Tag: Michael Peters
Review: The Bear Suit of Happiness (The New Colony)
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The Bear Suit of Happiness Written by Evan Linder |
Review: Wrong Mountain (Rare Terra Theatre)
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Wrong Mountain Written by David Hirson |
Review: Rise of the Numberless (Bailiwick Chicago and The New Colony)
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Rise of the Numberless Written by Patriac Coakley, Andrew Hobgood, |
Review: Walk Two Moons (Adventure Stage Chicago)
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Walk Two Moons Adapted by Tom Arvetis Check for half-price tickets |
Review: The Warriors (The New Colony)
Survivor story speaks from the heart, but the message Is muddled
| The New Colony presents |
| The Warriors |
| Conceived by Mary Hollis Inboden Written by Evan Linder Directed by Benno Nelson at Second Stage Theatre, 3408 N. Sheffield (map) through April 17 | tickets: $25 | more info |
Reviewed by Keith Ecker
I cannot possibly begin to fathom the experience that Mary Hollis Inboden has lived through. The New Colony company member and the conceiver of its new production, The Warriors, was a student at Westside Middle School in 1998 when two students opened fire on their peers. When the carnage had ended, five people, including Mary’s best friend, were killed.
An incident as horrific as the Jonesboro Massacre—as the press dubbed it—sticks with you, sending shockwaves throughout the rest of your life. Although most of us are not survivors of school shootings, we do eventually suffer a life-changing tragedy that stamps itself on our psyches. And with each individual, it affects him or her differently.
That is what The Warriors attempts to explore, the notion that a shared horrific experience affects the lives of those involved in different ways. We do not witness the actions of that day, but we do watch the fallout.
The play begins in the present day with Mary, as herself, on a date with Jeff (Wes Needham). Jeff mentions that he heard Mary’s NPR interview, the one where she is speaking as a school shooting survivor. In the interview, she advises the students at Virginia Tech to band together and collectively cope with their pain. Mary tells Jeff that because she abandoned her Westside peers, she feels her advice was disingenuous.
Mary decides to send an e-mail to her old student body, informing them she wants to discuss the shooting. And so she returns to Jonesboro where she interacts with several old friends, each of whom has dealt with the weight of remembering in a unique way.
Mary Hollis Inboden’s performance is a testament to how much passion she has for the material and compassion she has for the other survivors. Playing yourself as others may see you takes courage, vulnerability and humility. I also commend Mary on her drive to get The Warriors on stage. So many would rather suppress the darkness 
in their lives. But Mary understands that the past is not your choice, and it is an inseparable part of you, a part that as an artist must be explored and shared.
However, this piece would have been significantly more powerful had it been scaled down to either a one-woman show or a series of monologues. Instead, the characters busily interact with each other, which diminishes the audience’s ability to connect with them and vice versa.
In addition, this kind of personal piece doesn’t seem conducive to The New Colony’s process. Instead of relying on a single playwright, the theatre company collaboratively creates its productions. I’m not clear on how a group of individuals who did not live through the experience and cannot speak for Mary’s point of view can adequately contribute to the piece. Furthermore, by having them contribute, the lines between reality and dramatization begin to blur. And that undercuts some of the play’s intensity.
If we’re going to plunge into personal tragedy, I want as much vulnerability on stage as possible. And although Mary lays her heart on the line, the other characters lack a certain genuineness. It’s not about the acting. It’s about the way the story is told. And I think Mary can tell this tale better herself.
| Rating: ★★½ |
The Warriors runs March 17 – April 17 at the Second Stage Theatre, 3408 N. Sheffield Ave. Opening/Press night is Sunday, March 20 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $25 and are now on sale. The production runs Thursdays – Sundays at 7:30 p.m. Tickets may be purchased at 773.413.0TNC (0862) or thenewcolony.org.
REVIEW: Red Noses (Strawdog Theatre)
Laughing in the face nose of the Black Plague
| Strawdog Theatre presents |
| RED NOSES |
| Written by Peter Barnes Directed by Matt Hawkins at Strawdog Theatre, 3829 N. Broadway (map) through August 15th | tickets: $15-$20 | more info |
reviewed by Katy Walsh
‘It’s easy to find someone to share your life with. What about someone to share your death?’ Serious contemplations about the fragility of life get a laugh with the addition of a clown prosthetic. Strawdog Theatre presents the remount of its successful 2009 production RED NOSES. 14th Century Europe is being plagued with death. The dying is reaching epidemic proportions. The survivors are targets for flagellant crazed religious types and victim-hunting scavengers. From this hopeless void, a joyful priest recruits individuals to fight death with humor. He forms a traveling troupe of performers to ‘ripple and spread’ amusement across the grieving countryside. Strawdog’s RED NOSES explores the humorous side of the Black Plague by adding a clown-car-filled cast, jamming it to eighties music and letting death urinate on the wall.
The show starts playfully with a game of toss. Death arrives with a neon yellow ball. The game becomes deadly. Victims spew out neon yellow barf. Game over! The dying has begun. Death doesn’t keep anyone down for long. Zombies rise, dance and sing “Only the Good Die Young.”
Under the direction of Matt Hawkins, the twenty-three cast members are lively, moving from scene to scene and role to role. They juggle balls, play instruments, and remove spittle as a tight working ensemble. It’s all about finding the comedic moment and putting a red nose on it. Shannon Hoag (Marguerite) is hilarious as the disappointed almost-raped nun. She belts out a wonderful rendition of “I don’t want to lose your love tonight.” Sarah Goeden (Bells) and Chelsea Paice (Tricycle Clown Messenger) without a word effectively amuse and communicate with ringing and expressive faces. Michael E. Smith (Pope) delivers a humorous line and attitude with ‘I don’t have to be wise just decisive.’ It’s the small touches that change dire to funny. Two amputees do a stub version of a high five. A blind man calls out a color.
Death gets his cloak caught in his suitcase. Cause of death? Talented cast injects shots of fatal humor.
‘If there is life after death, why do we have to die?’ Playwright Peter Barnes penned a tale about laughing in the face of death. To exploit the absurd, he set it in a plague killing era and added clown noses. The script could go “Patch Adams” cute as one man’s quest to bring joy to the infirmed. Strawdog wisely chooses a “Monty Python” approach with comedy influenced by pushing the funny aspect of sensitive content. Barnes’ play has a propensity to go long and tedious with some productions exceeding a three hour running time. Even with Mike Przygoda (Music Director) orchestrating the 80’s flashback with a high-energy, live soundtrack, the second act gets a little tiresome with death-defying religious undercurrents. Still, “You gotta have faith!” Strawdog’s RED NOSES is plagued with comedy for whatever ails you!
| Rating: ★★★ |
Running Time: Two hours and twenty minutes includes a fifteen minute intermission
REVIEW: Cabaret (The Hypocrites’)
Willkommen to a darker, sexier ‘Cabaret’
| The Hypocrites Theatre presents |
| Cabaret |
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Book by Joe Masteroff |
reviewed by Keith Ecker
The first thing you will notice about The Hypocrites’s production of Cabaret is the genderbending. The scene-stealing role of the emcee, who has been played by everyone from Joel Gray to Alan Cumming to Neil Patrick Harris, is now played by a woman (Jessie Fisher). And whereas the men always brought a certain effeminacy to the role, Fisher brings a cocky butchness without sacrificing her sensuality.
You could view this casting call as a way to pander to a more general audience, eliminating the homosexual overtones of the show’s ringmaster. But The Hypocrites’ version of the piece is still rife with in-your-face graphic gay sexuality, from the lingering kiss between the American Cliff (Michael Peters) and one of the cabaret boys to the completely unsubtle choreography, which includes a lot of mock copulation.
In fact, if anything, the choice to womanize the emcee adds an additional thematic element to the play, one that promotes the strength and courage of women and the misogyny of the Nazi state. This is most effective during the song “I Don’t Care Much.” Director Matt Hawkins places four masked Nazi soldiers around the emcee who watch her with cold, dead eyes. The emcee staggers around the stage, spitting at the men as she taunts them with the lyrics of the song, knowing full well that she is writing her own death sentence.
Fisher exudes confidence as the nightclub’s central figure She also has a clever wit, ad-libbing occasionally during some of the more light-hearted numbers such as “Willkommen.” Like her carriage on stage, her voice is vigorously energetic, proving to be one of the strongest in the cast.
Lindsay Leopold plays the manic Sally Bowles with feral-like fierceness. The character of Sally spans a spectrum of emotion, oftentimes displaying two distinct feelings at once: her external exuberance and her inner depression. Leopold straddles this spectrum well. For example, her rendition of “Cabaret” is not the joyful melody you may recall from the movie. Rather, it’s a melancholy rendition made all the more poignant when contrasted with the upbeat lyrics.
The costumes in the musical are basically a character unto themselves. Costume designer Alison Siple creates a cohesive aesthetic that combines ruffles and rags with garters and lace. The women look simply fantastic. However, the men did not get the same treatment. Whereas the women’s flamboyant costumes genuinely reflect the sexy cabaret atmosphere, the men’s costumes seem more like cartoonish afterthoughts.
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Hawkins direction is superb. The play moves along quickly, juggling various plotlines from the rise of the Nazi regime to Sally’s love affair with Cliff to the engagement of the landlady Frau Schneider. But it never feels hurried. The staging is also impressive. At the beginning of the play, the cabaret girls make grand entrances by sliding down poles, while near the end, the faceless Nazi guards stand menacingly along the catwalk above the stage.
The play is also done in a cabaret setting, providing ample intimacy for the audience and performers. Although most of the audience is relegated to risers, a few lucky patrons are able to sit at tables along the stage.
The Hypocrites Theatre’s production of Cabaret is dark, sexy and fabulous. If you’ve never had the opportunity to see the play in an intimate, cabaret-like setting, this is your chance. With great direction, singing and revealing costumes, the show will titillate and entertain before crash-landing into its inevitable, disturbing conclusion.
| Rating: ★★★½ |
Extra Credit:
Timeline Theatre announces final extension of “The History Boys”
Timeline announces final extension of “The History Boys”
thru OCTOBER 18th
Marking its 100th Performance at Timeline, and with continued ticket demand resulting in 18 weeks of sold-out performances so far, TimeLine Theatre Company announces a third and final extension of its critically acclaimed and Equity Jeff Award-nominated Chicago premiere of The History Boys by Alan Bennett, directed by Nick Bowling. The History Boys, originally scheduled to end June 21 and previously extended to August 2 and then September 27, will close on October 18, 2009, at TimeLine Theatre, 615 Wellington Ave., Chicago.
Tickets for performances during this final The History Boys extension go on sale Friday, September 4 at 12 p.m., online at timelinetheatre.com or via phone by calling the TimeLine Theatre Box Office at 773.281.TIME (8463).
Download “The History Boys Study Guide”
Fun “History Boys” Facts:
Since its Opening Night on Saturday, April 25, 2009, The History Boys has broken records and set numerous new ones for TimeLine. The play celebrates its 100th performance today, Thursday, September 3 at 7:30 p.m. — well beyond the previous record of 77 performances set by the remount of Fiorello! in 2008. Tickets to the 100th performance are sold out but theater fans are invited to celebrate with the cast and production team after the show at Wilde Restaurant & Bar, 3130 N. Broadway, beginning at approximately 10:45 p.m.
More of The History Boys by the numbers:
- Equity Jeff Award nominations: 5 (Outstanding Production – Midsize; Ensemble; Director, Nick Bowling; Scenic Design – Midsize, Brian Sidney Bembridge; Actor in a Supporting Role – Play, Alex Weisman)
- Length of the entire run: 25 weeks of performances over six months April 25, 2009 through October 18, 2009
- Number of performances in the entire run: 140
- Number of the first 100 performances that have sold out: 100
- Average percentage capacity sold: 104% (Number of seats: 87)
- Number of people who have seen the production through September 30: 8,732
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Number projected to have seen the production through October 18: 12,500 (previous record was 6,309 for the remount of Fiorello! in 2008; the number of people who saw Fiorello! over the course of both of its runs in 2006 and 2008 was 9,254)
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The History Boys Performance Schedule
The performance schedule for The History Boys between September 3 and October 18 is: Wednesdays and Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 3 pm. and 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m.
The History Boys runs 3 hours and 10 minutes, including one intermission.
The History Boys Tickets
Tickets for The History Boys extension performances are $32 (Wednesday – Friday) or $42 (Saturday & Sunday). Student tickets are $10 off regular price, with valid ID. Group rates for groups of 10 or more are available. Advance purchase is strongly recommended.
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For play synopsis, cast list, and directions to the theatre, click on “Read more”.
"History Boys" Reviews – TimeLine delivers a triumph!
The Chicago-premiere of the Tony-Award winning play The History Boys , by Alan Bennett, held its opening night this past Saturday, and I can personally say that it was a highly-imaginative, stellar production of an enthralling, rambunctious play. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Pictures and a compendium of reviews (as they are produced) follow:
Dennis Polkow, NewCity
I don’t know what kind of techniques director Nick Bowling might have employed to have the eight-ensemble cast seem as if they know each other as well as a group of students who have been together in class together for what always seems like an eternity while it is happening, but the way these young men interact is extraordinary. No less an accomplishment is that the teachers and the headmaster who are preparing these students for their Oxford and Cambridge entrance exams also interact with the students and each other with the needed familiarity necessary for Alan Bennett’s witty and thought-provoking play to work its special charms. Recommended (Full review here.)
Hedy Weiss, Chicago Sun-Times:
TimeLine fills your head: Actors revel in the wit and energy of ‘History Boys’
Enter TimeLine Theatre – where The History Boys, Alan Bennett’s Tony-Award-wining play is receiving one of those Chicago productions that exults in the glory of the ensemble – and you instantly become part of its hothouse world.
At issue here is the whole notion of education – intellectual, emotional, sexual. The veteran literature teacher, Hector (Donald Brearley, in a remarkable mix of subdued passion, volatility and self-loathing), believes in knowledge for knowledge’s sake, even if that include groping his favorite students. As he notes: “The transmission of knowledge is itself an erotic act.” (Full review here)
Artistic Director PJ Powers comments:
“Alan Bennett’s provocative script tackles essential questions we regularly grapple with as we explore TimeLine’s unique mission — ‘how do we benefit by dissecting, studying and examining history?’” Powers said. “Whether audiences have seen this production in London, on Broadway or on film, or are coming to it for the first time, The History Boys will have a fresh and powerful impact at TimeLine’s intimate theater.”
Related articles and files:
- TimeLine’s “History Boys” study guide (amazing!) – prepared by TimeLine’s dramaturg, Maren Robinson
- New City blog: History in the Making: How TimeLine Theatre landed the Chicago premiere of a Tony-winning play, and what they are doing with it
- Hedy Weiss: TimeLine on a hit parade roll with “The History Boys”
