Chicago Stage Review

By Venus Zarris

Killer Joe is a startling example of theater at its roughest, toughest and most brutally absurd. Although written before playwright Tracy Letts was a Pulitzer Prize finalist for Man from Nebraska and Pulitzer Prize winner for August: Osage County, Killer Joe show no signs of being a ‘first try.’ It is a completely and brilliantly realized script that transports you to the darkest recesses of the human condition without an inkling of self-consciousness. It is a frighteningly wild ride into the despondent abyss of volatile people making bad choices in a bleak situation.

The characters resemble the occupants of the Green Room at the Jerry Springer show, except for the fact that these folks wouldn’t be allowed on set. Even Springer has some standards and by the time this story reaches its deadly conclusion, there isn’t much left tell because there aren’t many left to tell it.

Prodigal son Chris returns to the Smith household, that is trailer, in the middle of the night frantic for cash that he owes ‘some guys.’ Considering the fact that his step mom answers the door half-naked and his father follows out in his dingy underpants, it is not hard to imagine how Chris got in this predicament. This is a family on a fast track to someplace that makes nowhere seem like Disneyland. They come up with a plan to murder Chris’s birth mother for the insurance pay-off (healthy choice) and when hit man Killer Joe asks for innocent sister Dottie Smith as a retainer; these poster freaks for white trash dysfunction serve up the simple minded virgin in her finest dollar store dress.

Letts crafts something that is part dark comedy and all desperate nightmare. On the surface his characters seem one-dimensional but the extent of their casual depravation reveals the terrifying depth of human malevolence. Rick Snyder directs this remarkable cast to staggering perfection. At first glance one might think that the casting call was held in the middle of the night at a 24-hour Wal-Mart, but this ensemble delivers something so much more profound than a snapshot of redneck turmoil. They create a walking, talking, fighting, fucking, and “K. Fry C.” chicken-eating glimpse of self-manufactured hell-on-earth.

Kevin Bigley and Howie Johnson are excellent as Chis and Ansel Smith. Bigley’s frantically frightened character is contrasted wonderfully by Johnson’s slow-witted fool. Somer Benson delivers an incredible performance as stepmother Sharla Smith. Many actors wouldn’t be caught dead in what she wears, and doesn’t wear, but she fearlessly immerses herself in this train wreck of a character. The fact that, night after night, Benson subjects herself to the frightening physicality required of this character is astounding. More so, the fact that there is nothing about her terrific performance in the first act that indicates any hesitation about what she must endure in the second act is a testament to her skill and dedication.

Although the hair on the back of your neck stands on end from his first entrance, Darrell W. Cox creates one of the most frightening monsters seen on stage with a subtle restraint that allows for the layers of menace to unfold. Picture perfect is an understatement for Cox’s Killer Joe Cooper. He becomes the character so completely that you can feel the audience’s discomfort with his presence. Cox creates more fear with a silent gaze than is created in any graphic scene from a ‘torture porn’ horror film. But his performance is far more than just physically threatening theatrics; rather it renders the full spectrum of a patiently premeditated predator who is void of conscience or morality.

But the play belongs to Dottie and Claire Wellin stands out as almost unearthly in this beguilingly amazing performance. She is a treasure buried in a bad dream. Dottie knows enough to realize what is expected of her when Joe comes a’callin. Joe’s unflinching stare is almost enough to deflower her. He is polite and charming at first but when she stalls his advances, his accommodating disposition starts to turn. Wellin elicits an astonishing level of empathy that causes us to fear for her as much as she fears for herself. The tension is painfully palpable. Remaining calm, Cox delivers a sweetly diabolical seductive follow through that is nothing shot of spontaneously calculated molestation of innocence.

And this is just act one.

Set designer Sotirios Livaditis creates a dilapidated trailer so real; you lift your feet for fear of roaches. R & D Choreography renders the violence to startling effect. This is a very small black box and the carnage happens in your lap. There is no room for hesitation or error and none can be found.

Profiles Theatre’s production of Killer Joe is an incomparable success that will linger with you long you leave the theater. It represents exigent theater at its most ferocious, most fearless and most certainly its finest. Do not miss this rare and wonderful darkly devious delight!

4 STARS

(“Killer Joe” runs through February 28 at Profiles Theatre, 4147 N. Broadway. 773-549-1815)

*Due to graphic violence, nudity and strong adult content. NO ONE UNDER SEVENTEEN WILL BE ADMITED.

Profiles Theatre

11:11

11:11 tells the story of the first day at Camp Methuselah Pines and the team of young Christian camp counselors who unknowingly drug themselves. As the evening unravels, secrets are shared, temptations explored, and a group of friends realize they don’t have the same understanding of the same God. Inspired by the experiences of the playwrights and ensemble, ‘11:11‘ asks an age-old question of a new generation: why are we willing to fight for something we cannot see or define?

Presented by The New Colony

Feb 8 - Mar 13, 2010

@ Victory Gardens Biograph Theater

2433 N. Lincoln Ave, Chicago

Stage: Studio Theatre

Show Type: Comedy

Box Office: 773-871-3000

The New Colony | 11:11

11:11 | Victory Gardens

Return To Haifa

1948 marked the birth of the Jewish state and the exodus of 500,000 Palestinians from Israel. Safiyeh and Said fled during the fighting and were forced to leave their infant son behind in his crib. Holocaust survivors Ephraim and Miriam arrive in Haifa where they are given a new last name, the abandoned home and the baby to raise as their own. Now 20 years later, the boy’s birth parents return, hoping to recover what they once lost. Adapted by Israeli Playwright Boaz Gaon from the seminal 1968 Palestinian novella, Return to Haifa is an intensely intimate story about how we draw the lines of home, family and identity across time and politics.

Return to Haifa debuted at the Cameri Theatre in Tel Aviv as a kickoff to the 60th anniversary celebration of the founding of Israel.

Feb 8 - Mar 7, 2010

@ Next Theatre Company

927 Noyes Street, Evanston

Show Type: Drama

Box Office: 847-475-1875

Next Theatre Company

By Venus Zarris

Chicago is a city of remarkable theatrical collaborations. Actors, writers, designers, and directors move from company to company. In the process they infuse each new production with their own angles and visions and in doing so they expand the existing collective imaginations of the company, the audience and the theatrical community.

Redmoon Theater, an already staggering conceptual force, teams up again with the unparalleled brilliance of playwright Mickle Maher. Their Hunchback remains one of the most incomparable creations ever staged. Adding to this darkly delightful dream team is the voice of Colm O’Reilly, one of the countries most profoundly gifted actors. Maher writes a narrative that reads like notes to a haunting sonata, creating a beguiling melody of images and impressions. O’Reilly is the instrument through which this cerebral music is played. It flows with a doomed and melancholy lyricism from his voice, creating a macabre chamber piece with a subtly visceral effect.

We take our seats and the entrance to the theater is closed, as if we are in a giant cabinet staring at the multiple doors to an antechamber of this greater cupboard. The lights dim, a door opens and a phonograph rolls out. If the narrative that plays from this device were all we experienced, it would be enough to leave us overwhelmed with the story. Here is where the magic of Redmoon joins the composition.

Double doors above the phonograph open, revealing one of the most ingenious puppet sets ever concocted. The performers resemble robotic ghosts. They manipulate the puppets and set changes from below, above and the sides. The color scheme beautifully recreates the 1919 silent black-and-white film, The Cabinet of De. Caligari, from which this play is inspired. All is black, white and gray; except for the ribbons of red. That is the blood of course.

Windows into an asylum and a carnival freak show, a pop-up book of murder scenes and perhaps the most incredibly staged and executed shadow puppetry ever seen; visually render this bleak tale of deadly, sadistic manipulation and a life lost to the vulnerability of unending unconsciousness.

Cesare is a somnambulist, afflicted with perpetual sleep. Dr. Caligari heads the asylum where Cesare is committed. Caligari’s peculiarly sinister attention becomes clear when he discovers a way to control Cesare’s animated slumber. When not committing Caligari’s murderous wishes, Cesare is kept in a coffin like cabinet.

“Outside the cabinet I was a killer, in here it all seemed a ghosts tale.” Cesare laments.

Director Vanessa Stalling translates Frank Maugeri’s original conception and Maher’s evocative script with exceptional skill and imagination. She choreographs the ensemble to move with a stylized staccato that visually takes the story to the peek of creatively controlled madness.

Mark Messing’s original music composition is the stuff that bad dreams are made on. Maggie Goddard’s set design is breathtaking. Mikhail Fiksel’s sound design and Chase Corman’s lighting design are outstanding. Lisa Barcay and Scott Pondrum’s puppet design is pure Redmoon enchantment. And the performance ensemble of Taylor Bibat, Sam Deutsch, Matt Rudy, Dustin Valenta, Missi Davis and Sarah Ely conjure The Cabinet with chilling and thrilling effect.

Ultimately we find ourselves completely immersed in the looping nightmare of this pathetic somnambulist. Sleepwalking is the least of his horrors and Redmoon brings the dreadful dreams to vivid realization in a fashion that is uniquely theirs and overwhelmingly transfixing.

This is not a revival of a tired out play or a retelling of a familiar story; rather The Cabinet is a remarkable remount of a strange and wondrous creation. Do not miss this brief opportunity to see a rare and astonishing classic Chicago collaboration.

4 STARS

(”The Cabinet ” runs through March 7 at Redmoon Central, 1463 W. Hubbard St. 312-850-8440)

Redmoon Theater » Home

* The Cabinet is not suggested for audiences under age 13. Parental discretion is recommended for younger audience members. The Cabinet received this rating because it contains acts of violence and a dark story line.

The Cabinet production photos (#2 & 3) by Sean Williams and (#4) Ryan Bourque.

Top image from The Cabinet by Venus Zarris.

Wilson Wants It All

In 2040, the future of a divided nation is in the hands of a single man as he manipulates the fate of twin daughters, heirs to an American political dynasty. Separated at birth, they now find themselves caught on opposite sides of an escalating U.S. conflict. Following in the footsteps of the speculative fiction of Ray Bradbury and Philip K. Dick, Wilson Wants It All draws inspiration from the narrative core of A Tale of Two Cities, the 1993 feature film Dave, and the mythology of the Kennedy Camelot era.

Presented by The House Theatre of Chicago

Previews: Feb 4 - Feb 6, 2010

Regular Run: Feb 7 - Mar 27, 2010

@ Chopin Theatre

1543 W. Division, Chicago

Show Type: Comedy/Drama

Box Office: 773-278-1500

The House Theatre of Chicago

The Odyssey of Arlecchino

One Night Only!

The Odyssey of Arlecchino is a carnivalesque journey of one man to find himself amid the trials, tribulations and tricks of the world. In this autobiographical story, Arlecchino has traveled across Europe to arrive here in Chicago to share his topsy-turvy story in a style governed only by the rules of Looney Toons.

Presented by Filament Theatre Ensemble

Feb 7 -   One Night Only!

@ Theatre Building Chicago

1225 W Belmont Ave, Chicago

Show Type: Drama

Box Office: 773-327-5252

www.filamenttheatre.org

Show Us Your Love

Show Us Your Love celebrates love and relationships, featuring both comic and dramatic selections from some of Broadway and Off-Broadway’s very best, including HAIR, SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE, PIPPIN, FLOYD COLLINS and BROOKLYN THE MUSICAL. Audience members will have an opportunity to “show us their love” by informally voting for their favorite shows, which will influence Bailiwick Chicago’s show selection process for future seasons.

Presented by Bailiwick Chicago

Feb 7 - Feb 28, 2010

@ Mary’s Attic

5400 N. Clark Street, Chicago

Show Type: Musical

Bailiwick Chicago - Home

Only Two Weekends left to see Trap Door’s wonderfully wild production of MINNA!

Read the review here: Minna - REVIEW - Chicago Stage Review

(“Minna” runs through February 13 at Trap Door Theatre, 1655 W. Cortland Ave. 773-384-0494.)

Trap Door Theatre | Chicago, IL

By Venus Zarris

It would be the poster review for redundancy to rave over the play that is, to date, in so many respects the most successful theatrical accomplishment of the 21^st century. In 2008, August: Osage County won the Drama Desk Award, Drama League Award, New York Drama Critic’s Award, Outer Critics Circle Award, 5 Tony Awards and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. This three-act behemoth is a masterpiece of dramatic character study, story telling, literary construction and a staggering dissection of familial dysfunction.

Extensive histories of this play, as well as extensive reviews of its original (Steppenwolf Theatre) Chicago and subsequent New York and London productions can easily be found with any Internet search engine. The interest here lies in this National Tour. It has already successfully played to audiences across the country but how does it fare in Chicago? Bringing Chicago’s most successful export back home is a daunting task, even for a seasoned cast that is inhabited by an Academy Award winner (Estelle Parsons) and five current Helen Hayes Award nominees (for this production).

If you are a devoted fan, rest assured that this incarnation of your beloved play is not only in great hands but also is a remarkable success in and of itself. If you are a newcomer to this theatrical phenomenon, you will leave the theater completely satiated with the complex, hysterical, emotional catastrophe that is August: Osage County.

From the wry and witty opening monologue, wonderfully rendered by Jon DeVries, to the closing moments of heart wrenching despair, beautifully rendered by Estelle Parsons, and every scene in between; this remarkable ensemble creates the desperately dark and hauntingly hysterical world of playwright Tracy Letts‘s tour de force with unwavering skill and intelligence. Any less-than-exceptional link in this chain of story telling would prove disastrous for the overall production but there are no kinks to be found. They are quite simply flawless.

August: Osage County tells the story of the Weston family at the time of its patriarch’s disappearance and subsequent death. As is so often the case with a death in the family, people’s worst, rather than best, behavior rises to the surface. In this case the mounting decades of tension are like an abscessed boil and when it finally explodes the fallout is as caustic as the built-up pressure it proceeds.

There are so many emotionally detailed individuals in this script that it can be difficult to decipher just whose story is the most pivotal. What character does August: Osage County really belong to? Is it Violet, the drug addicted matriarch that has lost her husband? Is it daughter Ivy, who is fed up with the job of being soul caretaker to her crazy parents? Is it Beverly, the father whose story unfolds posthumously?

Although all of the characters are compelling in their own damaged ways, it is oldest daughter Barbara that undergoes the most profound and brutal transformation. She shows up ready to take charge of the crisis and leaves with a crippling self-actualization. Shannon Cochran delivers Barbara with remarkable strength and devastating vulnerability.

The entire cast is extraordinary but the real fire comes from the Westin women. Angelica Torn’s Ivy goes from the doormat of the family to the escapee of its chaos with a subtlety that is overwhelming. Amy Warren creates Karen, self-absorbed baby of the family and self-help devotee, with electrifying comic timing. The audience is completely wrapped throughout the first act but when Warren enters in the second act, the crowd lights up as if plugged into a socket. Letts writes this character with mercifully absurd humor to ease the devastating conflict and Warren finds every morsel of comic brilliance.

Estelle Parsons’s Violet may seem ‘Edith Bunker on Valium’ fragile at first, but that drug-induced illusion quickly vanishes. As the layers of her character peel off she is revealed as a wounded and wounding tyrant, calculated in her individual attacks on those that she is incapable of nurturing.

Director Anna D. Shapiro constructs the family, from Letts’s charming yet frightening blueprint, as remarkably as scenic designer Todd Rosenthall constructs the Weston’s three-story home. Ana Kuzmanic’s exceptional costume design proves that you can dress some people up, even if you can’t take them out.

Broadway in Chicago brings this Chicago treasure back to nest but only for a brief homecoming. Seldom does a three-act drama take the stage of one of Chicago’s ornate historic venues, known for large-scale musicals. Even more seldom does a straight play outshine the razzle-dazzle of such ultra-hyped productions, holding its audience transfixed in the process and transformed when it is over.

The setting for August: Osage County is on the plains of Oklahoma but the history of the play makes it nothing short of a Chicago landmark. Don’t miss your opportunity to see the triumphant return of this Pulitzer Prize winning classic.

4 STARS

(“August: Osage County” runs through February 14 at the Cadillac Palace Theatre, 151 W. Randolph Street. 312-902-1400)

Buy Tickets

August: Osage County - National Tour | Official Site

August: Osage County production photos by Robert J. Saferstein.

The End of the Tour

Andrew Morris shares only one thing with former President Ronald Reagan and that’s the town of Dixon, Illinois. When a frantic phone call from his sister forces Andrew to return home with his partner, the audience is taken on an often comic, sometimes disturbing tour of the lives of loved ones who still walk the line.

Presented by 16th Street Theater

Previews: Feb 4 - Feb 5, 2010

Regular Run: Feb 6 - Mar 6, 2010

@ Berwyn Cultural Center

6420 16th Street, Berwyn

Show Type: Comedy/Drama

Box Office: 708-795-6704

16th Street Theater