Chicago Theatre Review
She’s Ann – Frank and to the Point!
Review of “Ann”
By Lazlo Collins
The first full glimpse of Holland Taylor as Ann Richards is a “Mamma Rose” show stopping entrance tableau. Poised with al tweedy suit and ready for action, she stands defiant, taking the audience on a one woman tour-de force journey that is both educational and inspiring.
Knowing very little about the power house politician Ann Richards, I approached the play with a willingness to learn a little something about the woman behind the plain talkin’, rough n’ ready gal from Texas. I was not disappointed.
Ann Richards was most known for her real life role as chairwoman at the 1992 Democratic Convention; (Delivering an historic rousing speech to the masses) while serving as Governor of Texas from 1990 to 1995, only to be defeated by George W Bush for her reelection.
The play takes us on a journey of her story as told by Richards herself. She uses a commencement speech to start. We then glimpse Ann in her office, playfully talking with her unseen staff, and sparring with the likes of President Bill Clinton on the phone. The play moves with ease as Ann relays important information about family, friends and life. She moves constantly from place to place, as a vibrant illustration of her “If you rest, you rust”, philosophy.
As an actress, Holland Taylor’s credits are not surprising. Most familiar to the mass audiences would be her recent turn as the mother on “Two and a Half Men”. One of my personal favorites is her delightfully upbeat Harvard Law School professor in “Legally Blond”.
Ms. Taylor conceived and wrote “Ann”. Her labor of love is evident in her tough, but tender portrayal of an often out-spoken woman. The recollection of her parents is often a touch stone to figure out how she arrived at wherever she may be. Ms. Taylor’s portrayal draws you in to really listen, whether she is confidently speaking out her pro-choice viewpoints, or reminiscing about her tough mother or inspiring, radiant father.
Holland Taylor completely transforms herself into Ann Richards. Ms. Taylor has done her homework for the role. She has met with the woman she is portraying, and gives us a tender look at the woman who moved through adversity, to come to a place that surprised even Ann herself. Her detailed study of Ann Richard’s look and mannerism should not go unnoticed. Holland Taylor’s acting is superb. She keeps us laughing and interested throughout the play, only to bring us to a tearful goodbye, as Ann talks about the cancer that ultimately took from the spotlight in 2006.
Through Ms. Taylor’s kind portrayal, you ultimately get the sense of what Ann Richards strived for in her life. And that is to have a life, by saying what you mean and moving on from difficulties with bold brash LUMINOUS style.
Go get lost for an hour or so with Ann Richards appearing the Bank of America Theater through Dec. 4. Ann Richards would be glad you did!
Polarity Presents ‘Peer Gynt’ in New Form
By Devlyn Camp
Polarity Ensemble Theatre is currently presenting the Chicago premiere of Peer Gynt in its new adaptation by Robert Bly. Cutting the original five acts down to two, this interpretation still follows an imaginative young man who encounters surreal problems. The set by Heath Hays, in a large black box space, has an overhead boardwalk that spans across the space. It’s beautiful when the lights hit the walk and dramatic slats of light run across the faces of characters below. The production flaunts dozens of first-rate period costumes by Rachel Lambert for over fifty characters, including an impressive puppet troll toddler (designed by Angela M. Campos).
Peer’s delusions of grandeur, and then eventual satisfaction of delusions, lead to some overacting across the board. In many scenes, nearly every actor is working too hard at the heightened, poetic language and any sense of realistic character is gone. Fortunately, some of this can be overlooked seeing that Peer becomes a prince of the trolls and finds himself in bizarre, mythological situations. Young Peer, once wishing that everyone would bow to him, learns the standard lesson be careful what you wish for. The play is interesting, especially in an unfamiliar translation, and still holds the same morals of the Henrik Ibsen classic. Though with every scene waiting between lengthy monologues by Peer, it is difficult to keep interest in the tale. Perhaps they should have incorporated more creative puppetry. That puppet troll toddler really had me dazzled.
Your thoughts on the production? Was the production value better, or the performance? Comment below and let’s talk about it…
PEER GYNT
Polarity Ensemble Theatre
Through December 18th
Tickets $10-20, available at dcatheater.org
Contact critic at devlynmc@yahoo.com
Holland Taylor’s ‘Ann,’ Equal Parts Funny and Smart
By Devlyn Camp
Holland Taylor has never written before, but you’d never guess. Judging by her one-woman play Ann, one would think she’s been writing for years. Inspired by the innovations of Texan Governor Ann Richards, Taylor began researching Richards’s life and wrote the ultimate homage to the political pioneer. The play, in which Holland Taylor also plays Governor Richards, begins with Ann giving a serious, yet comical commencement speech at a fictional college, which digresses into the past, allowing the show to let us see her at work in the Governor’s Mansion. She rambles off little stories and anecdotes of her life bookended by witty jokes and little lessons she’s taken to heart. While talking about her childhood Ann says, “I suppose we were poor…but I don’t like the word. I prefer ‘hardworking.’” And that she was. Ann moves from her home with a difficult mother to raising a family to alcoholism to politics and beyond. Between loosing her marriage and fixing up her “Republican hair,” Ann still finds the time to jab at political scandals and somehow make every profound moment more serious with a joke.
Her story questions the possibility of being able to “have it all.” Ann’s political career only briefly overlapped with her marriage. She couldn’t find the time in her work to completely satisfy housewife duties and vise versa, so she chose the work that she loved. Taylor’s play is about moving on, going ahead and passing fear without stopping to examine it. After learning her place as society saw it should be, Ann learned where she thought it should be and made a new mark in women’s history. But not only does she speak to the imaginary graduates about making one’s self a profound person, she carefully examines the importance of enjoying your own personality and relishing in being loved by someone. Taylor’s play takes the difficult task of one-woman show and triumphs in making the singular actress completely captivating throughout the piece.
“She meant more to me than I had known,” Holland Taylor says in a post-show interview. In its fifth presentation and Broadway bound with more changes to come, Ann showcases an edged personality with a proper understanding that being alive is something bigger than your self. Taylor (Two and a Half Men, Baby Mama) spent several months researching the governor and also spoke to several of Ann’s close friends. Having only met her once, Taylor watched several videos of her to understand the physicality of the woman’s odd quirks. And that is quite obvious when she is on the stage, giving no sign of the actress recognized for her Emmy-nominated roles. “She was Elvis,” Taylor says. A politically brilliant superstar. She didn’t write the biographical play as a career move, she says. She then goes on to say, “I didn’t write it for her fans. I wrote it for America.”
ANN
Bank of America Theatre
Through December 4th, 2011
Tickets starting at $20, available at BroadwayInChicago.com
What are your thoughts on the one-woman play? Good or bad, let’s talk. Comment below.
Contact critic at devlynmc@yahoo.com
Street Tempo’s Impassioned Debut: ‘Let My People Come!’
By Devlyn Camp
Don’t bring your children. Don’t bring your right-wing mother. Don’t bring your grandma. Unless she’s into songs titled “Whatever Turns You On” and “Dirty Words.” And if that’s the case, bring her along! The disclaimer is right there in the title: ‘Let My People Come! A Sexual Musical,’ and ‘sexual’ just might be an understatement. The 1974 off-Broadway musical finds new life in brand new theatre company Street Tempo, which has a home, like many other companies, at Stage 773. Covering all the bases of sexuality, from hardships to secrets to all the favorite kinks and pleasures, Broadway Babies are all grown up in a sensationalistic production of Let My People Come.
The musical review doesn’t only toy with kinky costumes and overbearing urges. Throughout the act, cast members reveal true sexual and personal facts about their selves that are beautiful and sometimes pretty funny. They tell sentimental stories of their sexual past and stand bare, metaphorically, for their audience. The literally bare part comes later. It’s a message that lifts up the fun of sex, but above that, shows a beautiful respect for love. There is even a number performed by the powerful Teressa LaGamba that glorifies virginity and the wait for love.
The mighty ensemble has a wide range of ample talent. Matthew T. Payne gets half the show’s laughs during his dating ad bits, Jennifer Oakley’s voice could stand down Trump Tower, and Elianna Stone will prove on her own just how sexy this show can be. The strongest feature number includes two stools, an audience member, Will Hoyer and the Pips. Backed by four ladies, Hoyer lures an unsuspecting gentleman into his arms and asks in song for him to “Come in My Mouth.” Even if the lyrics make you uncomfortable (in which case, go home), Hoyer hits some lusty, mean Mariah Carey notes.
These prime actors are led by a fine band and fantastic music director, Kory Danielson. His comely tunes unite outrageously feel-good vocals and rip right through 773. Brian Posen’s imaginative and steamy staging with the flirtatious choreography sets up the performers to completely satisfy their voyeurs. So here’s my big problem: I have crushes on all of them.
LET MY PEOPLE COME!
Street Tempo Theatre Co.
Through December 31, 2011
Tickets $28, available at stage773.com
Photo courtesy Brian Peterlin
Contact critic at devlynmc@yahoo.com
Stagnant 'Middle Ground' at Side Project
By Devlyn Camp
When one plays a game they’re applying strategy with chance. I know this plan can work, and hopefully my opponent will unknowingly cooperate.
Cards are dealt, words are exchanged, poker face. This multiple-person dance of intelligence carries on, while somewhere in the back, we, the theater crowd, sit at the slots and leave it all on chance. There’s not much strategy to picking the right show. We drop in a coin, pull the lever, and pray to Dionysus that there’s an intermission getaway if the play bombs. We’re playing the slots, Chicago theatre-goers, and in our game there’s no Tommy Glenn Carmichael.
Anyone who is out and about regularly seeing shows is bound to come across a dud. It’s unfortunately inevitable. And if any readers caught my recent soapbox digression, it’s my opinion that such duds are typically lacking comedy. In the case of Side Project Theatre Company’s ‘Through the Middle Ground,’ there is much more lacking. It begins with an extremely drawn out, very quiet opening dialogue. The audience’s attention has already ducked out.
The two act play takes place in an apartment where a soldier returns home to his girlfriend after battle. He is different, but so is she. The only thing he seems to enjoy in life now is his new stray pet bird. This exposition is formed within the first scene, and then… nothing. As the powerless piece keeps on, it seems there’s actually no plot. There are two people talking, a caged bird, and an on-stage dripping faucet that holds more attention than the entire first act. It’s all small talk and long silences with little effort from the actors. As far as critical analysis goes, there’s so little to discuss.
But it’s easy to whine away at the flops, although they’re bound to happen. As with anything, we take them in stride. There are shows that have no story, no intelligent dialogue, no intrigue… a.k.a. goose egg. Sometimes we have to look back at the flatlined failure and remember: They can’t all be Book of Mormon.
What do you think? Post your comments below. Let’s talk.
THROUGH THE MIDDLE GROUND
The Side Project Theatre Company
Through December 18th
Tickets $20, available at thesideproject.net
Contact critic at devlynmc@yahoo.com
‘The Gray Girl’ Shines Bright at Factory Theater
By Devlyn Camp
It’s been a stream of tough plays lately, at least for some of us. It feels like it’s been a few weeks since something opened that was at least somewhat exciting to talk about, tweet about, or tumblr on (whatever that means, kids). But then, enter Factory Theater. The final show to open in their 2011 season, ‘The Gray Girl,’ is an unexpectedly spooky crime-thriller of the 1950s. Both haunting and powerful, the scenes open lit by an upstage panel of windows silhouetting the posed characters. Each scene reveals a new piece to the case of two missing reporters who co-authored an exposé on Chicago crime in Riverview Park. These pieces and parts open skillfully staged flashbacks and introduce more intriguing characters.
The show takes a great twist with a ghost haunting the criminal in charge, politician Richard Morse (Shannon Parr). In tense scenes in which the power goes out, she haunts Morse and his henchmen as they hunt their escaping kidnapped journalists. Matt Engle directs beautiful hide-and-go-seek chases with flashlights and lighters taking the place of stage lights. Engle sets up keen suspense as many characters’ stories weave in and out of the main plot. He also has good writing to thank for that edge, by Colin Milroy (also playing the lead). Milroy’s 75 minute work brings a large story to life quickly and cleverly, while including decent subplots and funny characters. While sustaining its dramatic edge, ‘Gray Girl’ brings out some good laughs along with its jolting gasps.
While our encounters in live theater can be hit and miss, it’s so wonderful to applaud at the curtain call and mean it. Not that that is rare, just that it is wonderful, and Factory Theater hits the nail on the head in entertaining its audience with this new work. Prepare to be spooked.
Any thoughts to add? Comment below! Let’s talk.
THE GRAY GIRL
Factory Theater
Through December 17, 2011
Tickets $15-20, available at thefactorytheater.com
Contact critic at devlynmc@yahoo.com
Marriotts Christmas Gift
Early Gift of a “White Christmas”
By Lazlo Collins
It’s easy to be cynical about the holiday season, especially if it is before Halloween and you are about to get the full onslaught of “White Christmas”; however, most cynicism evaporates when the cords of those familiar tunes begin. Irving Berlin’s 1954 movie musical was the original inspiration for the 2004 stage adaptation by David Ives and Paul Blake.
Marriot Lincolnshire’s production of “White Christmas a pleasing, non-denominational greeting card to those that remember the score and characters from the movie. The story of soldier loyalty, singing acts, and “Hey, you’ve got in an Inn, Let’s do a show!” needs little introduction. Under the direction and choreography of Marc Robin, the show glides along with few surprises, but plenty of 50”s nostalgia and topnotch tapping.
The GI buddies Phil Davis (Andrew Lupp) and Bob Wallace (Rod Thomas) are endearing from the start. Mr. Thomas has a classic crooner style, while Mr. Lupp is a standout throughout the show with his energy, timing and tapping expertise. The ladies that accompany the singing duo of Wallace and Davis throughout the holiday mayhem are the Haynes Sisters, Judy (Tammy Mader) and Betty (Stephanie Binetti). Ms. Binetti sustains grace and unease in her role as mother hen, while it’s hard not to smile when Ms. Mader takes the stage while she is singing or dancing.
Meanwhile back at the Inn, General Henry Waverly (David Lively) keeps the staunch, but loveable, authority figure warm and endearing among the blizzard of activity that unfolds around the Inn. Mr. Lively keeps the pathos believable in his reenlistment rejection by the army. (Although, I thought the “okay, just kidding, we will take you back in the army” letter at the end of the show seemed tacked on.)
Also holding down the Inn, are the General’s housekeeper, Martha Watson; played with Broadway diva power by Alene Roberston. Ms. Robertson passes down her inspiring ways to the General’s granddaughter. In this role, Madison Gloria Olszewski, throws off the muffler and belts like a pro.
Among the plans to help the General with the benefit show to save the Inn(and presumably the General’s depression), Michael Weber and Michael Aaron Lindner keep the action lively with great comic timing and stock interpretations.
With the top of Act Two’s breathtaking tap extravaganza, and all the dancing throughout the show, Marc Robin’s choreography is simply great and fun to watch. The chorus seems to completely enjoy themselves and sells the corny holiday magic completely.
With the appropriately festive set design (Thomas M. Ryan) and rounding up the visual appeal with the fab 50”s costume design (Nancy Missimi), “White Christmas” would make any holiday cynic smile.
While there are no theatrical surprises in the production and the stage adaptation is bit different than the original movie; the good-will sentiment and the loveliest songs are still intact. If you are inclined for some wholesome holiday entertainment for the whole family, “White Christmas” runs through 1 Jan 2012. 847-634-0200. www.Marriotttheatre.com
‘Seascape’ at Promethean Too Smart or Too Dull?
By Devlyn Camp
Promethean Theatre Ensemble is nuzzled back in its spot at Live Bait Theater (previously The Artistic Home) for two-person play Seascape with Sharks and Dancer. The incomplex but smart piece follows a lonely writer, Ben (Nick Lake), as he tends to the rough and tough woman he rescued from drowning in the nearby tide, Tracy (Anne Korajczyk). The first act dives right in without exposition as the two play a game if wits, trying to impress one another while refusing to like each other. We probably know where this is going, right? They fall in love, problems ensue. The play itself – the writing – is a little odd in that it tries so hard to be clever. Playwright Don Nigro’s language feels contrived and awkward. But this could be the fault of weak acting. The performers, although qualified, seem uninspired. They run around in the simple living room set trying to be unique and quirky and don’t often succeed.
It seems that the piece the play is lacking is comedy. The production is not without its redeemable material. Conversations are aggressive and interesting and hold attention through the 90 minutes. But there’s a void. In brief moments we see Korajczyk smile at her own puns, which she deserves. In a play that’s so, let’s just say it, tepid, why not buff up the comedy side? Rarely does any frequent theatergoer say no way to laughter. Too many productions take a dark, harsh tone with their story in order to appear distinguished or intelligent, and those productions miss out on the point of performance: entertainment. Not to say those dramatic works aren’t, well, distinguished, intelligent or entertaining (e.g. most anything Sondheim), but more often than not they’re missing the mark.
Stepping off the soapbox, it still should be clear that this production of Seascape is still quite good. While it is enjoyable, it unintentionally hit a nerve – for me, anyway. Broadening our minds in a somewhat flat play could reveal a comedic tone that not only deepens the dramatic moments, but better entertains the audiences.
SEASCAPE WITH SHARKS AND DANCER
Promethean Theatre Ensemble
Through December 10, 2011
Tickets $20, available at prometheantheatre.org
Anne Korajczyk and Nick Lake. Photo courtesy Tom McGrath.
Contact critic at devlynmc@yahoo.com
‘Million Dollar Quartet’ Extended Again!
By Devlyn Camp
You didn’t forget about Million Dollar Quartet, did you? They’ve been here for three years, but the wild and crazy 1956 night at Sun Records will rock on until at least May 2012.
Quartet is based on the famous impromptu gathering of Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, and Jerry Lee Lewis in the ’50s, which was recorded and set into history as one of the most famous nights of rock and roll. The jukebox show had a limited run at the Goodman Theatre in 2008 and transferred to the Apollo shortly after, where it still relives the night five times a week. Quartet opened on Broadway in 2010 and played a little over a year before transferring off-Broadway, where it remains playing. But why go out to New York City when the extraordinary talent is hammering away at pianos and guitars in our own backyard?
MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET
Apollo Theater
Running through May 2012
Tickets $72-77
Contact critic at devlynmc@yahoo.com
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