September WishList

The Fall of The House of Usher 

by The Hypocrites @ Chopin Theatre 

Terror! Suspense! Gothic cross-dressing melodrama! Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher” is a highly tense and taut work of fiction that set the standard for American Horror for the past two centuries. This adaptation, which examines the psychology of a fractured personality, utilizes a cast of only three women to navigate the notorious House.

Illegal Use of Hands 

by American Blues Theatre @ Victory Gardens

 

In a small town where buzzards feast on a dead Chevy and the local Wal-Mart hires only college graduates, three men [ABT ensemble member Steve Key (Broadway tour of August: Osage County), ABT Artistic Affiliate Dennis Zacek (founding artistic director of Victory Gardens Theater) and Howie Johnson (award-winning Killer Joe at Profiles Theater)] wait out the night in the company of a high school football trophy they have rescued from obscurity. It’s a story about revenge, glory, and being a man—if only the characters could agree on what they can’t remember.

The Woman in White @ Lifeline Theatre

Trapped in a loveless marriage and threatened by a conspiracy of ruthless men, young heiress Laura Fairlie faces a future of sorrow and misery. Her only hope lies with her true love, the poor artist Walter Hartright, and her sister Marian Halcombe, both of whom will risk everything to protect her. Without the law, society, or money on their side, Walter and Marian must race against time to free their beloved Laura and uncover the truth behind the mysterious woman in white that shares her face. A dark tale of romance and suspense, in a world premiere adaptation. Based on the 1889 novel by Wilkie Collins (The Moonstone, Armadale), considered among the first mystery novels in the English language.

Sweet Bird of Youth @ The Goodman Theatre 

Into a tiny Gulf coast hamlet drifts an improbable couple: the Princess Kosmonopolis, a Hollywood legend fleeing the disastrous premiere of her latest epic, and Chance Wayne, a young actor-turned-gigolo who has brought his new benefactress to his hometown in hopes of reclaiming his former glory. But when a youthful mistake surfaces that threatens Chance’s plan, the pair are forced to confront their crumbling dreams. Laced with humor and Williams’ “characteristically gorgeous lyricism” (The New York Times), Sweet Bird of Youth is a sensual, haunting theatrical journey that will captivate and seduce you.

Sunday in the Park with George 

@ Chicago Shakespeare Theatre 

Sunday in the Park with George, inspired by Georges Seurat's most famous work A Sunday on La Grande Jatte-1884, on display and in the permanent collection of the Art Institute of Chicago, unites Seurat and Sondheim in Chicago Shakespeare's Courtyard Theater. Griffin's musical production will transform the painting into a life-size masterpiece to tell the story of a painter's struggle between creating art and living life.

Metamporhoses 

Lookingglass Theatre Company 

Fourteen years ago Lookingglass debuted Metamorphoses, a play of such grace and beauty that the memory of it still lingers in the minds of audiences today. The critically-acclaimed, record-breaking Chicago engagement led to a Broadway production that garnered Mary Zimmerman the 2002 Tony Award for Best Director and catapulted Lookingglass onto the national stage. In the simple beauty of a rippling pool of water, Ensemble Member Mary Zimmerman conjured Ovid’s myths into gorgeous imagery, provocative moments and breathtaking storytelling. Metamorphoses’ long-anticipated Chicago revival will feature a number of Lookingglass Ensemble Members and original cast members.

Waiting for Lefty by American Blues Theatre

Waiting for Lefty was inspired by the New York City’s 1934 taxi strike and first staged in 1935 by the Group Theater. Clifford Odets structured this timeless commentary on the social & economical inequalities as a series of vignettes that offer varying perspectives on the personal effects of this strike. I loved it, both the script and the productions. I'm a big fan of scripts based in this era and considering our currently economically-difficult American situation, this play was a such a smart & awesome piece for American Blues Theatre include in their season. The production was flawlessly executed due its large cast comprised of substantially skilled actors.

I liked their graphic design choices. Their posters have vivid colors, excellent artistic execution, and a clear presentation of a forthcoming production. However, the poster didn’t authentically reflect the artistic choices of this specific production. The bright red, white, & blue invoke imagery of a patriotic nature. However, this play relayed a historical period where many bright, fresh Americans felt very removed from this country’s commitment to life, liberty, & pursuit of happiness. I would prefer the production I saw to the production that the postcard promised; it is more purposeful & much more relevant, especially in these economically impossible times. I wish they had chosen to advertise what this excellent production turned out to be Cradle Will Rock meets It’s All True. I loved both of those and I loved this.

I love theatre but am unfortunately wired with a very short attention span. This play was quick, even for me. A 60-minute play does not equal a full-length production; this is what we call a one-act. Luckily, I bought a half-off ticket for $12.50 at HotTix. If I’d spent twice as much, I’d have felt ripped off, even though the quality of the production was excellent. Charging $25 a ticket equals $2.40 a minute; that rate is applicable to a massage but not a theatre ticket. The quality of this production is not in question, but the ticket price needs to be adjusted considering the fact that this was a one-act.

Stand-Out Performances

Cheryl Graeff as Dr. Benjamin

Dr. Benjamin was dedicated physician who was the first on her hospital staff to be fired (based primarily on the her Jewish heritage). This vignette opened with her expressing a validated frustration to her supervisor at the different treatments patients received due to their economic class. It closed with her establishing herself as an angry victim who has serious plans to fight back. Her piece was the last one that was primarily character-driven & it was such an effective playwriting decision. In a play that focuses primarily on the effects of a depression upon the specific cab-driving group, it is important to acknowledge & remember that the economic effects of this period managed to destroy both white-collared and blue-collared families. In her role, Cheryl Graeff created a character with a strong spectrum of ideas, experience, and history. I felt her authentic commitment to her work as a doctor. She only had a few lines about her parents, but those lines were so articulate in their artistic interpretation that I felt a quick connection to this character’s widespread history. She was dynamic in creating a flow in the text, an excellent reactionary in relating to her supervisor (played by John Mohrlein) & entirely engaging.

Gwendolyn Whiteside as Florrie

Florrie was a young woman torn between her family’s dependence on her minimal secretary salary and her earnest desire to continue investing her love & energy in 3-year engagement to Sid (played perfectly by Zachary Keeney). This engagement would realistically never result in a marriage due to the economic impossibilities they would inevitably face in starting a new life together. At the pressure-some prompting of her brother Irving (played by Bradford R. Lund) and the tragic acknowledgment of their situation’s reality by her beloved, Florrie & Sid together make the necessary & impossible decision. This vignette effectively communicated the true tragedies that befell these Americans because it showed the true consequences of this horrible era: the loss of the ability to pursue one’s happiness & love. Florrie held on so hard the to the hope of her love-filled marriage becoming a reality because that is the most basic American & human right. Gwendolyn Whiteside made this character empathetic, earnest, and overall endearing. She crafted a character the audience would have loved to see in a wedding dress, and so she simultaneously created an empathetic audience who mourned along with her at the loss of that dream.

September WishList II

Be A Good Little Widow

Collaboraction

Set in the heartland of suburbia, young wife Melody has never been to a funeral until her husband dies in a plane crash. Expected to instantly assume proper widowhood, Melody is left to wonder, what's the right way to grieve? Fortunately, her mother-in-law is a professional. Widow, that is. Under her guidance, Melody must try her best to be a good little widow. Be a Good Little Widow is a surprisingly funny and moving portrait of loss and longing.

Runs Sept. 8-Oct. 23

The Pitmen Painters

Timeline Theatre Company

Heralded in London and on Broadway, this new play by the Tony Award-winning writer of Billy Elliot is based on a triumphant true story. A group of miners in Northern England taking an art appreciation class start experimenting with painting and soon build an astonishing body of work that makes them the unlikeliest of art world sensations. An arresting and hilarious salute to the power of individual expression and the collective spirit, The Pitmen Painters is a deeply moving and timely look at art, class and politics.

Runs until Dec. 4



Waiting for Lefty

Victory Gardens Theatre

Waiting for Lefty, inspired by the New York taxi strike of 1934 and first staged by the Group Theater in 1935, features powerful vignettes that offer a timeless treatise on societal inequities. “We’ve been kicked around so long we’re black and blue from head to toes,” opines a Depression-era American working stiff in Odets’ masterpiece.

Runs until Oct. 2

RED

The Goodman Theatre

Full-blooded and visceral, the Tony Award-winning Red takes you into the mind of abstract expressionist Mark Rothko, for whom paintings are "pulsating" life forces and art is intended to stop the heart. RED chronicles the tormented painter's two-year struggle to complete a lucrative set of murals for Manhattan's exclusive Four Seasons restaurant, and his fraught relationship with a seemingly naïve young assistant, who must choose between appeasing his mentor—and changing the course of art history. Set amid the swiftly changing cultural tide of the early 1960s, Red is a startling snapshot of a brilliant artist at the height of his fame, a play hailed as "intense and exciting" by the The New York Times.

Runs Sept. 17-Oct. 23

The Great Fire

Lookingglass Theatre Company

It has been one of the hottest, driest autumns on record, and now a strong wind blows from the Southwest. At 9:40 pm, the Chicago Fire Department gets their first report of a small blaze on the city’s southwest side. Soon there is no stopping the Great Chicago Fire until it finally runs out of things to burn. In one night, the very rich, the very poor, and everyone in between are transformed forever. Spectacular, spiritual, highly physical and exquisitely emotional, the Chicago Sun-Times praised The Great Fire as “highly original, hugely entertaining” and remarked that “no one who sees this show will be able to look at Chicago in the same way again.”

Runs Sept. 21 - Nov. 20