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Beauty on the Vine
By Zak Berkman
Directed by Jason Kae
Produced by Backstage Theatre Company
At Raven Theatre’s West Stage
6157 N Clark Street
Chicago, IL
Call 800-838-3006 www.backstagetheatrecompany.org
Thursdays thru Saturdays at 8:30 pm
Sundays at 3:30 pm
Running time is 2 hours, 15 minutes with intermission
Through November 23, 2008
“Here’s a test: When someone tells you something bad about yourself — do you believe them?” Lauren asks her listeners. “Regardless of who they are — does a little of the criticism sink in? If you answered yes — you’re probably a Democrat. Democrats always believe what people tell them. They see the reflection and think that’s real.”
Intelligent cautionary tale of young women’s obsession for looking like celebrities
Backstage Theatre, under Jason Kae’s terrific direction, has mounted a gem of a play: “Beauty On The Vine.” Zak Berkman’s cautionary fable about the cult of celebrity and the lack of self esteem that forces many young girls to have plastic surgery to make themselves look like their female idols. The power of the human face has over both men and teen girls is woven through Berkman’s tale. This is an intelligent script filled with suspense and excellent character development. You’ll not easily forget Lindsay Lohman (powerful acting by Brenda Barrie)—the right-wing female talk radio star. Her mixed-race husband, Sweet (Gregory Isaac in a fine nuanced performance) is a fully developed contemporary liberal free thinker who becomes obsessed with Lauren’s extreme self-confidence. The sparkling dynamic between Sweet and the mesmerizing Lauren speaks to the power of beauty and sexuality to overcome politics. The two opposites do indeed attract. We heard Lauren attract young teenage girls into her world of conservative politics. But we get hints that Lauren has a different agenda once she becomes the voice of the next generation of American women.
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When she is brutally murdered, Sweet and Daniel (Ron Butts), Lauren’s controlling father set out to find the reasons behind the murder. They discover a world where young girls transform themselves to look like their idols. Two of Lauren high school friends were so captivated with her beauty and charisma that they arranged to have plastic surgery to make them selves look like Lauren. Sweet and Daniel are mesmerized upon meeting the Lauren look-a-likes. The play deftly deals with how hard it is for a mother to lose her daughter and a father and husband losing the principal woman in their lives.
Berkman’s fine script is smart and his characters are fully developed,especially Lauren and Sweet. Brenda Barrie and Gregory Isaac offered excellent performances. This show is a fine character sketch about megalomaniac personalities. You’ll enjoy this fine production—I know I did.
Highly Recommended
Tom Williams
Tom99@chicagocritic.com for comments
Talk Theatre in Chicago podcast
Date Reviewed: October 31, 2008
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