Rice has selected a disturbing work, Anthony Neilson’s 1997 play – The Censor. Neilson is one of the bad guys of the British “in-yer-face” theatrical movement that includes Sarah Kane and Mark Ravenhill. These writers use vulgar, shocking and confrontational material and theatricality to reach their audiences. The effect is evident in Neilson’s The Censor.
I’m happy to report that Craig Spidle plays Paul with a sincere admiration and tolerance for Julia. Spidle, one of Chicago’s best actors, has a nice mixture of subtle humor and genuine love for Julia. Karen Janes Woditsch has the shrill voiced Julia down as she combines Julia’s self-deprecating humor and physical gawkiness with her dogged determination and passion for cooking. W0ditsch shows us Julia’s charm, wit and drive. The chemistry between Spidle and Woditsch is enchanting.
While playfully dark and aptly using aerial arts with child-like humor, this adult Peter Pan is filled with action, simultaneous sensations of amazement, fear and nightmares. Peter Pan is a hollow fellow who doesn’t fully make the case for his credo: “I’ll never grow up.” There is sexual tension from Wendy that confuses Peter Pan that never gets resolved.
All three stories had their moments of nostalgia and cuteness but the devil is in the details and these were lacking. If your going to do an era specific play, please use accurate accents, places, uniforms, etc. The only accurate item was the dresses and hair styles of the women.
The all around experience of this cute, somewhat entertaining piece makes for a mildly worthy night at the theatre. Younger theatre patrons will not be so bothered with the details as I am.
Bretolt Brecht’s early work, In The Jungle of Cities. Under the imaginative staging by director Max Truax, Brecht’s 1927 drama is his statement about his warped views of America told through an eleven round symbolic boxing match. Brecht, a lifelong Marxist, depicted Chicago in 1912 as a worker exploiting, violence and bribery riddled place that he found from newsreels and books in Germany.
Stalk is a concoction of a dysfunctional family drama that finds Jack (Jordan Phelps) being beaten by his cruel, unloving gather, Gregory (Scott Danielson) while is zombie-like pill-popping mother, Lily (Meghan Phillipp) announces that she no longer loves her son. The early scenes are filled with foul language including the F-word–so between the language and the violence, Stalk definitely isn’t a family or children’s show.
The Four of Us is a cleverly staged work by director Jeremy Wechsler that swiftly moves back and forth in time to tell how David (Usman Ally) and Benjamen’s (Collin Geraghty) relationship developed and how success can alter that friendship.
In a change of style, director Robert Falls has opted for a minimalist actor centered production of The Seagull based on two years of meticulous research. His cast, a group of “A” list Equity actors, have had a long, discovery oriented Eastern European repertory company environment in which to absorb the nuances of their characters with a focus on the methods of Konstantin Stanislavsky.
If you’re looking for a way to introduce your young child(ren) to more live theatre without the show title starting with “Walt Disney presents…”, I implore you to look no further than Lifeline Theatre’s inventive and winning re-mount musical production of Click Clack Moo: Cows That Type
Brennan Buhl, as K., is the instantly lovable guy who tries charm, cooperation and peaceful resistance to deal with his trouble.
Act one finds doors slamming and mobile doors racing K. into a strange navigation through offices, lawyers, artists, priests, lovers, and whippers to determine his fate.