Chicago Stage Review

By J. Scott Hill

Three’s Company was the most formulaic and unrealistic TV show I ever loved. Let me sum up an episode, any episode:

1) One of the three roommates overhears part of a conversation and misconstrues everything.

2) Double entendres abound as the misconstruction is perpetuated.

3) Realizing that the eavesdropping roommate has the wrong idea, someone intervenes at the last possible second.

The formulaic and unrealistic part of this structure is the intervention, the clarifying of the misunderstanding. Real life is replete with partial communication, miscommunication, misinterpretation, parallel conversations, double-talk, and unintended double entendre. We argue with our loved ones about the same things over and over forever without resolution. We speak half-thoughts that taper off into silence. We start projects that we never finish, yet never completely abandon. Real life is not logical; real life is absurd — one premise, an ellipsis, and a conclusion. A Harold Pinter script contains more ellipses than a Love Is… anthology. Pinter’s The Caretaker, presented by The Curious Theatre Branch, is a masterfully acted testament to the absurdity of the real.

The Caretaker takes place in a single junk-filled room, and the tiny storefront Side Project Theatre could not be a more appropriate venue. Aston, a soft-spoken, barely communicative young man, brings home a transient, Davies, to his junked-up room in an empty house he is supposed to be converting into apartments for his brother, Mick. Aston invites the transient, Davies, to move in. Davies is faced with competing narratives from Aston and Mick but lacks the cognitive ability to parse them out or to synthesize a single reliable narrative out of them. Most of the scenes are between either Aston and Davies, or Mick and Davies; generally, in the scenes with all three characters, Mick and Aston leave Davies out of their conversation.

The Curious Theatre Branch makes a bold choice by opening the show with Mick alone in that junked-up room, seated on Aston’s half-stripped bed. Silence. Jeff Bivens plays Mick as attentive as a meerkat in this scene; he is clearly observing, listening, thinking – about what, though? When he hears Aston and Davies approach, he scurries out of the room and is not seen again until nearly the end of Act I. Beginning the show with one of Pinter’s famous pauses — even before any dialogue — moderates, lowers Mick’s threat level for the audience but keeps it intact for Davies. For this intimate performance space, it is a brilliant choice that transforms the audience into a gapers’ block rather than part of the pileup.

In the opening, when Aston and Davies enter the junkroom a moment after the silent Mick leaves (the air still warm from Mick’s presence), Aston speaks almost in a whisper, almost in a drone –- almost, but not quite. Colm O’Reilly pulls the audience toward him with this voice; we sit on the edge of our seats listening to his sparse statements, afraid that his voice will lose its seemingly feeble strength and drift off into the mumbles. As the dilettante Aston, Colm O’Reilly is always calm but never reassuring, inorganic but never mechanical — detached from his own life.

Jeff Bivens makes Aston’s brother Mick something of an archetypal trickster. A lesser actor could have lost the exquisite down-tempo rhythm of this production through playing Mick as a hammy half-assed Robin Williams impression. With occasional mania more reminiscent of Kevin Kline in A Fish Called Wanda, Jeff Bivens teeters dangerously upon the precipices of Mick’s foibles (smugness, condescension, quickness to anger) without ever falling prey to them.

Beau O’Reilly. Beau O’Reilly plays the transient Davies as if Davies were the Devil himself, only completely without cunning. Davies’s attempts at guile are transparent. Davies is easily stonewalled by the low hum of Aston’s word or two; he demurs at or shies from the least show of belligerence from Mick. Beau O’Reilly imbues Davies with a toddler-like faith in his own bullshit, and a toddler’s particular brand of somehow endearing selfishness.

Three actors. Three acts. Three hours. Curious Theatre Branch’s engaging production of Harold Pinter’s The Caretaker is must-see theatre. Colm O’Reilly, Jeff Bivens, and the incomparable Beau O’Reilly crackle onstage — as slowly as a dying bonfire. This cast of three needs no one else to rush in and set everything right — no deus ex machina, no smirking Ralph Furley; real life never has a denouement at the Regal Beagle.

This past Christmas Eve, Harold Pinter gave the world his final ellipsis. How fitting that Curious Theatre Branch chose to produce The Caretaker — Pinter’s first commercial success –- at this time. If Curious Theatre Branch’s production of The Caretaker is meant as Chicago theatre’s eulogy of Pinter, then Pinter was respected and well loved indeed.

4 STARS

(“The Caretaker” runs through June 28 at The Side Project, 1439 W. Jarvis. (773) 508-0666)

Curious Theatre Branch

the side project theatre company

By Venus Zarris

Amidst the academic and cerebral acrobatics of Tom Stoppard’s thrilling new play, there is something electric, something visceral, something ROCK N’ ROLL. Perhaps because this play seems more to be talking bout his generation than previous work, Stoppard connects on a stronger emotional level than ever before.

Although previous offerings have been a banquet for the intellect, they have often proved to be a bit dry, dethatched and/or elitist. But ROCK ‘N’ ROLL balances the mechanics of an exciting political polemic and a philosophical debate with a more human and immediate connection. The result is nothing short of wonderful.

ROCK ‘N’ ROLL is still a Poindexter’s wet dream. The dissection of Sapphic poetic paradigms, for example, is cerebrally orgasmic and dramatically delightful. Stoppard is, once again, operating so far below the surface that he runs the risk of busting through to the core of the planet, so far over the heads of most playwriting that he bypassed nosebleeds years ago and is blasting past the astral body formerly known as Pluto.

And yet he can mix the base up with the best of them, such as lines like, “Don’t try to shag my husband until after I’m dead or I’ll stick The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance up your rancid cunt.” He has a black belt in the art of one-liners, be they erudite or lowbrow.

Who better to take us on this smarty-pants ride than Mr. Smarty-pants Director himself, Charles Newell? Few can traverse Shakespeare, Beckett, Chekhov, Albee and Stoppard to such beguiling effect. Newell captures every nuance, epiphany, laugh and kick in the gut with a driving beat.

Rock and Roll music has always played a subversive part in politics and in Stoppard’s complex story, we see its impact behind the iron curtain. ROCK ‘N’ ROLL intersects the lines between ideal and applied, be that with music that subversively gives voice to the masses and then sells its soul to success, or politics that promises a utopian balancing of the scales and then delivers crushing suppression. In the midst of this introspective marathon there is the concrete reality of human interaction.

Every aspect of this production serves to create a perfect rendering of the script but it is the ensemble that makes ROCK ‘N’ ROLL transcend the discourse. The conviction of the cast is clear. The physicality of the character’s chemistry is beautiful. Cast to perfection there are stand out moments for all but in what will go down as one of the years best performances, if not the best you’ll ever see, Mary Beth Fisher delivers something ferociously staggering and delicately transfixing.

As Eleanor, she creates the experience of battling cancer with a vocabulary that peels away the conventional coping mechanisms of denial and avoidance, replacing it instead with dead on pragmatically tragic honesty and startling self-awareness. Few writers can successfully tap into this brutally cognizant state-of-mind and even fewer actors can deliver it with sincerity, strength, hunor and emotional candor.

Fisher brilliantly accomplishes this to bone chilling effect.

ROCK ‘N’ ROLL is a dramatically loud, lucid, lavish, lovely and lingering triumph and one of the best offerings the Goodman has produced in some time. DO NOT MISS this completely absorbing and electrifying triumph.

4 STARS

(“ROCK ‘N’ ROLL” runs through June 7 at The Goodman Theatre, 170 North Dearborn Street. 312-443-3800.)

Goodman Theatre : Home

ROCK ‘N’ ROLL production photos by Michael Brosilow

Goodman Theatre image by Venus Zarris

:: Chopin Theatre ::

Photo Essay By Venus Zarris

Nestled in the heart of Wicker Park at 1543 West Division Street, the Chopin Theatre is a premiere destination for theater, live performance and more. The exquisitely eclectic art and furnishings that detail this theater act as metaphors for the over 7,000 exquisitely eclectic performances and events that it has hosted since being established in 1990. 

Owners Zygmunt Dyrkacz and Lela Headd have transformed this space, originally constructed in 1918 by M.F. Strunch Architects, into a rare and wonderful location. Chicago and its theater community are the fortunate recipients of this couple’s uniquely lovely vision. You see the evidence of it in every nook and cranny at the Chopin and you can feel the inviting warmth as soon as you step in.

Chopin foyer 

East Wing Art Gallery

Nelson Algren Café

Cabaret Studio lobby

This basement sitting room is like a timeless fallout shelter from hectic the modern world. A friend commented, upon our first visit to the downstairs Cabaret Studio, that this lavish parlor would make the perfect opium den or hash bar. 

Visit the Chopin Theatre soon and experience the wonders of this exceptional venue, both on and off stage.   :: Chopin Theatre ::

Now playing at the Chopin Theatre through June 28, 2009 – TUTA Theatre Chicago’s brilliant production of Uncle Vanya. 

Uncle Vanya – Chicago Stage Review

UNCLE VANYA review link … – Chicago Stage Review

Home | TUTA, Chicago

:: Chopin Theatre ::

Chopin Theatre images by Venus Zarris

UNVEILED … EXTENDED THROUGH JUNE 7!

by Rohina
Directed by Ann Filmer

Racism. Hate crimes. Love. Islam. Culture. Language. Life. Five Muslim women in a post-9/11 world serve tea and uncover what lies beneath the veil in this compelling one-woman show. Come early to sample tea from Todd & Holland tea Merchants.

HERE’S WHAT CHICAGO STAGE REVIEW READERS ARE SAYING ABOUT UNVEILED: 

“This play was fantastic. Rohina did such an amazing job. She really brings the characters to life and sends a message of solidarity to all Americans in the face of terror. The set, the music, the lighting were all very powerful. A must see show for everyone.” … Matthew Ping

“It was so moving. I am so happy that I went to see this play. I think this play should be on a bigger stage. People really need to see this play and understand that as Americans we should not just take stereotypes as facts. Please see this show if you get a chance.“ … Melissa Strang

Presented by 16th Street Theater

Thru – May 30, 2009

EXTENDED THROUGH JUNE 7!

Thursdays & Fridays: 7:30pm

Saturdays: 5:00pm & 8:00pm

@ Berwyn Cultural Center

6420 16th Street, Berwyn

Box Office: 708-795-6704

16th Street Theater

By Nancy Lee Heuer-Evans

Get out your calendars and find time to see TUTA Theatre’s Uncle Vanya before June 28th when it closes for the second time.

It’s really that simple. There are innumerable reasons why this production was chosen one of the top 5 productions of 2008 by TimeOut Chicago Magazine and the Best Local Production in the Last Year by Chicago Reader. It is magic when everything comes together, as it does for this effervescent creation, remounted at the Chopin Theatre Studio Theatre and directed by Zeljko Djukic.

Chekhov’s exploration of the themes of work vs. idleness, intelligentsia vs. peasantry, instant gratification vs. delayed, and unappreciated grace literally shimmers in the hands of this talented cast. Andy Hager’s Astrov bristles with energy, idealism, humor, and serves as the catalyst for the play’s conflicts. So, too, Trey Maclin assumes the role of Uncle Vanya as his second skin, capturing the essence of the loving, conflicted, long-suffering, unrequited lover of Elena. It is breathtaking to watch such a gifted performer deftly turn a 110 year old script into a current, engrossing exploration of the complexity of longing, pain, and betrayal.

In one of the play’s lighter moments (remember, we’re talking lighter in terms of Russian drama, not Disney), the male cast members dazzle the audience with a drunken blues number that hints at the depth of the talent onstage. The affection between the characters of Dr. Astrov and Uncle Vanya is evident, and yet complicated—these actors do not shy away from the true complexity of these relationships. Rounding out the men of the ensemble, Gary Houston brings a believability to Professor Serebriakov, imbuing this role with a humorous, sympathetic dimension.

As the family’s representative of the intelligentsia, his character represents everything they oppose, or at the very least, don’t understand. Houston is irascible but not despicable, high maintenance without being annoying (to us—he is delightfully so to the family), and he manages to embody the pangs of growing old while striving to leave something behind he can claim authorship to, something of value. Chekhov has cleverly juxtaposed the professor’s longing for authorship with the doctor’s longing for creating something of value, irrespective of whether it carries his name, and Houston and Hager dance this conflict-choreography smoothly, effortlessly.

Ilya Ilyich Telegin, one of the background characters, is portrayed by Christopher Popio. While his role is smaller, his influence is felt throughout, as he strolls the grounds (represented by the outer clear glass doors) strumming his guitar, creating a haunting musical backdrop for the tense scenes within. He is central to the success of the unexpected and captivating musical numbers throughout.

The women of Chekhov carry a heavy burden—they are reactive, rather than proactive; however, Elena, Serebriakov’s young wife and the center of much of the play’s conflict, is beautifully, one might even say masterfully portrayed by Stacie Beth Green. Green’s cultured voice, sexual tension, her ability to portray ennui without actually being boring, is a treat to behold. Her scenes with Hager crackle with unexpressed desire and palpably demonstrate her repressed longing for something—ANYthing—to break the monotony of her predictable days and nights.

In fact, while this cast is full of stellar individual performances, it truly functions as an ensemble, where each piece is made stronger as a part of the whole. Jacqueline Stone’s Sonya, while the least fully realized individual character, still rose to the occasion when paired in scenes with Green and Maclin. Joan Merlo, as Marina, brings to life some of the show’s tenderest moments. Somehow Merlo has tapped into a reservoir of patience and grace and channels these qualities to provide the glue holding these desperate disparate people together. She is Mother Russia: earthy, loving, timeless, concerned—all without giving in to the stereotype.

From a technical standpoint, Uncle Vanya is seamless. The set is beautifully conceived by Martin Andrew—lean, spare, suggestive, yet stylish. The sound design by Mikhail Fiksel and Miles Polaski add another gourmet layer to this textured production from the plaintive opening guitar music to the hypnotic thrum of rain on the roof of the house, and every point in between. The costumes are period appropriate and yet also managed to achieve a timeless elegance, thanks to the guidance of Natasha Vuchurovich Djukic. The subtle uses of white vs. black and the various shades of brown as cues for the audience indicating how close to the earth/nature each character is serves as another layer of meaning without intruding.

Chekhov would be pleased—his vision is fully realized through all aspects of this production—acting, lighting, props, music, costumes. Each is excellent without drawing undue focus, yet another example of a working ensemble.

The only area in which this production falls short of perfection is Sonya’s final monologue. While Stone is a capable actress, her acting choices throughout the show are more presentational than any of the rest of the cast, and this is never more evident than in the closing monologue of the show, where Sonya implores her Uncle Vanya to be patient, keep working, and eventually death will be his rest. This doesn’t work because Sonya is not three dimensional; it is hard to swallow Chekhov’s final message (which is very difficult to take anyway but I do not wish to digress into a discussion of the “if God is merciful …[fill in the blank]…”discussion) from a character who has not been brave or risked anything, who couldn’t even tell the man she loved her feelings, whose primary quality is that of endurance. If Stone’s Sonya had resonated with faith, with resilience, with energy and optimism from the opening scene, we might better tolerate the treatise on faith and the after life as its own reward. As it is, not so much.

However, do NOT let this slight blemish deter you from an evening or afternoon of Uncle Vanya. This production may be short-lived but its impact will not be. It will hum its mournful melody to you long after you exit the eclectic Chopin Theatre Studio, setting the bar very high for all future evenings. I was so mesmerized I forgot my purse.

4 STARS

(“Uncle Vanya” runs through June 28, at the Chopin Studio Theatre, 1543 W. Division St. 847-217-0691)

Home | TUTA, Chicago

:: Chopin Theatre ::

IS EXTENDED AGAIN!

FINAL EXTENSION!

LAST CHANCE TO SEE THE ROGERS PARK HIT!

WHEN:

Previously scheduled performances continue through May 31, 2009.

Extension performances run Friday and Saturday nights at 8:00 PM through 

June 27, 2009.

Please contact the box-office before arriving at the theater, or order 

tickets online (www.theoubique.org). Shows are frequently sold out, and 

some nights are dark due to previously booked engagements.

Specific performance dates of the extension are June 19, 20, 26, and 27.

PRE-SHOW DINNER: Pre-Show dinner of Argentine cuisine available and 

recommended for the full theater experience. Service begins an hour 

before the show for additional cost.

WHERE: 

The No Exit Cafe 6970 Glenwood, Chicago IL 60626

 “Heart of Glenwood Arts District in the Rogers Park neighborhood.”

- Street parking and CTA Bus/ Train accessible.

- 151 SHERIDAN Bus, 22 CLARK Bus, 155 DEVON Bus, MORSE Red Line Stop

- Free parking and shuttle service on the NE corner of Morse and 

Ravenswood.

TICKETS:

To reserve tickets call: 773-347-1109

$30.00 (Friday, Saturday and Sunday)

This hit production has played to SOLD-OUT shows for two months and 

tickets go FAST! DON'T MISS IT! 

Check out EVITA's ChicagoStageReview EVITA - Chicago Stage Review

And this Exclusive Photo Essay on the Glenwood Arts District 

ART: In, On And Around Lifeline Theatre - Chicago Stage Review

For More Info About EVITA and Theo Ubique go to 

Theo Ubique Theatre Co.

InnateVolution Theater Productions presents…An Afternoon Delight: A Benefit and Networking Event to support Chicago Artists

InnateVolution Theater Productions, a new Chicago Non-Equity theater company which produces theatrical productions containing elements of “Human Revolution” (a Nichiren Buddhist concept), is holding its first Annual Afternoon Delight Benefit/Networking Event on May 30, 2009 at the Diane Tanios Gallery located in Lakeview.

This event is organized to support and market Chicago’s talented artists. Our event will feature artworks by A. Dragon (Sculpture), Cole Robertson (Photography), Darnel Williams aka D Will (Oil Painting), and Tracy Ann Simmonds (Acrylic Collage); including artworks by Rogers Park native Ranj Mohip and Rockford resident & company member Katherine Hodge. Special guest performances will be given by The Dueling Cellists: Karen Wortmann Cary & Steven Turini. Melissa Young, accompanied by Jeff Award winner Joshua Stephen Kartes, will perform selections from her Chicago hit featured at Davenports: A Luck Star: A Tribute to Madonna and her upcoming cabaret show entitled Out: A Rainbow Icon Celebration. There will also be a sneak preview of InnateVolution’s first production, Edward Albee’s The Zoo Story and The Sandbox featuring Casey Chapman and Raymond K. Cleveland.

Benefit proceeds will support InnateVolution Theater Production’s upcoming production of world-renowned playwright Edward Albee’s The Zoo Story and The Sandbox; two one acts. This production runs July 13, 2009 thru August 9, 2009 at the Oracle Theater, 3809 N Broadway St, Chicago, IL 60613. For tickets and more information, please visit our website at www.innatevolution.org or call 312.513.1415.

Afternoon Delight Benefit/Networking Event

When:  May 30, 2009 from 2:00 PM to 8:00 PM 

The Caretaker Curious Theatre

Click here The Caretaker Curious Theatre to read a 4 STAR review by Venus Zarris of THE CARETAKER, playing at the Side Project Theatre through June 28.

Curious Theatre Branch

the side project theatre company

Photo Essay By Venus Zarris

Many Chicago theaters are considered storefronts, that is to say they are spaces that you enter into from the front of buildings that were originally designated for commercial businesses. But just as the scripts presented at Trap Door Theatre normally take an alternative path to your consciousness, the entrance to this uniquely remarkable theater company’s venue is slightly off the beaten path. Thinly sandwiched between two buildings is a sparsely lit ganway taking you to a rear door.

With spellbinding craft, Trap Door Theatre travels the globe to locate obscure text, marries it to reckless abandon, consummates the union with chaos theory and gives birth to subversively unparalleled conceptual dramatic brilliance, oftentimes theatrically duplicating Alice’s fall down the rabbit hole with characters and circumstances that Lewis Carroll himself would be proud of and dazzled by.

(Excerpt from 4 STAR Chicago Stage Review of No Darkness Round My Stone) …

“No other theater can consistently suspend reality to create overwhelming and oftentimes-otherworldly atmosphere, usually before the action or dialogue even begins, like Trap Door Theatre. To say that they are the foremost purveyors avant-garde theater in Chicago is to understate this portal to alternate realms. Hidden down a narrow walkway, next to a bar, behind a restaurant, on a side street in Bucktown is a black trap door that opens into the extremes of theatrical imagination. You could drive by it and easily miss this purgatorial paradise of the sublime surreal.”

some reviews and features about Trap Door Theatre company…

A Couple of Poor, Polish Speaking Romanians – Chicago Stage Review

“Idiot!” – Chicago Stage Review

Illustrating Trap Door : Incomparable Design Capturing Incomparable Theatre – Chicago Stage Review

Horses at the Window – Chicago Stage Review

THE UNCONQUERED – Chicago Stage Review

No Darkness Round My Stone – Chicago Stage Review

Trap Door Theatre is an internationally influenced and influential company and Chicago is all the richer for it.

company website link … Trap Door Theatre

Trap Door Theatre images by Venus Zarris

By Venus Zarris

A few years back I took a road trip with some friends to see the group They Might Be Giants at a university downstate. I would tell you the college that we went to if I could remember. With the exception of the designated driver, we were all too stoned for me to pinpoint the exact location of the venue.

I DO remember stopping our seemingly deep conversation with the epiphany, “Do you realize that in some countries, we could be put to death for having just a fraction of the drugs that we have just consumed?”

A brief introspective pause fell over the car followed by a spontaneous and unanimous celebratory round of shouting, “U! S! A! – U! S! A! – U! S! A!”

This was a good drug road trip, unlike the roller coaster ride depicted at Trap Door.

Inhabited by insane characters delivering absurd dialogue, Trap Door Theatre’s U.S. Premiere of A Couple of Poor, Polish Speaking Romanians is just the type of theatrical discovery that this fearless company has come to be known for. Playwright Dorota Maslowska has created a ‘bad buzz’ with some delightful rushes and Director Max Traux creates the narcotic fueled road trip with wit and tension.

But unlike previous offerings from Trap Door, A Couple of Poor, Polish Speaking Romanians fails to fully engage. The ensemble is amazing. The design elements are wonderful. But Maslowska’s script, although heavy on unconventional drama and startling exchanges, is light on substantive content. If you are used to being spoon fed by your theater then Trap Door will almost always leave you hungry, opting instead to seek out work that is as challenging for the audience as it is for the company. Subsequently, this has resulted in some the most uniquely incomparable productions ever seen in this city and even throughout the country.

Sadly though, A Couple of Poor, Polish Speaking Romanians flounders through its narrative ambiguity so much that we loose concern, opting instead to immerse ourselves in the fascinating textures of the brilliant performers and the darkly stylized staging and design.

Thankfully, they manage a remarkable experience despite the road to nowhere that we ride on. And it is a bumpy ride to be sure. Dzina and Parcha travel the countryside and their psyches on a drug binder, terrorizing the locals and inadvertently illustrating the superficiality of class, isolationism, paranoia and jingoism along the way. Their buzz waxes and wanes, as does the profundity of the script.

What never wears off is the staggering talent involved in this production. Video, Sound, Set, Lighting, Hair & Makeup and Costume Design all come together to render a delightfully dark hallucination, peripherally illustrated with striking success by Graphic Artist Michal Janicki. The cast is all together exceptional with particularly spellbinding performances delivered by Kevin Cox, Tiffany Bedwell, Marzena Bukowska and Kinga Modjeska.

Bukowska is a captivating force as the drunk woman encountered on this wild ride. She draws us into her own world of frenetic self-destruction, rather than leaving us out of the fray. Modjeska grounds the story to its only firm grasp on reality by delivering the waitress with powerful restraint. Bedwell is the perfect pie-eyed Bonnie to Cox’s explosive Clyde. She creates a quiet chaos that contrasts her cohort, giving balance to the depiction of their decent.

But it’s Cox who is this production’s shot in the arm of mind blowing, hysterical and over the top intoxication. Cox can play as big as Godzilla and then rein it in on a dime to deliver something wickedly wonderful, hilarious, haunting or heartbreaking. He can be the master of macabre, the bartender of bizarre and the torchbearer of tenderness, be that playful or melancholy, with seemingly effortless ease. Cox takes full advantage of the insane comedy of his character. Unfortunately those moments of humor are so front-loaded in the script that we feel baited and switched.

The ebb and flow of this buzz has its moments but the subversive subtexts of A Couple of Poor, Polish Speaking Romanians have been rendered before at Trap Door by previous productions and to better effect. Still, there is more than enough talent and craft to warrant falling into this finely laid trap.

2 ½ STARS

(“A Couple of Poor, Polish Speaking Romanians” runs through April June 27 at Trap Door Theatre, 1655 W. Cortland Ave. 773-384-0494.)

Trap Door Theatre

A Couple of Poor, Polish Speaking Romanians production images by Michal Janicki