Sharing Your Soul With the World

Chagall in School – Grippo Stage Company

Following the October Revolution of 1917, the famous Jewish modernist avant-garde artist Marc Chagall made some life-changing discoveries. He saw that the new regime had turned the Russian Empire upside down, much like his whimsical paintings. He was now considered part of the aesthetic arm of the revolution, having combined Cubism, Symbolism and Fauvism into his own unique style of art. So Chagall was offered the position of commissar of visual arts for the whole country, but, wanting something less political, he accepted this position instead for his own village of Vitebsk. 

This new position resulted in Marc Chagall establishing what would be called the most distinguished art school in the Soviet Union: the Vitebsk Art College. In creating this free school of art, Chagall persuaded some of the most famous and influential artists of the country to join the faculty. He hired his first drawing and painting teacher, the realist Yuri Pen, who was now in his later years. He also hired noted Russian artists Vera Ermolaeva, Alexander Romm, El Lissitzky, David Yackerson and, eventually, the Polish originator of artistic Suprematism, the controversial Kazimir Malevich. 

Chagall moved his young wife Berta and his baby daughter into a residence hall connected to the Vitebsk Art College. There the entire faculty were paid a living wage and were provided with art supplies, room and board, while they created and taught aspiring young prodigies. All goes reasonably well with Chagall’s art program, although he admits he’s not a strong leader or school administrator. Then Lissitzky begins challenging Chagall and his peers in their concept of what is art. Finally, he travels to Moscow and persuades Kazimir Malevich to join the college faculty. Together Lissitzky and Malevich badger, lecture and dispute the old, traditional ways of painting and natural forms, found in the other instructors’ methods, in favor of a new, abstract process that they call “the supremacy of pure feeling.” Conflict turns to chaos and, amidst much humor, the artists take sides and a battle for creativity follows.      

Brene Brown, an American professor, lecturer and author, said that art and creativity is sharing your soul with the world. Marc Chagall felt this exact same way. He encouraged his fellow art instructors and students to paint from their hearts, their souls. But Malevich, a Gentile and a huge presence, felt that if these artists encouraged their students to paint from their true feelings, all recognizable subjects and colors would give way to simple black and white shapes. Chagall gives this style of painting a chance, but finds he cannot support Malevich’s Supremacist view of art. He feels that in great art, it can evoke different emotional responses each and every time it’s enjoyed.

This new 100-minute comic drama by James Sherman, the author of such  notable plays as “The God of Isaac” and “Beau Jest,” is an exciting examination of what is art? Is it realism or cubistic expressionism? Maybe impressionism or surrealism? Or is real art totally unrecognizable abstract? He presents solid arguments for every school of thought, as seen through the eyes, souls and temperaments of seven gifted artists of the early 20th century. Clearly the audience will ultimately side with Chagall, but the debate is exhilarating and appealing in this wonderful production.

Georgette Verdin has been given a brilliantly talented cast to tell Mr. Sherman’s story. She keeps the play moving meticulously through sharp, clear line delivery and breakneck pacing. It may surprise audience members that a debate about the nature of art can be so breathtaking and provocative. If playgoers don’t leave this production having been both entertained and inspired, they just haven’t paid attention. 

The action plays out on Abbie Reed’s deceptively simple scenic design that easily allows for great flexibility and changes of scenes. With the addition of a table, some chairs and an assortment of artist’s easels, the locale shifts within seconds. The production is also aided immeasurably by Erin Pleake’s superb projection designy. Erik Siegling creates a sound design that employs his own musical compositions; and Eric Watkins washes the entire production with color and illumination.

The cast is uniformly strong and superlative. Led by familiar, talented Chicago actor, John Drea, this one-act starts with a bang and never lets up until after the very last moment. Mr. Drea is an accomplished performer who brings Marc Chagall to life as a likable young man struggling to be the best he can be. He’s an artist who only wishes to follow his heart. This actor allows his character’s every thought and emotion to burst forth and spill out of Sherman’s dialogue and onto his face and entire body. He’s matched perfectly by Yourtana Sulaiman as Chagall’s fierce and feisty wife, Berta. A dedicated spouse and mother, she protects the Chagall family with her wit and determination. Some audiences may see similarities between Ms Sulaiman’s character and Golde, Tevye’s outspoken wife from “Fiddler on the Roof.” But, as in both Jewish women, a deep love and concern for their husbands and children drives them. In the hands of this talented actress, Berta Chagall shares this story equally with her more famous artist husband.

Fred A. Wellisch, another familiar Chicago character actor, brings paternal care, passion and a certain precaution to his role as Yuri Pen. Peter Ferneding is playfully amusing as Alexander Romm, an artist known for his nude paintings, and his growing admiration for fellow artist and instructor, Vera Ermolaeva, adds a love interest to the story. Daniella Rukin, who portrays Vera as a no-nonsense feminist artist, seems cut from the same cloth as Berta Chagall. Both ladies are strong and articulate. The crutch Vera uses to get around, because of a childhood equestrian accident, is never used for sympathy, but seems to simply be an extension of her character. Myles Schwarz and Garvin Wolfe Van Dernoot make their portrayals of antagonists El Lissitzky and Kazimir Malevich equally powerful and pompous. Both artists are unable to accept anything other than what they truly believe to be the future of art. They’re both bombastic and verbose on the subject of Supremacy in Art and are quite unwilling to bend. And David Yackerson, a young, reticent, impressionable artist and student of painting, is played by the always excellent David Lipschutz. His character often provides many of the laughs in this story.

Filled with unexpected, sometimes off-the-wall humor, as well as intelligent, enticing arguments about the nature of art and creativity, James Sherman’s new play, having its world premiere in Chicago, is charged with electricity and enlightenment. Perhaps in lesser hands than those of director Georgette Verdin, this play might not be as exciting and enchanting. But with its strong cast, their honest characterizations, and such exquisite, colorful staging, audiences are sure to leave the theater having learned something new about these real people from history, while recognizing that the purpose of art is always to share one’s soul with the world.

Highly Recommended

Reviewed by Colin Douglas        

Presented August 26-October 8 by Grippo Stage Company at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago.

Tickets are available in person at the box office, by calling 773-975-8150 or by going to www.theatrewit.org.

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