Jacob Davis On October 21st, Chicago Folks Operetta presented a one-night show, Operetta in Exile. The ninety minute long piece was a tribute to the Jewish composers and lyricists of the Berlin and Vienna operetta genre who remain largely unknown in English. Part revue and part history lesson, the piece is an example of CFO’s dedication to spreading appreciation for central European culture in North America.
The story is that of the 1915 lynching of Jewish industrialist Leo Frank (Jim Deselm) in Georgia. Leo is from Brooklyn, came to Georgia to manage a relative’s pencil factory, and can’t stand the South. It doesn’t care for him, either. His wife, Lucille (Sarah Bockel), an Atlanta native, thinks he’s overly hard on a region he doesn’t understand, and often wishes her husband could be more emotionally intimate. On Confederate Memorial Day, one of the girls who works in the factory, thirteen year old Mary Phagan (Peyton Tinder) comes Leo’s office to collect her pay. That night, she is found murdered in the factory basement.
The Anyway Cabaret (an animal cabaret) is a strange but funny new musical from the creative team at TUTA. An amazingly talented cast of ten accompany each other in songs about animals that range from goofy to very sad.
Since The Submission was finished in 2011, the focus is all on Danny pretending to be black. Today, the biggest controversy in theatre regarding discrimination vs. tokenism is about women, but Emilia doesn’t talk about gender as much. For dramatic tension, Talbott made both characters bigots, leaving a discussion of the issue entirely on its merits up to the audience. The show is about issues habitual theatre-goers have wanted to see addressed for some time. The character Pete brings up the question of what all this looks like to outsiders. I’m really not sure what someone outside our community would make of this story, but I suspect similar discussions are happening elsewhere. The play is called The Submission, but I doubt anyone will surrender.
Greenberg’s script cuts right to the heart of anxiety over gay men in sports by including lots of showering and changing scenes. Eight actors are fully naked at least once onstage. It’s necessary for an honest examination of the issue, but requires a lot of courage from the cast. For that alone, I commend them all, but they also give strong performances besides that.
The first thing to about Durenmatt’s Romulus is that he called it a history play with no historical basis. Several different people from the period in the fifth century arbitrarily labeled “the fall of the Western Roman Empire” are conglomerated here, and their relationships are redefined for dramatic effect. But that’s alright, because this story, presented now by the capable team at Oracle, is more engaging and thought-provoking than a treatment of the actual events would likely be.
I got annoyed while watching with both the script and production, but in retrospect, have a greater understanding of what Interrobang is trying to do. This was another time when people not attending the press opening will likely enjoy a cast feeding off a more typical audience. Every actor is making their Interrobang debut. Clearly, this young company is staying loyal to its mission to do issue plays. I disliked the play’s bluntness about complicated ideas, many of which have changed a lot since its debut, and the production was lacking in some respects. But given the play’s philosophy, maybe this is the kind of company that can best perform it. Some people want art that scrambles for resources and puts forth this niche philosophy. This could appeal to them.
This is a play about how both spiritual and worldly goals have disappointed the characters. If you’re interested in subjects like that, or enjoyed other plays by Rebeck, it could be worth checking out. There is a lot of humor in the story, which would probably work better with a regular audience than at the press opening I saw. But I, like the people in the play, was left wanting more.
The show’s concept is that somewhere in the afterlife, Etta James has split into five parts: one for each stage of her career. Numbered in reverse chronological order, with 1 being the oldest, the five Ettas are snapshots of James at various points in her struggles with drugs, romance, and self-loathing. The Ettas don’t get along, and always hated the hero-worship of a tribute anyway. Bringing them together to do some psychological therapy is drag queen Ms. Real (Reuben D. Echoles). As we relive (or for some people, me included, discover) James’s music, she goes on her own journey of integration.
It’s fine to have funny Halloween stories, but the most lasting experiences are those that trigger fears like loneliness and regret. The Vandal packs a lot into its short run-time, and rewards its audience for their investment. This is a good show if you want to break up the drinking and zombies for the early part of an evening sometime this fall.