DreamCast: After The Fair

After the Fair, set in late 1890s England, is the story of the tangled web that is woven when Edith, a bored married woman, begins to write love letters on behalf of her maid, Anna, to a young man with whom Anna has had a brief romance. The letters, Edith insists, are her words, but Anna's feelings. One of the interesting questions this musical raises is whether feelings can be separated from words. Can you feel something if you can't express it? Anna, charming as she is, is uneducated and limited in her ability to convey her feelings. Her brief (and physical) encounter with Charles is very different from the deeper, cerebral relationship Edith develops with him via letters. Which is more real? Which would he choose, if he had to? 

After The Fair: TalkinBroadway

Why I Love This Tiny Musical

• It reaffirms the power of letter-writing. At the end of the day, there really is nothing better than receiving a great, well-written letter. And if it's a love letter, all the better.
• With the love letters holding so much power over the plotline, there is a substantial amount of pressure for these love-letters to be exceptional. The beautiful text fulfills the expectations, but the fact that these love letters are placed to music of equal quality makes this the most authentically romantic musical I have ever encountered.
• In an opposing (but equally appreciated thought), this musical also brings to light the dangers that come with writing something meaningful rather than speaking it. It's ironic that this is such a solidly-set period piece because this message is so applicable to the contemporary, text-friendly audience.
• I love theatre being structured in a quadrangle [4-character] structure. This structure is becoming more common in plays, but I would love to see it applied to the musical theatre scene as well.

The Players

Bonnie Wright as Anna
I'm not a Harry Potter fan, so her face seemed familiar
but it was hard to pinpoint from where.
I like that vibe for Anna.
She has a manner & face that is
vaguely familiar & vaguely worldly, while still seeming
earnest, endearing, entrancing, & adorable.

James Franco as Charles Bradford
He immediately comes across as charming but with some depth.
If he could channel that sense of intensity with
a lazy rich-boy tone,
he would be a perfect casting as the
charismatic but ultimately disappointing beau.

Edward Herrmann as Arthur Harnham
Arthur's role is that of the unwaveringly strong, eternally oblivious,
but ultimately loving male provider.
He operates from the mentality that care-taking equals love,
but a love that is not always sufficient
to the complicated females in his life.
The distant, white-collar husband/father is a role that can easily fall flat,
but on he played & conquered a similar role on Gilmore Girls.

Sela Ward as Edith Harnham

I initially thought of her because of her physical resemblance to Michele Pawk.

And being a regular on CSI means that she knows how to play a thinker,

and Edith is nothing if not a

plotter, planner, & executor.

August WishList



Detective's Wife

Writer's Theatre

Alice Conroy is the mother of two grown children, owner of a frame shop and the long-time wife of a Chicago homicide detective, but when her husband is gunned down on the job, she sets out to find out who did it...and why.

Extended Through Aug. 14

Black and Blue 

Factory Theater at Prop Theatre

Two brothers, ten years, one bet. 'Black and Blue' treads into the realm of Chicago rivals, sports fanatics, and the good old fashioned American bar bet. Do You Know Your Black and Blue?

Weekends Through Sept. 3  

 

Improvised Jane Austen

Chemically Imbalanced Theatre

In 1817, the world suffered the loss of Jane Austen, the quintessential courtship novelist. Improvised Jane Austen now presents a delightful show that attempts to fill the void of the countless novels lost due to her untimely demise. Social class, elopements, blustering spinsters, and sinister sisters are given a 21st century twist as the ladies use the voice of Austen to comment on love in our own time. Will our heroine end up with Mr. Darcy? Or will she run off to pursue her dream of a career? When you combine ten smart women with the wittiest author of all, anything can happen.

Runs Through Aug. 25

Sweeney Todd

Drury Lane Oakbrook

 

Starring Greg Edelman!

Runs Aug. 11-Oct. 9

July WishList: Part II



A Girl With Sun In Her Eyes

Second Stage



A Girl With Sun In Her Eyes is a riveting re-invention of the police procedural. It’s 6 am and an undercover female police officer has been reported missing for several hours on Chicago’s South Side. The last person to see her is now the primary suspect in her disappearance. Two veteran police officers with complex ties to the missing officer—and each other—lead the interrogation. How far would you go to protect the life you have? The Shield meets Memento in this world premiere thriller.

Runs until August 7

 

 

Pimprov

Chemically Imbalanced Theatre

Pimprov revolves around four pimps who took improv comedy classes on accident.  The groups lack of political correctness and outrageous costumes are only part of the reason they're growing in popularity.  The other reason is, they're really funny.

On-going run

Friday nights @ 10:30 p.m.

 

 

A Beautiful Spell

Royal George Theatre

In A Beautiful Spell, Jim and Franny wake up in the middle of the night panicked to discover that they no longer love each other. Is it real or just a night terror? Frightened and confused, the couple struggles desperately to get back what they've lost - before the sun comes up. A Beautiful Spell exposes the deep and sometimes painful truths that lie beneath the surface of wedded bliss in this hilarious and touching new play.

Runs until August 7

Sucked Into Service @ Chemically Imbalanced

Act I: 1/2 Caf Chronicals

Paul Whitehouse recounted anecdotes from his time working at Starbucks. Off-the-bat, he had an engaging & approachable stage personality. For me, his immediate backstory of the employment was a little eerie…living in Wrigleyville, a BA in Theatre, & having spent more hours than you’d ever imagined crafting coffee creations.

His strongest bit was recounting the days

after a cab drove into his Starbucks at North/Wells.

People made the same lame joke:

“I didn’t know this was a drive-through location”

332 times. I so relate to his pain.

“The Coffee Serving Muppet Machine”

He spent equal energy dissecting his relationship with the management as he did recounting interactions with the customers. This was a strong balance, but his narratives relating to the customers had a much stronger, more cohesive point-of-view. The only bit that recurred throughout the whole skit was one in which he imitated Muppets portraying his bosses. He had good miming capabilities (especially of Elmo & the Cookie Monster) & physicality, but the point of the Muppetizing was foggy. The common strand of Muppetzing bosses cost some of the quality of his more insightful & subtle observations at times, the imitations even blurred the clarity of his story’s narrative line. The whole performance piece would have been stronger without the impressions and a dedicated reliance on his ideas.

One Moral I Appreciated:

Don’t leave gum under the table

because someday a human being will have to clean it.

Act II: Trapped in a Box

At intermission, I had a conversation with my friend because I was unsure if would I like the structure & I was wondering how interesting a solitary job could be. All of the anecdotes from the first piece were recounting interactions with 3-D humans. But the question posed to me in response was:

Aren’t people more obnoxious on the phone than in real-life?

It turned out to be true that there is more meat for humor erupting from a situation where humans can be faceless jerks. More of the root of the humor was found in recorded phone conversations, so the central character was largely reactionary, which is still to her credit since she wrote the show.

My first impression was that the styling was too colorful & over-stylized. This heightened tone was maintained throughout the piece. Her reactions were strong, quick, & extreme. Her emotions & physicality too pronounced. Initially she, created a character who was more bratty than whose frustrations were authentic & actually relatable. She reacted to the phone calls before we had a chance to develop the same perspective her character had already developed. The whining got old until she warmed the audience up. I grew to like her performance more as it progressed, and she turned out to be a very committed, talented performer. Eventually, I realized her attitude was based on frustration of being pulled upon & intrinsically dissatisfied with her life situation. 

Best Line:

"Gotta get me off the bottom of my totem pole"

And the production couldn't have faded out with a better song:

Billy Joel's Vienna

July WishList

Hubris Productions Presents

The Underpants

Greenhouse Theatre Center

Steve Martin provides a wild satire adapted from the classic German play about Louise and Theo Markes, a couple whose conservative existence is shattered when Louise’s bloomers fall down in public. Though she pulls them up quickly, he thinks the incident will cost him his job as a government clerk. Louise's momentary display does not result in the feared scandal, but it does attract two infatuated men, each of whom wants to rent the spare room in the Markes' home. Oblivious of their amorous objectives, Theo splits the room between them, happy to collect rent from both the foppish poet and the whiny hypochondriac.

I'm surprised how much I like Steve Martin's writing.

Shopgirl was just great.

His words were sparse & weighted

with a purposeful, subtle, articulate message.

I like Steve, I like Germany, & I like underpants.

I think I would like this play.

Runs until July 30
 



Waltzing Mechanics Presents

EL Stories: Brown Line

Greenhouse Theatre Center
 
Real life vignettes about the journey from here to there.

Anyone who has spent time riding Chicago's trains and buses has collected stories from their travels. The EL, after all, is a public square - a place where Chicagoans from all backgrounds come together. Using the words of actual Chicagoans' transit adventures over the course of a dramatized Brown Line ride, the Waltzing Mechanics seek to reflect how we move as a community through this dynamic city.

I love InterView Theatre.
The first play I read that was contructed from interviews was
Fires in the Mirror by Anna Deavere Smith,
which remains one of my favorite plays to this day.
And being a girl who rides the Brown Line 5 days a week,
I have had my own interesting encounters,
which makes me especially interested in my fellow riders' experiences.
Runs July 15 - Aug. 13 @ 10:30 pm

Book of Liz

Chemically Imbalanced Theatre

Sister Elizabeth Donderstock is Squeamish, has been her whole life. She makes cheese balls (traditional and smoky) that sustain the existence of her entire religious community, Clusterhaven. However, she feels unappreciated among her Squeamish brethren, and she decides to try her luck in the outside world. Along the way, she meets a Cockney-speaking Ukrainian immigrant couple who find her a job waiting tables at Plymouth Crock, a family restaurant run almost entirely by recovering alcoholics. The alcoholics love her. The customers love her. Her Danderfrock fits right in. Things are going great for Liz, until she's offered a promotion to manager. Unfortunately, Liz has a sweating problem, and to get the job, she'll have to fix it. Meanwhile, back at Clusterhaven, Liz's compatriots just can't seem to duplicate her cheese ball recipe, and it's going to cost them their quaint, cloistered lifestyle. They are panic-stricken and desperate, and sure she sabotaged the recipe. Does Liz go through with the operation? Can the Squeamish be saved? Will the cheese balls ever taste good again? The answers to these and so many other questions can be found in the new comedy from the Talent Family, David and Amy Sedaris.

David and Amy Sedaris.

"Back by Popular Demand"

I am convinced.
Running Fri./Sat. @ 8pm thru Aug. 13

June WishList: Part II

Sucked Into Service

Chemically Imbalanced Theatre

An evening of comedic performances exploring
two very different sides of the service industry:
1/2 Caf Chronicles
Written and performed by Paul Whitehouse
A semi-autobiographical collection of stories
about a young man's short lived career as a barista.
Trapped in a Box
Written and performed by Casey Pilkenton
A story of Audrey losing her patience, her drive,
and her sanity working in a Box Office.

Closes: June 30

This piece caught my attention because I know about the life of a barista, having spent years of my life tapping the tamp, foaming the milk, and trying to figure out the point of latte art. It is a really great idea for a comedic, one-person, one-act. Hopefully the quality of the writing will be equal to the strength of the initial concept.

Henry IV Parts I & II

Oak Park Festival Theatre

A new single-evening adaptation of

Shakespeare's Henry IV Part I and Part II.

Closes: July 9

Henry IV is one of my Shakespearean favorites. I saw Henry IV Parts I & II at London’s National Theatre in 2005 (directed by Nicholas Hytner!). There was a full-length matinee of Part I, a dinner break, then a full-length evening production of Part II. It was a great experience (one of my TopTen ever), but a loooong day. The editing of two whole plays into one intrigues me. Artistic Director Jack Hickey is playing Falstaff, so it’s going to be a true reflection of the company’s skill level & perspective. Not to mention that outdoor Shakespeare is a perfect summer pastime.

Icarus

BoHo Theatre @ The Wit

In Edwin Sanchez's deeply lyrical and haunting play, a mismatched gathering of strangers has converged on an empty ocean-front beach house, all of them damaged, physically or otherwise, each yearning for something unattainable. In this sharp, Godot-like dreamscape, these outcasts must discover what true beauty really means.

I love the aesthetic of the graphics. In a myth-based, creatively-oriented show like this, I need to have faith in the theatre company’s artistic perspective & the first-impression from the poster is the only indicator I have (being unfamiliar with the company). I’m glad this production looks a little whimsical, not so super serious like the tone of so many plays based (even loosely) on Greek myths.

Closes: July 24