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.