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.

RENT

RENT

A Season of Love from Beginning to End

Only in its second year, Naperville’s unique professional theatre closes the season with a fervent, deeply earnest production of Jonathan Larson’s Pulitzer, Tony and Drama Desk Award-winning musical that re-imagines Puccini’s “La boheme” as a rock opera set in Manhattan’s lower east side Alphabet City during the ’90’s. The group of artists is struggling to create and survive against all odds, including prejudice, poverty, drugs and the AIDS epidemic and death. The musical is rife with colorful, memorable characters, troubled relationships and the many challenges of being young, gifted and impoverished.

The Glass Menagerie

The Glass Menagerie

Sparkling Through the Darkness of Memories

There have been hundreds of theatrical, film, television and even radio versions of this beautiful play, but none of them holds a candle to Mary-Arrchie’s exquisite staging being remounted in a slightly larger venue for the month of June. This is a production that should not be missed because it is, perhaps, the most authentic, beautifully poignant interpretation of Williams’ work that you will ever experience. Surely, this must be precisely what the playwright envisioned when he penned his autobiographical drama more than 70 years ago.

Tennessee Williams’ self-titled “Memory Play” launched his career as a respected playwright and premiered in Chicago in 1944. Critically acclaimed, the play starred Laurette Taylor as Amanda, in what many actors consider the most unforgettable performance they’d ever seen. This play is capable of touching the heart like very few other pieces of theatre. As a memory, the play’s events are orchestrated by Tom (the Williams character) who moves in and out of the action. The play takes poetic license with plot and stresses specific details (Laura’s glass collection, for instance) while eliminating others (the actual family house). This production feels ethereal in its ghostly portrayal of the four characters who weave in and out. Images, dialogue and situations hit home, while the play’s collective impact on its audiences can be witnessed when you see people wiping away tears at the curtain call.

West Side Story

West Side Story

The Most Beautiful Sound I Ever Heard…

Back in the 1950’s when newspapers were just beginning to cover tragic stories of teenage gangs and turf wars, a new show would evolve from these events that would forever change the American Musical. Noteworthy, too, was that this new theatrical form resulted from a collaboration between artistic geniuses Arthur Laurents (book), Leonard Bernstein (score), Jerome Robbins (direction and choreography) and a new kid on the Broadway block named Stephen Sondheim (lyrics).

HMS Pinafore

HMS Pinafore

Oh, Bliss, Oh, Rapture!

Do you want to know how a Gilbert & Sullivan operetta should look and sound? Light Opera Works has the textbook answer to that inquiry in a new, sumptuous presentation, now being revived in Evanston (their first production of this classic was back in 1981). Everything that today’s audiences have come to expect from this musical comedy of manners can be found in this stellar production. A lush, 26-piece orchestra, a large cast of highly-accomplished actor/singer/dancers, a beautiful, detail-oriented set and costumes, with everything perfectly directed and choreographed by Artistic Director, Rudy Hogenmiller. This witty, whimsical love story, set aboard one of Her Majesty’s finest warships, delights in poking fun at Britain’s class system, their blind patriotism and the inequities of how one rises to positions of authority.

When this wickedly humorous operetta first opened in 1878 at London’s Opera Comique it remained so popular that it ran for 571 performances. The show became an international sensation and it continues to be a staple among community and educational theatres, alike. It ranks with Gilbert & Sullivan’s top three operettas (along with “The Pirates of Penzance” and “The Mikado”) and is always a popular addition to any theatre’s season of musical offerings.

One of Chicago’s theatrical treasures and legends, James Harms returns to Light Opera Works as Sir Joseph Porter. This artist is truly an actor’s actor, mining every ounce of silliness from Gilbert’s libretto and lyrics and providing audiences with another delightful, lovable characterization (his recent Don Quixote and Fagin remain as some of Light Opera Works’ finest performances). Indeed, Hogenmiller has wisely staged Harm’s first entrance in one of the show’s most hilariously memorable comic bits. Mr. Harms alone is worth the price of admission, but there’s more to recommend this production.

Young Northwestern graduate Dane Thomas lends his astounding tenor, comic timing and dance ability to the role of Ralph Rackstraw. He’s matched by Roosevelt University master’s student Sarah Kelly as his love interest, Josephine. Both talented young singers have performed with Chicago’s Lyric Opera and effortlessly caress Sullivan’s soaring melodies and Gilbert’s sharp dialogue to the audience’s pleasure. Ms. Kelly sometimes slides over her consonants making audiences question what she just said/sang, however her vocal prowess more than make up for this.

Michael Cavalieri brings a wealth of experience and talent to the role of Captain Corcoran and Dawn Bless makes a fetchingly funny Little Buttercup. Ryan de Ryke, whose vocal bliss and comic timing are a plus, appropriately hams it up as the villainous Dick Deadeye. Light Opera Works‘ newcomer Michael Roemer greatly impresses in his solo work as the Boatswain’s Mate. The entire ensemble electrifies, including Maggie Clennon Reberg as Sir Joseph’s busybody Cousin Hebe, who is as captivating as she is amusing. The sheer vocal talent and power that washes over Roger L. Bingaman’s impressive-sounding pit orchestra is unbelievable.

This stunning production, bedazzled in Darcy Elora Hofer’s crisp, nautical costumes, set against Adam Veness‘ beautifully designed and executed warship, leaves the audience simply breathless with glee.

“What, never?”
“No, never.”
“What, never?”
“Well, hardly ever!”

Highly Recommended

Reviewed by Colin Douglas

Presented by Light Opera Works June 8-16 at Cahn Auditorium, 600 Emerson St., Evanston, IL

Tickets may be purchased by calling 847-920-5360 or by going to www.LightOperaWorks.com.

Additional information concerning this and other area productions is available atwww.theatreinchicago.com.

‘Reverb’: A Dark Look at Becoming Echoes of Echoes

By Cat Wilson

Redtwist’s ‘Reverb’ is one of those shows that reminds theatre artists why we do what we do. The goal of any production is to cause the audience to think about the story they just saw, feel something, and inspire a change in their lives. This may be a large change that incites action, or a small change such as pausing to enjoy simple moments in life. No matter the scale of a show’s effect, the cause of feeling is the heart of why theatre is so powerful. Personally, I measure a show’s success on whether the audience had a strong reaction to it (positive or negative). ‘Reverb’ was one of the most successful shows I have seen in a long time.