Americans in Paris

Abby and Zack, the 20-something American couple at the center of Amy Herzog’s play, appear to have a good marriage, but something isn’t right. Seeing is not believing and, as the audience will slowly discover, nothing could be further from the truth. Abby’s an actress-turned-Yoga instructor who has always wanted to live in Paris, or so Zach believes. Her husband is a medical graduate working for the French Doctors Without Borders, or so his wife thinks. That’s only part of the deception as this psychological thriller slowly scrapes away the glossiness of love and hope. Information these young expats share with one other may or may not be true. Like peeling an onion, their story is slowly revealed, both to the audience as well as to each other. Information we (and they) accept as truths eventually prove to be lies. And thus what begins as a look at a reasonably happy, well-balanced marriage gradually erodes into a gripping tale of mounting horror.

Packing for the End of the World

Sideshow Theatre Company’s The Burden of Not Having a Tail

If the end of the world hits there is no need to fear, go see The Burden of Not Having A Tail to learn how to prep. In this one woman show, your bunker host tells you everything from what food to pack, how to say goodbye to loved ones, and the dangers of scented soap. The tips are equally as helpful if you’re hiding from emotional trauma as well.

Karie Miller is the sole performer in this production about how she is currently making life work without connections to the exterior world. The set looks like a cross between a child’s reading room and your mother’s pantry, except covered entirely in plastic wrap. Miller has an appropriately neurotic, and crazed glint in her eyes for the part, but does get tiresome. Bleeding through the cracks is the story of a woman who is grieving the loss of her infant daughter. And this history really does seep through the packing tutorial. Miller will be in the middle of explaining why scented soap is bad for you (I won’t spoil the surprise), and will trail off on a tangent about using scented soap on her daughter.  She will get very quite and you’ll wonder what is going on, then she’ll look at you and realize you’re still watching her so to break the tension she’ll shout ‘GAMES!’.  And then she discussed how to pass the time in a bunker.

Not too late to celebrate Moliere at Court Theatre

By Lazlo Collins

Highly Recommended

The successful modernization of the French Classics is indeed the goal with all theatres that include a worldly repertoire.  The Court Theatre’s “Tartuffe” brings this satirical comedy by Moliere to life with accessible gladness.

Under the expert direction of Charles Newell, and lovingly translated by Richard Wilbur; this adaptation is superb. It is a smart and funny production that has the audience from the first word.

The story of the imposter Tartuffe takes us to our very own Hyde Park/Kenwood, and the home of Orgon (A.C. Smith).  Orgon has a guest that the rest of his family is ready to boot out of the house. He is completely under Tartuffe’s power. The guest is Tartuffe (Philip Earl Johnson). He is a religious charlatan that has taken over the household. Tartuffe instructs and swaggers, keeping all that reside or enter the house within his religious fervor.

Mr. Johnson plays Tartuffe with all the smarmy robed elegance he can muster. He was as beguiling as he was oily.

Orgon’s mother (lovingly and hilariously played by Allen Gilmore) approves of Tartuffe’s house take over. Mr. Gilmore plays the part with just the right amount of sass and wink. She extoll his virtues to the home’s occupants as the story unfolds.

The immediate family unit is Orgon’s wife, Elmire (Patrese D McClain); their son, Damis (Dominque Worsley); and daughter, Mariane (Grace Gealy).

We learn Mariane’s heart belongs to Valere (Travis Turner), but her father has other plans for her to wed Tartuffe.

As the story unfolds, the family must stop the impending nuptials. Since they cannot sway Orgon’s opinion of Tartuffe, they need proof.  Tartuffe has shown some unwanted affection towards Elmire. She decides to trap Tartuffe in a classic hilarious over-and-under the table scene.  Ms. McCain was superb as the faux vixen.

After Tartuffe is revealed as the player he is, he vows to ruin the family and remove them from his home.  Can he be stopped?

This talented and energetic cast makes this piece sing with joy and abounding energy.  I appreciated all the actors’ attention to character detail. Mr. Smith as Orgon commands the stage as he slowly comes around to see what the family has been trying to tell him from the start.

Leading the persuasive charge from the get go, is Mariane’s lady’s maid, Dorine. Passionate and outspoken Elizabeth Ledo brings the audience fully on board with her delightfully cocky portrayal. Her character says it like it is, and won’t be still for anyone. He performance is a stand out.

The set design, lighting and sound were perfect for all the proceedings.

I thought the costumes, although modern in style, gave us a nod and a wink to the past.  It was a bright and beautiful collection keeping the audience smiling.

I have seen productions of “Tartuffe” before and this particular production is at the top of the list. The translation was bright with a contemporary flair.

Tartuffe at the Court Theatre continues through 14 July as part of the Moliere Festival. For tickets visit www.courttheatre.org

For this and other productions please visit www.theatreinchicago.com

Are Chuckles Enough For You?

 Big Lake Big City at Lookingglass Theatre Company

 Somewhat Recommended

Wrapping up Lookingglass’ 25^th anniversary season is the world premier of Big Lake Big City, a comedic “modern noir thriller” directed by ensemble member David Schwimmer and written by Keith Huff (A Steady Rain). Audiences will enjoy the fast-paced quips and constant references to Chicago, an aspect that at first glance may cause this to appear a perfect fit for the theatre company based in the historic Water Tower Water Works on Michigan Avenue. Yet I left feeling surprised at this addition to the season—and surprised at the confusion I felt, instead of the exhilaration with which I have typically left this particular theater in the past.

Who’s Your Mama?

Mine

Several cultures subscribe to a mythological belief that fairies or trolls may replace a human baby for one of their own, if the parents aren’t vigilant. The reason behind the exchange is sometimes social, with the supernatural parents merely searching for a better way of life for their young. But more often than not the fairy mother is desperately attempting to save her child’s life with the nutrients found in a human mother’s milk. This may or may not be the case in Laura Marks’ terrifying new psychological drama premiering in Chicago.

Don’t Wait, and go see “Lefty” at the Oracle

By Lazlo Collins

As any theatre person, goes and goes and goes to theatre; you begin to make a series of expectations; what the play will be like? How the musical will sound?   How will THAT particular company engage its audience? Many of the shows meet the expectations you already have in your head. As an audience member you assess each of the theatre’s you attend.

“A Pair of Star Crossed Lovers Take Their Lives”

by Olivia Lilley

When I stepped into the theatre, the smell of old books and the feeling that twenty-seven years of opening nights had taken place here was everywhere, in every speck of dust, in every creak of every audience seat. A lone sax on a scratchy radio moaned as if coming from a distant window across the alleyway. I was transported to the East Village storefronts of the 70’s and 80’s and I had only just entered the theatre. When the show began, the atmospheric choices of the preshow were dwarfed by the grand entrance of Mary Arrchie legend/artistic director, Richard Cotovsky. He is not a relic from some other time, but a living, breathing force of nature who’s lived through it all: now and then. The past was here before us all at once. At last, we jumped in through the grainy TV screen full of the faded colors, parachute pants, and windbreakers and we were there, a fly on the wall, as if it were all happening for the first time, in HD. When Rudy Galvan crashes onto the scene, language heats up and sexual tension bubbles.

Time Changes Everything

The Pride

A sharply directed, slickly produced play about gay rights that time travels between 1958 and 2008 has its Chicago premiere, and just in time for Gay Pride month. Under Bonnie Metzgar’s direction, the production is intelligent, tight and stylized, playing up both the humor and angst, as well as the many social issues this play examines. The final curtain will result in audience members devoting hours in thoughtful discussion as they ponder and debate the play’s message and the production’s power.

An interesting relationship evolves between three people when Sylvia, a former actress, introduces her husband, Philip, to Oliver, her children’s book collaborator. Something unspoken occurs between the two men when they’re left alone and, as it turns out, will grow and continue over the next fifty years. Philip and Oliver’s relationship evolves and then festers as Philip discovers Oliver’s penchant for anonymous sexual encounters with men in public places. Their kinship begins to unravel as Sylvia comes to understand what’s been happening under her very nose. The cautiously uptight ’50’s, while offering very little in sexual freedom for gay couples, does provide a certain safety net of rules and expectations. Not so cut and dry is the new millennium’s attitudes and tenets with those freedoms, now bestowed upon the LGBT community, sometimes presenting more rigidity than in the past. And, as audiences watch this play, they’ll notice how 2008 now seems to be a long time ago, as more freedoms are granted and additional rights are won.
The four actor ensemble are experts at maneuvering between the different story lines and eras. Acting styles, perfect dialects and mannerisms, just the right intensities, even the metaphoric shedding of clothes as the play progresses forward and retreats into the distant past, are all accomplished with style and professionalism. John Francisco’s Philip, who is a Noel Coward-like husband in the beginning, turns into a callous and sadistic creature by Act II. Patrick Andrews is a charming and needy sexual creature with little control over his kinky appetites. Jessie Fisher is incredible as Sylvia, especially as she transforms between time periods right before the audience’s eyes. Benjamin Sprunger is controlled and chameleon-like as the Man, Peter and finally the Doctor.

William Boles’ sparse set design allows for eerily smooth transitions between time and place, providing translucent walls through which the audience is able to witness characters literally stripping away their former persona only to emerge in another form. Becca Jeffords‘ specific lighting design keeps the mood and focus exactly where it needs to be in each scene, ably supported by Stephen Ptacek’s unique sound palette. Anita Deely has accomplished excellent dialect work with her quartet of actors and John Tovar’s fight choreography appears realistic, even in this intimate space.

This Midwest premiere will truly soon turn into a genuine period piece as 2008 rapidly becomes past history. But for now, Alexi Kaye Campbell’s look at how gay pride and passion have evolved (and will continue to do so at a faster pace) is definitely worth a look. Like her production of About Face’s “The Homosexuals,” Bonnie Metzgar has orchestrated her production to serve as the perfect play for Chicago’s month of Gay Pride. This is a play that says so much about who we are and who we’ve become.

Highly Recommended

Reviewed by Colin Douglas

Presented June 6-July 13 by About Face Theatre at the Victory Gardens Richard Christiansen Theatre, 2433 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago.

Tickets are available by calling 773-871-3000 or by going to www.aboutfacetheatre.com.

Additional information about this and other area productions may be found at www.theatreinchicago.com.