Displaying items by tag: Emily Lotspeich

Trap Door Theatre is thrilled to continue its mainstage work of their 32nd season with a production of Trap Door's favorite playwright Stanislaw Witkiewicz's The Cuttlefish, or the Hyrcanian Worldview, directed by Nicole Wiesner. The Cuttlefish will play March 19 – April 25, 2026 at Trap Door Theatre, 1655 W Cortland St. in Chicago. Tickets are now on sale at trapdoortheatre.com or by calling (773)-384-0494. Press is encouraged to join on opening night, Thursday, March 19, 2026 at 8:00 pm.

Part philosophical farce, part surreal fever dream—Witkiewicz's The Cuttlefish, or the Hyrcanian Worldview is a razor-sharp satire of art under pressure. In a world where creativity is consumed by control and individuality is crushed beneath the weight of conformity, an artist spirals into crisis—torn between integrity and survival, freedom and obedience. Witkiewicz exposes the seductive dance between artist and authority, where every act of creation risks becoming an act of submission. Decades ahead of its time, this anarchic comedy lays bare the modern artist's impossible choice: stay true to your vision, or surrender it for comfort and applause.

PRODUCTION DETAILS:

Title: The Cuttlefish, or the Hyrcanian Worldview

Author: Stanisław I. Witkiewicz

Translator: Daniel Gerould

Director: Nicole Wiesner

Cast (in alphabetical order): Venice Averyheart (Grumpus/Mother), Emily Lotspeich (Pope Julius II), David Lovejoy (King Hyrcan IV), Keith Surney (Statue of Alice d'Or), Gus Thomas (Ella), and Nicole Wiesner (Paweł Rockoffer).

Location: Trap Door Theatre, 1655 W. Cortland St. Chicago, IL 60622

Dates: Regular Run: Thursday, March 19th –Saturday, April 25th, 2026

Curtain Times: Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 8:00 pm, and Sundays 4/12 and 4/19 at 3PM.

Tickets: $32 with 2-for-1 admission on Thursdays. Tickets are currently available at https://our.show/the-cuttlefish or by calling (773) 384-0494.

For the final show of its 30th anniversary season, Trap Door Theatre—the little company that could—has selected a sure-fire hit with a production of “Nana,” a play based on the 19th century melodrama about an actress and bordello courtesan, Nana, by French author Emile Zola.

Adapted for the stage by the late Olwen Wymark, and co-directed by choreographer Miguel Long and managing director Nicole Weisner, this reimagining of the original 2002 production at the tiny theater—tucked away behind a restaurant at 1655 W. Cortland—was flawless on opening night. It’s a cabaret style musical, and the premise of the story gives us a Parisian cabaret that doubles as a bordello, allowing occasions for song and dance that fit the storyline perfectly.

As the audience arrives, the actors are already in character, welcoming us as patrons of the establishment. At curtain time, the anticipation builds among onstage patrons—mostly emotionally overwrought, palavering males—all hoping for a glance of recognition from Nana when she arrives.

After this artful build-up, which heightens the expectation of the audience as well, drapes are snapped opened for the big reveal: Nana (Maryam Abdi is miraculous) emerges on a swing as a vision of Venus—long blonde tresses, and a gossamer robe opened to barely cover her breasts, minimally hidden by glittery clamshell pasties. It’s all very nineteenth century, and the men fit exactly in our expectations of swooning romantic gestures salted with salacious innuendo.

Amber Washington in "Nana"at Trap Door Theatre through May 19. 

We also meet the coterie of sophisticated ladies in orbit around Nana. There is Sabine (Amber Washington) just too too, all wrapped in a gorgeous gown and chapeau, waving a cigarette holder while delivering bon mots and pithy observations. And her dresser Zoe (Emily Lotspeich), who carefully manages the arrivals of suitors, parceling them out to every room until Nana’s apartment is filled. And Satin (Emily Nicholson), Nana’s BFF and occupying the same role, just at a lower echelon than our diva.
The song and dance numbers were quite good, and flawlessly performed.

Dan Cobbler, Emily Nichelson, and Emily Lotspeich in "Nana" at Trap Door Theatre through May 18, 2024.

Always in need of cash, Nana is pursued by a chorus of snarling creditors, who snarl in unison, to powerful effect on stage.Yet there is a substantial core to Zola's story: Nana, as she rises in stature as the object of desire for wealthy men, extorts them in their ardor, then walks all over them when their funds are depleted. She does this with greater rapidity, yet their generosity never falters. For example, Steiner (David Lovejoy is terrific) has given her a country retreat amid a high society and royal enclave, yethe never receives thanks or very much of Nana’s attention, who only escalates her demands for cash and orders this paramour to surrender his own key to the house he bought for Nana.

Indeed, Nana plays all her many suitors to the limit, relenting only enough when she senses she has pushed too far, an incredibly adept dominatrix.

Yet amid all this, Nana has a private life, and we learn where her earnings go. She retains her maiden aunt (Tia Pinson is the essence of propriety) to care for her infant. And she also has a significant other, Fanton (Caleb Lee Jenkins is the playful, yet mercenary scoundrel). We soon see that Fanton does to Nana what she does to her suitors, though far worse, as he is also physically abusive.

Nana, whose reputation has preceded her, is rejected by the "polite" society around her country home, though local suitors visit surreptitiously. And ultimately, Nana  meets her fated downfall in full expression of melodramatic justice. 

Costumes (Rachel Sypniewski) are spectacular, as are wids (Igor Shashkin) and make-up (Zsofia Otvos). Most amazing in this Trap Door Theatre production is the performance of Maryam Abdi as Nana. Abdi dominates her suitors, and the stage. She is fully in the role, inhabiting Nana’s character in a star-is-born delivery that would fit comfortably in an Off-Broadway, or even Broadway. So too for the entire cast. The Trap Door Theatre has outdone itself with “Nana,” a jewel in its 30th season celebration. “Nana” runs through May 19 at Trap Door Theatre, 1655 W. Cortland St. in Chicago.

*Extended through May 25th