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Ape
By Paul Oakley Stovall
Directed by Krissy Vanderwarker
Produced by Dog & Pony Theatre Company
At Raven Theatre’s West Stage
6157 N. Clark Street
Chicago, IL
Call 773-235-0492, tickets $20 - $15 seniors & students
All Wednesdays & Thursdays are pay-what-you-can
Wednesdays thru Saturdays at 8:30 pm
Running time is 80 minutes
Through October 13, 2007
Flawed, confusing and underwritten yet Ape still intriguing
Dog & Pony Theatre presents Paul Oakley Stovall’s Ape in a world premiere that has its moments but contains a confusing plot that begs the question: What is it all about? It talks about evolution and the scene changes find the actors bouncing around like apes. This worked the first time or two but grew tedious.
The debate involving evolution versus creation science emerges between the young biology high school teacher, Campbell (Faith Hurley) and Mrs. Green (Laurie Larson) the mother of a teenage boy. The school’s principal, Dawson (Celeste A. Frazier) is the peacemaker here. The story focuses on Aaron Green (the terrific Evan Fillon), the precocious and outspoken teen obsessed with text messaging, aliens and masturbation. Aaron hints at being gay. He calls his Jesus-freak mother ‘crazy’ as she tries to persuade Campbell to teach creation science along with evolution.
This flawed play tries to do and say too much based on a flimsy device—a snow storm—to isolate the Greens, Campbell and Dawson in one location until all the debates about evolution, mother-son and student-teacher relations are played out. Stovall, I guess, is striving to answer the questions: How much of you is by your own design? What grows you? Who changes you? So when mother nature takes over, each character’s belief system is tested. Some interesting exchanges fuel the debate.
My problem with Ape is that each conflict and dramatic moment is underdeveloped and the resolution seems forced. The potential here is never realized. Evolution, a boy’s beliefs system and a mother’s striving to connect with her son are excellent ingredients for high drama. The story begs for rewrites, a tighter through line and sharper clarity. I liked the smart, engaging work from Evan Fillon as the frustrated teen. Stovall needs to do more work on this play.
Somewhat Recommended
Tom Williams
Tom99@chicagocritic.com for comments
Talk Theatre in Chicago podcast
Date Reviewed: September 19, 2007
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