Displaying items by tag: Pride Films and Plays

There is something immensely endearing in the passion that community theater groups bring to the stage. A Man of No Importance captures exactly these qualities, as its cast plays a troupe preparing for a production of Oscar Wilde’s Salome.

Set in 1964 Dublin, Ireland, A Man of No Importance was a 2002 Broadway musical comedy written by the team that created Anastasia and Ragtime – Lynn Ahrens, Stephen Flaherty, with book by Terrence McNally (Master Class, The Full Monty, Kiss of the Spider Woman, et.al.). While not a blockbuster, it does have some lovely music. 

That show in turn was adapted from the well-regarded 1994 film (a non-musical), which starred Albert Finney in an exceptional performance as Alfie, a 60-year-old Dublin streetcar conductor. Severely repressing his gay orientation (even the term “closeted” was not in general use then), Alfie expresses his gay self channeling Oscar Wilde in his mirror. 

The broad strokes of A Man of No Importance are the same in both the film and the musical, though the inner life of Alfie is the point of the film, while the musical version emphasizes the community of players – and the redemptive quality of being who you really are, even if you are gay. That was more easily said than done in 1963 Ireland, where a “pouf” was the pejorative term for a gay person, who was subject to severe social opprobrium in the period. Same-sex relations were only decriminalized in 1993 in the Republic of Ireland. (For the U.K., including Northern Ireland, it was legalized in 1967.)

In both versions Alfie is beaten and outed, but survives and comes back stronger. Finney’s Alfie is an exuberant, ebullient fellow, though filled with longing and extreme inhibition about sharing his secret of the “love that dares not speak its name.” In Pride Films & Play’s production, directed by Donterrio Johnson, Alfie (Ryan Lanning) is likewise filled with longing and inhibition, but with little of the kind of verve that made the film version Alfie believable and lovable.

Alfie entertains his streetcar patrons with warm banter and poetic readings, and scouts their numbers for potential performers in his troupe. He identifies one new arrival on his Dublin streetcar – Adele Rice (Ciera Dawn) – as a prospect to for the show – and talks her into joining. 

Alfie is also secretly in love with the motorman, Robbie Fay (Nick Arceo), and entreats him to join the cast, with a promise of meeting single women players. Robbie Fay in turn pressures Alfie to join him in the pub after work. Alfie does so reluctantly, retreating awkwardly when his secret yearnings turn up on the gaydar of a barfly, the comely young Breton Beret (Kevin O’Connell, who also plays a phantom Oscar Wilde).

All the while, Alfie risks running afoul of society. Late middle aged (he is 60 in the movie) Alfie lives - since mother died - under the watchful care of his spinster sister Lily (Sarah Beth Tanner brings great life to this character). Lily avidly wants Alfie to find a girl to marry, so she can relinquish her responsibility of caring for him. (That's how society worked in Ireland.) Lily's intended, the butcher Carney (Tommy Bullington), is a regular cast member in the Alfie’s group, but also an arch conservative Catholic in the Altar & Rosary Sodality.

It isn't long before Carney figures out that this year’s script includes salacious scenes "and fornication" as Carney rails – the Dance of the Seven Veils included – and the show is booted from St. Imelda's as pornographic midway through rehearsal. The positive resolution of this crisis - it’s Broadway, after all, the show must go on – is melodramatic, but still somehow satisfying.  

This cast features some very good singers, dancers, and performers. Though there are a couple somewhat wooden actors, most bring an infectious energy to the show, as do the characters they play in the rehearsal for Salome. Lanning is a polished tenor; and Nick Arceo’s baritone gives Robbie Fay the requisite manliness. Amanda Giles’ performance as Mrs. Curtin earned belly laughs, especially her proposal to transform the seductive “Dance of the Seven Veils” as a tap dance sequence. A Man of No Importance runs through November 10 at The Broadway Theater in Pride Arts Center, 4139 N. Broadway.

*Extended through November 17th

Is monogamy dead? S. Asher Gelman's "Afterglow" makes an interesting case for and against it. David Zak directs the Chicago premiere at Pride Films and Plays. "Afterglow" ran off-Broadway for over a year in 2017 to rave reviews. 

Josh (Rich Holton) and Alex (Jacob Barnes) are a married gay couple living in New York City. They enjoy an open marriage until one night they bring home new guy, Darius (Jesse James Montoya). Josh's feelings toward their lover increase as the due date for their surrogate-born child approaches.  While the plot sounds very specific to the LGBTQ community, the themes explored by Gelman feel universal. 

In short scenes (most of which performed naked), we watch the central couple grapple with what it really means to share your partner with another person. Some of the plot points and dialogue are cringe-worthy in their awkwardness. A solidly midwestern audience may clutch their pearls and ask, "can you imagine?" Gelman makes very astute points about the future of commitment as we grow increasingly reliant on dating apps. 

There's a certain sloppiness however to Zak's production. Performances run a bit passionate in this otherwise quiet script. An intimate theater space amplifies the already too loud actors on stage. Some insightful nuggets of wisdom in Gelman's script are overshadowed by strange acting choices. The set includes some impressive feats for a storefront theater (like a working shower), but it also seemed to be falling apart around the cast by evening's end. Technical difficulties aside the cast worked around the challenges gracefully. 

"Afterglow" is a gay play for this time, much like "The Boys in the Band" spoke to a late-70s gay audience. There's nary a single person gay or straight that won't find themselves nodding along with Gelman's observations. There's a lot in this 80-minute drama and the sexual tension runs searingly throughout. David Zak's production is somewhat devoid of the off-Broadway production's sleekness and it tends to undercut the script. Those who enjoy queer theater will be pleasantly surprised by the depth of this new play. 

Through May 5 at Pride Films and Plays - Pride Arts Center, The Buena. 4147 N Broadway. 773-857-02222

*Extended through June 2nd