Nottage does something few can do in a full length: she makes us care about everyday people society wishes to ignore. “Clyde’s” makes a statement on prison reform, class warfare, race, gender, and workplace relationships.

Danielle Davis is nearly cartoonishly evil, but she walks away with most of the scenes and laughs. We’ve all worked for someone we perceive as the devil, but Clyde might actually be Satan herself. The emotional weight of the play falls on Letitia’s shoulders and Nedra Snipes carries it well. Her budding romance with Rafael exposes how lonely it can be as a formerly incarcerated citizen. Even though these characters don’t always get along with Clyde, in the kitchen they treat each other with respect, which is more than the world treats them with.

So quickly after the pandemic did we forget about the “heroes” in service industry roles. “Clyde’s” reminds us to approach each other with respect despite background, job title or income. Nottage elevates the everyday lives of those working the hardest, and at the lowest rungs. The play also evokes a sense of gratitude for employment some would find off-putting. By having her characters dream of making the perfect sandwich, she’s encouraging all of us to keep dreaming of better life while appreciating the good right in front of us.

Through October 9 at Goodman Theatre, 170 N Dearborn Street. www.goodmantheatre.org

The term "Red Summer" was coined by civil rights activist and author James Weldon Johnson, who had been employed as a field secretary by the NAACP since 1916.  It is the period from late winter through early autumn of 1919 during which white supremacist terrorism and racial riots took place in more than three dozen cities across the United States. “Red Summer” is also the name of the premiere musical by Governors State University Center for the Performing Arts in collaboration with MPAACT Theatre. It tells the story of the Chicago entry into the red summer uprisings.

We meet the energetic and talented chorus with the opening musical number “Setting the Stage”. The neighborhood comes alive. Two families living on either side of an imaginary dividing line, basically in the same economic position, await the return of loved ones from the war. Hard-working ethnic immigrant Mam Weir and her impulsive son Declan Weir await the return of son and brother, Connor Weir. While across the racial line, equally hard-working Marlene Winters awaits her husband Donald Lee Winters. Marlene has the added burden of losing a child to the 1918 pandemic. Tensions rise with men coming home from the war compete for work in an shrinking economy. Tensions run high with everyone looking for a scapegoat. One hot summer day, Eugene Williams a child, swam into a segregated area of Lake Michigan. He was stoned and drowned. Since the authorities took no action, African Americans took it upon themselves and riots ensued with the ethnic Irish. These riots were documented by The Chicago Defender and the Chicago Tribune.

The writing staff of Shepsu Aakhu,  Andrew White & Shawn Wallace did an excellent job giving voice to the despair, fear and dashed hopes and dreams of its characters. Writing a musical is difficult. Writing a musical where “all’s well doesn’t end well” is almost impossible but they have done it. This was no easy task.

I could write paragraphs about the largest cast ever to grace an MPAACT production, but for the sake of brevity I can only point out a few. Let me say, the entire ensemble was beautiful.  Chloe, Lauren, Katherine, Allison, Autumn, Anthony, Michael, Destin, Dane, Jacque, Danelle, and Marc this show would not have been as successful if it were not for your kinetic stage energy and talent.

Ashlea Woodley as Mam Weir, Alexander Slade as Declan and Ryan Huemmer as Connor.  I loved them individually, together they blew me away. When their voices came together with the song “Eyes Ahead” it was magic. I sat up and took notice.

C.C. Rois also stood out as Marlene Winters. Her singing was ethereal. Her grace and elegance manifested in her songs. I was especially moved by her graveyard scene. Touching and warm.

Nathaniel Andrew who plays Donald Lee Winters, made us root for him. His singing voice pure and honest…who knew.

Melanie Victoria as Ida B Wells captured the audience with her stage presence and gospel-tinged singing.

Bob Sanders as Mayor Bill Thompson was equally as compelling as a counterpoint to Ms. Wells

J. Xavier as army veteran-bartender Dixon is a powerful presence. A robust singing style makes him a standout.

Michaelyn Oby played Eugene Williams sweetly. I’m sure I’ll see more of her on the Chicago stage.

Brian Healy as the Casmero Lazeroni, the fruit peddler was a major joy and standout. His voice was unreal. It was a character I looked forward to. Not to give away anything, but I was hurt.

Jessica Wardell’s tall, skeletal Chicago tenements and storefront along with a fruit peddler with cart, gave the set a sense of 1919 realism. Abboye Lawrence’s media gave us a sense of time and place especially the media for the Chicago Defender and the mayor’s office. Evelyn Danner is to be applauded for brilliant costume design. Terrific Lighting effects by Brandon Wardell.

It is obvious this production grew because of the special gifts of Andrea Dymond.  Her specialty is new works and bringing them to fruition. As I’ve said before, musicals are hard ands sad musicals are harder. Despite the subject matter, Dymond has made a stunning, engaging portrait of a shameful past. 

Shepsu Aakhu you can’t be your own dramaturge!

Red Summer is playing till September 25th.

Friday and Saturday at 730,

Sunday at 2pm.

Tickets start at $30.00 to $57.00. And tickets can be bought online at CenterTickets.net or call 708-235-2222.

Governors State University is located about 45 min from Chicago, at 1 University Pkwy, University Park

Oy … where to begin with Stephen Sondheim’s SWEENEY TODD?

Let’s begin with what one sees first: the venue. Chopin Theatre opened in 1918 at the Polonia Triangle in Wicker Park. Over 100 years the building has variously housed (among other things) a bank, a thrift shop, and a discotheque.  In 1990, Zygmunt and Lela Headd Dyrkacz purchased The Chopin, and restored it to accommodate two remarkable theaters, the Main and the smaller Studio in the basement. For SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET the entire theater is part of the set; as you walk down the stairs you descend into 19th century London.

The seating is a motley collection of Victorian divans and chairs, giving the sense of a less-than-opulent home parlor. The seats are placed round a circular stage with a raised octagonal platform at its centre –we later see that the platform revolves. This is one of the many contrivances that Scenic & Lighting Designer G “Max” Maxin IV (h/h) uses to showcase the masterful company. He is assisted by Andrew Lund (h/th, Asst Director), Jakob Abderhalden (h/h; Props & Scenic Décor), Scenic Painter David Geinosky (h/h), Sound Designer Mike Patrick (h/h) and Lynsy Folckomer (sh/h, Sound Engineer). 

‘Masterful company’ is a major understatement.  The casting used by Kokandy Producing Artistic Director Derek Van Barham (h/h) and Casting Associate Roman Sanchez (h/h) is diverse and inventive, and the ingenious choreography utilizes every inch of the limited space. I already mentioned the carousel stage…. I guess that makes it Theatre in the Round-and-Round, yeah?

From a purely mechanical standpoint, SWEENEY TODD is … I believe the technical term is ‘a real bitch’. Sondheim loves to challenge actors with his complex music and lyrics; the ensemble of eight roars out countless alliterative tongue-twisters – rapidly, at maximum volume, and in unison. Getting this right ain’t easy, but it’s delivered flawlessly by the ensemble: Joel Arreola, Brittney Brown, Ethan Carlson, Stephanie Chiodraws, Christopher Johnson, Nikki Krzebiot, Daniel Rausch, and understudy Nathan Kabara (stepping in for Charlie Mann).

The show begins with a welcome and a warning from Quinn Rigg who, with a swoosh of his cloak (costumer Rachel Sypniewski (s/h) uses cloaks very effectively) transforms into Adolfo Pirell, pivoting and whirling through a terrific performance. Kevin Webb and Caitlin Jackson star as Sweeney Todd and Mrs. Lovett. Both give truly outstanding performances as partners in clipping and culinary crime. Jackson has a miraculous voice, as do Isabel Cecilia Garcia (Beggar Woman) and Ryan Stajmiger (Anthony Hope). Christopher Johnson is Judge Turpin, Josiah Haugen plays Beadle Bamford, and I want to give a special shoutout to Patrick O’Keefe, who plays Tobias Ragg with frolicsome charisma [two words I don’t often use together]. His voice soars in “Not While I’m Around”.

The intensity and vitality of this production is stunning. I was exhausted at the end, and I never left my seat! while the players danced, leapt, capered and whirled continuously, belting out rapid and complex lyrics, all in perfect time with a dozen castmates. Just incredible. 

Sydney Genco (sh/h) designed splendidly macabre makeup; Keith Ryan (h/h) matched her sinister mastery with his wigs. Scot Kokandy (h/h) is Executive Producer, Assisted by Erik Strebig (th/th). Nick Sula is Music Director, with Vivica Powell (sh/h) as Assistant Choreographer; Intimacy Choreographer is Kirsten Balty (th/th) and, because it’s TODD SWEENEY, we need Jon Beal (h/h) as Violence Director. Stage Manager is Drew Donnelly (h/h), with Assistant Kendyl Meyer (th/th). 

Stephen Sondheim created SWEENEY TODD (music and lyrics; book by Hugh Wheeler) in 1976 as a musical play. But beware! this is not “My Fair Lady”! Prepare to be disturbed, as SWEENEY TODD delves the nether portions of civilization [sorry, I can’t help it – SWEENEY TODD evokes melodramatic phrases like this!].  

The character of Sweeney Todd originated in 1846 as a villain in the penny dreadful serial “The String of Pearls.” In Sondheim’s play, Todd is driven mad by venal and lascivious Judge Turpin’s sentence. His lunacy is re-channeled by Mrs. Lovett (maker of The Worst Pies in London), but she can’t alter the course of his mania. His obsession for revenge is levied on London’s greedy populace; still, Todd can’t find atonement while his foe yet lives. 

SWEENEY TODD is germane to both Yom Kippur and Halloween, but it is not a holiday celebration!  I left the theater stunned and deeply troubled, with at least Six of the Seven Deadly Sins roiling in my head.  

My turmoil is offset, however, by my appreciation of a magnificent piece of musical theater, brilliantly produced and superbly played by a cast whose acting ability is matched only by their musical genius.

OK, time to give my thesaurus a rest … go see SWEENEY TODD, THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET, and we’ll see how you fare with the superlatives.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

*Extended through December 18th

Black and Irish Twitter had a field day upon the death of Her Highness Queen Elizabeth II. No tears were shed other than tears of laughter and joy at the demise of a colonizer. Telling Black twitter to be respectful of the death of the woman who inherited the legacy of an empire that contributed to the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, or Irish twitter to mourn the woman whose legacy includes Black Sunday is truly an eye rolling, laugh inducting matter…sorry Chris. It is ironic “The Most Spectacularly Lamentable Trial of Miz Martha Washington”, lambasting the “Mother of Our Country”, opened the same weekend as the death of the Queen of the Commonwealth.

I learned so much from seeing this play. Much of James Ijames play is based on historical fact. Martha Dandridge Custis was a widow with two children and enslaved people when she married George Washington. She had an illegitimate half-sister, Ann, born into slavery, thanks to her father. Ann had a son named William. William is both nephew and grandson to Martha since it is believed Martha’s son, John Custis is Williams’s father. George Washington did instruct his wife to release his enslaved people upon his death.  Martha feared her life was in jeopardy and expressed it to Abigail Adams. James Ijames did his research writing this exceptional play. The writing is relevant, thought-provoking, and extremely entertaining.

The play opens Christmas eve night. An enslaved woman, Ann Dandridge is attending to a dying Martha Washington. Just outside and within ear shot are Miz Washington’s enslaved chattel waiting for the glorious moment of her death. They are aware of the clause in her late husbands will freeing them of servitude upon her death, and they can hardly contain themselves.  Miz Washington falls into a deep sleep and finds herself in a fever dream where she will have to account for the people she has enslaved.

Then the fun begins……

Not every director or actor could have pulled off this spectacle. And believe me, it was a spectacle. There was nothing small or tentative about this production. It was big, it was bold, it was Black and Beautiful. Director Whitney White used every fiber of all her talented actors to wonderful results. The ensemble consists of Sydney Charles as Priscilla, Celeste M. Cooper as Doll, Donovan Session as Sucky-Boy, Carl Clemons-Hopkins as Davy, Victor Musoni as William, Nikki Crawford as Ann Dandridge, and Cindy Gold as Martha Washington. All the ensemble members, except Cindy Gold, play a host of other characters.

Clint Ramos’ set design is interesting, dark, and foreboding at times, at other times a circus

Izumi Inaba’s costumes showed a vivid imagination, among the best I’ve seen. There are several scene and costume changes and for the life of me, I’m not sure how they were done so quick and effortlessly.

Ijames doesn’t romanticize slavery as I’ve seen in other plays. There is nothing nice about slavery. Ijames has made his enslaved people the antagonist to an American way of life, putting them at odds with those who romanticize this country.

I got into a row with someone on twitter about my indifference to the Queen’s death. He reminded me the British Empire abolished slavery decades before the United States. I reminded him the British Empire used slave labor to harvest sugarcane, they realized enslaved people with machetes aren’t good for business.

This production is highly recommended.

THE MOST SPECTACULARLY LAMENTABLE TRIAL OF MIZ MARTHA WASHINGTON runs through October 9, 2022 at Steppenwolf Theatre Company, 1650 North Halsted. Tickets are $20-$96.