Displaying items by tag: Theater Wit

As the audience takes its seats we are greeted by an atmosphere of foreboding, a trestle bridge girder to the left, and in the evening air, foggy wisps drift about the stage. Already something is up, but we don’t know what. Just something in Charly Evon Simpson’s captivating and mysterious “Jump.”

Soon enough Fay (Jazzma Pryor is dazzling) takes to the bridge and vapes, her smoke blending into the foggy night. Her vaping becomes ritualistic. Squat, in a high tops and jeans jacket, her braided rows tipped in blonde, Fay takes a drag, then tosses her vape into the gorge like a discarded cigarette butt, then reaches skyward and another vape appears, and she repeats this sleight of hand multiple times. Periodically lights flicker, then the stage goes dark.

Running 90 minutes with no intermission, “Jump” relies on a slow (perhaps too slow) and steady build to a climactic reveal for its forward momentum. And in the next scene, action begins. The porch of a white clapboard house is now the focus. This is Fay’s childhood home, and we learn that her mother passed away some weeks ago. She is to meet her family here to dispose of the household possessions, Dad (Alfred Wilson) is due to arrive soon, but is reliably late.

Then Fay’s older sister Judy (Jennifer Glasse) appears. The two check-in with each other, in a verbal joust that suggests years of tension and a different outlook on life. Judy is polished and well groomed. But they are here for the same purpose, wondering aloud what surprising news Dad will have for them when he arrives.

Oddly, the lights flicker now and then. Fay remarks on it but Judy, oddly, doesn’t register the phenomenon or even respond to Fay’s question about it. Judy disappears into the house, and Fay awaits the arrival of her father, alone.

In later scenes, Judy and Fay explore their shared bedroom from girlhood—Fay is more wistful, Judy less engaged in looking back at their time together, and the loss of their mother and home. When Dad does arrive, he lays out the news alone to Fay on the porch: he is planning on selling the house.

Later, Fay is back on the bridge, alone, vaping again and perhaps meditating on these moments of loss, when we meet the most significant character, the long-haired slacker Hopkins (Jeff Kurysz). A cigarette smoker, Hopkins and Fay find a chemistry in smoking and feeling blue on the bridge. We learn that Hopkins was contemplating a jump from the bridge but Fay’s presence thwarted his plan.

Scenes of these two on the bridge are the best part of the play: a natural engagement of two people, each in their own grief, and the mutual support they glean from knowing at least we are not alone. Kurysz is quite perfect, and Pryor’s performance is exceptional.

The sets by Regina Garcia and Lindsay Mummert are beautifully done, and the lighting by Levi Wilkins and sound by Christopher Kriz are perfectly synched: the flickering lights and crackle of electrical shorts are almost another character in this play.

The acting and sets are really good, the climax gives a surprising and satisfying resolution. But with so little real action, the pace given “Jump” by director AmBer Montgomery leads up to the resolve much too slow. And while “Jump” is about grief, the playwright doesn't register the internal emotional suffering of these grieving individuals. We’re only given the outward effects.

Still, “Jump” is a good theater experience. “Jump” runs through June 1, 2024 at Theater Wit in Chicago.

Chicago Writers' Bloc has announced the lineup of plays and musicals for its biennial festival of new plays, to be held this year from May 5 to 19 at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. The 2024 festival will feature five new plays and five new musicals from 14 local Chicago playwrights, lyricists, and composers. This year's roster of writers includes John S. Green (Jeff winner and Pulitzer nominated for THE LIQUID MOON), Chloe Bolan (O'Neill semi-finalist for LOVE IN THE TIME OF DEMENTIA), and Joanne Koch (National Nantucket Short Play Competition winner for STARDUST). The works to be performed as staged readings will cover genres from comedies and dramas to documentary theatre, and subject matter that ranges from history to current events, and fantasy to reality.

The 2024 New Plays Festival will launch on Sunday, May 5 with a 7:30 pm benefit including a reception and an 8:00 pm performance of the musical HEARTS IN THE WOOD, with book by Joanne Koch, and music and lyrics by Jim Lucas. Lively bluegrass tunes and moving country ballads. weave through the story of a once popular West Virginia folk singer who decides to try for a comeback in Chicago when he discovers he has a grown granddaughter. The proceeds from the benefit will go toward continuing Chicago Writers' Bloc's mission to develop and present new plays and musicals from Chicago area writers. Over the past 32 years, the organization has helped launch many new plays and musicals. Many produced works have gone on to win national and international prizes with productions locally and around the country.

In addition to HEARTS IN THE WOOD, the festival will include four additional new musicals including HELL IS CANCELLED (by Wencke Braathen with music by Gerald H. Bailey), DRIVING THE DREAM (by Chloe Bolan with music by Gerald H. Bailey), DREAM CITY (Book and Lyrics by June Finfer, Music and Lyrics by Elizabeth Doyle), and "Merry Widows, The Musical" (Book by Joanne Koch and Diane Dorsey, Lyrics by Francesca Peppiatt, Music by Ilya Levinson).  Plays will include two documentary dramas about Venezuelan refugees by former CHICAGO TRIBUNE feature writer Fran Zell, John S. Green's REMEMBER ME, about a Nigerian American veteran from the war in Afghanistan, Nic Hamel's NO KIND OF HERO (about French philosophy professor Simone Weil pictured here, who fought fascism in the 1930s), and THE DECONSTRUCTION OF A HONKY, written by Blake Levinson.

LISTING INFORMATION
 
CHICAGO WRITERS' BLOC 2024 NEW PLAYS FESTIVAL
May 5 – 19, 2024
Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave.
www.theaterwit.org
Sunday – Wednesday, May 5 – 8
Sunday – Tuesday, May 12 – 14
Sunday, May 19
All performances at 7:30 pm
Further Information at https://writersblocfest.org/2024-play-festival
Tickets $25.00 for opening night benefit May 5. $20.00 all other evenings
Tickets available now at https://www.theaterwit.org/tickets/productions/box_office/#coming_soon
 
Staged readings of ten new works by Chicago writers. The festival features five new musicals and five new plays from 14 local Chicago playwrights, lyricists, and composers; including John S. Green (Jeff winner and Pulitzer nominated, THE LIQUID MOON), Chloe Bolan (O'Neill semi-finalist, LOVE IN THE TIME OF DEMENTIA), Joanne Koch (National Nantucket Short Play Competition winner for STARDUST), and former Chicago Tribune feature writer Fran Zell. The works to be performed as staged readings will cover genres from comedies and dramas to documentary theatre, and subject matter that ranges from history to current events, and fantasy to reality.
 
SCHEDULE AND SYNOPSES
May 5 benefit performance at 8:00 pm, all other performances at 7:30 pm
 
Sunday, May 5 HEARTS IN THE WOOD. Book by Joanne Koch, and music and lyrics by Jim Lucas.
 
A West Virginia dulcimer maker and once popular folksinger discovers he has an adult granddaughter and decides to reconnect with life. His newfound granddaughter prompts him to bring his regional music to Chicago. Grandfather and granddaughter find unexpected romances and finally get past their differences, united by bonds of love and their special musical heritage.
 
Monday, May 6. HELL IS CANCELED. Book and Lyrics by Wencke Braathen, Music by Gerald H. Bailey 
 
Archangel Michael lands in Hell and announces to Lucifer that God has decided that this department is defunct and will be liquidated. Michael gets stuck in Hell with Lucifer and a lost soul while Hell disintegrates. Archangel Raphael causes problems from above, and Katie and Kevin save the day by sending new feathers to Lucifer's wings.
 
Tuesday, May 7. DREAM CITY. Book and Lyrics by June Finfer, Music and Lyrics by Elizabeth Doyle
 
The musical story of Chicago in a Gilded Age not unlike today, when immigrants, women, and minorities fight for inclusion in an economy controlled by the wealthy. The 1893 Chicago Columbian Exposition World's Fair seemed to offer all Chicagoans opportunities for participation, visibility, and jobs, from the architects who designed it to the workers who built it.

Wednesday, May 8. REMEMBER ME. Written by John S. Green.
 
The story of Jake, a second-generation Nigerian American who joined the army to prove that he was a "real American." When he returns from fighting in Afghanistan, he reaches out to his acting teacher, Earl, seeking comfort, sanity and a chance to rekindle his broken dreams. They work together to conquer their own personal demons and perform Hamlet.
 
Sunday, May 12. DRIVING THE DREAM,  Book and Lyrics by Chloe Bolan, Music by Gerald H. Bailey.
 
A musical bioplay on the life of Bertha Benz, the woman who drove the first motorwagen farther than anyone before her and so introduced the world to the age of the automobile. She might seem like a conservative hausfrau, but her rebellion at three different times in her life testify to her strong instincts, her indomitable courage, and her belief in a dream she and her husband shared. 
 
Monday, May 13. "How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Venezuelans" / "My Name is Renny Edward Milano Salgado," both written by Fran Zell.
 
Two timely one-act documentary theatre pieces about asylum seekers will be presented. "How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Venezuelans" is based on the playwright's experiences volunteering with asylum seekers in Chicago. "My Name is Renny Edward Milano Salgado" recounts one asylum seeker's journey, a story of loss, grief, mortal danger, and always, hope.
 
Tuesday, May 14. NO KIND OF HERO, written by Nic Hamel.
 
Amidst the growing threat of fascism in the 1930's, the young French philosophy professor Simone Weil struggles against the oppression she witnesses all around her. Caught between practical limitations and an unrelenting idealism, Simone's choices are both absurd and inspiring as she seeks to embody hope and heroism in an increasingly chaotic world.
 
Sunday, May 19 at 7:30 PM. Double-bill of "Merry Widows, the Musical," Book by Joanne Koch and Diane Dorsey, Lyrics by Francesca Peppiatt, Music by Ilya Levinson, Directed by Joan Mazzonelli;  and "The Deconstruction of a Honky" written by Blake Levinson.
 
In "Merry Widows, The Musical," women and men gather together in grief groups to help each other grieve. Only our grief group doesn't just talk about their profound losses. They, along with their empathic leader, use the magic of music and some gentle humor to go beyond their sorrow and bring themselves to reconnect with a new life. With 14 million widows and widowers in the U.S. today, and thousands of these grief groups, the creative team thought it was about time to offer something more than a fluffy operetta. 

In "The Deconstruction of a Honky," emerging white playwright Sam meets with DD, his influential Black director-dramaturg prior to the staged reading of his socially conscious play on racism. Their discussion takes a charged turn when she begins to question the authenticity of his Black characters. Tensions heighten as DD turns the spotlight on Sam's indomitably liberal character and exposes a shocking secret.
 
BIOS
 
Joanne Koch has had many of her eighteen plays and musicals toured to universities and produced in theaters around the country, including SOUL SISTERS, STARDUST, SOPHIE, TOTIE & BELLE and SAFE HARBOR. Joanne and Jim Lucas received an Illinois Arts Council grant for the original development of HEARTS IN THE WOOD. Through her work over the years as president of the Chicago Writers' Bloc, Joanne Koch has helped to bring over one hundred new plays to audiences in Chicago, with many of these new plays going on to other productions and publications.
 
Jim Lucas is a singer-songwriter who is a graduate of Hope College (B.A.), Indiana University (M.M.), and the University of Iowa (D.M.A.). He is Professor Emeritus of Music at Northeastern Illinois University, where he taught music for many years. While HEARTS IN THE WOOD is his only full-length musical, he has written many compositions for vocal and instrumental ensembles.
 
Wencke Braathen writes about relationships across dimensions. You'll find gods, angels, humans and ghosts in her work, and discover how they all influence each other's development. She delivers her controversial viewpoints unabashed, and challenges old dogmas and preconceptions wrapped in humor and entertainment and asks her audience to laugh with her.
 
Gerald H. Bailey In addition to his work on HELL IS CANCELED and DRIVING THE DREAM, Mr. Bailey has written music for COURTING, THE ENCHANTED ISLAND, and THE LEGEND OF KING ARTHUR, among others. Mr. Bailey is a proud member of The Dramatists Guild.
 
June Finfer has written plays and musicals and documentary films. Her plays, THE GLASS HOUSE and COUPLES THERAPY, were produced in New York at the Harold Clurman Theatre. Tonight's musical, DREAM CITY, is a rewrite of BURNHAM'S DREAM: THE WHITE CITY, which was produced at Theatre Wit in 2018 by Lost and Found Productions.
 
Elizabeth Doyle is an award-winning Chicago artist in demand for concerts and events. She is the composer of several theatre musicals, among them FAT TUESDAY, DUO, and BURNHAM'S DREAM, which have been mounted at prestigious locations such as Steppenwolf Theatre and Theater Wit.
 
John S. Green's play, THE LIQUID MOON, won Chicago's Jeff and After Dark Awards for Best New Work. It was subsequently nominated for a Pulitzer and published in New Plays Chicago. His play, TWILIGHT SERENADE, was published by Dramatic Publishing. His short story, "The Me Zone," won the Leon Forrest Prose Award and was published by Chicago Quarterly. 
 
Chloe Bolan recently had her O'Neill semi-finalist play, "Love in the Time of Dementia" stage-read for a Perennial fundraiser August 2023 and in Her Story Theatre's Women's Writers Festival in June 2023. She has received grants from the Illinois Arts Council ("Heart of Chac") and Target ("M. Kiki") besides a fellowship from Dale Wasserman's Midwest Playwrights ("Egg") sponsored by the University of Wisconsin.
 
Fran Zell is an award-winning playwright and fiction writer whose plays have appeared in festivals in Chicago and New York. Her book, THE MARCY STORIES, won the Banta Award for literary achievement from the Wisconsin Library Association. She is a former feature writer for the Chicago Tribune.
 
Nic Hamel is an actor turned playwright and the current artistic director of Chicago Writers' Bloc. A staged reading of his solo documentary play, TURKEY BOYS, was presented by the Writers' Bloc in 2016. In addition to artistic pursuits, Dr. Hamel is a scholar of theatre, performance, and disability studies with a specialty in theatre and intellectual disability.
 
Diane Dorsey is a Chicago actress/writer/director/coach and Meisner teacher who many years ago wrote a solo show called "Kaleidoscope." Today she thanks the creative team of "Merry Widows, The Musical" for inviting her to collaborate on the Book. And dedicates it to her husband Danny Goldring.
 
Francesca Peppiatt is a speaker, teacher, writer and performer. She wrote the book for the new musical "Golden" and book and lyrics for "Treasure Island." Francesca is an actor and Emmy nominated writer with 5 published books plus multiple produced non-musical plays. 
 
Ilya Levinson is Assistant Professor at the Music Department of Columbia College Chicago and Music Director and Co-Founder of the New Budapest Orpheum Society, an ensemble-in-residence at The University of Chicago. Levinson has composed four operas, four musicals, various symphonic and chamber music, film scores and original music for theatre productions.
 
Joan Mazzonelli has produced, directed, and designed for the theater in Chicago, Los Angeles and New York City. She has written "Border Crossing," a short play, with Marianne Kallen; the musicals REASONABLE TERMS with Marianne Kallen and Karena Mendoza; BOTTOM'S DREAM with James L. Kurtz, an adaptation of ALL IN THE LAUNDRY by Fred Rogers of MR. ROGERS NEIGHBORHOOD; and the operas HIGH FIDELITY and THE PROPOSAL with Philip Seward.
 
ABOUT CHICAGO WRITERS' BLOC
Chicago Writers' Bloc is a play development group that focuses on presenting new plays developed in monthly sessions and regular new play festivals. Led by Joanne Koch, a widely produced playwright and noted Emeritus Director of the National Louis University Master's in Written Communication Program, the not-for-profit 501 (c ) (3) Writers' Bloc has brought over 250 new plays and musicals to Chicago area audiences, supported in part by grants and by festival attendees and contributors. Many of these plays have gone on to win national and international prizes with productions locally and around the country, including Midwest, East Coast, West Coast, off-Broadway and in publications.

When a play’s opening moment is mystifying and its closing moment is satisfying, the stuff in between must be doing its job. John Kolvenbach’s Love Song presents us with a young man in a spartan room, silently observing a lamp that seems to have a mind of its own. Love? Song? We have our doubts.

The back wall of the room slides open and reveals a high-rise apartment, sleekly decorated and offering a panoramic view of an unspecified city through a vast window. Enter a couple as sleek as their home, bickering with such intensity – not to mention hilarious verbal agility – that we continue to wonder if love and song will have anything to do with what’s happening onstage.

Indeed, it does. Remy Bumppo’s production, directed by the company’s Artistic Director Marti Lyons, revives a play that premiered at Steppenwolf 18 years ago. Though full of unanswered questions, Love Song proves worthy of another viewing. With equal parts sensitivity and tartness, Lyons and her cast tell the story of Beane (Terry Bell), who suffers from an autism-like condition and spends the play’s 85-minute length defying the expectations of his loved ones.

Actually, it’s just two loved ones: his sister Joan (Sarah Coakley Price), a demanding professional who is lost in a tirade about an incompetent intern; and her husband Harry (Ryan Hallahan), a fellow professional who challenges his wife’s firing of said intern for misdeeds such as crying “at noon!” and temporarily misplacing an important file.  

Witty as their banter may be, they are hard to like. When Beane visits his sister and brother-in-law, Harry subjects him to a questionnaire designed to provide psychological insight that mostly makes fun of his literal responses. Joan doesn’t do much to ease the situation.

Beane returns to his empty apartment, where he encounters an intruder by the name of Molly (Isa Arciniegas). She too launches into a tirade, though hers has a very different feel from Beane’s sister. Molly attacks architects and their curated minimalism, meanwhile deriding Beane for his lack of possessions for her to steal. A cup but no plate, a spoon but no fork. “What kind of criminal did you say you were?” he asks with the same literalness that aggravated Harry in the previous scene.

Molly’s brand of burglar remains unknown, but it sure excites Beane’s hormones. Off they go on a passionate adventure that leads Beane to talk so much that Harry now describes him as verbose. Beane’s liberation from his sister and brother-in-law’s (and probably society’s) expectations turns him into a different person altogether. And that jolts Joan and Harry from their calcified marriage into rediscovered sensuality.

Without really addressing the issues at hand, Love Song morphs from rapid fire wordplay into a lyrical romance. As staged by Lyons on a set designed by Joe Schermoly, the transitions from Beane’s lonely planet and Joan and Harry’s fraught high rise seem organic.

The cast, too, seems organic. Each of the actors onstage could have fallen into some sort of cliché – Joan as a career-driven ice princess; Harry as a wisecracking sidekick; Molly as a voracious loony; and most notably, Beane as a victim of the other three. But Coakley Price, Hallahan, Arciniegas and Bell all take charge of their characters and allow us to enjoy their transformations.

Love Song, produced by Remy Bumppo Theatre Company, is playing now through April 21 at Theater Wit. Tickets can be purchased through Theatre Wit’s website.

After stuffing myself with a fat plate of Thanksgiving leftovers, I made my way over to Theater Wit for the Who’s Holiday! opening show. The show kicks off with a grand entrance of a much older Cindy Lou Who in a dinky trailer home. Cindy gets comfortable with the crowd and even offers a famous Chicago drink as she takes you back in time. She retells the childhood story of her and the Grinch, and also shares the untold stories of her adult life with R-rated commentary and endless rhyme.

After her introduction and drinks are poured, Cindy shares her plans for hosting a Christmas party that evening with some famous Dr. Seuss friends. As her friends flake out on her party, she takes you back in time with her life’s stories. Cindy’s monologue carries you beyond her childhood as you journey through her memories of her bizarre relationship with the Grinch, her struggles with her family, and her adjustment to a not-so cheery lifestyle. Her life story takes a turn for the worst when cops are called, and she finds herself behind bars. Something none of our inner-child selves could have imagined.

Who’s Holiday! directed by Christopher Pazdernik is now in its third outing and continues to draw in large crowds. The comedy by Matthew Lombardo is bawdy and full of holiday and Grinch themed references. Many people in the crowd were filled with laughter and enjoyed the twists and turns of Cindy’s life story.

The show has just one actress, Veronica Garza who plays the 40-year-old Cindy Lou Who. Garza does an outstanding job playing Cindy and never misses a beat. She is captivating, hilarious and has fun engaging with the crowd. She brings the character to life with unclassy mannerisms and a trailer park twang in her speech. She captures her emotions as they rollercoaster through eagerness, sadness, and Christmas cheer. Trailer park Cindy feels like your long lost childhood friend, someone you can totally let loose with.

Despite having a rough life and a few more years under her belt, Cindy still has amazing hair. The wig, makeup and costume design were all on point. Her blonde hair is fabulous and is pinned up with Christmas colored bows that match her red dress. She also has beautiful makeup that aligned with the holiday theme. Not to mention the eye-catching sparkly Crocs and ruffled white ankle socks.

The first thing I noticed when entering the theater was the decked-out trailer home covered in Christmas decor. It looked like an old 70s shack on wheels with red, green, and white accents along with twinkling lights and tinsel garland. The set was perfect for the show. It was cozy and gave an intimate look into Cindy’s trailer park life.

Something that totally shocked me was the music. A Christmas show isn’t complete without a few Christmas songs, and I have to say this Cindy Lou Who delivered. In one of her songs, she breaks out into a hilarious rap about her parents’ disapproval of their “Green Son-in-Law”. It was an impressive performance with a smooth holiday flow. Later on, Cindy wowed the crowd with a beautiful performance of a sad song of her past traumas. After each song she sang, the crowd filled the air with clapping, cheering, and even snapping.

Following this show, I will probably never look at The Grinch Story the same. However, I did enjoy a good laugh and holiday cheer. If you’re looking for some raunchy comedy, a Christmas-themed cocktail and love the Grinch, I recommend checking out Who’s Holiday. Just make sure to leave the kids at home. The show is playing at Theater Wit located in the Lakeview Neighborhood at 1229 W Belmont Ave. Showtimes continue from November 25-December 30th, at 7 p.m. The show runs for about 60 minutes with no intermission. Tickets are $39-$48. Purchase tickets at theaterwit.org or call the Theater Wit box office, (773) 975-8150.

Arthur Miller’s perennial classic, ‘A View from the Bridge’, is revived in a faithful production at Shattered Globe Theater. Under the direction of Lou Contey, a cast of familiar Shattered Globe ensemble and a few new faces bring this powder keg of a tale to their stage for the first time since the 1990s.

Every few years, a landmark production of ‘A View from the Bridge’ comes—Chicagoans will remember Ivo Van Hove’s arresting production imported by Goodman in 2017. However, if that’s the only version you’ve seen, you owe it to yourself to see it staged in the way Arthur Miller intended.

Though it wasn’t exactly a smash hit when it debuted on Broadway in 1955, it was through subsequent rewrites and notable revivals that ‘A View from the Bridge’ became nearly as popular as more seminal Miller works like ‘The Crucible’ and ‘Death of a Salesman.’ Perhaps it’s produced so often because its themes surrounding immigration and prejudice remain relevant.

‘A View from the Bridge’ is about a longshoreman, Eddie Carbone (Scott Aiello), and his wife Beatrice (Eileen Niccolai), and their adopted niece Catherine (Isabelle Muthiah). Life is great for the working-class Brooklyn family until their distant relatives from Italy come to stay with them illegally. When a relationship starts to bud between immigrant Rodolpho (Harrison Weger) and Catherine, Eddie’s inappropriate affection for his niece is called into question.

This play has always been a star-turning vehicle for actresses playing Catherine. Scarlett Johanson and Brittany Murphy both took home Tonys for the role. However, Shattered Globe ensemble member Eileen Niccolai’s compelling performance as Beatrice brings the part of the pseudo-cuckolded wife into sharper focus. Niccolai’s Beatrice is vulnerable and needy; she knows her husband isn’t perfect, but he’s all she’s got. Ultimately, she’s the victim of this tragic story. There’s something so fragile about Niccolai’s interpretation.

Inventive staging by Shayna Patel puts the play in a set that looks like a boxing ring. It's a fitting locale for a play so centered around violence. The narrator is a lawyer and interjects an almost inhuman sense of foreboding doom about the Carbones throughout the play. In his view, and perhaps Miller’s greater view, society is so dysfunctional that it leads the lower classes to duke it out at the bottom. Unlike ‘The Crucible,’ Miller points out that having your name respected in the street is just machismo, especially when you’re not respectable.

Themes of toxic masculinity, immigration reform and family abuse are sadly more relevant now than in the 1950s, and the enduring popularity of ‘View from the Bridge’ should inspire activism.

Shattered Globe is one of Chicago’s best and longest-running storefront theatres and it’s easy to see why. Their briskly paced production of ‘A View From the Bridge’ is wonderfully acted, beautifully staged and very traditional. If you like classic American plays, this is the one to see.

Through October 21 at Shattered Globe Theatre at Theater Wit. 1229 W Belmont, Chicago IL 60657 | 773-975-8150

What does a cigar factory in 1920s Florida have to do with Tolstoy’s epic novel ‘Anna Karenina’? More than you might think it turns out. In Nilo Cruz’s 2003 Pulitzer Prize winning play ‘Anna in the Tropics’, cigar rollers working in a factory are inspired when a new lector reads the classic Russian novel to them while they work.

Ofelia (Charin Alvarez) and Santiago (Dano Duran) own an antiquated cigar rolling factory and work the line along with their daughters Marela (Alix Rhode), Conchita (Krystal Ortiz) and her husband Palomo (Roberto Mantica). When Ofelia hires lector Juan Julian (Arash Fakhrabadi) to read aloud while they roll cigars, the themes in Tolstoy’s novel begin to unlock everyone’s secret desires. The further Juan Julian reads, the more the character’s lives start to mirror those in the book.

Retelling the story in hot and steamy Florida allows for something the original Victorian era novel cannot—sex. While Tolstoy subtly addresses sex in his novel, Cruz’s script doesn’t shy away from the passion between his characters. Director Laura Alcala Baker’s production is dripping with sex, but in a way that portrays women as being the dominant gender.

The female ensemble in Remy Bumppo’s revival of ‘Anna in the Tropics’ is a triad of perfection. Charin Alvarez leads this talented cast and from the first line of dialogue she instantly captures the audience. The bittersweet scenes between her and Dano Duran will melt even the hardest hearts.

Most of the play focuses on the love triangle that forms between Conchita, Palomo and the lector Juan Julian. A tepid marriage begins to heat up with the arrival of Juan Julian, who inadvertently helps reignite Palomo’s passion for his wife. The chemistry between these three is palpable, and nobody is as sultry as Krystal Ortiz. Her fascinating performance is hard to shake longer after the curtain closes.

‘Anna Karenina’ is Tolstoy’s exploration of morality and he does so through two main characters: Anna and Levin. In Cruz’s version Levin is represented by Cheche (Eduardo Xavier) who is the nephew of the family who owns the cigar factory. He sees the progress of a new century and resents the old ways of doing things. Through Cheche’s character, Cruz makes his points about what things shouldn’t be modernized, such as the love that goes into a hand rolled cigar. Much like Tolstoy documenting the twilight of an era for Russian aristocracy, Cruz is documenting a way of manufacturing that has vanished in many industries, replaced by the coldness of a machine.

‘Anna in the Tropics’ is a brilliant take on a classic. Cruz in some ways brings more passion to this already romantic story. Could this play operate without the direct relationship with the novel? Probably not, but a lack of familiarity with the novel in no way impedes on the emotional experience of the play. Remy Bumppo has arranged a perfect cast led by three incredible actresses. Laura Alcala Baker’s vision for this production has a style of its own, rather than just a faithful restaging. An infectious flirtation runs throughout this unique play.

Through March 19 at Remy Bumppo at Theater Wit. 1229 W Belmont Ave. www.remybumppo.org

Abortion and reproductive rights have been major issues throughout my life from the pre-Roe days to the calamitous post-Roe days I’d hoped never to see. I was really looking forward to seeing TITLE X.

Julie Proudfood *she/her wrote TITLE X in 2020 in response to then-President Trump’s 2019 gag order. The Title X Family Planning Program, created in 1970, required family planning clinics to provide pregnant women with three nondirective counseling protocols: referral for adoption, for prenatal care, and for abortion services. Trump’s 2019 directive prohibited any clinics receiving federal funding (virtually all clinics, including Planned Parenthood) from presenting pregnant women with Option #3. 

As heinous as this directive was, Proudfoot clearly saw that it was neither sudden nor isolated, but part of (and not the end of) the steady disintegration of the women’s rights hard-won in the 1960’s and 70’s. Proudfood intended TITLE X to educate and motivate people to ‘fight, rally, organize, vote, and dismantle’ this ongoing far-right agenda to return women and nonbinary people to the place decreed for them by God: barefoot, pregnant, and kitchen-bound.

The format of TITLE X, co-directed by Proudfoot and Willow James *he/his (also Sound Designer) is intriguing. The entire cast of eight characters is played by two actors – Melanie McNulty *she/her and Kaitlyn Cheng *she/her – in alternating scenarios:  a 17-year-old in 1978 awaiting results of her pregnancy test; a religious lobbyist addressing Congress in 2019; a Right to Lifer-er in 1988 protesting in front of an abortion clinic.  

And there Proudfoot stops. Not the play; it continues through several more scenarios, but the scenarios stop directly concerning abortion: an asylum officer at the Mexican border, a woman who’s just won a sexual harassment suit against her boss (with all the attendant ignominy and anguish); a woman describing an argument with her (female) partner. The final scene does return to Rachel (from the first scene), now grown, expressing her joy at having decided to have the abortion; I appreciate this attention to the Right-to-Lifer’s assumption that women will be deranged with remorse for their decision to abort.

OK, they’re all women’s issues, all relevant, vital women’s issues, but the name of the play is TITLE X, not “Women’s Issues”. Disappointing – and a damned shame, as everyone’s work is absolutely stellar.  McNulty and Cheng are brilliant, slipping into disparate characters as easily as changing Jessica VanWinkle’s *she/her excellent costumes. Charlotte Lastrashe/her multi-tasks well as Set & Props Designer and Stage Manager. I’ve already praised Ben F. Locke’s *he/his casting. Lighting and Projections Designer Sam Stephen *th/th makes the most of their interesting role, using lights and projected images to further define each of the disparate characters.

In summary, TITLE X is an outstanding play, well-written, skillfully produced, and superbly acted. It is not, however, the Clarion Call to Action that I hoped for, and that we so desperately need.

I’ve often said despite the larger houses producing August Wilson plays, they tend to work better in intimate spaces. After all, Mr. Wilsons’ inspiration came from intimate settings. He would write in bars, cafes, restaurants, and other places where his characters would be right in his face. He would often write long hand and sometimes on napkins to make himself invisible as a writer. It was important for him to catch the dialect, the accents, and the energy of his characters. Mr. Wilson began his career writing for small theaters, schools, and community centers where space was at a premium.

American Blues minimalist production of “Fences” under the direction of Monty Cole is powerful, bold, and beautiful. I love when theaters take chances. No guts, no glory….and there is plenty of glory here.

To contain the largest of emotions within boundaries, Scenic designer Yeaji Kim has created a huge, whitewashed fence reaching the heavens on both ends of the playing area. On the north end it appears to still be under construction. On the south end there is a door leading into the house while when closed is unnoticed. There are 5 cushions for players to be seated when they are not on stage. There are 60 chairs in total on either side of the playing area. It’s akin to a baseball field. The characters are so close you can count the beads of sweat on their brow, their emotions so big, no regular sized fence was going to hold them in.

We get up close and personal with Troy Maxson. Kamal Angelo Bolden’s Troy was not encumbered by anyone who previously played this role. This Troy was much more complicated than I’ve ever seen, FULL STOP. At varying times, this Troy showed love, he showed anger, he showed fear, he was a child, he was a monster, but most of all he showed a vulnerable side. It’s the vulnerability the audience connected with. Despite his ugliness, his meanness, and boorish ways if we look deep into his eyes, we see a man hurt. We see a man who values work more than education. In those rare moments of silence, we see what could have been, and our hearts ache for him.

Playing opposite Troy is the hard-working Rose, his wife of 18 years. She knows this man; she has built her life around him. She soothes over his relationships with his sons.  She is the heart and soul of this family. She cooks, she cleans, she loves. She is saint like in her patience with Troy until she isn’t. We see mini eruptions until it grows too much to control until she loses herself or does she find herself.  Shanesia Davis’ beautifully understates Rose until she can’t anymore. It is some beautiful theatre having a front seat to her emotional build.

A man like Troy Maxson needs all the support he can muster, and no one does it better than his friend and confidant, Bono, engagingly played by Martel Manning. No one could question Troy about his dalliance except Bono. Manning brilliantly steps into the lion’s den and raises the issue. I loved the way his mannerisms changed when talking to Troy about “that gal”.

Troy’s two sons born a decade apart, to two different women are Cory, energetically played by Ajax Dontavius and Lyons, the charismatic William Anthony Sebastian Rose II. Troy treats both men the same the only difference is Cory lives in his home, so he has more control over him.  He verbally abuses Lyons. Special shout-out to Charlie Baker, the Fight & Intimacy Director. Unbelievable stagecraft. The fights and intimacy looked awful real. I almost ducked when Cory was swinging the bat.

Rounding out this family is Gabriel, Troy’s brain damaged brother, played with wonderful control by Manny Buckley. I loved how tight and controlled Buckley played Gabriel. He played the character with great respect for brain damaged people without forfeiting characterization. Gabriel sees what we can’t see. He feels what we can’t feel. Buckley expressed this perfectly.

Stephanie Cluggish’s costumes suggested the times. I especially like what she did with Rose’s funeral outfit. Very inventive.

This production had an air of spirituality, of otherworldliness, I’ve never seen before. This was largely the result of Jared Gooding’s lighting design.  It worked beautifully

In Wilson’s N.Y. Times obituary, he is quoted as telling the Paris Review: “I think my plays offer (white Americans) a different way to look at black Americans. For instance, in ‘Fences’ they see a garbageman, a person they don’t really look at, although they see a garbageman every day. By looking at Troy’s life, white people find out that the content of this black garbageman’s life is affected by the same things – love, honor, beauty, betrayal, duty. Recognizing that these things are as much part of his life as theirs can affect how they think about and deal with black people in their lives.”

Yeah right, let’s hope this is true. In any case, American Blues Theater and Monty Cole has put these characters on full display with all the fury and might deserving of them and a weary America thanks you.

“Fences” runs through Aug. 6 at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont. For tickets visit americanbluestheater.com or phone (773) 975-8150.

Theater Wit has mounted an unexpectedly spellbinding show for its return to live productions: Anne Washburn’s “Mr. Burns, a post-electric play.”

What an amazing fever-dream has flowed from Washburn’s imaginative pen, brought to life at Theater Wit. Originally mounted in 2015, it is clear why this was one of the troupe’s most popular productions. It is a joy-filled moment to be back in the audience before a live show. 

Ostensibly, it is a portrait of a post-apocalyptic society in which people huddle around campfires on a darkened landscape, recalling favorite lines from television shows. Act 1 focuses on this means of diversion. Quickly the fragility of cultural memory becomes apparent, when there are no Google or YouTube to reference.

Seven years later, Act 2 opens with rehearsal for a semi-professional performance company, many of which have arisen, working against scripts gathered from memory (some recalled lines and scenes are even purchased from freelance contributors). Sets and costumes are cobbled together from the detritus of the decaying society.

Here “Mr. Burns” is revealed to be a true backstage play, with the players jousting over who will be featured and which bits shall be included in the show. There are humor and charm in these scenes, which feature live performances of clips of the Simpsons and other popular shows, as well as contemporary ads and music videos.

It is in Act 3 that the show reaches its apotheosis, we are transported to Elysium, and the performance becomes the food of the gods. Set 70 years later, the collective memory of the Simpsons has certainly faded, and those who saw the show on television are very few in number.

Washburn now gives us a heavenly reverie on how theater might be recreated from the dust of the cataclysm. As with cultures of old, an oral tradition was handed down before writing took hold. “Mr. Burns” seems to posit just such a scenario, with a beatifically staged battle between the forces of good - the Simpsons - and evil: Mr. Burns and his henchmen, Itchy and Scratchy. Fans of The Simpsons, who are legion, will recall that Mr. Burns owned the nuclear power plant at which Homer Simpson was employed, until sometime befoe this story picks up.  

A mashup of Greek drama, kabuki, and 18th century operetta, this final act defies description, except to say it is transportative. Aside from its intimate scale, “Mr. Burns - A post-electric play” is fully Broadway caliber, and the performances by every cast member are superlative. Daniel Desmarais, Andrew Jessop, and Leslie Ann Sheppard return from the 2015 production, with Eileen Doan, Tina Muñoz Pandya, Ana Silva, Jonah D. Winston and Will Wilhelm are making their Theater Wit debut. 

Everyone (including audience members) at Theater Wit is required to be vaccinated to enter the building. (Negative results from a PCR test for COVID-19 administered in the last 48 hours is an alternative.) All patrons must remain masked for the duration of their visit. Find more details and ticket information at www.TheaterWit.org.

Scott Bradley is an institution within the Chicago theater community. His quirky, campy musical versions of old horror movies have been sell-out hits around town for years. Which is what makes “Packing” all the more interesting. He instead turns the spotlight on himself. About Face borrows Victory Gardens artistic director Chay Yew to direct Scott Bradley’s one-man confessional.

In “Packing” Bradley moves away from the puppets and classic rock and opens his own life up to a 90-minute journey through the turbulent AIDS-era gay life. First and foremost, this is incredibly brave for someone as well-known as Scott, many colleagues are likely to see About Face’s premiere. Bradley is not afraid to expose every aspect of his life from physical abuse to addiction and failure. That might all sound like a bummer but Bradley’s inviting narrative style is humorous and relatable. And of course, it’s all tied to together with various pop culture influences.

“Packing” is Bradley’s life story, but it’s also the collective legacy of the midwestern gay experience. A reminder of how far the LGBT community has come in the past three decades. Bradley stands alone on a stark stage and begins his story at the age he began to understand he was different. His childhood is rather unhappy, but his delivery makes it seem as if he’s the only who doesn’t know how traumatic his home life was. As he grows up, the story becomes more familiar. The far reaches of the Midwest can be an unaccepting place and that sent many LGBT people to the cities to seek acceptance. Not only acceptance of the LGBT lifestyle, but acceptance of the creative lifestyle.

Bradley’s heartbreaking failures changed the course of his life in ways that few can predict when they’re in the pits of despair. His struggles with drug addiction and alcohol dependence and his explanation for why he turned to substances to quiet the critical voices in his head are all too real. Many people in the LGBT community struggle with substance abuse and non-traditional societal norms can sometimes perpetuate cycles of addiction. His stories aren’t just his stories, they’re all of our stories.

It’s hard to imagine anyone else portraying Scott Bradley but Scott Bradley. His performance style is at times frantic, but always warm and authentic. He takes an audience in his arms and let’s them know that it’s okay to fail. He doesn’t ask an audience for approval, but rather to say if you’re struggling, you’re not alone. Chay Yew helps draw out Bradley’s vulnerability through a variety of pseudo-characters; Bradley at various ages of his life. Yew also designed the set, though sparse, is effective. The pop cultural cannon that inspired Bradley is playfully cast on the floor of the stage rather than the backdrop. An interesting visual twist.

“Packing” is a journey of self-acceptance through an era that was less gay friendly. It’s Scott Bradley exposing his storied life in order to help anyone who finds themselves in the same boat. It’s a theater experience that gives voice to anyone who fled small town roots in order to find themselves.

Through December 7th at About Face theater - Theater Wit. 1229 W Belmont Ave. 773-975-8150