Announcement

On December 9, 2011, file # 6823-587-1 (Articles of Incorporation for a Not For Profit Corporation) was approved by the State of Illinois, listing Prufrock Productions, Inc as a corporation of good standing.  You can see the certificate here.  In addition, a federal EIN was issued (Fed tax ID # 45-3980940), and the paperwork necessary for receiving IRS status as a 501(c)(3) was started and should be filed by 1/15/12.


The bored members (as they wish to be called) met on 12/19/11 and elected the following corporate officers whose duties are delineated in the bylaws:


President - William J Barry Jr
Vice President - Dennis Brown
Treasurer - Lisa Savegnago
Secretary - Jennifer Skidgel


Bylaws were discussed, amended and approved, business was discussed, minutes were taken and wine flowed.  The Prufrock people know how to party.


Finally, the bored created Industrial Strength Theatre, a not for profit, non-Equity, professional theatre group in DuPage County, whose main purpose is promoting education and exposure to the theatre arts by performing in the suburbs what is commonly called “Chicago storefront theatre”,  producing the edgier works that are rarely given voice in those communities.  The founding members are Bill Barry Jr (artistic director), Dennis Brown, Lisa Savegnago and Jennifer Skidgel.


Just like many of the small theatre companies in Chicago, Industrial Strength Theatre is currently transient, looking for suburban venues that fit the type of shows they will be performing.  An intimate black box space would be ideal, holding 60 - 75 seats, allowing the audience to be immersed in the production.  If anyone has suggestions for a home for the company, please let them know.  Any current theatre spaces that are looking for shows to help generate revenue during downtime should let them know of their opportunities.  The theatre company can be reached at prufrock.productions@gmail.com.  A website is in the works, with a launch date of 1/15/12.


And, as if that wasn’t enough, Prufrock Productions, Inc is proud to announce that they have secured the performance rights of their first production: Killer Joe by Tracy Letts, to be performed in late April/early May. Information about auditions, ensemble membership and other essentials will be forthcoming after the holidays.  If you'd care to submit a head-shot and resume for their files, please do so, and receive an "industry night" discount for their inaugural show.


As to how all this will impact the review blog, it's safe to say that it will go on indefinite hiatus. Thanks for reading.  If you want to be on the mailing list for Prufrock Productions, Inc., send a little missive to prufrock.productions@gmail.com

Happy Holidays

Thanks for reading.  Time for a break.


I'll let you know when I'm back in 2012.


Happy Holidays!

Review: "SubUrbia" Elgin Community College, Elgin Il

Full Disclosure:  I received a complimentary ticket to review the play.

Let me start with the fact that I think this show is outdated.  Yes, this production either added their own modern reverences, or used the updated script from a recent New York revival, but being updated has nothing to do with being outdated.  Changing VCR to DVD, and mentioning American Idol and TMZ does not make it germane to today.  SubUrbia, by Eric Bogosian, had relevance and excitement in 1994 when it was first produced, but in 2011, it feels like a well worn path to the land of Angst.  Or maybe I just don’t want to sit and listen to a bunch of twenty-somethings drone wearily on and on about how miserable the lives they have chosen for themselves are.  It’s a difficult script, to say the least.  If you don’t know the storyline, click here.

Were it in the hands of actors with more training and stage maturity and a director who paid better attention to detail, this could have been a good show.  Instead, I saw people working hard at acting rather than being actors with actualized characters.  Granted, some are on the verge and just need to be tipped in.  Others need to start over, rethink their approach and just let go of themselves.  And a few have learned how to give an honest performance.

(Sitting L to R)Yesenia Esparza, Katrina Syrris
(Standing L to R)  Vinny Prisco, JP Quirk, Michael Sherry 

Of particular note for me was Michael Sherry’s portrayal of Buff.  He had energy, his movement was fluid, his tone was real and he was Buff, a denizen of the parking lot who revels in his right to choose a life as a slacker by living excess to its fullest.  Watching him on stage was exciting.  Also deserving kudos is JP Quirk as Tim, the alcoholic member of the group that escaped suburbia for the Air Force, only to cut off his pinkie to get sent home so he can spend the rest of his drunken life in the parking lot. I thought Quirk was fully immersed in the character.  I was not fond of his character choices because I think the character should be explosively unpredictable and I wanted something more sinister and dangerous as a contrast to the rest of the group that was stuck in a quagmire of laziness and despair.  I did admire his skills and his commitment to a character.

Katrina Syrris and Yesenia Esparza played Sooze and Bee-Bee, the females of the pack.  Sooze has dreams of doing performance art.  Really?  That’s so 90s.  Maybe Bogosian should have changed it to “viral video/reality TV” star for the New York remount.  It doesn't matter because Syrris lacked the needed honesty, prohibiting her from realizing her character.  So she wasn't able to sell the dream to the audience.  The makings of a good performance were there; she just needed to focus more on the goal and be directed.  Esparza's Bee-Bee was pretty good with what she had to work with, infusing life into a character that is under-written.  And without giving away the details, I will just say that I felt cheated by the ending.

The convenience store that is the back drop of the parking lot is owned by Norman Chaudry (Julien Moore, whose accent slid into Yiddish by play’s end), a Pakistani who has little tolerance for this group of loiterers.  And who could blame him?  I was annoyed by them.  He has much to say about the stereotypes people believe about Middle Easterners and what he faced when coming to America.  But after 18 years from when this show was written, it's all familiar ground that we have seen done elsewhere to better effect.  Kiren Ali and Shannon Bakhsh are listed in the program as playing the store clerk Pakeeza.  I’m not sure who I saw that night.  I do know that I could not hear her, whomever she was.

Unfortunately, the rest of the characters became a blur since there was little the actors were doing to hold the audience’s attention.  Pseudo-intellectual slacker Jeff was played by Vinny Prisco.  I think this character has the most compelling and dramatic arc of all, but Prisco didn't display the chops needed to let his intellectualizing turn into a slow-burning anger as he feels the reality of his lot in life.  Instead, he jumps from one to the other without any nuance.  I also found a lack of chemistry between Sooze and Jeff, who are boyfriend and girlfriend at the beginning of the show, so as we watch the downward spiral of their relationship, it’s really difficult to care or have any empathy.  And, a big no-no in my book:  he made eye-to-eye contact with the audience.  It happened to be me, and then his eyes flicked lower and saw my notebook, then he snapped back to the scene.  So, he dropped character and lost his train of thought looking out to see who was watching.  He really only needs to be concerned with who he is communicating with on-stage.  Knowing I’m there (and he doesn’t know me) will not improve, enhance or realize his performance.  All it says is, “My mind is distracted.”


The character that is supposed to be the catalyst that drives the arc of the story is Pony (Chris Lanham), who managed to escape suburbia after high school and became a minor rock star.  He has returned to his old haunting grounds while on tour and meets the parking lot crowd.  Sadly, Lanham looked bored on stage.  He gave nothing to his performance.  When he tells everyone he’s glad to have stopped to see them all, I found it hard to believe.  In fact, I didn't believe the actor was happy to be there on stage.  The confrontation between Pony and Tim near the end of the show lacked spark and tension because Lanham wasn't giving Quirk anything with which to work. I was hoping someone would pull into the parking lot and hit them both and put me out of my misery.  And what’s with Pony carrying a guitar on his back when he first enters the scene after getting out of his limo (kudos to Angelo O’Dierno for his clever lighting design to represent the limo)?  When he agrees to play a song, I thought I had the explanation.  But when he only strummed two awkward chords and then sang the song a capella, I had to suppress an ill-timed laugh.  Kill that prop.

Travelling with him is his publicist, Erica (Alisa Goldberg), whose only purpose in life seems to be chasing money and getting her needs satisfied.  As for the performance, here are the notes I made: “Stay in the scene” “She walks with no confidence”  “Walks with no purpose” and “Why walk with no reason”  She meandered.  Slowly.  I hate meandering. I hate slow meandering even more.  And when she was still, most of what she did was one-dimensional, so the character wasn't fleshed out.

As I’ve said in other reviews, many of these types of problems could have been fixed.  I was not there watching previews.  They are now entering week 2 of a 3-week run.  I saw it the second night of opening weekend.  It should have been crisp and sharp.  The director, Professor Stephen Gray, should have seen how silly the guitar prop was.  Or how people were meandering around the gorgeous set (Bryan Cory deserves applause).  Or how you couldn’t hear the store clerk.  Or the apathetic performance of the rock star.  Or how the pre-set garbage on that beautiful set was too neat.  Honestly, it was all in a row and had no sense of randomness one associates with garbage and debris. The director should have seen these things in rehearsal and fixed them BEFORE people had to pay to see the show.  OK, maybe the rules are different in an educational setting, but still, they are presenting a product.  Why not make the effort to give audiences a quality product?  Think of what they are ultimately teaching the cast and crew by not doing so?  Well, that’s just my opinion, I guess.

Is it worth the price of admission?  As I said in my tweet, it was a valiant effort with a couple of good performances.  As I’ve thought more about it, it could have been so much better had someone taken the time to notice the problems.  So, I don’t recommend it.

For ticket info and the like, go here.

Review: "autobahn", Village Theatre Guild, Glen Ellyn

Full disclosure:  I received a complimentary ticket for this production.


A few years ago, there was some buzz about Chicago establishing car pool lanes on local highways.  For those who don’t know, car pool lanes are usually on the left, move faster than normal rush-hour traffic and are only to be used by cars having more than one person.  In fact, you can get a ticket for driving in the lane if you don’t have a passenger.  The thinking is that it will lessen gridlock because three people in a car equals two less cars in traffic.  I saw them in Los Angeles.  Didn’t seem to help.

I’m not sure why car pool lanes never appeared in Chicago; although, if you’ve seen how badly the bike-lane laws are observed and enforced, you can guess why.  And, after seeing autobahn at Village Theatre Guild in Glen Ellyn, I was left thinking that if carpool lanes become a reality, I will buy a blow-up doll, put it in the passenger seat and be on my merry way.  Why?  Because dolls are silent and there would be no chance of me having to listen to the tedious droning I experienced with this production.

To be fair, while I like the writings and films of Neil LaBute (In The Company Of Men is one of my favorite films), this is my least favorite of his plays.  I find it self-indulgent.  I think he fell in love with his author’s voice, and forced it on his characters to share with the world.  The seven short plays of this cycle are vanity pieces.  Still, the flaw can be overcome by good direction and dynamic acting.  Unfortunately, the lackluster performance I witnessed exacerbated the play's failings.

If you don’t know the show, it’s a cycle of 7 short plays, each of which take place in an automobile.  They are typical LaBute and each piece is similarly structured in the "peel away the layers of an onion" format to get to a revelation, which means that after the first few pieces, the rhythms become predictable.  The pieces are not related to each other, except that each has a moment when concerns about language, syntax, meanings or grammar are part of the text.  There are four monologues and three duets, but this show chose to do only three of each.


The first piece of this production was called funny, a monologue from a girl (Nora Laidman) returning from rehab speaking to the driver: her mother (Candace Snapp).  Sadly, Laidman just didn't seem to connect with the material.  Her approach was stiff and she lacked a sense of naturalness on stage.  There were no levels to her characterization which was steeped in sameness.  And about 2/3 of the way through, she started running out of gas.  The underbelly of bitterness needed to sell this piece was missing, as was the layer of caustic sarcasm. When she hisses to her mother, "Who's gonna believe you?", we need to see the venom dripping from her character.  That would at least enhance the arc.  As it was, monologue became synonymous with monotone and monotonous.  I don't think she's a bad actor.  She just needed some direction and coaching.


Next is bench seat, which enters mid-conversation and features Lisa Donics as girl and Greg Dvorak as boy.  It concerns a couple who have stopped at some location that is either where you go to make-out or break-up.  There were a few funny moments, but they needed to mine the nuggets of humor.  When Dolnics starts in about her lips being too thin, all she does is look in the rear-view mirror.  How about doing something with the lips, changing up from puckering to smiling to frowning just to add a bit of physical humor?  She just needed to add a level of involvement and commitment to make her character more believable.  I had the feeling that they just didn't really get what they were saying.  The director should have explained it.  As for the guy, it's best summed up by my only note on his character:  "He's boring."  This is more a function of the writing.


The next scene, merge, also starts mid-conversation.  It was the best of the scenes.  Husband (Vince Scalone) has just picked-up his wife (Candance Snapp) at the airport and play question and answer concerning her behavior during her business trip.  I won't reveal more because that's the fun of the scene.  Snapp was delightful in the way she avoided his questions, using her face to speak volumes of what wasn't being said, and Scalone did a wonderful job displaying the right amount of confusion, hesitance and disbelief in what he was actually hearing from her.


Scalone also appears in the next scene as the passenger in long division.  The driver is played by Robert Richardson.  The scene felt like a bad SNL segment.  It concerns a trip to recover a Nintendo 64 system from the ex-girlfriend of the passenger.  It's the driver's monologue.  Both characters are drunk.  I think playing drunk is one of the harder acting exercises, because it always seems phony.  Richardson appeared to have been given a list of stereotypical "raging drunk stuff" to incorporate into his performance.  Slurred speech?  Check.  Loss of visual focus?  Check. Wild gestures?  Check.  Got them all.  Still seemed phony.  Where was the director?


Laidman returns in road trip opposite Jason Taylor.  Again, there is a revelation in this scene that I won't discuss, except that it should be creepy and icky.  It played as "eh, who cares."  She needed to play-up the bright-eyed innocence, and he had to build to a predatory creepiness.  When he gets angry, he needed to really get angry - Taylor needed to let go.  In fact, that was the basic problem with the show.  People just needed to let go and not hide behind the facade of acting.


The last scene is the titular autobahn.  It has to do with a wife (Tracy Powers) talking to her husband (Paul Mapes) about having to return a child to Social Services because they failed in foster care.  How they failed is the reveal.  It's the wife's monologue.  In this case, it was a disappointing effort by Powers. She lacked energy, levels, and honesty.  I was seeing the work, not the result of the work.  If felt stiff and forced, and suffered also from monotony in rhythm and voice.  A director would have fixed it.


Much of this, as you may have gathered, is the result of a lack of effort from the director, Bill Burghardt.  He had to have seen what was lacking in the scenes.  And if he didn't, he needs to rethink his approach to directing.


Is it worth the price of admission:  Sadly, no.  It would be a hefty toll to pay for this road trip.


For more information, like tickets and all, visit the VTG web site.

Extreme mini-reviews

I'm keeping this brief.  Those who follow me on Twitter already know how I felt about these shows.  But my heart is not in it to write reviews of two shows that I didn't care for and one that I enjoyed.  I did, however, get press tickets to all three, so I have to do something.  Right now, I'm thinking I'll just send them money in the mail.


The shows are, in order of seeing them, Bonhoeffer's Cost presented by Provision Theater (click here for info), Incorruptible at Wheaton Drama Inc (clickety-click)., and How The Other Half Loves, produced by Independent Players in Elgin.


Bonhoeffer's Cost is based on the true story of a minister who was involved in two assassination plots against Hitler.  It is told through a series of flashbacks after his imprisonment and it's another interesting human story about WWII.  Bonhoeffer must balance out his Christianity with his participation in acts that would end a human life.  He struggles.  And struggles.  And struggles some more, until the show becomes an endless series of scenes about his struggling until he is put to death.  And that is not a spoiler I just threw at you, because his death is discussed in the director's notes in the program.  Oh sure, there were a few comic moments with the prison guard who is played so callow and shallow that he kept reminding me of Sgt. Schultz from Hogan's Heroes and a Nazi interrogator that lacked any menace because he was played with stereotypical lip-snarling menace.  He actually utters the line, "Nobody kills themselves on my watch."  Those Nazis certainly had a way with modern lingo.  Sadly, the show needs to decide what it's going to be, because they threw everything into this 165 minute presentation.


It comes down to this:  the show is too damn long and could easily be cut down to 2 hours with intermission.  It's the world premier of the play, co-written by director Timothy Gregory and screen writer Mary Ruth Clarke.  It needs some serious cutting.  Had this been a film, it would be all over the editing room floor, and many scenes would be in montage.  They have the makings of something here, but they are going to have to search through the extraneous to get to the core.


Incorruptible also suffers from a case of not knowing what it wants to be.  Is it a comedy or a morality parable?  It tried to be both and they play against themselves.  I will say upfront that I am not a fan of the script.   Not because of the subject matter, which is based on a real feud between a couple of French monasteries and the scandalous practice making "relics" out of nothing.  It has to do with how the script goes about it.  I didn't find it all that amusing.  I thought it tried too hard to be funny, while at the same time making sure it was covering its backside with heavy layers of piety and moral sermonizing.  Much of this can be overcome.  The cast had adequate acting chops to pull it off, but I thought director Tom Walker didn't strike the necessary balance between silly and serious.  The comedy must support the message rather then the message being tacked onto the comedy.  Those who still wander about aimlessly looking to relive the glory days of 70s collegiate speech competitions will recognize the concept of "serious point" in comedy.  Point is not locus;  it is focus.  And they say Latin is dead.


How The Other Half Loves is playing at Elgin Arts Showcase.  It was directed by Larry Boller and is the single ray of light that made being an audience member an enjoyable experience.  It held my interest, made me laugh and entertained.  I never checked the clock in anticipation of the end.  Yes, it could tighten up the cues and pick-up the pace a few times.  Still, it's engaging.  The staging is creative as it intertwines the story of two couples, who are intertwined personally.  It has all the trappings of British farce beautifully executed.  It's not Ray Cooney.  These are all good things.  So is the cast.  The best part was the performance of Doug Orlyk, who is totally immersed in his character.  He has all the right nuance and skill to bring this character to life.  See it for that alone.


OK, the slate is clear for now. Looking over it, I was too nice to the first two shows, and I have short changed the last one.  It deserves more.  It's a good show.

Review: "Cyrano" The House Theatre of Chicago @ Chopin Theater, Ends 10/16

Full disclosure:  I did not receive a press ticket for this show.
This ain’t your mama’s Cyrano.  Purists will most certainly dislike it, though I’m not sure why.  Perhaps they won’t find it up to par with the real Cyrano himself: Hercule-Savinien de Cyrano de Bergerac (1619 - 1655), noted dramatist and duelist.  Or the plethora of writings based loosely on his life, among them being Edmond Rostand’s epic lyrical French verse.  Perhaps they are being purists about the many English translations, the most notable being the humorless Brian Hooker version, in which the word “panache” is never used and often slides into free verse, or the Anthony Burgess version which has gone through a series of rewrites.  But this Matt Hawkins-adaptation is also an English translation, so what are they being purists about?  And who’s to say that a century from now, people won’t be getting all defensive for Hawkins adaptation, complaining about the new “sock-puppets with those colorful miniature sabers you find lancing fruit in a tropical drink” version.  I call copyright dibs on that concept.  By the way, I put the word “purist” in my on-line thesaurus, and it suggested the word “fussbudget.”  Hmmm.  So tempting.  Just saying.

Shawn Pfautsch as Cyrano and company

What Hawkins has done is re-imagined the Cyrano legend, reducing it down to its core story of a romantic triangle that is tainted with unrequited love, and bolstered by fantastic swordsmen and women in feats of daring-do.  It is a very familiar theme, and a very comfortable one.  It is a story that will always find its way onto the stage and screen in many formats, and in this particular case, into the hearts of the audience.  Well, me at least.  I was moved by the ending, and I know the show.  But this ending captured the unique sadness of this lovers genre in a few moments of theatrical pleasure.  Hawkins is clever in his nods to the different adaptations that came before his.  For example, Cyrano’s long and elegant take about falling from the moon in Rostand’s play is turned into a short little musical piece that just meanders from the mind of his Cyrano (played with just the right - dare I?? - panache by Shawn Pfautsch, who also wrote the song lyrics with Hawkins for Kevin O'Donnell's original music).  I found it amusing, because both the old text and new song seemed to get us to the same point.  Same journey, different vehicle.   And did you know that the real Cyrano was known for his science fiction writing?  From Wikipedia: Cyrano de Bergerac's works L'Autre Monde: où les États et Empires de la Lune (The Other World: The States and Empires of the Moon) (published posthumously, 1657) and Les États et Empires du Soleil (The States and Empires of the Sun) (1662) are classics of early modern science fiction. In the former, Cyrano travels to the moon using rockets powered by firecrackers and meets the inhabitants. The moon-men have four legs, musical voices, and firearms that shoot game and cook it. See?  In the end, it all fits.


No doubt there will be some who will wax nostalgic for the meeting at the bakery, or the berating of the actor Montfleury in the first scene of the traditional presentation.  And who doesn't love to berate an actor?  Some have made careers out of that.  But Hawkins has cut an hour from the usual 3-hour length of most traditional productions with surgical precision, and then allows his other blades to take the stage.  Not only is this his adaptation, but he is the director and fight choreographer.  And what a grand spectacle it is to witness the swordplay as it engulfs the cleverly-designed, rotunda-inspired play-space, including a balcony.  There was a Globe aura to Collette Pollard's gorgeous set that I found very appealing.

Shawn Pfautsch

As for the actors, they hit all the right notes of bravado, compassion, loyalty and love demanded of them in this story.  Again, Pfautsch's Cyrano was a grand mixture of melancholy, wit, romance and correctness.  He opens the show by sitting at a piano that is center stage, and does a witty lounge-singer routine about his favorite word.  Very adroit and humorous.


The apple of his eye is Roxanne, played with sagacity and adeptness by Stacy Stoltz.  She is constantly in motion as she flits lightly around the stage, presenting an aura of surety and appeal, while in quieter moments is reflective of her feelings for the apple of her eye, Christian.  Played by the handsome and talented Glenn Stanton, this Christian is a delightful assimilation of warrior in battle and ignorance in love.  The famous balcony scene between Cyrano, Christian and Roxanne was touching and heartfelt.


I must mention Shane Brady's precise portrayal of Le Bret as well as the comic finesse of Mike Smith as Ligniere.  And, certainly kudos go to the ladies and gentlemen who wielded swords with seeming abandon; both for their skills and for them not slicing anyone in the first row.  I sat in the balcony, coward that I am.


I could go on about the costumes, sound, lighting, and etc.  All were top notch.  For those who are looking for an evening of exciting theatre, romance, comedy, music and Über-swordplay, go see this show, presented by The House Theatre of Chicago at Chopin Theatre at 1543 W. Division St. They have $10 student and Industry rush tickets available at all performances.  You can't beat it.  For more information, go here.

 Worth the price of admission?  You bet your panache it was.

Review: "Eat Your Heart Out" Albright Theatre, Batavia, IL Ends 9/24

Full disclosure:  I received a press ticket to review this show

I'll be honest with you.  I'd never heard of Eat Your Heart Out, written by Nick Hall, when I was invited to review it.  Google searches led me to a paltry lot of old announcements of the show being performed in New Jersey and La Brea, CA.  And many, many reviews.  Oh my...everyone seemed to love it, calling it funny and touching, and that it elicited laughter and a few tears.  So why didn't I like it?


I tried to find a good description of the show, but since it was off-off Broadway, the best I could find was the blurb on the Samuel E French web site (they license the rights of the show at $75/performance).  It says, "Charlie's an out of work actor currently working as a waiter (hmmm, something new). The scene is a series of hilarious encounters (not so much) in Manhattan restaurants both elegant and shabby. By changing the tablecloths in the course of the action, the basic setting of three tables and six chairs becomes another place. The action's uninterrupted (true, but you better have precise pacing) and the comedy never stops (false on all accounts). The other performers play several parts; the girl desperately trying to eat snails and oysters to please her fiance, the middle aged lovers so intent on each other they cannot order dinner; the rich, embittered astrologer; the timid man who never gets a waiter; the agents, directors, actors, and waiters. An amusing (debatable) gallery of characters whose stories intertwine and finally involve Charlie."  Sounds exciting, yes?  By the way, the parenthetical commentary is mine.  So is the rest of this post.


Personally, I found the script to be weak, with very little substance.  It's all a series of encounters broken up by actor talk (I went on an audition today and funny actor stuff happened...that sort of thing) while Charlie and the bus boy change the tablecloths.  Some were funny, and some just went on well after the point was made until you wanted to scream ENOUGH ALREADY.   The thematic connection between the scenes is tenuous except for the fact that Charlie is the waiter.  He is the glue that holds the scenes together, but he's not enough.  And this is not a comment on JP Quirk's portrayal of Charlie.  He did a good job as the yeoman of the food-service world.  Believeable for the most part at being the actor, but slid a bit into being an actor and disconnecting himself from the scene.  But the character of Charlie just isn't compelling.


Taryn Hettlinger Parise and her husband Tony Parise play all the axuillary "older" characters in the various dining establishments (the best one is a Poe-themed restaurant called Tintinnabulation, with a bell on each table and a dead raven at the cash register).  They were adequate for what they had to do, which was be basic stereotypes of "older" characters, but neither brought any spark to the table.  Anika Bryceson presented us the "younger" women.  She had a look that draws your eye, but then did little to hold it.  Most of her lines as reoccuring character Doris were responses to what Charlie would say, and she would answer in a shy, coquettish way...down and to stage left.  Every time. Every single time.  It reeked havoc on the pacing of the first scene, which should snap, crackle and pop.


The highlight for me was the performance of Terrell Riggins as the "younger" men.  His character of the ostentatious customer at Tintinnablulation screamed snobby and oozed smarmy.  His portrayal of the young man with lust in his heart that morphs into a lustful coupling with Bryceson on the table in a Mediterranean restaurant table (funny, but went too long) was certainly committed.  And his turn as the waiter who is the moral antithesis of Charlie was well fleshed out.  And, I would be remiss if I didn't say that the appearance of Aidan Descourouez as the I-Pod shuffling bus boy at each eatery always brought a smile to my face, as well as some toe tapping.


Weak acting shows the holes in a weak script.  That's not the case here.  The cast did a decent job, but had an insurmountable hill to climb with a show that goes nowhere.  Pacing became an issue a few times, some of which could have been tightened by director Heidi Swarthout.  But she's not responsible for Act 2, which went on for eternity.  In my notes, I wrote, "Wow, when will this end?  Where is it going.  And why should I care?"  Yeah, there's a problem with the script.


Was it worth the price of admission?  Not the show, but support the actors if you can.  A couple of them do nice work.  You have two more performances.  For tickets and other information, visit Albright's web site.

Review: "The Double" Babes With Blades Theatre Company @ Lincoln Square Theatre, Chicago IL

Full disclosure:  I received a comp ticket to see this show.


Come on...say it with me.  Babes With Blades.  Again, but this time drag out that final 's'.  Babes With Bladessssssza!  That's it!  Fun, yes?  Trust me, I'm not one whose prone to sophomoric behavior...in public....usually.  But when I left the theatre after watching this action-packed 40s-style backstage romp, I had a silly-ass grin on my face, and kept chanting their name over and over.  Babes With Bladessssssza!  Driving west on I-90, heading back to my suburban haunts, the mantra became hypnotic and my car began to amble as I drifted in and out of consciousness... But enough about me.

Gillian N. Humiston and Olivia Wood

The Double was written by Barbara Lhota, and is being premiered by Babes With Blades Theatre Co.  Lhota was the author of the one-acts in my last review, and truth be told, I have become a fan of her writing.  I'm sure there is a page somewhere I could link to that describes the show, but I think it's best stated by WBEZ's Jonathan Abarbanel when he chose it as his theatre pick on his station's web-site:  "Barbara Lhota's new play, The Double, takes us backstage at Broadway's Belasco Theatre in the 1940's, where Minnie is appearing in a production of Cyrano de Bergerac, and gets into trouble she only can get out of with sword play and unarmed combat. Hey, this show-within-a-show must be another world premiere from Babes With Blades, Chicago's unique female stage combat troupe. The Double... merges screwball comedy with swashbuckling..."  Well said.

I believe that in order to parody something, you must first have a great love, respect and understanding of the subject or your presentation will be weak and ineffective and ring false.  As someone who enjoys 40s screwball comedy, it was obvious just how deeply Lhota and company feel about this genre.  The playbill tells me this was a workshopped show, meaning that it's been taken from its raw form oh-so-many years ago (2008), and been subjected to readings, rewrites, actors input about characters they have started to call their own and more readings and rewrites.  It's a creative process (I've been through a few) with the end goal being to whip the piece into a shape that is audience-friendly.  There were probably loftier philosophical goals, but audiences rarely care about the process, just the result of the process, so why talk about them here?  


The story is sharp and clean, and the text is laced with rapier wit. The comedy comes in broad strokes as well as sharp jabs, and the characters parry and thrust the rapid-fire dialogue.  Please stop me before I run out of sword puns.  The characters are stereotypes with a twist.  That's not a bad thing in a new show that channels the spirit of a specific period and style, because it allows the audience to quickly get comfortable.  And this is a comfortable show.  It's not drama.  It's not high-art.  It a high-energy, hard-working, swashbuckling comedy fest.  It's the 40s, with modern sensibilities.

Lisa Herceg, Mark Pracht and Kimberly Logan

As for the cast, they were stellar.  Applause goes to Lisa Herceg for her turn as Rosalind Rollins, who appears to have channeled Rosalind Russell from His Girl Friday.  A fast-talking dynamo who does verbal gymnastics with Lhota's healthy dose of 40s-speak, Herceg hits all the comedy targets and has mastered the side-long glance.  She is the quintessential strong comedic lead.   Her character's ex-husband and leading man of the Cyrano production is played by Mark Pracht.  He does a nice job of capturing the cad/actor and stays on equal footing as he verbally spars with Herceg.

Brendan Hutt and Kathrynne Wolf

Kathrynne Wolf played Shirlie Spagel, the fight and dance choregrapher of the Cyrano production, who is the target for the affections of cast member George Hall (Brendan Hutt).  Both are agile, athletic and limber as they mark out a fight sequence that quickly turns from swordplay to foreplay.  Later on, there is an hysterical take on the big battle in Cyrano, with Wolf playing the entire Spanish garrison.

Kimberly Logan and Gillian N Humiston

Kimberly Logan and Gillian N. Humiston shine in the roles of the ingenue and her new stunt double (thus the title) who is also a life-long friend.  Both ladies have a cute and bubbly presence that works well with this style, and are a joy to watch.  And when they let go in a wonderful 40s-style dance number choreographed by Alison Doenheggen, they light up the stage.  Rounding out the cast are Shaun Nathan Baer as Adrian Young, the Christian of the Cyrano production and Dan Foss, who brings great humor to the role of Saul Bloomfield, the producer who has a habit of making  awkward word choices.


Director Leigh Barrett has done a nice job with this new show, and has put together a wonderful ensemble of familiar, yet slightly different, iconic 40s characters.  While they could still tighten up the cues a bit, and punch the comedy harder in some sections, this production does what it sets out to do:  entertain.


Was it worth the price of admission?  A big yes!  And look for deals on GoldStar and Hotix. And, if you have seen Strangers and Romance, I hope you kept your program.  You'll receive a $5 discount if you bring it to The Double.  And vice-versa.


For information and tickets, visit the Babes With Blades website.


So, I've seen two one-acts by Barbara Lhota, a new play by her about the wacky backstage goings-on for a production of Cyrano.  Now I just need a production of Cyrano to complete the triptych.  Next up:  Cyrano by The House Theatre. 

Review: "Strangers and Romance" Strangeloop Theatre @ Trap Door Theatre Chicago, IL

Full disclosure:  I did not receive a comp ticket for this production.


This was an adventure.  Both in going to the theatre and reviewing the show.  The theatre is (and this may be an understatement) off-street.  And the show is hard to review. Let me explain.  First, the theatre.

You should see this when you look down the walkway.

Trap Door Theatre is a small, intimate, black box venue, tucked away between the structures of Jane's restaurant on the 1600 block of W. Courtland in the Bucktown neighborhood.  It's lucky that I read up on the theatre before I ventured forth, because I knew what to look for.  However, for some, it's going to require some backtracking, because you can pass it up easily.  The big clue is the sandwich board that has the name of the theatre and an arrow pointing down the narrow walkway between the two buildings.  Still, I missed the sign on first passing.    Once you open the door, you will find yourself in a junction between the service area's of Jane's restaurant.  Avoiding busboys and waitstaff, I crossed the hall and opened the door to a comfortable 45-seat black box theatre.  Who knew?  By the way, head a few doors east of there and have something at Courtland Garage.  Thursday's $7 Taco Special is delicious, and the right start to the evening.


Strangers and Romance are two one acts written by Barbara Lhota, and presented by Strangeloop Theatre.  They share time (Christmas Eve) and geography (Boston).  More than that, they are both an exploration of the feelings of loss inside and outside relationships that have become dysfunctional.  Usually this is where I give you a wiki-link to a show description.  But there is none. I knew nothing about these plays, and I am convinced that's the best way to experience them.  Too much information here will spoil it for all.  It's a fun, thought-provoking journey to take if you give yourself over to how it all unfolds. Each beat reveals more of what is going on until you have an "ah-ha" moment.  That discovery is fun.  Each layer comes through conversations that sound like something people would actually have.  The difficulty in reviewing the show, specifically Strangers, is that much is revealed about the two characters through twists in the clever text, and that's how it should remain.  

Misti Patrella and Tony Ketcham

The setting for the first act is a commuter station that is about to close for the evening and becomes the backdrop for the encounter between the two characters.  Misti Patrella and Tony Ketcham, do a nice job, though I felt Patrella had more of herself invested in the performance and brought a level of honesty that held my attention.  Ketcham became too engaged in the acting, rather than the character, so for me, he drifted in and out of the scene.  Still, he was able to hit his stride in a wonderfully presented ending to his emotional arc.  Finally, I have to give kudos to the author for her wicked humor that undulates just beneath the surface of the text.

Stacie Barra and Timothy C Amos

The show's set is a nifty piece of work that transforms from the train station in the first act to a wedding chapel in Romance, the second act.  The act also explores loss both in and out of a relationships and the emotional baggage we carry with us. The characters go through an unburdening - an almost confessional process - that plays appropriately within the confines of the religious setting.  Again, Lhota's text is fun, witty and offers the right amount of pathos without becoming sanguine. And, as before, you can feel her humor layered through the piece.  Stacie Barra and Timothy C. Amos play the couple and Barra is superb.  She has honed her skills of nuance, timing, and honesty to create a mesmerizing portrayal of a woman asking questions and seeking direction in love and life.  Amos is not as successful in the start of the act, with a few moments that felt hollow.  But once the interplay between them really begins, his character becomes more accessible.


Directed by Doug Long who uses simple staging, the production allows the text and actors to shine in this intimate setting.


Was it worth the price of admission?  Yes, it was. And there is currently a special on Gold Star for 1/2-price tickets.  Oh yes, I almost forgot...keep the program.  You can use it to receive a discount on tickets to see another Lhota play, The Double, presented by Babes With Blades.  And, it is also the subject of my next review.

Review: "You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown" Players Please Theatre Lisle, IL Ends 8/28/11

In case you missed it, a comment was left on the The Hot L Baltimore review.  It said "Thanks for your post Bill...do you think you should also extend your review to other aspects of the 'theater experience' like 1) Were the seats comfortable? 2) Was it a pleasant place to see a production? 3) Was it easy to park your car and get to? 4) Were the bathrooms clean? I mean, aren't those things important too when seeing a show?"  Really?  REALLY???  You've got to be kidding.  Good grief!!!  I'm sure for some, those are important questions.  But I'm more concerned about what happens on the stage.  Clean bathrooms?  I'm a guy.  We're happy if we get close to the target.   Comfy seats?  I just need a place for my big butt.  Do these pants make my butt look big?  No, it's my fat ass that does that.

That being said, let me tell you a bit about the Trinity Center, which Players, Please Theatre, the group presenting You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown, calls home.  It's a new location for them, and it's a nice, clean venue.  There is an aura of being utilitarian and functional.  The theatre reminded me of a modern take on what was called the multi-purpose room when I was in grade school.  The sign on the wall says it holds approximately 350 people, but can be converted for a smaller crowd with large round tables if it needs to be used as a banquet facility.  There is a stage that can be used for Sunday services, bands, and the Players, Please show.  There is a dazzling array of projectors and flat panel screens that could be used to enhance a show.  It is owned by Trinity Lutheran Church, has a preschool annex, a play-land like you've seen at McDonalds, and a cafe that is open for show patrons before the show and at intermission.  You can get sandwiches, specialty coffee, bottled water, teas and a slew "health conscious" menu items.  There are cafe tables, seats and free wi-fi.  Oh yeah, it's part of a strip mall, so there's plenty of parking.  My fat ass was well comforted.  And yes, the bathrooms were clean.  Full disclosure:  I received a comp ticket.

Unfortunately, only about 20 people were in the audience on opening night.  And we were spread out.  It's hard to get a feel for audience reaction when the audience is a needle in a haystack.  For future shows, Players, Please might want to think about moving a cluster of the chairs closer to the stage.  Something reasonable in terms of how many people they think will attend.  You can always add more if need be.  Then you can group them together, creating a more intimate theatre-like experience. The space has a lot of possibilities, given just how adaptable it is.

As for this show, opening night was marred by technical gremlins that stole much of the show's thunder.  There were dark places on stage from a bad lighting plot, or loss of light channels.  I was surprised the actors didn't seek the light.  If you're on stage, one would think you want to be seen.  There were a few mishaps on sound, and torpid scene changes.  Of course, it's easy to blame failings on the technical hiccups of a show, but truth be told, they had little to do with the real problems that I witnessed.  A good portion falls on the show itself.  Want the skinny on the show?  Go here.  New version/old version; it doesn't matter.  It's a tired show.  Sure, it can be cute and adorable, especially if done with some energy.  But this show lacked the crisp pace, so the cute and adorable were a thin veneer that showed age quickly.  The show is a series of "daily comic strips," moving from one scene to the next as a series of blackouts.  They should snap from one scene to the next.  They didn't.

The singing was all over the place.  The harmonies in the first number just weren't.  Many people had trouble with their lower register and couldn't support the notes, so they hardly could be heard.  Others had trouble sustaining the high notes, making what should be an invigorating sound come off brassy and sharp.  And yes, I'm aware that Lucy is supposed to sing like that, but it still needed to be done well to make it funny.

I would talk about the dance numbers, but they also weren't.  Carla Mutone's choreography was cliched and predictable. Two words:  jazz squares.  Yes, jazz squares!!!  I think I might have spotted a jazz hand and a sparkly hand a time or two.  And, there was a moment when the drum-line formation (where one person is a spinning center axis and the rest march around in two lines straight off the axis) started to bend so badly that I thought they would form a swastika.  The band did a good job, but there were the occasional squeaks and miscues. 

Let's go to the actors, in order of the program.  Patty is played by Traci A. Cidlik.  Patty is supposed to be a child.  This Patty was an adult pretending to be a child.  I saw the acting.  Nothing honest, nothing child-like.  Not even childish.  She wore a wig that looks like a helmet of hair, and her movement was so stiff that I thought she was a robot.  Perhaps it would have helped if she could have transformed into a Camaro.

Spencer Diedrick was Linus.  He was OK.  In fact he sold his blanket song and has a nice voice.  But there was no joy of performance displayed.  He needed to have more fun with it.

Lisa Dawn Foertsch was Snoopy.  And a wonderful one at that.  She embodied the role, was physically and spiritually committed to the character.  My eyes were drawn to her because she had energy and it showed.  While a few others shut down when it wasn't their line, she was engaged and present each moment.  There were times when the songs got out of her comfort zone, but overall, a delight to watch.

Schroeder is portrayed by Zachary Gibson.  Another delight to watch.  I just saw him in the Picasso fiasco at WDI where he'd shone above the others.  Here too, he displays the ability to immerse into a character and bring it to life.  He was a kid.  Who knows, maybe he is in real life.

I had some real problems with Lucy, and I can't quite put my finger on it.  I thought she looked psychotic.  Something she was doing with her eyes and mouth (I think it was to imitate the hand-drawn likeness of Lucy) was disturbing.  And it was all on one level.  I know that Lucy is on one level, but there has to something in her that makes us care when she gives the last line of the show (spoiler alert...it's the title of the show).  It has to resonate with some sense of honesty and meaning and she did nothing during the show to make us believe that Lucy is capable of that.  And, It comes after the best group number, "Happiness", which is supposed to leave you all warm and fuzzy.  Anyway, Genevieve Pastore is Lucy.

And that leaves us with Charlie Brown, played by Stuart Vance.  I saw Stewart as Man in Chair in The Drowsy Chaperone at WDI.  I thought he did a nice job with that character.  But with CB, I felt I was watching Man in Chair wearing a Charlie Brown t-shirt.  Maybe because he used the same voice.  It works for Man, but not for Charlie.  He also had some problems with the vocal range of his songs, with the pen-pal number ending in a very weak voice.  As for his character, I never felt he connected with the child in Charlie Brown.  And while I'm not that hung up on how people look, Stuart is a tall man with a full head of hair and is the antithesis of the iconic Charlie Brown visual.  I will give him credit, though.  He tried to find his light.  He sidled to accomplish it and it looked silly, but at least I could see him while others played in darkness.  Take that however you wish.

Is it worth the price of admission?  Well, I'd like to see this theatre company succeed in it's new space, and much of that will rely on ticket sales.  So, to support Players, Please, yes, come out and experience the space, and use your imagination to transform it into a great black-box theatre.  If you need a show that's family-friendly, then you should go.  Send the kids in and you sit in the cafe, playing Angry Birds, and reading my blog on their free wi-fi.  If you want a night of quality theatre, maybe not so much.

The show runs approximately 95 minutes, with intermission.  For ticket information, directions and other stuff, go here.

Review: "Twelfth Night" - Janus Theatre, Elgin IL Ends 8/27

See this show!  Run, don't walk to your nearest phone!  OK, these days it's really just a matter of reaching into your pocket.  Just do it.  Dial  847-841-1713 and reserve your tickets to see the best theatre I've witnessed in many, many months.  For more information, including directions to the theatre, go here.


This show is running in repertory with The Importance Of Being Earnest.  Both are being done by Janus Theatre.  I wasn't the biggest fan of the Wilde production, but I urge you to see Twelfth Night.  I'll wait until you have your ticket.


Got it?  Good.  OK, here's what you're going to see:

• A show that has great respect for the audience.  The actors are driven to connect and communicate, and do a damn fine job of it.  Director Sean Hargadon has altered, edited and re-imagined Shakespeare's work to make it pithy, direct and accessible to everyone.  This is not your father's Shakespeare.  It's better.  From the directors notes in the program, Hargadon says, "One thing is for sure, I have taken some liberties with the text in order to present a version of the play that attempts to streamline the story, heighten the comedy and provide some unexpected dramatic moments.  No doubt there will be those who say this is not true to the playwright."  He goes on to say, "The primary goal is to create an experience that is new and unexpected rather than another rehash of a classic that we all should dutifully watch as if we were in church.  Hopefully some of our choices land with the audience. The point of playing is for them after all."  My sentiments exactly.  Theatre companies and productions are there to serve the audience.  Otherwise, why do it?
• One of the finest acting ensembles I've ever encountered.  And for anyone who has been confused by the "seeing the acting rather than the result of the acting" discussion and how it applies to honesty of performance, here is the perfect example of actors being their characters rather than acting their characters.
• Marvelous pacing driving the story forward.  No lulls in the action and tremendous timing by the cast.  A masterpiece of the craft of acting.

On the off-chance that you don't know the story of Twelfth Night or As You Will, please go here and learn more than you need to know.  As I mentioned, it is a true ensemble piece, but there were several performances that stayed with me after I left the theatre.  Liz Vanderhoof does an extraordinary job as Viola, who makes a seamless transformation into the squire Cesario.  Kathleen Donoghue and Sarafina Vecchio displayed great comic timing as Olivia and her maid, Maria.  Chris Bibby is absolutely delightful as Sir Toby Belch and Tyler Thompson rocks the room as the fool, Feste.  The rest of the cast is fully committed to the show, delivering great turns and leave it all out on the stage for us to admire and drink in.  Nary a false note from this group who gave us complete honesty

Usually, I can go on for pages, but this time, the performance speaks for itself.  See this show and experience just how good local theatre can be.  Is it worth the price of admission?  Really?  After all that, you need to ask?

Running time:  100 minutes, with intermission.  And they will be the best 100 minutes of theatre you're likely to see in a long time.