Displaying items by tag: Gwydion Theatre Company

“Can’t Pay? Won’t Pay!" by Dario Fo is incredibly funny and a complete surprise. I’d seen one other hilarious play based on a Daniel Fo script, “Accidental Death of a Black Chicago Motorist,” but that liberally adapted work by The Conspirators hadn’t prepared me for how funny this 1997 Nobel Laureate’s writing is.

In a fresh translation from the 1974 Italian original, “Can’t Pay? Won’t Pay!” is a two-act political farce that zings in the hands of the Gwydion Theatre troupe, some of them recent arrivals from their native Los Angeles, and whose style and performances are unlike other Chicago companies—as good as the best Chicago has, but with a fresh approach.

Directed by ensemble member Nena Martins, the story centers on Antonia (Audrey Busbee) and Margherita (Ellie Thomson), two working-class Italian housewives who participate in a women-led action wherein they steal from the supermarket as a response to an unconscionable rise in prices. Fearful of the police, and criticism from their husbands Giovanni (Caleb Petre) and Luigi (Jason Pavlovich), they try to cover their misdemeanors in a most amusing way.

The performance relies on a world-premiere translation adapted by Ember Sappington, laced seamlessly with contemporary American idiom. Fo taps a European tradition of commedia dell'arte and farce, so its humor is at times broad but still funny. The performers are uniformly excellent, each in their own way, Antonia, played excellently by Audrey Busbee (a product of Chicago’s Columbia College) gives the play its weight.

A real standout is the performance by Jason Pavlovich as Luigi, who is completely natural and believable, and seems to be acting on another plane from the rest, but it works. Also notable is Andrew Shipman in three roles as Officer/Carabiniere/Senior, also with a style all his own.

Gwydion Theatre, with Grayson Kennedy as artistic director, formed in LA in 2019 by a group of actors fresh out of training soon tackling full scale productions at the Hollywood Fringe Festival. They say that following the pandemic, they decided to move to Chicago “in order to connect with a more artistic theater landscape.” Well, welcome!

It’s a sign of the seriousness of Gwydion Theatre that they selected a work by Fo—once a popular and highly regarded contemporary playwright (he died in 2016).”Can’t Pay? Won’t Pay!” is said to have inspired a real-life protest in Milan in which housewives took over the checkout stations at a Milan grocery store. Gwydion’s inaugural season in Chicago opened with Edward Albee’s "The Zoo Story," and will finish with the American classic ‘Waiting for Lefty’ by Clifford Odetts."Can't Pay? Won't Pay!" runs through December 17 at The Greenhouse Theater Cemter, 2257 N. Lincoln Ave. in Chicago.

It’s hard to imagine a time in which Edward Albee was considered an “emerging” playwright, but his first play, ‘The Zoo Story’ failed to impress New York producers in 1958. Of course, the play has since gone on to become a classic and is currently being revived by new-to-Chicago Gwydion Theatre Company.

Edward Albee always felt like something was missing from his two-character, one-act play about a man whose peaceful afternoon reading in the park is disrupted by a seemingly unstable young man. In the early 2000s, he eventually wrote a prequel called ‘Homelife” and the two plays are usually performed as ‘Edward Albee’s Home at the Zoo.’ Albee would eventually restrict the performing rights for ‘The Zoo Story’ in favor of the complete play.

In the years since Albee’s death, his estate has eased up on some of his more stringent demands when it came to performance rights. As such, Gwydion’s revival is a somewhat rare opportunity to see Albee’s text performed as it was originally conceived. Though, it’s fairly clear why Albee added a first act to this odd little play.

It should come as no surprise that this play, like many of his others, is linguistic gymnastics relying heavily on good casting for cohesion. Thankfully this production is in good hands with Bob Webb as distinguished Peter and Grayson Kennedy as stark, raving Jerry. Under Morgan Wilson’s direction, the play leaps off the page and becomes a story with a rhythm you can follow.

Sparse staging really turns the focus onto the back-and-forth power play between Jerry and Peter and ultimately asks the question: what do either of these characters really want? Albee doesn’t necessarily make that so clear, leaving it up to the audience to come to their own conclusions. Both Kennedy and Webb spar well off one another in what actually feels like fairly modern dialogue, despite some outdated mid-century turns-of-phrase.

It's not often you get to see ‘The Zoo Story’ as it was originally produced, and it’s always exciting when a new theater company opens in Chicago. If this production is any indication, the future looks bright for Gwydion Theatre Company.

Through October 15 at Greenhouse Theater Center. 2257 N Lincoln Ave This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.