Items filtered by date: November 2007

A rare opportunity to see Brian Friel’s ‘Molly Sweeney’ is being presented at the historic Chopin Theatre building at its intimate Studio through May 8. The celebrated Irish playwright won a 1996 Tony Award for this very contemporary tale of a 40-year-old woman blind from infancy who has her vision restored, examining the aftermath.

It is based on a case study written up in 1995 by Oliver Sacks, telling of the real patient on which ‘Molly Sweeney’ is based. The notoriety of playwright Friel, who died in 2015, has been eclipsed by more recent Irish script writers like Conor McPherson (‘The Weir’ and with Bob Dylan, ‘Girl from the North Country’) or Martin McDonough (‘Beauty Queen of Leenane’ and ‘Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri’).

The Irish Theatre of Chicago has given the two-act play a skillful production under director Siiri Scott. Molly (Carolyn Kruse) is a vibrant figure, an athletic and successful woman living a rich life, who has married Frank Sweeney (Matthew Isler) who is a bit too much of a dreamer who attaches himself to efforts like saving whales in which he hopes to gain fame and distinction. But things end badly, usually, as in the case of introducing Iranian goats to Ireland. (The animals never quite adjusted to the time zone change and must be milked at ungodly hours).

Mr. Rice (Robert Kauzurlaric), an ambitious doctor also hoping to reclaim his clouded reputation with a medical miracle for Molly, who begins to suspect she is a foil in other peoples’ goals. The playwright’s mastery becomes apparent as the action is simply a series of monologues—each recollecting aspects of their lives and the story at hand. Yet my interest never flagged, and the recounting of dances and parties, by which other characters are injected into the action. The simple stage becomes all the world, as the Bard says. And we are left wanting more at intermission.

Like the real patient, Molly regains her sight, but with unintended consequences and a steep personal cost. The Irish Theatre of Chicago brings careful attention to dialect, and the Irish English which is its own language (like Puerto Rican Spanish, perhaps) is delivered convincingly to Chicago ears. Kruse is most vibrant and the perfect picture of Molly as it unfolds in the script. And likewise Kauzurlic as Mr. Rice and Isler in the role of Frank Sweeney.

One quibble would be the stage which spreads wide across the front row, so the spotlighted characters are far from each other, giving those in center rows a better view than the left or right seating. But it's a small thing in this lovely space. ‘Molly Sweeney’ is a lovely return to live production at the Chopin Theatre Studio, and demonstrates Irish Theatre of Chicago hasn’t been diminished a bit by the pandemic. Performances run Thursday through Sunday (except Easter) through May 8. www.irishtheatre.org

Perhaps it was the pandemic, or maybe it’s the cultural divide between the left and the right, but it seems like small town gay bars are vanishing. Playwright Samantha Mueller sets out to commemorate these safe spaces in their new play “Laced” making its world premiere at About Face Theatre. Directed by Lexi Saunders, “Laced” is a unique backstage look at LGBTQ nightlife and those who help create that world.

In the aftermath of the Pulse Nightclub shooting and before the 2016 election, three bartenders at a small town Florida gay bar come to work to find the bar has been vandalized. Minnow (Daniela Martinez), Audra (Mariah Copeland) and Cat (Collin Quinn Rice) are close coworkers and the incident leaves them rattled. Minnow becomes obsessed with figuring out who did this. The three work to piece together the previous evening. In the telling, each share intimate thoughts and experiences.

There’ some heavy content here, but overall this is a play that celebrates queer spaces and those who work tirelessly to ensure everyone feels welcome. The staging by Sydney Lynne immediately sets “Laced” in a specific atmosphere. Local queer scene DJ Ariel Zetina creates a hot soundscape with tracks by Charli XCX and Robyn peppered in. About Face directly borrows from the Chicago queer nightlife scene and it lends a real sense of authenticity to “Laced” that is somewhat missing on the page.

Mueller makes some relatable observations about queer life in their 90 minute one-act. Mueller digs in deep on the idea of what makes queer relationships; romantic or otherwise, different from the heteronormative standard. In doing so, they build a compelling case for why queer spaces need to be defended.

There’s a lot of chemistry between the three leads. While some of the dialogue sounds like it was taken from internet memes, Daniela Martinez keeps it sounding fresh and cool. Mueller’s well-intentioned dialogue does beg the question, who is the audience for this show? The plot never quite builds but “Laced” seems more about the journey than the destination.

As more exclusionary laws are introduced around the country, theatre companies like About Face become even more essential. Much like the bar in “Laced” About Face is a safe space for LGBTQ stories and perhaps through storytelling can bring awareness to an epidemic of small-town gay bar closures.

Through April 16 at About Face Theatre at The Den. 1331 N Milkwaukee. www.AboutFaceTheatre.com

The preoccupation with the opioid crisis in our pop culture these days says a lot about the world in which we live. Rivendell Theatre contributes to the national conversation with a new play, “Spay” by local playwright Madison Fiedler. “Spay” is set in Appalachia, the heart of the opioid crisis, also where Fiedler grew up. Inspired by what she observed living in rural North Carolina, “Spay” furthers the conversation of how specifically this epidemic is effecting women.

Noah (Rae Gray) is a struggling heroin addict. She has a child, but her sister Harper (Krystel McNeil) raises him. Following an overdose, Noah agrees to live with Harper but she has to get sober. Noah’s boyfriend Jackson (Spencer Huffman) is her drug dealer and all around bad influence. The standard architypes of an episode of Intervention. Fiedler works against popular tropes or clichés to make these damaged characters likeable.  

A few years ago, Vice HBO ran a segment about Project Prevention, a nonprofit with a mission to help women and mothers with addiction. Except, there’s a little more to the mission of Project Prevention than just helping addicts. In Fiedler’s play Aubrey (Tara Mallen) mysteriously floats into Noah and Harper’s lives in an almost Mary Poppinish way. Aubrey is a representative of Project Prevention, and explains to Harper exactly what it is they do. Voluntary sterilization is one way Project Prevention sees a way out of the opioid crisis. Fiedler places this detail at a crucial moment of the play.

“Spay” examines how America looks at the opioid crisis, or rather how America chooses to hide the opioid crisis. While some can argue voluntary sterilization could cut down on the amount of children being born addicted and burdening the foster care system. Fiedler’s gruesome title suggests how she feels about the procedure.

Whether this play is a tragedy is up for debate. “Spay” is a play about exactly what its title implies. The comparison of human women to dogs. We get our dogs “fixed” in order to avoid a litter to care for. There’s a coldness to the idea that anyone would be given monetary compensation for a very permanent, non-essential procedure. A branding from society that you are not good enough to recreate.

Rae Gray and Krystel McNeil both deliver strong performances in this incredibly intimate production. Designed by Lindsay Mummert, the staging feels almost as if you yourself are sitting in Harper’s dingy living room. The atmospheric nature of this staging removes any veil audiences have with the realities of the opioid epidemic. It’s a first hand experience. As more and more opioid stories are told, calls for accountability become louder and plays like “Spay” help drive home the point that addiction is a disease not a character flaw.

Through April 17 at Rivendell Theatre Ensemble, 5779 N Ridge Avenue, www.rivendelltheatre.org

It’s hard to imagine a life without late night talk shows. Since the dawn of TV, late night talk shows have been a means for Americans to get to know celebrities better. During the pandemic these nightly comedy hours provided a necessary platform for connection and laughter. We watched the studio audiences fade away and our favorite hosts compressed to a Zoom call. Even if imperfect, their presence provided a sense of comfort.

The art of conversation is a gift. Jack Paar certainly had that gift, and was one of the first hosts of The Tonight Show on NBC in the 1950s. His playful banter with his often-intoxicated celebrity guests was unpredictable and made for must-watch TV.

Doug Wright’s new play “Goodnight Oscar” premiering at Goodman Theatre, imagines the backstage drama of a taping of The Jack Paar Show with Oscar Levant, who was a frequent guest and one of Paar’s favorites. “Will & Grace” star Sean Hayes gives a powerful performance as Oscar Levant. Hayes is nearly unrecognizable donning the slurred vocal mannerisms of a comedian struggling with substance abuse.

A lot of the world’s funniest comedians have led sad lives. Oscar Levant was both a gifted classical pianist and a Hollywood comedy actor. He struggled with mental health and substance abuse as many celebrities did in an era before rehab existed.

In Doug Wright’s telling, Oscar has been sprung from a mental institution on a four-hour pass in order to make an appearance on the show. Oscar’s quick thinking, off-color humor makes the NBC studio executives nervous, but his deteriorating health are what make his wife June (Emily Bergl) nervous.

Doug Wright has a knack for taking somewhat obscure pop culture and crafting an unlikely narrative around it. Wright and Goodman have a long history of collaboration, his last play “War Paint” premiered at Goodman before opening on Broadway. “Goodnight Oscar” nicely fits into his catalog. While the plot is fairly straight forward, it’s the character study of Oscar Levant where the heart of the script lies.

This play is mostly driven by Sean Hayes’ extraordinary performance. Hayes is best known as a comedic actor, but “Goodnight Oscar” gives audiences a chance to see him do a dramatic role. His transformative appearance and skills on the piano had the audience giving a standing ovation long before the curtain call.

This briskly paced 90-minute script is so full of one-liners, you don’t want to miss a word. While some of the humor is very specific to the 1950s, those with knowledge of classic Hollywood will find much to chuckle about. Jack Paar was not the first late night TV show host, but he knew good TV. He encouraged his guests to push the boundaries. So many of TVs most shocking moments have happened on late night talk shows. Doug Wright’s play provides the origin story of how late night TV became a nightly ritual for many Americans.

Through April 24^th at Goodman Theatre. 170 North Dearborn 312-443-3800

Of all the theaters whose return I’ve been most excited to experience, Theo Ubique was near the top of the list. And, with their current production of Mary Rodgers’ Once Upon a Mattress, directed by Landree Fleming, the Evanston company did not disappoint.

While Once Upon a Mattress is a rollicking take on Hans Christian Andersen’s beloved “The Princess and the Pea”—humor we’ll get to in a second—it’s not without its heart. The love story between Sir Harry and Lady Larken provides the heart in this production. Parker Guidry’s Lady Larken is often the stately center of a production with all manner of hilarity occurring all around, and their onstage and vocal chemistry with Michael Metcalf’s Harry is real. Not to be outdone, Sonia Goldberg as the titular princess also brings the vocals.

And then the rest of the cast turns this love story into something fun. As Princess Winnifred’s love interest, Prince Dauntless, August Forman lights up the stage with their childlike preening and pouting, often dueling with their mother, Queen Aggravain, played totally over-the-top (in the best way possible) by Anne Sheridan Smith.

The Queen’s husband, King Sextimus, is forced to go over-the-top on account of his being mute. And Andrew Fortman turns this disadvantage into comedy gold, miming his way across the theater floor, often with Jasmine Lacy Young’s Poet and Michael M. Ashford’s Jester (especially in the trio for two, “The Poet, The Jester and I”). Ashford’s “Very Soft Shoes” dance routine also brought smiles.

But it’s all the movement and action and stuff constantly going on across Theo Ubique’s floor that most delights. That can be chalked up to Jenna Schoppe’s choreography (captained and assisted by J Alan, who also moves the story along as the Wizard). But it’s just as much the talented ensemble of Theo Ubique that keeps the show going—Sarah J. Patin, Nathe Rowbotham, Peter Ruger, and Laura Sportiello are every bit as vital as the rest of the cast, dancing, singing, sweating, and smiling to bring life to the kingdom.

And the smile they brought to my face showed that Theo Ubique is indeed back, doing what Theo Ubique does—bringing life to a beloved show, bringing smiles to those who wander into the cozy storefront off Howard Street, and bringing joy to Chicago’s theater community once again. Share in that joy as Theo Ubique presents Once Upon a Mattress, now through May 1.

I remember the first time I saw The Birdcage starting Robin Williams and Nathan Lane. My mother was judged for "exposing" me to such a "mature story." But today it is still one of my favorite films, as is the original play it's based off of "La Cage aux Folles." Knowing the storyline I jumped at the opportunity to see this and wish I brought more people with me to experience this timeless classic.

La Cage aux Folles tells the story of Georges, the manager of a Saint-Tropez nightclub featuring drag entertainment, and Albin, his romantic partner and star attraction. Things are going swimmingly for the pair until Georges' son, Jean-Michel, brings home his fiancée's ultra-conservative parents to meet them.

From the moment you walk into the theater and are greeted by the actors in drag, flanking a giant pink cage, you are immersed in La Cage. The marquee sign, cafe tables, and tranquil french music transports you to St. Tropez as George welcomes you to La Cage aux Folles. The play opens with impressive drag numbers as though you are an audience member of La Cage. It's part play, part drag show, all entertaining. Zaza (aka Albin), played by Ginger Minj, star of RuPaul's Drag Race, captivates every time she is on stage. She engages the love audience into her comedy bits, and leaves them speechless when she sings 'I am what I am." The relationship between her and Georges, played by Jason Richards, was captivating, and you were truly rooting for this couple as they had to navigate a tricky situation.

There is something timeless about La Cage. It retains the same devastating undertones of having to change yourself in order to appease some people. But it also challenges these notions in a farcical, yet realistic way depicted in the film of the same name. Opening on Broadway in 1983 La Cage broke barriers for gay representation by becoming the first hit Broadway musical centered on a homosexual relationship. The original production ran for more than four years and won six Tony Awards and after seeing this play for myself the awards are completely justified. Unlike the film the play immerses you into La Cage from start to finish, making the near 3 hour run time seem too short. 

From seeing The Birdcage to now seeing La Cage aux Folles on stage, I cannot imagine a better love story. Now we know this is not a play for everyone, but I would challenge those who might be averse to seeing this play to see it. Georges and Albin are deeply in love, as evident in songs such as “Song on the Sand,” and even their witty married quips back and forth. The challenge they face in the play,while farcical, are representative of the challenges same sex couples face every day, hiding the real you to make others more comfortable. It’s still a challenge faced today despite progress. Like life itself, La Cage will make you laugh, it will make you cry, possibly bring you into the stand up act if wearing the wrong outfit, and it will also continue to stand strong as an unabashedly honest portrayal of love celebrating who we are.

La Cage is the exact remedy we need for these crazy times and a welcome reprieve from post-pa democ art blocks. So grab your boa and a Zazatini in the lobby, and escape to St. Tropez. La Cage aux Folles runs through April 3rd at the North Shore Center for Performing Arts in Skokie, get your tickets tout suite!

With the world being what it is, war and rumors of war, racial unrest, and division, it was comforting to see a play where two unlikely people form a friendship. A friendship based solely on basketball, more specifically, LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

“King James” opened with the Marvin Gaye version of the national anthem. It took everything within me to not stand with my hand over my heart. It felt like the opening of a championship game. This was special, the DJ Khloe Janel, playlist demanded that we get involved.

Matt is the manager of a wine bar. Because of bad investments and a need for money, he must sell his seats to the 19 remaining games of a season pass to the Cleveland Cavaliers. In walks Shawn, a writer, who just sold his first short story. He has some extra money and would like to splurge on something he couldn’t afford, season tickets to the Cleveland Cavaliers. The two only haggle over the price of the tickets, they complain about bandwagon fans, the meaning of fandom and the “the problem with America” (a theme that comes up in several scenes) as well as all things LeBron James. Matt & Shawn learn a lot about each other, especially how different they are. Shawn, a graduate of the prestigious private school St. Ignatius and Matt, who barely got by in public school, find common ground in their fandom. By the end of the first quarter, I mean scene, Shawn realizes, after scoring the tickets, he has no one to go to the games with him. Matt offers to go to the games with Shawn. It’s better to go with someone who appreciates the game and not just a bandwagon, fair weather fan.

During the next three quarters, spanning 12 years, these guys have a lot to say, yet they are constantly learning new things about each other’s lives. Matt didn’t know how close his mother is to Shawn. Shawn didn’t know how many girlfriends Matt goes thru. As a matter of fact, the longest relationship either of these guys have is between each other

In a departure from “Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo” Rajiv Joseph’s tale about the psychological weight and horrific circumstances of war, nothing in “King James” will make one feel uncomfortable. Still in all, Joseph has written a quick-witted, sharp tongue play. Issues are brought up and just as easily put to rest because of the friendship of these characters…I wish America was like this.

Renowned Director Kenny Leon has directed this show with an eye on pacing. The ball is always in the air and never allowed to rest for long. Every silence is earned. Great job!

Chris Perfetti known mostly for his role on “Abbott Elementary” plays Matt as a neurotic risk-taking super-fan to wonderful results. It is a great contrast to Glenn Davis’s stoic super-fan Shawn. Watching them together is like watching a championship game of verbal gymnastics.

The game is played on Todd Rosenthal’s realistic set. A wine cellar and a fully realized vintage & upholstery store

King James continues at Steppenwolf Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted St., through April 10. Tickets are $20-$88 for performances Tuesday-Sunday. Running time is 115 minutes with one intermission.

Playwright Eleanor Burgess has delivered one of the best scripts I've read or seen, in ‘Wife of a Salesman.’ While it may be viewed somewhat as a “prequel” to Arthur Miller’s 1949 classic ‘Death of a Salesman,’ it never directly references that play, and is an intriguing and challenging work of art that is an instant classic. Its world premier, running through April 3 at Writers Theatre in Glencoe, IL, is a theatrical event of the first order.

Produced in partnership with the Milwaukee Rep, 'Wife of a Salesman' is set in the 1950s (television is just arriving), the play opens in the apartment of The Mistress (Amanda Drinkall), a young blonde awakening to her day perhaps still basking in the glow of an amorous adventure the night before. When a knock somes to her door, she opens it, giving us a glimpse of a matronly woman with a briefcase, then slams it shut immediately, scurrying to straighten up the room, and pull herself together. A minute later she opens the door to this visitor, The Wife (Kate Fry) of the title.

From that opening moment The Mistress conveys through a gasp that she recognizes this unbidden visitor. Then the door reopens and The Wife enters, posing as a fabric saleswoman.Moments of increasing intensity follow, The Wife unable to open her sample case, and The Mistress deftly managing it for her. The Wife comments on a figurine of the Madonna, noting awkwardly that The Mistress must be Catholic. “My neighbors are Catholic,” she notes, and adds that they are nice people. She begins her halting sales pitch on the various samples. And soon The Mistress takes her to task for her poor salesmanship, offering with ratcheting intensity examples of how a sales presentation should be made. And the frey begins.

The Wife, we learn, has driven from New York to Boston, to confront her husband’s mistress, grist for any soap opera, a story from time immemorial. But Burgess unfolds this telling with precision strikes, and Kate Fry and Amanda Drinkall do not miss a beat in the imaginative script under the tight direction of Jo Bonney.

Burgess, whose plays include ‘The Niceties,’ plays out this examination of women’s roles in the 1950s with master craftsmanship. Every beat of the performances draw us into the story, the conflict, and to contrast contemporary views of women’s status in society with expectations from an earlier era.

Then, with a magical stroke (no spoiler), Burgess allows us to meet the actresses playing the roles, and see ways their personal lives parallel those of the 1950s characters. We listen to a generational divergence, Millennial vs. Genx types, in how to chart careers.

But the playwright goes further: the actresses ask the director Jim (Rom Barkhorder) to restore two powerful monologues that he has cut, and to let them speak to the playwright directly. In this meta transformation, Burgess is naming several of the fraught dynamics of theater: the tendency of at least some directors to view actors as”necessary evils” in staging plays, like herding cats. Jim also has an indifferent patriarchal power, and he fends off with familiar tropes of male disregard the multiple entreaties by the actresses to be given their due.

The creative team has given the show a set that is a delight to behold. Tickets to this outstanding production of 'Wife of a Salesman' are available at Writers Theatre. 

Shakespeare the dramatist is a genius at the craft of theater, and brings a timeless artistry that is unexcelled. So it was with some trepidation that I took my seat at the Edge Off-Broadway Theatre for Idle Muse’s 'Upon This Shore: Pericles and the Daughters of Tyre.'

I can report Shakespeare remains intact, the language there, and the production and performances exploiting the full force of his original. Admittedly I was filled with bias against what might unfold in this adaptation of Shakespeare’s original ‘Pericles, Prince of Tyre.’ In a nod to topicality, perhaps - March is Women’s History Month - Idle Muse’s production offers some characters Shakespeare may not have imagined. Avoiding a spoiler here, suffice it to say the arc of the action and the emotive power of Shakespeare are unaffected by these additions and ticket buyers will probably enjoy them.

Director Evan Jackson, who adapted the script, gives us a very strong rendering of ‘Pericles,’ eliciting strong performances and engaging staging, with low-tech storefront creativity in storms and sword fights that assures “the play’s the thing,' and is not overshadowed by the stage mechnics. 

Particularly strong is the performance of Brendan Hutt as Pericles, who moves convincingly through the stages of the prince’s life from venturer to suitor to grieving widower. Hutt brought me near tears with his loss of wife and daughter, and just as readily my heart tracked his transformation to joy when the happy resolution arrives at the end. 

Laura Jones Macknin as Heilicanus owns the stage each time she appears. Watson Swift in three roles (Antiochus, Simonides, and Philomen) is strong in his physical performances, though I could not always understand him as he moved about the stage in his role as the villainous Antiochus. Caty Gordon is exceptionally good as Marina, Pericles' lost and regained daughter. She communicates the essence of a powerful woman through the trials she weathers in the shifting stations of her life.

'Upon This Shore: Pericles and the Daughters of Tyre' runs through April 3 at Edge Off-Broadway Theatre, 1133 W. Catalpa Ave. in Chicago on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Visit idlemuse.org or the Idle Muse Theatre Company Box Office, 773.340.9438.

How well does a three hour Russian science fiction film translate to stage? Surprisingly well. Griffin Theatre gives the North American premiere of David Grieg’s 2019 adaptation of the classic Tarkovsky film. The intimate staging at Raven Theatre gives audiences the same sense of deprivation one might have on a floating space station.

“Solaris” is a water-based planet around which a space station is orbiting. Strange things begin happening to the crew who live in isolation aboard the space station. Dr. Kelvin (Isa Arciniegas) is sent to the space station after the suicide of a crewmember. Once she arrives, she notices the emotional disturbances for herself. Though Solaris remains a mystery to the three doctors aboard the space station, one doctor is convinced of its malevolent intentions. While Dr. Kelvin starts to become enamored with Solaris, Dr. Sartorius (Nicole Laurenzi) warns that the visions Kelvin is experiencing can’t be trusted.

Director Scott Weinstein keeps the pace moving, divesting the show of some of the film’s more laborious elements. The small cast led by Isa Arciniegas and John Drea (as her manifestation), capture the moodiness of planet Solaris. There’s not much melodrama here, but rather a slow and steady unraveling. In order to believe the relationship between Kelvin and Ray, romantic chemistry is essential. Arcinegas and Drea play well off each other and their flirtation, however unsettling, is palpable.

Original reviews of the 1972 film version of “Solaris” praised the advanced set design. Scenic designer Joe Schermoly rises to the task. Futuristic spaceship can be tricky to do on a theatre budget, but this story doesn’t call for a lot of technological achievement. Schermoly’s set is functional and stylish. The stark backdrop lends to the feeling of coldness.

“Solaris” is a modern love story set in space. It’s less an exploration of the far reaches of the galaxy and more of an exploration of the human subconscious. At the time of the novel’s release, the USA and the Soviet Union were engaged in a highly competitive race to put the first person on the moon. What “Solaris” does is examine the space race from a different perspective. It asks what psychological effect space travel has. Science fiction films about aliens were popular in the midcentury, as humans took to space. “Solaris” bucks this popular theme in that the lifeforms in this story seem to come from a place of love. It’s a variation on the classic alien story, but perhaps a more uplifting, or at the very least more mature.

“Solaris” is an essential story in our futuristic world of personalized operating systems and hyper-realistic video games. A play, even an adaptation, must ask a central question in order to be useful to an audience. The themes at the center of “Solaris” are much more Earthly than the scenario might seem. Love is a powerful emotion and it often clouds reason and judgement. Is it a feeling we can rationalize ourselves out of? Author Stanislaw Lem makes a strong case against rationalizing romantic love. In the end, Lem was a romantic and “Solaris” is ultimately an unlikely romance. Through March 27^th at Raven Theatre.  6157 N. Clark Street - 773.338.2177.