Chicago Theatre Review
You Will Be Found
Dear Evan Hanson
By now, this 2017 Tony Award-winning musical for Best Musical, as well as five others, is pretty well known, especially among younger theatergoers. But for audiences who aren’t familiar with the story, Evan Hansen is a painfully shy high school senior who suffers from personal and emotional problems. The young man has very few friends. He’s terribly insecure and suffers from a poor self image. Heidi, Evan’s overburdened single mother, works as a nurse’s aid while studying at night to become a paralegal. Somehow she scrapes up the money to send her son to a therapist on a weekly basis. Heidi has to work hard to provide for both Evan, and herself while strictly budgeting her money and time, so she can spend an evening with her son.
Read MoreA Family Portrait of Love and Loss
Hamnet
Six years ago, Irish-British author Maggie O’Farrell wrote an historical novel that became a huge bestseller. It was a fictional look at the world of Tudor England, told through a family portrait of love and loss. The story filled in history’s missing moments of the courtship between William Shakespeare and Anne Hathaway. O’Farrell’s book portrays Anne, or Agnes as she’s called here (and the “g” is silent), as an herbalist healer with a spiritual connection to Nature and the supernatural world. She meets teenaged Latin tutor, Will (the author never uses the surname Shakespeare in her novel), when he spots her engaged in falconry outside his classroom. For a young man who’s not yet 18, Agnes is a lovely, exciting and provocative young woman who sets his heart aflutter. When eventually Agnes tells Will that she’s going to have his child, Will’s parents reluctantly give their permission for the two to marry.
Read MoreBramble Theater Company gets wild with THE PETS
On October 18, 2011, the owner of Muskingum County Animal Farm, 62-year-old Terry Thompson, released 50 exotic animals into the Ohio countryside before taking his own life. To add to the tragedy, most of the animals were subsequently killed by local officials, as they were large predators. The public outcry led to new regulations around owning and housing exotic animals.
Playwright Dizzy Turek uses this tragedy as the often surreal, occasionally poignant and very funny backdrop for a story focused on each person’s desire to choose their own prison, and what the cost can be.
When the story begins, a handful of zoo animals find themselves unexpectedly free for the first time in their lives, surrounded by corn, highways and powerlines. The intimate Nest Theater at the Bramble is strung in little stuffies and the actors all wear a tail; a few have clothes in the palette of their animal self – but otherwise the stage is spare, with chairs and a few extra stuffies the only real props. While it might have been helpful to lean in a little more to their animal appearance, the actors do also make varying choices in terms of physicality and vocalizations to let the audience know what sort of animal they are, some more obvious than others.
The play focuses on three short story lines as they weave in and out of each other; first, the wild cats (a commanding Francis Miller, a lithe and sparkling Kylie Anderson and an expressive Capri Gehred-O’Connell) have an ongoing argument on what to do with their freedom, and whether, after years in front of a TV, they are more than their wild selves, second, a small, very religious monkey (an unhinged Suzy Krueckeberg) is desperately grateful to her wild monkey god to beablet to settle into an oak tree, and third, a young Jehova’s Witness (played charmingly by Alice Wu), wanders the road near the zoo, trying to fulfill her mission and being nudged lovingly and gently by a vision of St. Francis of Assisi to another mission entirely.
If it all sounds a bit wacky, it is. But much like Animal Farm, Zootopia, Charlotte’s Web, or any cartoon where an animal wears a top without pants, THE PETS uses the goofy, surreal personification of animals to explore issues that are at the heart of being human, or perhaps simply, being a person. Each of the characters is seeking connection, community and freedom – but, rather bleakly, it becomes clear that “freedom” never comes without a cost, and the best most of us can do is either take part in choosing our cage, or rage against the dying of the light – however briefly. As the animals careen through the new, big world they’ve found, or in the case of the young Jehovah’s Witness stumble awkwardly, new relationships are formed. For example, Alexander Attea, as what can only be described as a wolf-bro, is a musician and poet who finally finds a muse. Happily for everyone in the audience, the music that comes out of him is late 90’s alternative rock. Like the tiny, puppet birds on the edges of the room, I could not resist singing along to Third Eye Blind and Oasis, among others. Johnard Washington is a thoughtful and gentle bear who forges new and lasting friendships with several of the big cats he comes across. Haley Bolithon is the shy, sweet and angelic Baboon, who makes a new best friend and falls in love all in one day. Bolithon’s character has the least obvious animal characteristics and some of the most pop culture references, since she was allowed in her owner’s house and therefore had lots of tv access. The real philosopher of the group though is Kylie Anderson’s Lion, who struggles with how to marry her new-found freedom to her ideals as a well-informed PBS viewer. All the characters are loved and fretted over by St. Francis of Assisi (a warm Rasheeda Denise), who jumps from story line to story line to provide emotional support.
Another major theme is that of faith. St. Francis isn’t the only holy character to be invoked, as the monkey and the wild cats each have a god of their own, and the Jehovah’s Witness gets an A for effort when it comes to sharing the word of Jehovah. Initially, it was a little difficult to see what all the varying holy figures and faiths had to do with a story of freedom and found family – no character is particularly protected, whether they have a god or not, and the presence of faith does not lend anyone more confidence or certainty than anyone else. As the story comes to its conclusion, each character experiences the consequences of their own personal choices, some of which were guided by their faith in a higher power, and some by their own conscience.
While the deeper themes may make it seem difficult to describe this play as “wacky” it does manage to keep things ridiculous enough to not be weighed down by them. The many pop-culture references, 90’s song sing-alongs and visual gags are a lot of fun to be a part of, and despite the fact that the production I saw was still workshopping, the actors moved around the stage and delivered their lines with a casual grace and confidence that made it feel like they were much further into the production. There are several fight scenes that Anderson shines in with appropriately feline grace and Attea’s full throated versions of 90’s classics is a lot of fun. There are a few hiccups, for example, though each character has a name, the program only lists the animals by type, which led to some confusion, as I spent quite a lot of time trying to figure out which actor was playing the mountain lion and which the “regular” lion, etc., since they referred to each other by name almost exclusively. That said, the cast bursts with energy and life, the cat-acting may be some of the best I’ve seen – shout out to Gehred-O’Connell for randomly kneading a wall at one point, and the play weaves in enough pop culture, little asides to the audience, and bizarre religious ceremonies to keep everyone entertained for the duration. Independent theater is often strange and entertaining, but it is rarely this smart and funny as well. THE PETS is worth making time for, and the conversation to be had afterwards will be a good one.
Recommended
Reviewed by Alina C. Hevia
The Pets will be performed at the Bramble Arts Loft, 5545 N. Clark St., from February 11 to March 1. Weekday and Saturday performances will take place at 7:30 pm, and Sundays at 2:00 pm. Tickets are $5 to $35 and can be purchased online at brambletheatre.org.
Vampy, sexy, and bloody funny: Dracula gets the pulse rising and the laughs rolling
Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors
Get ready to laugh until your sides hurt at the campy sex-capades of this delightful take on the OG vampire story, no sparkles or Sookie needed.
Lazy Susan Theatre Co.’s production of Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors as directed by company member Matthew Masino is frighteningly perfect. In this modern farce with salacious slapstick and a “f*** gender constructs” attitude, the cast channels the best energy of Saturday Night Live and The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Every company member is having such fantastic fun; their energy is infectious. Catch this Jeff Recommended show before it flies away!
Read MoreRediscovering Love
Come Back Little Sheba
Renowned playwright, novelist and Pulitzer Prize recipient, William Inge was known as the Playwright of the Midwest. His first big Broadway hit during the 1950’s is this story about a frustrated, middle-aged married couple’s resolution to put their troubled past behind them, finally move forward toward a better future and rediscover their love. The drama is a stirring, often sad story about lost youth and shattered dreams. Doc and Lola who, by the end of this play, have sunk as low as they can go, try to salvage a slice of hope from the ruins of the past.
Read MoreStay Gold
The Outsiders
During puberty, the journey from childhood to adulthood is referred to as a Coming of Age. The adolescent years are filled with self-discovery, personal growth and maturation. For Ponyboy Curtis, his coming of age is just one of the themes explored in the musical, THE OUTSIDERS, now playing at Chicago’s Cadillac Palace Theatre for two weeks. In this powerful and poignant musical adaptation of S.E. Hinton’s classic novel, all of the teenagers who live on different sides of the tracks experience their own, individual, coming of age journey. The musical takes Ponyboy and the others through a loss of innocence, as they overcome difficult challenges and try to navigate their respective roles in society. This is one show, especially geared toward juvenile theatergoers, that should not be missed by anyone!
Read MoreHappiness Over Wealth
Holiday
Johnny Case, a self-made, 30-something Wall Street lawyer, met Julia Seton at a spiffy health spa in New York City. His visit to the holiday health facility was a gift from his friends for all his hard work and helping them with some fundraising. However, he never expected that a day of luxurious pampering would result in a romance and an engagement to this lovely young woman. What Johnny didn’t realize at the time was that Julia (who was using an assumed surname) was a member of the affluent and legendary Seton clan, one of the wealthiest families in New York City, if not all of America. He doesn’t discover Julia’s real identity until he visits her at the family’s ostentatious Upper Eastside mansion. But when Johnny meets the entire family, including, Edward Seton, the demanding patriarch of the clan, the situation begins to shift.
Read MoreSecond City is “Black and Highly Flavored” this February and March
The annual Black Excellence Review at the Second City is four years in and has become a great way to spend an evening in the dead of Chicago winter. In a time when light-heartedness has become a radical act, this year’s theme is JOY – while honoring Black artistry, humor, resilience, and community.
Mainstage alumni Julia Morales is the first woman of color to direct a Second City Black Excellence Revue, and she takes Second City’s tried and true formula of long and short-form sketches, musical numbers and improv games to a place with a vibrant, celebratory feel. One of the best aspects of Second City is that the performers always seem to be having a good time, and this show was no exception. Music Director Cesar Romero was particularly involved in this show, and the same could be said for him! He provided emotional tone and even punchlines with sound that felt organic and impromptu – hard to do with music. In one sketch, he was key for the Dance fight through decades of music that was impossible not to dance and sing to, right along with the cast.
As ever with comedy shows, one doesn’t want to give too much away, but my personal favorite sketches were often the ones that dealt with identity, or nostalgia. A repeated sketch was The Crits Family Show, a play on 80s and 90’s era sitcoms, that managed to stay sharp, funny and current while still giving memories of classics like Living Single, Family Matters, and even older shows like Good Times. Another fun one was Two Girls in a Taco Truck, which had a wild time with all of the many ways people can choose to identify – while staying appropriately raunchy.
Another sketch played with the experience of social awkwardness, and yet another with middle school girls celebrating Black History, but you know, Sexxxxay. Happily, outright silliness was a feature as well, like a sketch about a cat roommate and another involving missing pants that had the audience roaring.
The cast deftly jumped from role to role, keeping the momentum going and using their own, specific talents to great effect. E.J. Cameron channels a spot on professor of history, a crazy old man and a silly, forgetful waiter with such believability, I found myself looking for him in every scene. Jillian Ebanks’ warm smile and welcoming air lent a wholesomeness that wouldn’t seem likely, given the subject of some of the skits. Jason Tolliver has the air of a buttoned up businessman but then busts a dance move with such commitment and enthusiasm that all assumptions fly out the window. Tyler VanDuvall enters every role with a confidence and old-school charm that makes his forays into outright silliness even more entertaining than they would otherwise be. Lauren Walker has total command over her body, disappearing completely into her roles, but also, in a few scenes, using it like a musician would an instrument, or a clown, props. Finally, Kimberly Michelle Vaughn’s obvious formal dance training and total commitment to insanity is used to perfection in a scene about a dance audition.
In case there was any doubt that the cast was having at least as much fun as the audience, they played two more improv games at the end of the show. Their quick wit and good nature made for an interactive night. The audience, it seemed, was yet another cast member. If a night of culture, comedy and camaraderie sounds like a good time, Black and Highly Flavored is where to be.
Highly Recommended
Reviewed by Alina C. Hevia
Black and Highly Flavored runs February 5 – March 20, with performances on Thursdays and Fridays at 8pm in UP Comedy Club, located at 230 W North Ave, 3rd Floor of Piper’s Alley, Chicago. Tickets start at $39 and are available at The Second City Box Office, by phone at 312-337-3992, or online atwww.secondcity.com
Additional information about this and other area productions can be found by visiting www.theatreinchicago.com.
Poor Little Rich Girl
Hedda Gabler
It’s always interesting and kind of fun to shake things up a bit, especially with a well-known play. When a time-honored drama is adapted and produced in a fresh, starkly different style, it earns our attention. But when the drama is a groundbreaking classic that’s stood the test of time, a brand new interpretation can be a little risky. If the writer is able to offer new insight into the original work by updating it, then it makes sense to craft a new adaptation. Otherwise, it seems like merely showing off.
Read MoreHeartbreaking and Hopeful
Mary Jane
Northlight Theatre’s play for the New Year is about caregiving, friendship and about the fragility of our lives. Evoking endless empathy, Pulitzer Prize-nominated playwright, Susan Herzog creates a powerful portrait of the helpless world for a single mother and her sick child. Both heartbreaking and hopeful, this 100-minute one-act luminously depicts the life of a parent whose life completely changes when she must suddenly center her entire world around a seriously ill infant. This moving drama is about a mother, her fragile little baby and the power of love. Herzog presents all manner of unimaginable complications and challenges that a caregiver must selflessly face. And through their network of generosity and solidarity her new, chosen family offers strength and care for both Mary Jane and baby Alex.
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