Over the past few years, The Hypocrites’ artistic director Sean Graney has produced a few Shakespeare adaptations that were only an hour long and were designed by their ensembles. But while those productions ran for the standard six weeks, his new adaptation with Emily Casey of Christopher Marlowe’s The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus is playing for a very limited engagement. Perhaps it’s being workshopped for another production later on. If so, it needs to be rethought in every aspect.
As with the original myth, the heart of Eurydice is the love between Eurydice and Orpheus and, here, also between Eurydice and her father. If a production can’t make me feel this love in the actors, then 95 minutes of Sarah Ruhl’s sentimental poetry is a long time to endure just to see them all finally dunked in the oblivion of the River of Lethe. And by the end, I was just about dying to dunk myself.
Open-Ended Docudrama Examines the Power of Observance
It is well-known how easily a play about itself can go awry, especially when it contains heavy use of unusual performance techniques. However, writer Dan O’Brien knew that the story of his relationship with war photojournalist Paul Watson defied conventional narratives—it’s messy, inconclusive, and made up of snapshots taken from chaos. Fortunately, Stage Left director Jason A. Fleece knows just how to handle his two-man cast and team of designers to make each moment of the story clear and effective. Against the background of the shooting down of American Black Hawk helicopters in Somalia in 1993, as well as the threatened serenity of the Arctic, two men explore the ethics of their professions, and what drives them to keep on sharing theirs and other peoples’ dysfunctions with the world.
With their long-running escape room The Last Defender playing downstairs, and their first show, Death and Harry Houdini being revived upstairs, The House Theatre has decisively conquered The Chopin. Both are major hits for the highly innovative company, which use non-standard storytelling techniques, and both, it so happens, force people to rely on their ingenuity to escape mortal peril. Magician Dennis Watkins stands a far better chance of prevailing than the defenders in the basement. In this latest revival, Watkins is at total ease in the role of Houdini, but Nathan Allen’s writing incorporates the escape and magic tricks into a story as exciting as it is tragic and ironic. With the addition of The House’s always evocative music, composed by Kevin O’Donnell, Death and Harry Houdini is far more than a parade of illusions; it captures the magic of theatre, as well.
Take the premise of an all-female cult that butchers men, and fill it up with camp, gore, and crude humor, and you should have something that’s funny, scary, or at least, offensive. But no, About Face Theatre’s Chicago premiere production The Secretaries is simply dull, and plods along for two hours without any emotional resonance.
Powerful story of Chicago’s infamous Haymarket massacre soars in a tuneful folk musical
If you wonder where the new voices in musicals are in America, you only have to turn to the creators of the fabulous new folk musical, Haymarket: The Anarchist’s Songbook to see evidence of talent. With Book and Lyrics by Alex Higgin-Houser and music by David Kornfeld, Haymarket is proof positive that the American musical is, indeed, in good hands!
This sparkling new chamber folk musical is featured at the new Edge Theater (5451 N. Broadway), a terrific venue. Haymarket: The Anarchist’s Songbook is a mature, polished folk musical that creatively and most effectively tells the true Chicago story of the 1886 Haymarket Affair that erupted into a bombing after a labor rally. The story is told from the point of view of Lucy Parsons (LaKecia Harris), the daughter of a slave and the widow of anarchist martyr Albert Parsons (James Smart).
Utilizing slick music direction by Robert Ollis and Tyler Merle Thompson of David Kornfeld’s richly varied score while having the cast members acting as musicians, Haymarket unfolds as a folk operetta. This wonderful score with smartly appropriate lyrics by Alec Higgin-Houser set the proper tone of labor organization, populist movements, and social unrest as Americans strive for basic worker’s rights. The roaring songs effectively captured the hope, dreams, and spirit of both immigrants and American working class. Featuring guitars, mandolin, piano, accordion, ukulele, harmonica, and trumpet, among other instruments, each played by a cast member to accompany their fine vocals, Haymarket “sings” richly as the mood and spirit of the story soars into our hearts!
The 25 song score is in fine hands here. It is amazing that the creatives at Underscore found as many excellent actors/singers/musicians as they did to tell the early labor confrontation story. Just like their terrific Borderlands, Haymarket uses the players as musicians as they strut ballads and traditional melodies to celebratory tunes to protest songs to tell the labor struggles of the 1880’s.
The artistry here is fluid; songs richly both to tell the story as well as underscore the mood and tone of events. LaKecia Harris anchors the cast with her fine acting and terrific vocals. James Smart (Albert Parsons), Mike Mazzocca (August Spies), Royen Kent (Louis Lingg), David Kaplinsky (Adolf Fisher), Tyler Merle Thompson (George Engel), each had fine moments while Summer Hofford (Nina Van Zandt Spies), Victoria Olivier (Johanna Fisher) and Khaki Pixley (Mary Engel) contributed fine solos and rich harmonies.
This two hour folk operetta grabs us from the start and carries us through the events and injustices of the Haymarket Affair.
Ann Paula Bautista (Hua Mulan, Pocahontas, Badroulbadour)
Merritt Crews (Snow White)
Miriam Drysdale (The Little Mermaid, Belle, Rapunzel)
Madison Hayes-Crook (Cinderella)
Daniella Richards (Sleeping Beauty)
The Real Princesses Of Time Gone By—Where Are They Now?
As a former History teacher, Giacino wondered what really ever happened to all of the princess characters we have all known and loved over the years. Tired of being exploited by films, books and dolls, DISENCHANTED! reveals to us how life really turned out for our perfect princesses. Was it a happily ever after ending? Or were they sorry they didn’t sign a pre-nup?
Snow White, the primmest and proper of the princesses, has a power packed voice and a passionate portrayal of life after “Prince Charming”. Her side kick Cinderella, clever and coquettish, helps tell the story while so frantically keeping the show moving, “We have to finish this thing in 95 minutes!”
Was Cinderella really the only one in the castle with a size 7 foot? I doubt it! Sleeping Beauty has bouts of sleepiness throughout the show and has unusual dreams about Pinocchio to share with us. The Little Mermaid, now a disturbingly unhappy, raspy drunk would happily trade in her legs for the Seven Seas and she is so hungry there was even talk about eating her best friend Flounder! Tell me it’s not so! Belle has been institutionalized due to the talking dishware driving over her over the edge. Rapunzel, the German girl with the never ending braid, is angry that she has not made One Red Cent, (a silly audience participation song), after all of her hard work. Princess Badroulbador-who? Oh yes, Jasmine is it? You know the one Aladdin married? You will know who she is after this performance. Hua Mulan is the only princess that didn’t get the man. Where was her Prince Charming? She lives happily ever after by being happy in her own skin and not needing to seek approval from others. Pocahontas who was known for her bravery as a child, and then was pinged as a wanton seductress, is here to introduce her authentic self. The Princess Who Kissed The Frog has entered the stage straight from the hood and feeling good. Why did it take so long to introduce a soul sister to the bunch? This Roberta ain’t taking no flack!
A warped bunch of stories masterfully crafted and full of inappropriate etiquette. I mean hooking up with the guy from the page before and then marrying him? Who does that? Who cares? Let’s sing about it. Fun music and even funnier characters will have you laughing all the way to the palace.
What happens when you throw together a dead president, the best-selling English-language author of the nineteenth century, and an aristocratic Christian anarchist? As it turns out, not much. Director Kimberly Senior and her three-man cast wring every bit of drama and humor they can out of Scott Carter’s dry idea-play, but the gospel according to these three people who have all faded into and been surpassed by history is long on premise and doesn’t delve much deeper into philosophy than most people are likely to have already gone on their own. Actually, upon examination, the premise is self-defeating, but more on that later. It does contain some fine performances though, and another round at the sort of questions Carter asks is what a lot of people consider leisure to be for.
The 100 minutes (with a short intermission) find Dale Danner’s Twisted Knots to be a cute, almost innocent, sex farce that plays out more of a reflection on a troubled husband’s quest for insight into his troubled marriage, his troubled sales career and his personal self worth. This drama is more of a portrait of a man in midlife crisis than a sex encounter. The play’s setup finds Frank (Ryan Kitley) in a deluxe hotel room on New Year’s Eve as he awaits his escort for the evening while he strategies about his pending large sale.
Things don’t seem to go as planned as Frank realizes that he is short of cash to pay Gina (Mary Cross) for her services. She demands cash and Frank must convince the hotel manager to refund him his fee for the NYE’s celebration so he can pay his escort. That is only the beginning of Frank’s troubles that evening. Gina proves to be a feisty, spirited and determined mate.
We quickly relate to the vulnerable salesman, yet we wonder, why he isn’t with his family on New Year’s Eve? Could Gina be more than simply an escort? They seem to have a past history. Frank seems to be limited in his actions by his superstitious beliefs. It seems that his success is based on utilizing his “lucky” order pad or his special blue tie, etc. Gina helps him overcome those limiting beliefs.
As Frank finally gets Gina her cash, we never see their wild sexy play but, after the intermission, we see the room laced with scattered clothing indicating fun in the sack. Don’t expect a raw sensual sex farce because Twisted Knots is a drama about a troubled insecure middle aged man struggling through self worth issues. Gina, or Carla, as we find out is her name actually is, helps steer Frank into a world based on his personal strengths more than his superstitious foibles.
British playwright Lucy Kirkwood has penned a three-hour mystery-drama, Chimerica, centered on the events of June 5, 1989, when a man stood in front of three tanks to protest military intervention in a student protect. We meet photojournalist Joe Schofield (Coburn Goss) who, from his hotel room, took photos of the man standing in front of the tank.
Move forward to 2009 when Schofield and his fellow journalist, Mel Starwyck (Chris Rickett), are headed to China to cover events there. On the plane, they meet British corporate executive Tessa Kendrick (Eleni Pappageorge) who proceeds to drink away her fear of flying via gin. Joe helps her cope with her “white-knuckle” tendencies. The China adventures begin. Joe and Mel pitch a story to their editor about finding and re-visiting the Tank Man from Joe’s photo. The quest for this story obsesses those two, especially Joe.
Over the next three hours, the mystery takes Joe to Beijing and New York City as he tries to find the Tank Man with the help of his Chinese friend Zhang Lin (Norman Yap), an English professor in Beijing. Chimerica keeps moving swiftly with an ambitious use of video to depict China and New York City. I never fully bought Joe’s obsession with the Tank Man story, especially when his editor nixed it. Why?
I also thought that the independent, crusading photojournalist stereotype that was Joe had to have an affair only because playwright Lucy Kirkwood needed to superimpose her British point-of-view on the Chinese-American economic dynamic. I enjoyed the Chinese perspective from Zhang Lin’s character, which Norman Yap deftly presented. I only wonder why Lin didn’t help Joe’s search with the complete truth. Why the mystery was solved in the manner presented here?
By Dan O’Brien
Written and Directed by Nathan Allen
By The Five Lesbian Brothers
By Scott Carter
