Bwahaha!

Henchpeople – Theatre Above the Law

Everyone knows about the super villain. Their face on every television screen in the city, or maybe projected from a blimp, threatening the city with destruction unless their demands are met. But what about the little people? The ones who make the death ray so deadly? The ones who antagonize the sharks in the pool under the trap door? And this spandex body suit with floor-length cape won’t clean itself… Theatre Above the Law returns to live, in-person theatre with a show that explores the stories of those unsung anti-heroes: the henchpeople.

The show starts with the Villain (Julia Rowley) threatening the City, but things quickly go south, leaving henchpeople Oona (Stephanie Stockstill) and Jarlath (Travis Shanahan) to complete the plan on their own. Over the course of the show, we learn more about what drove them to help an evildoer with their evil doings, and see that none of the grand characters that normally fill out this story, hero or villain, are what they first appear. Stockstill and Shanahan do great work establishing the world and a rapport with each other, and Rowley, triple cast as the show’s remaining supporting characters, is a delight, delivering some truly inspired physical comedy.

This kind of show requires a kind of immediate and heightened commitment to the idea or it will all fall apart. Fortunately, the cast commits with a delightful zeal to the heightened dialogue and delivery of the setting. The set (Charlotte Lastra and David Hartley), props (Lastra and Jessie Gowens) and costumes (Gowens) all serve the hyper-saturated, comic book feel of the show well. The total effect is a bright and charming use of TATL’s black box space.

This show has the distinction of being my first live and indoor show since theater shut down last year due to the pandemic. And I have to say, this was a pretty good one to dive back in with. The show is a lean one-act, clocking in at just under ninety minutes, and that was perfect for an attention span shredded by a year and a half of looking at screens. The energy of the cast is infectious and the show was a nice reminder of what live theater can do. Honestly, even if I hadn’t liked the show, I probably would have still seriously encouraged you to see it, and every other show you can, in the name of supporting a community hard hit by the shut down. Happily, I don’t have to resort to guilting you, and my urging you to see the show is entirely sincere.

Highly Recommended

Reviewed by Kevin Curran

Presented July 8 to August 1 by Theatre Above the Law at 1439 W. Jarvis, Chicago.

Tickets are available by going to www.theatreatl.org. Please note that people attending the show live will need to show proof of vaccination. A stream of the show is also available.

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