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TimeLine Theatre announces the world premiere of the latest play developed through the company’s Playwrights Collective—Black Sunday, by Chicago playwright Dolores Díaz, a startling look at conflicts of climate change, race, and gender in the days leading up to one of the worst dust storms in American history. Sandra Marquez makes her TimeLine directorial debut with Black Sunday, running May 8 – June 29, 2024. Press opening is Wednesday, May 15 at 7:30 p.m.

Black Sunday also marks the bookend to a chapter of TimeLine Theatre’s growth. After 25 amazing years at the company’s longtime home at 615 W. Wellington Avenue in Chicago’s Lakeview East neighborhood, Black Sunday will be the final production presented in that space, leading toward the company’s exciting new era.

Last month, TimeLine announced plans for a thrilling 28th season, including producing partnerships with three of Chicago’s preeminent performing arts organizations in 2024-25, as a bridge toward opening its future home at 5035 N. Broadway Avenue in Uptown. 

BLACK SUNDAY: A WAKE-UP CALL FOR THE WORLD IN THE 1930s … AND TODAY

Step back to April 1935 in the dust storm-riddled plains of Texas, where a family is struggling to keep their farm afloat amidst a mounting series of environmental disasters. As Jesús, a new field worker, arrives in their midst, stubborn Pa refuses to believe his land is no longer viable, young Sunny dreams of a new life in bountiful California, and Ma starts having mysterious visions of the future. It’s a startling look at conflicts surrounding climate change, race, and gender in the days leading up to an infamous dust storm known as Black Sunday.

Black Sunday is the fourth world premiere play developed through TimeLine Theatre’s Playwrights Collective, the same new play program that brought forth TimeLine’s debut productions of Tyla Abercrumbie’s Relentless (Jeff Award, Outstanding New Work), Will Allan’s Campaigns, Inc. and Brett Neveu’s To Catch a Fish. The Collective was launched in 2013 to support Chicago-based playwrights in residence and create new work centered on TimeLine’s mission.

The cast of Black Sunday features TimeLine Company Members Mechelle Moe (she/her) as Ma and David Parkes (he/him) as Pa, with Christopher Alvarenga (he/him) as Jésus, Vic Kuligoski (he/him) as Jim, and Angela Morris (she/her) as Sunny.

The Black Sunday production team includes Joe Schermoly (Scenic Designer, he/him), Christine Pascual (Costume Designer, she/her), Conchita Avitia (Lighting Designer, she/her/ella), Saskia Baker (Properties Designer, she/her), Anthony Churchill (Projections Designer, he/him), Forrest Gregor (Sound Designer, he/him), Kristina Fluty (Intimacy Director, she/her), J. Isabel Salazar (Literary Dramaturg, they/them), Bryar Barborka (Production Dramaturg, they/them), Dina Spoerl (Dramaturgical Display Designer, she/her), and Alden Vasquez (Stage Manager, he/him). Understudies are Connor Green (Jim, he/him), Christopher Hainsworth (Pa, he/him), Lauren Grace Thompson (Sunny, she/her), Richie Villafuerte (Jésus, he/him), and India Whiteside (Ma, she/her).

Black Sunday embodies TimeLine’s mission—illuminating aspects of history often untold, while drawing haunting parallels to critical issues of today,” said TimeLine Artistic Director PJ Powers. “As part of TimeLine’s Playwrights Collective, Dolores has demonstrated evocative storytelling, fierce intellect, and propensity for collaboration. Black Sunday is the fourth world premiere to emerge from the Playwright’s Collective, and I’m confident it will make as notable an impact as the acclaimed plays which preceded it. Witnessing the play’s evolution the past four years, I’ve seen Dolores’ indefatigable passion, and we’re thrilled to pair her with the remarkable director Sandra Marquez whose career, including work as an educator and actor, has distinguished her among Chicago’s most notable leaders.”

BLACK SUNDAY PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE

Previews start May 8, 2024: Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, May 8–10 at 8 p.m.; Saturday, May 11 at 4 p.m.; Sunday, May 12 at 2 p.m.; and Tuesday, May 14 at 7:30 p.m. Press Opening is Wednesday, May 15 at 7:30 p.m. Opening Night is Thursday, May 16 at 7:30 p.m. Regular performances continue through June 29: Wednesdays and Thursdays at 7:30 p.m.; Fridays at 8 p.m.; Saturdays at 4 p.m. and 8 p.m.; and Sundays at 2 p.m., plus two added matinees: Thursdays, June 20 and June 27 at 2 p.m. Exceptions: No 4 p.m. show on Saturday, May 18; and no performance on Wednesday, June 19.

BUYING TICKETS

Single tickets to Black Sunday are now on sale, priced $35–$67. For tickets and information, visit timelinetheatre.com or call the TimeLine Box Office at (773) 281-8463 x6

Preview tickets are $35. Single tickets to regular performances are $52 (all evening performances) and $67 (all matinee performances). Student discount is 35% off regular price with valid ID. TimeLine is also a member of TCG’s Blue Star Theatre Program and is offering $25 tickets to U.S. military personnel, veterans, first responders, and their spouses and family.

Ticket buyers ages 18-35 may join TimeLine’s free MyLine program to obtain access to discounted tickets, special events and more. Discounted rates for groups of 10 or more are also available. Visit timelinetheatre.com/discounts for more about available discounts.

LOCATION/TRANSPORTATION/PARKING

Black Sunday will take place at TimeLine Theatre, 615 W. Wellington Ave., in Chicago’s Lakeview East neighborhood, near the corner of Wellington and Broadway, inside Chabad East Lakeview, the former Wellington Avenue United Church of Christ building. TimeLine is served by multiple CTA trains and buses. There are multiple paid parking options nearby, plus limited free and metered street parking. Visit timelinetheatre.com/timeline-theatre for details and available discounts.

Published in Upcoming Theatre

Why do we learn about history?

This question has been asked for ages and is often met with the response: So that history does not repeat itself. When it comes to plays about history, that question is often met with some version of the same answer. We witness historical events in a live, theatrical setting so that among other things, we can learn to do better.

Playwright Anna Deavere Smith invites us to consider that question, but adds another layer: How are we meant to learn about our mistakes in history if we do not first get to know the people involved? As with many of her other plays, Notes from the Field is documentary theatre, and comprised of verbatim dialogue pulled from more than 250 accounts from students, faculty, prisoners, activists, politicians, and victims’ families. Smith conducted these interviews during President Barack Obama’s term, and while this may not quite be present day, the subject matter is certainly contemporary. Over the course of the play, we meet 19 individuals – all fighting to overcome and change America’s educational and criminal justice systems – especially with the tendency to focus on incarceration.

The catch? This play does not feature 19 actors, but rather three women – Mildred Marie Langford, Shariba Rivers, and Adhana Reid. Skillfully directed by Mikael Burke, the transitions between characters feel seamless, and every individual whom one of these actors embodies feels distinct and specific. While Smith brings humor into the script, many of the stories reveal heartbreaking memories, and the three actors fill each of these moments with an authentic balance of compassion and anger.

And so, we return to this question: How are we meant to learn about our mistakes in history if we do not first get to know the people involved?

One of the many individuals whom Langford embodied in this performance was Denise Dodson, an inmate who detailed what she learned from prison. Scenic Designer Eleanor Kahn has left the space fairly minimal – allowing the text to do its work as we hear each individual’s story. Langford is alone on a chair, and Lighting Designer Eric Watkins fills the space with just enough light to cast a large shadow behind her. Nothing is hidden as Dodson reflects with the audience on how education could have given her (and many young people like her) a different path. She explains:

“They have to see’em as people. They have to see them as the future. They have to see them as people who are gonna go out and be their next-door neighbors… ‘Cause they’re… at that stage where they absorb everything. And if they not absorbing all the right things, then… yeah. That’s… barbaric.”

Smith creates an opportunity for us as an audience to learn from a first-hand account how this country’s system has failed so many young people. We have created a system that forces them to so many to see themselves in a specific way. Langford’s matter-of-fact approach to the material is at times hard to hear. However, based on the silence surrounding me at this performance, it’s clear that I was not the only one hooked on every word, listening to this personal story unfold.

Dodson shares a warning. A desire for us as a country to offer stronger support for young people so we can change this school-to-prison pipeline. In the process, you may also notice that Smith is succeeding at something else. It’s one thing to write a story about incarceration and the failings of the education system. It’s another to look a human in the eye and hear their story – their personal account of how their life could have been different, a plea that we listen. Smith’s approach brings light to 19 of these accounts that may never have been heard otherwise – of “broken people’ as she puts it in her play. You may just find that this hits a little different. That Smith invites empathy in a different way. Maybe this approach can lead to the change that we as a country so desperately need.

Powerful performances and a hard-hitting script make this play an experience to remember. To put it simply, Notes from the Field is a must-see.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Running through March 24, 2024 at Timeline Theatre – 615 W. Wellington Avenue.

Published in Theatre in Review

A smash hit in London and New York, "The Lehman Trilogy" is now on stage in a definitive production at TimeLine Theatre. Written by Stefano Massini, adapted by Ben Power, and co-directed by Nick Bowling and Vanessa Stalling, it's easy to see why this Tony-winning tale of an unimaginably successful Bavarian immigrant family has enthralled audiences. (The run has already been extended through November 26 at Broadway in Chicago's Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place). 

Lights up on a stage covered in boxes, desks, chairs, phones, and screens, the whole space resembles a giant office (due to Collette Pollard’s smart design). Henry Lehman (played brilliantly by Mitchell J. Fain) stands at the edge of a platform, spotlight on his face. He addresses the audience, re-telling the character’s arrival to New York from Bavaria in third person, in a lyrical style that resembles a novel. The whole play is structured as such: the actors do more telling than showing, and narrate the action before embodying it, creating a sort of Brechtian distance between stage and audience. This seems to work in the plays favor, for the most part, as the narration is infused with humor, poetry, and information.

Soon enough, the actor embodies the first Lehman brother to arrive in the United States, gains an accent, and compares America to a music box. As a twinkling melody begins to play, Henry Lehman steps down and begins to set up his first shop in Alabama.

Shortly after, the two other brothers come into the picture. Henry becomes the head of the trio, while Emanuel (Anish Jethmalani) is described as the arm, and Mayer (Joey Slotnick), the youngest, works as the middleman between them. We watch the brothers negotiate and grow their business, adapting to an everchanging America, going from fabric to cotton to banking. The three actors play not only the brothers, but every other costumer, partner, wife, and child- sporting an impressive array of accents and physicalities. Each character has quirks of their own, which helps engage the audience and balances the amount of narration. Phillip, for instance, who is Emanuel’s son, is particularly comical. A neurotic boy from a young age, it is clear that he is destined to lead the Lehman Brothers Corporation. The audience laughs as a 16-year-old Phillip negotiates eloquently with United Railways, as his father watches aghast.

The design certainly helps bring the show to life, lights and sound and costume working together to take the audience on a journey that spans over a century. The simplicity of the set, lights, and sound, generally more suggestive than prescriptive, allows time to move forward fast, actors to shapeshift in the blink of an eye, and progress to hit the world of the play like a cannonball.

In a visually astonishing sequence, the American civil war is recreated on stage, through the simple use of explosion sounds, flickering lights, and papers thrown high into the air. This level of theatricality, along with the fascinating family dynamics and exploration of assimilation and loss of culture, lets the play move away from lecture and towards entertainment.

It comes as no surprise that capitalism is intertwined with all aspects of our daily lives, but seeing a group of men sitting around a table and deciding to introduce the idea of marketing onto American society, and to make buying an instinct rather than a need, that realization becomes more obvious than ever. Both a short history of 20th century American economy, and an intergenerational story of a Jewish family working towards the American dream, “The Lehman Trilogy” is highly recommended for any theatre lover with an interest in historical work. 

Timeline Theatre's production of "The Lehman Trilogy" runs through November 26 at Broadway in Chicago's Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place. 

 

 

Published in Theatre in Review
Saturday, 12 November 2022 12:36

Review: Timeline Theatre's 'Trouble in Mind'

What did you do during the 2020 lockdown? Many people I know took on a special project – learning to bake bread, or writing a novel. Me, I took a literary antiracism journey. From the classics like Malcolm X, Bayard Rustin, WEB DuBois, and James Baldwin to more contemporary thinkers – TaNehisi Coates, Ibram X Kendi, Robin DiAngelo, Ijeoma Oluo – over the long months of lockdown I immersed myself in antiracism theory. The genre I (obviously) could not explore was theatre, and it’s gratifying to see so much antiracism woven through 2022-23 Chicago’s theatre season.

It absolutely blows me away that TROUBLE IN MIND, written by Alice Childress in 1955, incorporates all the concepts I read about modern Critical Race Theory. Dozens of the ideologies presented by these brilliant scholars – societal racism, privilege, internalized inferiority, white fragility, microaggressions – all these concepts are right there in TROUBLE IN MIND. Childress understood it all in 1955; she put it all out there in books and on stages, and nobody was listening. Takes my breath away.

Timeline Theatre, with their strong company, long experience, broad resources and culture of excellence, presents us with a superlative production of this incredible play. At the interval my companion and I were debating which was finer – the script, the acting, or the production – and at the final curtain we were still unable to single one out.

‘The play’s the thing … wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the King’, and TROUBLE IN MIND catches our consciences with a play-within-a-play, showing the actors, director and production assistant at the initial read-through of Chaos in Belleville, an anti-lynching Southern drama. Tim Decke h/h plays director Al Manners,  a domineering egomaniac who brags that they’re producing an authentic and far-reaching social commentary. Shariba Rivrsh/h is brilliant as Wiletta Mayer, the lead (in both plays), who offers unsolicited instruction to neophyte John Nevins (Vincent Jordanh/h) on how to ingratiate himself to the white director. Sheldon Forrester, wonderfully played by Kenneth D Johnson h/h, an old hand at being a Black actor in a White field and scorns Wiletta’s obsequious tactics. Tarine J Bradshawsh/h is Millie Davis, more concerned with physical appearances than with anyone’s behavior. White castmates Judy Sears (Jordan Ashley Griesh/h), Bill O’Wray (Guy Van Swearingenh/h) and grizzled stagehand Henry (Charles Stranskeyh/h) are foils against this Black-on-Black controversy. Adam Shalzih/h plays flunkey stage manager Eddie Fenton in the uncomfortable role of agreeing (mostly) with the Black actors but subject to Manners’ despotism.

The substance of TROUBLE IN MIND is Wiletta’s own antiracism journey. She begins by talking the ‘you gotta be what they want’ talk, but ultimately finds herself unable to walk that walk. Manners is arrogantly confident that with Chaos in Belleville he’s PRODUCING the last word in social commentary – thereby, of course, proving himself a superior antiracist [sic]. Wiletta, keenly aware of the bigotry between the lines she’s called upon to speak, is ever more impelled to challenge Manners’ vision and direction … and inevitably to challenge Manners himself.

As I said, TROUBLE IN MIND illustrates countless facets of racism, including police brutality, affirmative action, and intersectionality. Wiletta and Millie recognize the sexist agenda in Manners’ ‘darlings’ and ‘girls; they are keenly mindful of his ‘hands-on’ approach to directing pretty blonde Judy, the sole white woman. Sisterhood trumps color, and they cross racial lines to protect the girl from Manners’ predation.

Unsurprisingly, TROUBLE IN MIND was no more popular in 1950’s American theatre than are Wiletta’s critiques of Chaos in Belleville. We see multiple intersections between TROUBLE IN MIND, Chaos in Belleville, and Childress’ real life.

Raised during the Harlem Renaissance, Childress was a crony and peer of such luminaries as Sidney Poitier, Noble Sissle, Ethel Waters and Paul Robeson. She co-founded the  American Negro Theatre, and she left us a rich body of superb work, much of which languished unappreciated for decades. TROUBLE IN MIND, now justly considered one of the great plays of the 20th Century, waited 66 years to be produced on Broadway. An early attempt was abandoned when Childress refused to make changes that producers felt would make the work ‘more palatable’ – yet another ironic confluence.

Production of TROUBLE IN MIND definitively meets Timeline’s high standards. Mica Cole is Executive Director; Artistic Director PJ Powers calls OJ Parson “Director extraordinaire”. In the program Powers quotes from the eponymous lyrics:

Trouble in mind, I’m blue

But I won’t be blue always,

‘cause the sun’s gonna shine

In my backdoor someday


Caitlin McLeodsh/h is Scenic designer; Christine Pascualsh/h and Megan E Pirtlesh/h design costumes and hair, respectively. Brandon Wardelh/h creates terrific effects with light design, augmented by Christopher Krizh/h Music and Sound. Miranda Andersonsh/h is Stage Manager; Gianni Carcagnoh/h is Production Assistant and Covid Compliance Officer. Martine Kei Green-Rogerssh/h is Dramaturg, with Assistant Deron S. Williams h/h. Dina Spoerlsh/h is Dramaturgical Display Designer – which I believe makes her responsible for the wonderful historic exhibits and portraits in the lobby … thank you!  My thanks to all of you for this amazing production.

 

*Extended through December 18th

Published in Theatre in Review

Smear tactics are nothing new in politics; Octavian became Emperor of Rome by distributing coins printed with negative slogans against Mark Anthony. The printing press provided a more easily reproduceable vehicle for misinformation, with the written material later reinforced by manipulated (long before Photoshop!) photographs. And now, of course, we have social media, click bait, troll farms, and ever-darker forms of fake news.

But we can pinpoint the birth of fake news with an extraordinary upsurge in political invective at the 1934 California gubernatorial race.

Playwright Will Allen examines this race in CAMPAIGNS, INC, playing at the TimeLine Theatre through September 18. CAMPAIGNS, INC was originally slated for release in 2020, to inject some much-needed humor into that anxious year and its contentious presidential election. But the play’s impact is even weightier now, after two more years of unscrupulous politics.

CAMPAIGNS, INC is based on a true story about carnival promoter Leone Baxter (Tyler Meredith) and journalist Clem Whitaker (Yurly Sardarov).  I would love to admire Leone Baxter – 1934 didn’t have many women in the political arena until she pioneered the field of political consulting by co-founding Campaigns Inc. Her tactics, however, proved less than admirable. Campaigns Inc unquestionably spawned the phenomenon of fake news and propelled opposition research to new depths of depravity.

CAMPAIGNS, INC portrays Baxter and Whitaker’s debut campaign, representing Frank Merriam (Terry Hamilton) in his bid for Governor of California against Upton Sinclair (Anish Jethmalani). Staunch Republican Merriam and Socialist Sinclair vie for support from an array of celebrities, from Sinclair’s friend Charlie Chaplin (Dave Honigman) and Lieutenant Governor George Hatfield (Mark Ulrich), to Franklin Roosevelt (David Parkes). Parkes also joins the electioneering as Louis B. Mayer, Douglas Fairbanks, Kyle Palmer, and a photographer. As ultra-conservative Merriam buys Roosevelt’s endorsement by affirming the New Deal, Eleanor Roosevelt (Jacqueline Grandt, also as Mary Pickford, a reporter and a waitress) defies her husband by publicly approving Sinclair. The entire election becomes a comprehensive calamity of deceit, demonization, and decidedly dirty politics.

Director Nick Bowling cleverly employs a multi-media presentation for CAMPAIGNS, INC. Scenes from Shirley Temple’s “Stand Up and Cheer!” and Clark Gable in “It Happened One Night” flicker on the screen as we take our seats. The stage is positioned between two facing banks of audience seats; the sets are assembled during blackouts, wheeling in Sinclair’s office at one end or Merriam’s at the other, with FDR’s Hyde Park residence and the offices of Campaigns Inc popping up in center stage. The live acting is interspersed with 1930’s film clips projected on a mobile screen.

This hurley-burley design resonates perfectly with the play’s general atmosphere of hectic absurdity as CAMPAIGNS, INC examines the power of deceit in the U.S. electoral system via humor. In truth, comedy is probably the best way to consider these insights, lest we succumb to despair. And the show truly is hilarious!

CAMPAIGNS, INC (the play) watches Campaigns Inc (the firm) exploit the newest media techniques for their nefarious purposes. Billboards and massive direct-mail marketing present quotes from Sinclair’s novels (“One of the necessary accompaniments of capitalism in a democracy is political corruption,” from The Jungle), deliberately obscuring his true values and principles. Leone Baxter later admitted the quotes were irrelevant, but she just wanted to keep Sinclair from winning.  Note: the goal was to defeat Sinclair, not to elect Merriam. Disparaging the other guy is so much easier than trying to identify a candidate’s virtues!

Is any of this sounding familiar?

MGM’s Louis B. Mayer, threatened by increasing unionization of Hollywood, churned out scripted commentaries discrediting Sinclair.  These contrived clips were aired before feature films, so audiences naturally thought they were genuine newsreels. And the best part is that the fake news was funded by garnishing MGM employee’s paychecks.

WH Hearst’s LA Times printed daily front-page articles smearing Sinclair. As political editor Kyle Palmer told a visiting NY Times reporter, “We don’t go in for that crap you have in New York – being obliged to print both sides.”  

CAMPAIGNS, INC is brilliantly written (Will Allan), masterfully directed (Nick Bowling), and splendidly acted by the entire cast.  In such an elaborate production, I think the crew deserves special notice. Scenic, lighting, and projections designers Sydney Lynne, Jared Gooding, and Anthony Churchill skillfully weave the multimedia mélange together. Sally Dolembo, U.S.A., Katie Cordts and Megan E. Pirtle design convincing period costumes, wigs, and hair. Sound designers Forrest Gregor and Andrew Hansen, dialect director Sammi Grant and dramaturg Maren Robinson replicate the ‘30’s with crackling radio broadcasts and vintage jokes. The entire collage is brought together by stage manager Miranda Anderson, artistic director PJ Powers, and executive director Mica Cole. And I want a shoutout for properties designer Rowan Doe: I loved the period radios and typewriters … and where did you find that magnificent wheelchair for FDR?!

CAMPAIGNS, INC is perfect for 2022, letting us scrutinize our preposterous times while providing comic relief from the lunacy as well.

*Extended through September 25

 

Published in Theatre in Review

TimeLine Theatre’s ‘The Chinese Lady’ is a powerful show - poignant, learned, sophisticated - and illuminating. Ninety minutes of engaging drama (no intermission) that left me somewhere between laughing, crying, and standing on my feet to cheer.

Directed by Helen Young from the script by Lloyd Suh (an award-winning playwright now in residence at New York’s New Dramatists) is based on the true story of Afong Moy (Mi Kang gives a stellar performance), brought to New York in 1834 as a living museum exhibit when she was just 14. For 25 cents a ticket, Afung Moy portrayed aspects of life in exotic China: eating a meal with chopsticks, walking in petite slippers covering her tiny bound feet, making tea, and speaking to the audience about life in her homeland. 

As the first Chinese woman to come to the U.S. and American public, we gather from Moy’s presentation that her contractors—New York merchants of Asian imports who are unseen in the play—hoped to inspire an appreciation of China’s culture and people. Her pparents contracted with the merchants for a two-year servitude at the museum. This stretched on for 55 years.

The exhibit space that forms the scenery (Arnell Scanciaco is scenic designer) is built in a Chinese style, and adorned with fine pottery and carvings (Rowen Doe handles properties) the type that merchants would likely have brought from her homeland. 

Afong Moy is assisted in her presentation by Atung (Glenn Obrero is equally excellent in this two-person show). Atung draws the curtain, serves the meal, and fluent in English and Chinese, translates and speaks for her. Over time she gains sufficient fluency to make Atung “superfluous” for speaking to the audience. Their stage personae and their personal relationship forms the structure for the play, and the playwright exploits this expertly.

Because Afong Moy is speaking directly to the ticket holders—that role played by the audience— the fourth wall of the stage is non-existent. We watch the arc of Afong Moy’s acclimation to her new home. When offstage, she lives with an American family and at first expresses disdain for their potatoes and corn, and eating with forks. "Chop sticks are elegant," she says.

We meet her again at age 16, and find Afong Moy is now enjoying American food, and longs to go to San Francisco. Scenes revisit her at various intervals, as she ages, and loses her Cantonese, she forgets what her parents looked like, and question who she is. Over time ticket prices escalate to $15. In adulthood she is invited to the White House by Andrew Jackson. We also see the sweep of history through her eyes: the Opium Wars that led to European domination by decimating Chin with drugs; the construction of the transcontinental railway during the Civil War by Chinese immigrants; and later the rise of anti-immigrant sentiment, and the passage of the Exclusionary Act which in 1882 banned Chinese immigration. 

Secondary themes—the relationship between Atung and Afong Moy in dual planes of unrequited love; Atung and Afong Moy’s growing awareness that they are largely without a life, wearing clothes not their own, speaking words that have been scripted—form existential reveries. They express too the horror of this decadent cultural colonialism. And yet, the indomitability of Afong Moy’s human spirit, her aspirations, are not extinguished. 

‘The Chinese Lady’ runs through June 18 at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont in Chicago. It comes highly recommended. 

Published in Theatre in Review
Tuesday, 12 April 2022 18:11

Review: 'Relentless' at Goodman Theatre

It’s not often that Goodman Theatre imports plays from other theatre companies. It’s also an exciting moment when a frequent Goodman actress gets to showcase her newest play on the mainstage. “Relentless” by Tyla Abercrumbie was originally developed and produced by TimeLine Theatre in Chicago as part of their Playwrights Collective. The past year was still tricky for most theatre companies, and many had to reconfigure their seasons on short notice. Directed by Ron OJ Parson, “Relentless” premiered at TimeLine in early 2022 to rave reviews and has since been moved to the Owen stage at Goodman.

Set in 1919, “Relentless” tells the story of two Black sisters who return to their family home in Pittsburgh following the death of their mother. Janet (Jaye Ladymore) and Annelle (Ayanna Bria Bakari) are two bourgeois young women who live in Boston. Janet and Annelle see the world differently. Annelle sees the bright side of things, which seems easy from her perspective as a doctor’s wife. Janet is unmarried and doesn’t see much use for marriage. It’s when Janet begins reading her mother’s diary that she considers keeping the house and staying in Philadelphia.

For many Americans, the year immediately following WWI and the 1918 flu pandemic, was a time of great optimism. For those still reeling from the horrors of slavery, seemingly very little had changed in the 60 years since the Civil War.

In fluidly moving scenes, Janet is transported by her mother’s diary to the twilight years of slavery. As middle-class characters, her and Annelle have been somewhat shielded from some aspects of discrimination, but the details of their mother’s journal pull back the veneer on the gilded life they live. Annelle would rather not know anything at all, but the injustices spurn Janet to rage.

Abercrumbie’s story has the look and feel of an August Wilson play, but with a unique perspective. This is a story about Black women, told by a Black woman. Female characters are dimensional here, they swear, they drink, and they talk about sex. Culturally we assume previous generations were somehow more innocent but that couldn’t possibly be true. Though like Wilson’s plays, “Relentless” underscores that every generation of Black Americans has had to deal with the same issues of violence, racism and oppression. “Relentless” asks if anything has really changed.

Performances by Jaye Ladymore and Ayanna Bria Bakari are what this play hinges on. Both actresses fill the space with their characters, both giving them distinct personalities and similarities that create a sisterly chemistry on stage. Demetra Dee as the mother, Zhuukee, in the years of slavery is the discovery of the evening. There’s a fragile yet strong delivery in her lines. She’s soft in situations that would make others harsh. “Relentless” is a play with anger at its core, but perhaps Zhuukee represents a sense of forgiveness, or healing.

Through May 8 at Goodman Theatre 170 N Dearborn Street www.goodmantheatre.org

Published in Theatre in Review


“Relentless” is a play about memories and what we do with those memories. Running at Timeline Theatre through February 26, this is a show in which all the characters carry a memory, either literally or figuratively. 

The year is 1919. America is struggling with two pandemics, one the recent outbreak of influenza decimating the country, the other, the ever-present racism, turned up to a feverish pitch. Janet and Annelle, sisters, have returned to their childhood home from Boston along with Marcus, Annelle’s doctor husband. The sisters are there to settle the estate of their deceased mother Annabelle Lee, a midwife in Philadelphia.

While going thru her mother’s things, Janet (Jaye Ladymore offers stoic resolve and suppressed determination) finds a treasure trove of dairies and is engrossed in reading every word. On the other hand, Annelle (playfully sweet but fragile and vulnerable Ayanna Bria Bakari) wants nothing to do with the diaries and feels they should be destroyed.

Franklin (Xavier Edward King delivers wit and simmering intensity), a businessman in Philadelphia, remembers the details of his birth and how it informs his present. Marcus, (the debonair Travis Delgado) remembers how he felt seeing Black people refused medical treatment. Zhuukee/Annabelle Lee (sweetly played by Demetra Lee) writes her own memories down. She is given a remembrance of her mother in a scene that is one of the most powerful in the play.

One thing you can count in Chicago theatre, if you go to a Timeline Production, you will spend a great deal of time researching what you have just seen. It was like that when I saw “Fiorello”, It was the same when I saw “Weekend” and it is no different with “Relentless”. Timeline productions teach and enlighten, you walk out wiser than when you walked in.

As you walk into the theater you are greeted by a wall of pictures, in a neatly appointed room. Jack Magaw’s scenic design is right out of a 1900’s picture, faded with time. There is cornice molding framing the room, mahogany wood doors, a staircase that leads up to a second story and a colorful stained-glass window. To the left there is an alcove for sitting. The wallpaper is quintessentially Victorian. It is obvious the owner of this house is comfortably middle class. There are crates scattered about, giving the room the feeling of upheaval.

Special kudos to lighting designer Heather Gilbert and Mike Tutaj, this same room is turned into a southern manor with the addition of projection and lighting. Music is used to heighten drama during certain important moments of dialogue in a manner that’s almost cinematic. Christine Pascual did a remarkable job costuming in 3 eras, I noticed the sisters in 1919 weren’t wearing constraining bodices as women were taking more agency of their bodies, preparing for the roaring 20’s. Great Job!

Abercrombie has given us some wonderful and interesting characters. She wrote her play in five chapters with each chapter having a title from a work of Black literature. As the scene begins it is projected on top of the setting (like the title page of a book). The dialogue is fast, witty and engaging. Ron OJ Parsons, a director of renown, knows exactly what he’s doing. He choose an excellent ensemble. He found the right tempo for the time and place and let the words do the work.

Theatergoers will want to become familiar with Tyla Abercrombie, as she has made a name for herself not only in Chicago theater but throughout the country. She can also be seen as a series regular in “The Chi”. Aside from a one-woman show, this is her first play. She was supported in the development process by Timeline’s Playwrights Collective and the result is pure magic. Abercrombie’s writing is deliberately educational, clearly pointing out important names, dates and events. This gives her writing a sense of immediacy. She has shown herself to be a playwright of exceptional skill and if this first play is any indication, expect to see her name featured in the future.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t say “Relentless” is long, coming in at 3 hours. August Wilson was notorious for over writing his plays, Lloyd Richards was notorious for editing those plays and getting them to Broadway and he was born in 1919 ..The universe is talking …I’m just saying! Nevertheless, it is highly recommended.

At Theater Wit through February 26th.

Published in Theatre in Review
Friday, 19 January 2018 22:54

Review: Boy at Timeline Theatre

Long before Jeffrey Eugenide’s novel 2003 ‘Middlesex’ brought intersexuality to the mainstream lexicon, there was David Reimer. ‘BOY’ by Anna Zeigler is a new play inspired by the real life story of a boy raised as a girl after a botched circumcision. Reimer was known only as the “John/Joan” case throughout the medical community until 1997, when he decided to make his story public. He has since committed suicide.

‘BOY’ makes its area premiere at TimeLine Theatre Company under the direction of Damon Kiely. In their intimate space, this small cast tells Zeigler’s version of the John/Joan case. The structure of the play is one its strongest assets. We first meet Adam (Theo Germaine), a shy young man trying to flirt with a girl named Jenny (Emily Marso). Starting here establishes the present tense, or in this case, the early 90s. In alternating scenes, we then meet Adam’s parents Doug and Trudy (Stef Tovar and Mechelle Moe) in the mid-60s. They’re new parents desperate for a way to make normal the life of their infant son whose penis is mutilated in a medical accident. They’re introduced to Dr. Wendell Barnes (David Parkes), the founder of the first American institute on gender. The two stories gradually meet in the middle when Adam must confront his past in order to move into his future.

The brisk pace tells a complete story, if only a little brief. A story as unique as this probably garners more questions than answers. The ensemble works well together to demystify this case study. The courtship between Theo Germaine’s Adam and Emily Morso’s Jenny is endearing. Morso perfectly embodies the dialogue of a tough-girl with a warm side. Whereas Theo Germaine gives one of their best performances yet. Theo swings from child to grown up in the blink of an eye throughout the play and yet, it’s through those swings we can see that Adam never really grows up. Stef Tovar and Mechelle Moe as the stereotypical Iowan family dealing with this surreal reality are impeccable. Moe has the mannerisms down. While Tovar’s character is pretty quiet throughout the play, his final moments on stage with Adam are some of the play’s most touching.

‘BOY’ will surprise many. As the National Geographic pointed out last year, we’re in the midst of a gender revolution. What is the most surprising is how accessible this play is. Unlike Taylor Mac’s comic masterpiece ‘HIR’ – there’s no tone of condescension here. The play is simply a well-structured, fictionalized account of the John/Joan case. It’s as juicy as an episode of the Phil Donahue show but there’s also a lot of heart here, and it begs the bigger question, what would you do? Zeigler’s version of the real life Dr. Money (who wrote about David Reimer extensively) – Wendell Barnes, is written in a way that will make some debate whether or not he genuinely cared for his patient or proving his extreme gender theory. Though, it’s through this (unfortunately) failed experiment that we know so much more about sexual science today.

Through March 18 at TimeLine Theatre Company. 615 W Wellington Ave. 773-281-8463

Published in Theatre in Review

Sarah Ruhl’s ‘In the Next Room, or the Vibrator Play’ returns to Chicago at Timeline Theatre. Directed by Mechelle Moe, this drawing room comedy about the advent of electricity is sure to tickle audiences. Ruhl’s works have often been produced around the city as she’s an Evanston native. She may reside in Brooklyn now, but we’ll still claim her as our own.

‘In the Next Room’ was shortlisted for the 2009 Pulitzer after a successful Broadway run. It was also nominated for the 2009 Tony Award for Best Play. ‘In the Next Room’ might just be Ruhl’s most fully realized play. It’s a whimsical, if not loose, history of the invention of the vibrator. While it may sound like a cheeky sex comedy, ‘In the Next Room’ is a feminist anthem.

Dr Givings (Anish Jethmalani) is a country doctor who specializes in hysteria, a very real condition that afflicted women during a much less sexual period in history. His wife Catherine (Rochelle Therrien) does not suffer as her husband’s patients do, but instead yearns for romantic love. In some ways, this play is like Sarah Ruhl’s own version of ‘A Doll’s House.’ A wife searching for her purpose in a world dominated by men. Catherine says at one point “I do not know what kind of person I am” and feels like a failure when her child will not nurse. Through various entrances and exits, we’re shown how sexless life was between man and wife during the Victorian era. As an audience with hindsight, we understand that this miracle cure for hysteria is nothing more than a medically induced orgasm.

The ensemble is well cast. Rochelle Therrien makes Ruhl’s fanciful dialogue endearing and innocent. Her fresh-faced and child-like performance is so charming you can’t believe her husband’s indifference. Though quiet and understated, Dana Tretta plays Annie, the physician’s midwife. A sort of “Igor” sidekick type, but Ruhl doesn’t overlook the character. Her arch of a life without love is perhaps the most touching of all.

Not only is this play a feminist anthem, but a play about orgasms. The very idea that women did not discuss anything related to sex is absurd in a world where you can watch re-runs of ‘Sex and the City’ at any given time. Even nursing a child was considered distasteful to discuss. Rarely if ever have so many simulated orgasms happened in one theatrical performance. Though, like the era, they’re so unsexualized that you can’t help but giggle at the characters discovering themselves. In one full-length play Sarah Ruhl bursts nearly every female taboo of the time out of the closet. Never have Women’s Rights been a more hot button issue and ‘In the Next Room’ comes at just the right time.

Through December 16 at Timeline Theatre Company. Stage 773, 1225 W Belmont Ave. 773-327-5252

 

Published in Theatre in Review
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