Displaying items by tag: William Brown

The first time I ever saw Oliver!, it was the 1960s movie version. I saw it at one of those old-timey theaters where an “old” guy (this was the 1980s and I was a wee lad, so the organist very well could’ve been a pimply teen keyboard prodigy and I’d have still pegged him as a geezer) played the pipe organ and they showed “old” movies (I remember seeing Laurel and Hardy there, too) and it was supposed to make you feel like it was the good-old days. Well, I know I didn’t recall much of the plot, but that Oliver!’s characters and musical numbers sure made a big impression — a big enough impression that my reintroduction to them, all these years later, by the Marriott Theatre’s current production, made it feel like being reacquainted with shabby old Cockney chums on the Victorian London streets in which they make their questionable livings.

When my date for the night, my six-year-old daughter who’s already a Broadway kinda gal, asked me what Oliver! was about, I told her it was “Annie with boys.” That explanation appeased her beforehand, and it made even more sense as we watched the show, because in Oliver!, it’s the kids who do the heavy lifting. From the opening number, “Food, Glorious Food,” the urchins whose lives are spent in either the poorhouse or on the London streets are the focus whenever they’re onstage. And the boys (and yes, unlike Annie’s female orphans, these kids are all male), despite their coal-smudged cheeks and their ratty rags and hand-me-down threads, light up the stage whenever they take it, especially in big numbers like the afore-mentioned “Food, Glorious Food,” as well as “Consider Yourself” and “You’ve Got to Pick a Pocket or Two.”

The two young stars of the play do as much shining as any of their peers. In the performance I saw, Kayden Koshelev played the eponymous orphan (he’ll be alternating performances with Kai Edgar). Koshelev is a little guy, tiny in comparison even to the other kids. But that makes him stand out, actually, and makes the audience care for him even more. Patrick Scott McDermott’s Artful Dodger steals each scene he’s in, his Cockney accent on point, his top hat held high, his eyes twinkling through the gloom and doom of his homeless, criminal existence.

And the adults who force this existence on their youthful stage mates are every bit their younger peers’ equals. In the movie version, I remember being terrified of Fagin. But in this production, William Brown brings the heart he recently brought to Into the Woods — sure he’s a crook and takes advantage of the boys who are his wards, but he’s a vulnerable villain. The same cannot be said for Dan Waller’s Bill Sikes; I wish Waller had a bigger part, because while he wasn’t the imposing figure, size-wise, I remember the film Sikes being, Waller’s demeanor and attire sure made a dark impression. Matthew R. Jones’ Mr. Bumble was also a daunting adult for the poor kids to deal with, although he was allowed some humor thanks to Bethany Thomas’ Mrs. Corney (Thomas, too, displays her range, this time as a character actress after carrying the recent Into the Woods).

But it was yet another star from Into the Woods who shined brightest in Oliver! — Lucy Godinez’s Nancy. Godinez starred, of course, as Little Red Riding Hood, and helped make that production. But, if it’s possible, she’s even better here, showing just as much warmth as Brown’s Fagin for the ragamuffins, and providing the highlight of the show with her take on “As Long as He Needs Me” — her performance of that song alone will have me looking for any future productions she’s in.

So, just like the film version’s plot made little impression on a little me, while its cast and music did, I can say the same for the Marriott Theatre’s current production of Oliver! — come for the charming Cockney characters and the tunes, glorious tunes. You won’t leave with an empty belly.

At Marriott Theatre through December 29th. For more information visit https://www.marriotttheatre.com/.  

A Number is an elegant, fully enthralling thought piece by one of Britain’s greatest playwrights, Caryl Churchill. Just over an hour long, it is relentlessly intriguing, keeping you on the edge of your seat as you follow the unfolding story - first in bits and pieces, then building to a torrent of revelation, and finally slamming shut, like a book cover at the end of an intense mystery.

Set in the not too distant future, A Number opens with father and son midway through an intense conversation. We can see the son, Bernard, is distraught.

We piece together that Bernard has learned that his birth was the product of a scientific intervention. But this is not the root of his upset. Rather, he has discovered that the research scientist, now deceased, employed experimental methods and went further than he should have.

With a powerful performances by William Brown as the father, Salter, and the skillful Nate Burger in the role of Bernard, this mystery puts the audience through an intellectual puzzle along the lines of Proof or Doubt.

In this case, Bernard learns that he is not alone - that there were other test tube babies cloned in that lab. More painfully, perhaps, we gather that Bernard has a whiff of suspicion his father was complicit with everything, and continues to dissemble.

“They said none of us was the original,” Bernard tells Salter. “If you are not my father, it’s fine. If you did an in vitro or whatever, just tell me.” How many were there?

“A number,” his father replies vaguely, and again we sense he knows more than he is admitting. He moves to distract Bernard from this upset by calculating the dollar value of a lawsuit against the laboratory for this violation of their trust.

In fact, Salter knows much more, but we must not spoil the plot. We can say Churchill artfully traverses the science, emotional and dramatic terrain in a unique way - exploring our tendency to all too easily surrender governance of our souls to the technological wonders surrounding us. It is also a tragedy, and Brown’s Shakespearean chops serve him well as he laments, “I did some bad things, and I deserve to be punished,” but adding a post-modern twist, “And I did some better things, and I deserve recognition for that.” Bernard rails back, “That’s how everyone feels!” And we wallow with them in our uniquely contemporary angst.

This work, written in 2002, is a precursor to the dark intensity we experience in watching Black Mirror on television. The action heightens and takes violent twists that are shocking even if unseen. The scenic design by Courtney O’Neill, with black picture windows looking out on the void, conveys an eerie spectre of foreboding.

Churchill is known for Cloud Nine, Top Girls, and Serious Money, all three of them Obie winning works - but I am sorry to say I did not know more of her. Now I will be unable to forget her. 

Plaudits to the creative team at Writers Theatre, including dramaturg Bobby Kennedy in this masterful production tightly directed by Robin Witt. We can highly recommend it. A Number runs through June 9, 2019 at Writers Theatre in Glencoe.

Imagine a 70s-era Woody Allen movie set to music. That's basically "Company" by Stephen Sondheim. It premiered in a time when many Broadway musicals were just collections of songs loosely connected by a simple plot. In 1970, Sondheim's "Company" challenged that formula by presenting a musical that was more book than music. The story is even less clear than a classic Broadway show. It's the story of Bobby, a bachelor living in New York City with mixed-up ideas about marriage. 

Though Bobby (Thom Miller) is the main character, "Company" is about the women in his life. Writers Theatre director William Brown has assembled a stellar cast of Chicago actresses. Each scene is a vignette in which Bobby learns about his friends' marriages. Blair Robertson as uptight Jenny is charmingly neurotic. Tiffany Scott playing urban Southern bell, Susan, and with costumes by Rachel Anne Healy, looks like a young Cybil Shepard. With distinct performances from the female ensemble, it's hard to pick out a favorite scene from the show, however Allison Hendrix singing "Getting Married Today" is a highlight. For Sondheim groupies, this is one of the show's most popular numbers but also its most challenging with a unique staccato rhyming scheme. Hendrix pulls it off, and makes the comedy relatable. Jess Godwin as April, is the show's last stop. Her portrayal of an awkward bachelorette is sure to make everyone laugh. 

"Company" concludes on the bittersweet song "Being Alive" and while Thom Miller's performance as Bobby is a little uneven throughout, he brings a lot to the cathartic final number. In one song, the musical goes from odd-ball romantic comedy to a philosophical question about the nature of long term love.

Writers Theatre in Glencoe is rightfully proud of their new space designed by Jeanne Gang. "Company" is presented as part of their Inaugural Season. The show, like the space is sleek, stylish and sexy. William Brown's production will likely be remembered as a definitive presentation of this not-often produced Sondheim classic. With more space, it’s nice to see a show at Writers with some breathing room. 

Through July 31st at Writers Theatre. 325 Tudor Court, Glencoe. 847-242-6011.

When a play is produced as often as “Doubt,” each theatre company must ask of itself, why now? What can our company give to this work that another has missed? Over the past decade or so, it’s becoming nearly impossible to open a newspaper and not read a headline about sexual abuse in the Catholic Church. This play is endlessly topical, but can a play lose its punch if it’s overly produced? In Chicago alone we’ve seen several noteworthy companies take on “Doubt” and Writer’s Theatre is no exception.

Director William Brown has a unique vision for John Patrick Shanley’s Pulitzer Prize winner, and it’s remarkably effective in distinguishing this production. Staged in the Glencoe Union Church, this marks the first occasion Writer’s has done a site-specific engagement. It seems borderline blasphemous, but at the same time there’s nothing in the script that either supports or condemns organized religion. The highly atmospheric quality created by Brown even serves to underscore the authority of Sister Aloysius.

That said, Karen Jane Woditsch’s performance as the aggressive school principal is downright scary. Woditsch’s sharp features are constantly at work. There’s a contemplative, calculating look in her eyes throughout the show. It’s as if she sees right through you, just like she instructs naïve teacher, Sister James (Eliza Stoughton) to do. Her intensity in movement and severity in diction are on an entirely different level than the rest of the cast.

There’s a degree of ambiguity in Shanley’s text. Is Father Flynn guilty? It’s a choice the director and the actors must make. Without an actor’s certainty the role comes off as weak. Steve Haggard’s Father Flynn is very convincing, a fascinating choice considering so often Flynn’s character comes off as guilty from the get-go.

The well-being of a child is the central conflict in this briskly-paced work. The problem is the inherent coldness in this play. It’s beautifully worded, but highly mathematical in its structure. It’s too easy to be swayed by Sister Aloysius. Sister James exclaims that the school is run like a prison, and she’s right. It’s a different kind of child abuse. Given all the headlines and the tendency to be drawn to the salacious, it’s easy to overlook the lasting effects of educational system without warmth and life without grey area.

Through July 19^th. Writer’s Theatre at Glencoe Union Church – 263 Park Avenue. 847-242-6000