Latest from Chicago Critic

In their 15th season, The House Theatre of Chicago has a wildly ambitious puppet-filled portrait of a prodigy in peril. This is a hauntingly dark tale of the creation of the legendary Puppets Punch and Judy. Featuring terrific puppet and mask design by Jesse Mooney-Bullock, A Comedical Tragedy For Mister Punch unfolds as a humorous very dark tale of the establishment of puppet shows in 18th Century London. Utilizing The House Theatre of Chicago’s storytelling aesthetic, director Shade Murry and playwright Kara Davidson weave the efforts of Italian puppeteer Pietro (nice work by Adrian Danzig) to bring his street puppet show to London.

The solid cast handles all the complications brilliantly. Special kudos to
Grant and young Grey in portraying the volatile mother/daughter
complexities. Throughout, the family members come together and separate in
violent, angry combinations, achieving a certain amount of sympathy as
well as dismay. Sometimes close to being two-dimensional, they manage to
avoid becoming mere caricatures. The whole, compelling experience is
heightened by the physical arrangements of a stage which intersects the
audience. Twenty-four seats in tiered rows flank either side of the set.
This combination of dining room, living room, and kitchen is merely a
handbreadth away, drawing the audience into the action.

The star, Sally Staats, is not Fanny Brice. Neither is she Barbara Streisand. It doesn’t matter because Staats has made this stage her own with a winsome, touching performance. She and Rob Ibanez, as the gorgeous, gambler Nick Arnstein share a magical chemistry. Even those who may think the 1968 movie version with Streisand and Omar Sharif can’t be topped will be surprised by what the immediacy of a well-done stage production can achieve. Staats and Ibanez are surrounded by a talented ensemble of actors, singers and dancers. Fanny’s long suffering mother is played with verve by Meagan Piccochi, who is especially delightful in interactions with her comedic poker-playing girlfriends. Jessica Noelle Evans nearly steals the show as noisy neighbor Mrs. Strakosh, and stately Bob Sanders is perfect as the often-thwarted showman, Florenz Ziegfield.