REVIEWS

While I support theatre troupes who take chances and try to stretch things theatrically, they must keep in mind that there must be at least a thread of coherence in their production. These show tried to do too much. If you can get the audience to relate and/or like the characters, they’ll follow you wherever you want – but-both shows failed to to reach the audience.

… We Live Here’s “quintessential Chicago moments” range from poignant, to sad, to hauntingly moving, to hilariously human, to emotionally desperate. Each playwright’s semi-autobiographical story is handled exquisitely by a cast that fully humanizes the honesty of each tale.

…the assertion that women during the High-Renaissance in the Italian town of San Gimignano were schooled in sword fighting was given as fact. Did women actually sword fight? I doubt that. This two hour + play is billed as a comedy but with few laughs and too much hokey attempts at commedia dell’arte by David Servillo’s Jacopo and Amy Dellagiarino’s Lucrezia.

While I found the work of the entire cast as energetic, innovative, and stylish, I found the storytelling confusing, muddled, and incomplete. Too much movement, too many scene changes, and many story overlaps marred the production. Both playwright Jason Grote and director Seth Bockley tried to do too much both visually, stylistically, and verbally. Too much of any ingredient can spoil the stew

Stephen’s drama weaves the story of six Londoners each with strong feelings of being objectified and dissociated from society. With an amazing lack of empathy and compassion, these folks demonstrate their disconnect from current events.