Theatre Reviews

Smudge, is a confounding, disturbing yet somehow intoxicating work that i wanted to hate but somehow I was drawn to the wacky work. To quote the director Allison Sjoemaker: “Smudge isn’t a drama, it’s not a comedy; it’s not realism nor is it fantasy.” I found it a far-fetched drama about what it is to be alive, to be human, and to love another. It sure is one of those head-scratching plays that leaves us troubled, terrified and trembling as we leave the theatre. Yet, it is also a thought provoking piece that get us to challenge our basic beliefs especially on the nature of humanity.

Chicago Dramatists, the playwrights’ theatre, has a 34 year history of developing and mounting new works. Their latest, Homecoming 1972 by Robert Koon is a nicely acted slice of life of life about the physical and emotional effects of war on a small town average guy. The work is played out in a series of two person scenes. The setting is in a small Minnesota town circa 1972 that finds Frank (Matt Holzfeind) as a physically wounded (bad back) and emotionally scared Vietnam veteran struggling to come to terms with the mundane simple world of rural Minnesota upon his return from the tram of War.

…the story was a convoluted intertwined mixture of people bound indirectly by loss. The players mostly over played their characters, especially Amanda Powell as Rosie. Add the over use of Romanian (Gypsy?) folklore against African folklore and we listen to so many age-old aphorisms and truisms that the story seemed to be interrupted by playwright’s need to send us into her world of metaphors Add the moon symbol and, of course, the electric baby and we put the story in second place.

This futuristic tale has its moments but ultimately succeeds in wearing us out. I’m not sure who the audience is for this genre of theatre? The action and sheer effort will impress you, its just that the story suffers with all the neat effects, costumes and tones. if you like experimental sci-fi works, then Fight Girl Battle World may be you for.