Two Plays in One

The Winter’s Tale

Nowadays, everybody’s looking for a bargain. And why not? When the price of everything, everywhere, from the gas pump to the grocery store, from restaurants, hotels and airlines to—well— everything in life, has soared to the stratosphere! This is also true for theatergoers. In many cases, box office prices have increased, as well. But there’s good news, especially for the Shakespeare aficionado. Come to Chicago Shakespeare Theatre to see the Bard’s lesser-known play, THE WINTER’S TALE. Guess what, audiences? You will get two plays in one!

Why is that? Well, the story is complicated. When THE WINTER’S TALE was first published in the 1623 First Folio, William Shakespeare’s five-act play was grouped with his comedies. Later, however, this “problem play,” as it’s been called, was lumped with the Bard’s later romances, along with “Cymbeline,” “Pericles” and “The Tempest.” The quandary comes from the perception that this play appears to be two plays in one.

Especially in Artistic Director Edward Hall’s production, Act I is very dramatic, psychologically gripping and almost depressing, that it feels like one of Shakespeare’s tragedies. But then, following a much-appreciated intermission during which the audience gets to decompress, the story continues with a very different second act. In Act II, theatergoers are suddenly transported to a colorful pastoral setting. Whereas Act I is cold, darkly lit and costumed formally in black, white and gray; Act II is warm, brightly lit, jubilant, almost bawdy, and filled with comedy and color. Then, lest the theatergoer settles complacently into this orgy of Dionysian and pastoral rock revelry, the script returns to the darkness for an ending that is both redemptive, happy and surprising.

Shakespeare drew inspiration for many of his characters, settings and plots from mythology. This play is no exception. THE WINTER’S TALE tells of a riff between Leontes (a powerful performance by Demetrios Troy) and Polixenes (portrayed with grace and dignity by the terrific Chike Johnson), two kings who’d been best friends since childhood. Without much provocation, jealousy suddenly consumes Leontes, and he accuses his Queen Hermione (beautifully portrayed with class and elegance by Jessica Dean Turner), pregnant with his second child, of treason and having an affair with his friend. He claims that the baby on the way actually belongs to Polixenes, but he sends his men to consult the Oracle to learn the truth.

The oracle doesn’t support Leontes’ suspicions, yet he arrests his Queen anyway, orders that his friend be murdered and the newborn baby girl taken away and left to die. Ultimately, both Hermione and Leontes’ son, Mamillius, tragically die of grief and shame. But Polixenes is warned by Leontes’ servant, Camillo (played by one of Chicago’s finest actors, Erik Hellman), to quickly flee the country. So the two men set sail for Polixenes’ home in Bohemia, a bucolic land known for its sheep.

When we rejoin the play for Act II, years have passed. Perdita (lovely and talented Felicia Oduh), Leontes’ abandoned daughter, has been rescued and raised by a kindly Old Shepherd (the always wonderful Kevin Gudahl). His son, called the Young Shepherd (an absolute winning performance by Dan Haller), is a simple-minded lad who, like his father and the entire kingdom of Bohemia, live for the revelry of the annual Sheep Sheering Festival. The kingdom comes alive with color and pastoral playfulness. It’s fun and festive, with the townsfolk mesmerized by a rock band with a lead singer named Autolycus (a hilarious and captivating performance by Chicago favorite, Sean Fortunato). King Polixenes and Camillo both attend in hilarious disguise, so as to observe the social life of his young son, Florizel (handsome and gifted actor, Estaban Ortiz-Villacorta). When he notices that the Prince is becoming too involved with Perdita, whom he believes to be a simple farmer’s daughter, the King attempts to separate them.

When, near the end of the play, everyone returns to the Court of a reformed and reborn King Leontes, the two kings become reunited, Perdita is taken in by her father, Florizel is given his father’s blessing to marry his friend’s daughter and a lifelike statue of Queen Hermione mysteriously comes to life. Thus, this “problem” play ends on a happier note than it began, with magic, reconciliation and forgiveness as the name of the game.

While the story isn’t completely satisfying, and the ending is especially strange, there’s a whole lot to enjoy and admire in Edward Hall’s production. First and foremost is the gifted cast, who leave everything on the stage in their portrayal of Shakespeare’s colorful and diverse characters. It should be noted that THE WINTER’S TALE and the upcoming production of A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM will be playing in repertory at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre. The very same fourteen talented actors will be appearing in both productions, a move that mirrors how the Bard’s Elizabethan productions were presented. And since both plays are essentially fairy tales, they have a lot more in common than just the actors.

Many of the extraneous plot details and minor characters are cut from this production of THE WINTER’S TALE. The lengthy five-act play has been streamlined into a more contemporary two-act production. Hall has kept the story moving, taking enough time to focus on the most important events. Both Michael Pavelka’s scenic and costume design, with his simple and sparse look for Act I and a prismatic and picturesque setting for Act II, is elegant and spot-on. So are Pavelka’s costumes, which are dramatic and austere for the residents of Sicily, wildly colorful and whimsical for the festive Bohemians. The production is bathed both in sunshine and shadows, thanks to Marcus Doshi’s superb lighting design; and Kieran McCabe’s original musical compositions are especially fun. Emily Hayman’s sound design also adds a great deal of depth to this production, as well.

THE WINTER’S TALE is given a production that will appeal to theatergoers who are already fans of Shakespeare, but enjoy seeing his plays in a new light. It will also delight new audiences who are not already familiar with this “problem play” because it’s so seldom produced. But with his artistic valor and creativity, Edward Hall has modified Shakespeare’s script and directed a production that’s easily accessible for everyone. And, for those trying to save their pennies, remember that in THE WINTER’S TALE it’s as if you’re getting two plays for the price of one in this delightful new version of one of the Bard’s later romances.

Highly Recommended

Presented October 13-December 12 by Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, in the Courtyard Theatre, 800 E. Grand Avenue on Navy Pier, Chicago.

Tickets are available at the CST box office, by calling 312.595.5600 or by going to www.chicagoshakes.com.

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

Photos by Kyle Flubacker

(Noir)

Sugar Plum Fairy, P.I.

Dashiell Hammett’s classic The Maltese Falcon is the last word in detective stories, particularly the genre of Noir. Sorry…(Noir), as it’s often whispered by everyone in the cast of SUGAR PLUM FAIRY, P.I. “Noir,” which literally means “black” in French, refers to a gritty, cynical style of 1930’s crime drama, film or storytelling. It’s often marked by stark lighting, moral ambiguity and a bleak worldview in plays and movies.

Lifeline ensemble member Aly Amidei has adapted Hammett’s detective tale, The Maltese Falcon, into a noir fairytale mystery. SUGAR PLUM FAIRY, P.I. is currently enjoying its World Premiere, aimed at children ages 5 and up. But I’m here to tell you that the grownups in the audience loved this play even more than the kids. That’s because adults will be quick to get the jokes, puns and broad humor far faster than the kids.

The 60-minute comic mystery is set in Storybook Land. The Sugar Plum Fairy P.I. is actually a tough, hard-nosed detective who was once a ballet dancer in “The Nutcracker.” Sam Sugarplum is a dead ringer for Dashiell Hammett’s famed private investigator, Sam Spade. Humorously, as a gumshoe, the sleuth often has to stop narrating his story to literally scrape the gum from his shoe. After his partner, Humpty Dumpty, survives a murder attempt when he’s pushed off a wall, Sam gets pulled into a twisted web of deceit. Sam is hired by the lovely and mysterious fairy, Ms. Mary Belle, to find the missing statue of a small black sheep. What’s the reason that she’s so determined to retrieve the little lamb, Sam wonders. Soon the famous shamus finds himself embroiled in the darkness of the shady Candy Prohibition (a term that parents will probably need to explain to their children). Amidei’s comedy very cleverly blends the noteworthy noir detective drama with several beloved characters from fairy tales and nursery rhymes. The more clever kids will appreciate the comedy.

Nicely directed by ensemble member member, Robert Kauzlaric, the production features a simple, but inventive scenic and property design by Bobby Buie. Talented lighting designer Diane Fairchild has captured the stark contrast between light and shadow that is the signature visual look of noir films that the grownups will appreciate. And Aly Amidei has done double duty as costume designer for the play. He’s not only created every crackerjack fairy tale-inspired piece of attire, but the outfits can be easily changed backstage, so that four of the five actors are able to quickly transform into different characters. And Amidei’s costumes are whimsical, colorful and pay homage to both childhood bedtime stories and Dashiel Hammet’s gritty detective tales.

As always at Lifeline Theatre, the cast of this comedy for young audiences is impeccable. Lifeline ensemble member

Anthony Kayer, has been an audience favorite for nine years. Here he’s absolutely spot-on as detective Sam Sugarplum. The talented actor brings a lot of laughs with his deadpan line delivery and over-the-top reactions to the other characters and plot twists. Making his Lifeline debut is the adept Jermaine Jenkins. Previously seen in TOPDOG/UNDERDOG at Gift Theatre, Mr. Jenkins has fun portraying Little Boy Blue (the CandyLand cop), as well as Pinocchio and the mysterious Thursby Shadow. Also making her Lifeline debut is the lovely and eloquent Cris King, in the dual roles of Goldilocks (Sam’s Gal Friday) and Candace, the seductive Candy Witch. I’ve enjoyed King in DRACULA: A COMEDY OF TERRORS, with Lazy Susan Theatre, and in YO HO, at Babes With Blades. I only wish she’d been given two contrasting wigs for her different characters, so that theatergoers would more easily understand that she’s portraying two separate women.

Two more talented actors make their Lifeline debuts in this play. Christin Prince is a true delight as fluttering fairy, Ms. Mary Belle. She also plays a familiar candy-obsessed kid named Gretel. I loved Christin in these roles, but I’ve also enjoyed her in A Red Orchid Theatre’ production of VEAL. And Daniel Rivera finally gets to tread the boards at Lifeline Theatre. He plays the multiple roles of Humpty Dumpty (precisely padded like an egg), Gretel’s young sugar addict brother, Hansel, and the controversial mayoral candidate of CandyLand, Peter Pan. The talented Mr. Rivera was also seen in THE TEMPEST with the Shakespeare Project of Chicago.

As an excellent companion activity to enhance this delightful, new comedy, Lifeline Theatre is offering a program that follows each performance. It’s called “Stories Come Alive,” a fun, interactive workshop conducted by their talented teaching artists. The playful program will help children expand their appreciation of the play, spark their imaginations, build confidence and help them to experience the joy of creating theatre. Although SUGAR PLUM FAIRY, P.I. offers comedy that seems primarily aimed at the parents, Lifeline’s new one-act is an enjoyable entertainment that young audiences will love. Adapted by Aly Amidei and directed by Robert Kauzlaric, the comedy cleverly blends the noir mystery genre with nursery rhymes, fairy tales and creative fantasy and fun.

Highly Recommended

Reviewed by Colin Douglas

Presented October 3-November 8 by Lifeline Theatre, 6912 N. Glenwood Ave., Chicago.

Tickets are available in person at the box office, by calling the box office at 773-761-4477 or by going to www.lifelinetheatre.com.

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

Photos by Josh Bernaski

The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Sweeney Todd

As the Fall air turns chilly and crisp, and just in time for Halloween, “Attend the Tale of Sweeney Todd,” the Demon Barber of Fleet Street. This horrifying story of revenge and obsession, has been haunting curious and delighted theatergoers for almost 50 years. Based upon a play by Christopher Bond, adapted by librettist  Hugh Wheeler and set to a magnificent score by legendary composer Stephen Sondheim, the opening organ chords immediately set the tone for the macabre melodrama that’s to come. Newcomers to SWEENEY TODD will be shocked and titillated by this musical, with its unconventional characters sharing a grisly tale of terror. But for theatergoers, like myself, who are already familiar with Stephen Sondheim’s musical masterpiece, director Mark J. Bracken Jr.’s creative new production will satisfy their expectations, while offering some unexpected new surprises.

In a Dismal and Dystopian World

A Dark Wood

There’s no question about it. Today’s world has definitely become an absolute nightmare. Understandably, most of us are cautious and fearful of the dangerous and uncertain direction in which we’re headed. Seemingly unnecessary and endless wars rage on. Inflation has climbed to almost 4% and paychecks haven’t kept pace with the increases. Prices for everything, from food to fuel, have skyrocketed leaving almost everyone struggling to afford the basics. People are being rounded up and put in prisons without a clear reason for their confinement. Our constitutionally guaranteed freedoms of speech and the press have been squelched, and the list just goes on and on. 

A Dazzling and Emotional Ride

A Strange Loop

Recently Raven Theatre presented OCTET, their very first musical. It was stunning and remains one of the most exhilarating, inventive and successful shows I had ever seen. But in this first co-production between About Face and Raven Theatre, our Fall Theatre season opens with yet another production that’ll undoubtedly be making Chicago history. This new musical is another dazzling and emotional ride, a very different, unconventional kind of show that’s also so electrifying that it will haunt your mind and burrow into your soul.

It’s Always Five O’Clock Somewhere

Jimmy Buffett’s Escape to Margaritaville

Say there Parrotheads, do you feel like a drink? Well, go right ahead and have one! You don’t have consult your iPhone or wristwatch for the time because, as Jimmy Buffett wrote, “It’’s Always Five O’Clock Somewhere.” You can celebrate Happy Hour in any time zone you like! And that seems to be part of the message of the musical, JIMMY BUFFETT’S ESCAPE TO MARGARITAVILLE. Life’s just too darn short not to live it up a little and celebrate, whenever the mood strikes.

No Reward for Telling the Truth

Vladimir

Does that sound familiar? That there’s no reward for speaking or publishing the truth today? Every journalist during the past two years who truthfully reports the facts is personally ridiculed and their broadcasts or writing is called “a hoax” or “fake news”? In Russia, under the rising reign of Vladimir Putin, several courageous and daring journalists were murdered for their investigation and for reporting the facts. There was, and still is, no reward for telling the truth.

Five 20-somethings walk into an ancient, hungry forest. Who walks out?

A Midsummer Night Scream

Step into the theater and be transported to a looming, sentient forest that is on a knife’s edge of waking. And oh, is it hungry! With the BEST 80’s soundtrack.

Massive trees dwarf the space, exquisitely rendered and seemingly immortal. The trees’ solidity and rugged strength emphasizes the danger to the flimsy tents, rickety cabin structure, and soft squishy humans.  Danger surrounds it all. Oblivious, a group of young lovers gather around the firepit, intent on one last wild weekend before college. But they are not prepared for how wild this camping trip will become. 

A Midsummer Night Scream is presented as an 80’s nostalgia version of the Shakespearean classic: what happens if Shakespeare’s lovers are the Brat Pack caught in a slasher pic, where the killer is immortal forest fae? Set in the 1980’s, the human characters have a solid Breakfast Club vibe. The heart-throb jock, Dimitri (Luke McGreevey) is complete with a pseudo letter jacket, but carrying a dark secret. McGreevey has a strong presence and the sort of high-intensity energy this production needs. The leather-clad Xander (Connor O. Locklin), a dark and stormy musician, is carrying a torch along with his guitar. The smart, pretty girl Mia (Samantha Buckley) has big plans but made some bad choices. The awkward nerd Nick Bottom (Drew Slager) lives in their own world. All gather at the derelict cabin of Sam Holloway (Hayden Lane-Davies), a strangely distant but central friend (true slasher pic territory here). 

And of course the beloved fae – a delightful and fully-realized performance by Jack Antonio as Puck / Robin Goodfellow, appearing to mortals as a sparkly DJ or a comic-book-style caretaker, but showing his true glorious self only to Titania (Riley Starr McLean). Oberon (Marvo Oldham) is the horned god of the forest, awakened. 

The use of the space is smart, with well-differentiated areas of distinct ambiances. The costuming of the fae is gorgeously otherworldly. Specific set pieces – the firepit, the cabin window, the darkened doorway and the familiar porch steps are all put to excellent creative use.  A curated selection of 80’s greatest hits are purposefully timed to emphasize the plot points, and cleverly insinuated through a radio broadcast over the 80’s ubiquitous boom box. Lighting by Lighting Designer and Master Electrician Mike McShane is masterful; from evocative and changing forest fill to bold choices that allow the company wide-ranging use of the space (spoiler: keep hands and feet out of the aisles at all times please!)

The production comes with several warnings: it is an intense, high-sensory immersive horror experience. The production features stylized ’80s slasher violence, gore, graphic depictions of body horror, and themes of psychological trauma, non-consensual outing, internalized homophobia, and loss of autonomy. Sensory elements include aggressive strobe lighting, sudden loud bursts of radio static, atmospheric haze, and close-proximity physical combat. 

Otherworld is a unique treasure; a company dedicated to Science Fiction and Fantasy Theatre. Their concept calls to the wide world of geeks and nerds and comic-con devotees who are as enamored of the magic of theater as they are of the power of fantastical imaginings and brave new worlds. Founder and Artistic Director of Otherworld, Tiffany Keane Schaefer, is the writer, director and scenographer of Midsummer. Schaefer is an award winning director and playwright, with several major Chicago works including the acclaimed and popular TWIHARD! A Twilight Musical Parody. 

The creative team includes Assistant Director Fahim Sheikh, Fight Director Sam Campos, Intimacy Director Madeline Meyer, and Producer Sarah Jamgotch. 

Like Otherworld itself, the concept of A Midsummer Night Scream, is thrilling. As scenographer, Schaefer has created an enthralling and powerful visual and spatial environment. The story has moments – clever, touching, comic – along with broad strokes about masks both literal and figurative. Currently however, this original new work is two and a half hours and in need of focus and difficult editorial choices. It absolutely has the potential to become as great as the concept. 

A Midsummer Night Scream presented by Otherworld Theatre Company runs Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:30 PM with matinees Sundays at 2:30 PM through November 1. All shows are at the Greenhouse Theater Center, 2257 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago

Tickets may be purchased online at https://www.otherworldtheatre.org 

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

What Happened to Maria?

Dead Girl’s Quinceañera

Enjoying its World Premiere at the Goodman Theatre, Phanesia Pharel’s first full-length play, DEAD GIRL’S QUINCEANERA, is a very funny, often chilling and sometimes somber comic thriller. It takes place in Miami during an important right of passage for all young Latina ladies. When fifteen-year-old Maria mysteriously disappears during her Quinceañera, her three Latina gal pals, Salma, Este and her cousin, Phoebe, set out to solve the mystery of what happened to Maria?

A Mighty Maiden With a Mission

Princess Ida

As Lindsey Baer, the talented musical director and orchestra conductor of PRINCESS IDA, launches into the operetta’s rousing Overture, theatergoers are treated to an informative dramatic prologue to the story. Director Kingsley Day’s delightful production cleverly begins with a pantomime depicting Ida, as a little girl. After she gleefully discovers some books, discarded by her three doofus brothers, young Ida resigns herself to the bad behavior of the young men. This ingenious opening scene lays the ground for who the Princess will ultimately become as an adult: a “Mighty Maiden With a Mission.”