A Breathtaking Multimedia Experience

Frankenstein – Court Theatre

 

There are no less than three retellings of Mary Shelley’s groundbreaking horror classic currently playing in Chicago. Celebrating the novel’s 200th anniversary this year, the Windy City has enjoyed showings of the iconic Boris Karloff film, as well as discussions by a panel of learned experts on the topic. Then there are three new theatrical adaptions of the novel, all of which have been excellent and distinctly unique. However, this latest, highly imaginative and magically creative production, by an international company called Manual Cinema, is simply a breathtaking multimedia experience. Enjoying this play’s world premiere in Chicago, this show is possibly the most creative and innovative of them all.

Part of what makes this production so unique is that the show’s creators, Drew Dir, Sarah Fornace and Julia VanArsdale Miller, have included key biographical incidents from Mary Shelley’s life that, no doubt, inspired her writing. They’ve cleverly melded these moments together with the plot of Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. We learn how the shadow of death loomed large over the Shelley’s. Mary’s beloved mother had passed away when she was just a child. Then, shortly after her marriage to poet Percy Shelley, the young mother lost her baby daughter, whereupon Mary sunk into a deep depression. 

To help raise her spirits, Shelley took his mourning wife to a villa in Geneva, Switzerland. They were joined by other guests, including another poet, Lord Byron. The weather that summer was dreadful, quite likely due to the violent eruption of a volcano in Indonesia. The ash and sulphur from the explosion that filled the atmosphere were responsible for the cool, wet weather all over Europe. The rain forced everyone to stay inside so Lord Byron proposed a contest between his friends challenging them to write the best ghost story. Thus, Mary Shelley’s classic horror novel was born.

Using these significant moments from the author’s life as a starting point, this incredible, mesmerizing production weaves important plot points from the novel into a cohesive production that stirs the emotions while it challenges the intellect. Brimming with accomplished performances and imaginative images, colored with sights and sounds, light and shadow, Manual Cinema’s latest work is an majestic accomplishment that boggles the mind.

It features shadow and hand puppets, marionettes and dolls designed by Drew Dir and Lizi Breit. The actors/puppeteers who bring these creations to life include Sarah Fornace (Victor Frankenstein and Mary Shelley), Julia VanArsdale Miller (The Creature and Elizabeth Frankenstein), Leah Casey (Caroline Frankenstein, Percy Shelley, and others), Sara Sawicki (Alphonse Frankenstein, and others) and Myra Su (Ensemble). Mary Shelley’s gothic tale is not only told through the puppets, but with live performances and vocals by the actors, evocative live music provided by a small, onstage orchestra, terrifying live sound and lighting effects and artistic video and scenic designs, all of which the audience watches firsthand as the production is being filmed and projected, just as it’s happening, upon a large screen suspended over the stage. The overall effect, because there’s no spoken dialogue and the film is in black and white, is that of an old-time silent movie. This production is quite likely like nothing audiences have ever seen.

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, through the unbelievable sights and sounds created by the fertile imagination of Manual Cinema, is an absolutely glorious theatrical experience. The company injects so many new, added elements not typically found in a stage performance. They bring to Chicago theatergoers an electrifying performance they won’t soon forget.

Highly Recommended

Reviewed by Colin Douglas    

   

Presented November 1-December 2 by Manual Cinema and the Court Theatre, 5535 S. Ellis Ave., Chicago

Tickets are available in person at the box office, by calling 773-753-4472 or by going to www.CourtTheatre.org.

Additional information about this and other area productions can be found by visiting www.theatreinchicago.com.