Attend The Tale of Danny Tanner @ Gorilla Tango

ATTEND THE TALE OF DANNY TANNER

Presented by Gorilla Tango
By Chris Gorton and Katie Johnston-Smith
Directed by Kelly Williams

This was my first visit to Gorilla Tango, which was especially exciting because it was also my first production in the Bucktown/Wicker Park area. The theatre was small & packed with an enthusiastic audience; this piece seemed like a perfect fit for a neighborhood comprised of the people who grew up on Full House. The opening number (a mash-up Attend the Tale of Sweeney Todd & Wake Up San Francisco. The despondent, & sweeping number quickly established that this was not TGIF’s Full House.  We soon learn why Danny Tanner allowed Joey Gladstone & Jesse Katsopolis to live in his house rent-free for all those years. It was not because they helped take care of the girls (as the television show made us believe), but because, once a year, on the anniversary of his wife’s DUI death, Joey & Jesse have to kill a drunk driver. On this year’s anniversary, Joey & Jesse decide they want to get out of this arrangement. Meanwhile, DJ wants to get out of the house to hang out with hunky Steve. But when Danny catches them stumbling home, things take a turn for the bloodier. I won’t ruin the ending, but I will say the references to Sweeney Todd hit hardest in the finale.

The 8-person ensemble was comprised of smart, confidant performers with clean & quality vocals. As Danny Tanner, Rob Speer channeled Bob Saget’s energy/mannerisms while simultaneously transforming the role into a blood-thirsty, vengeful widower.  As Joey & Jesse, Chris Gorton & James Dolbeare were excellent comedic actors who had a strong sense of history & chemistry with each other (which is an especially impressive feat considering they only perform the musical once a week). My one complaint: James Dolbeare seemed a little too Caucasian for Uncle Jesse; the Elvis obsession, smooth moves, slick hair, & Italian stallion element were in a little lacking.The Tannner girls were awesome across the board; their performances were articulate & finely-tuned into the personas from the 1990’s originals. As the senior sister DJ, Katie Johnston-Smith exhibited dead-on comedic timing, had a beautiful belt, & played over-the-top adolescent angst without inhibition. As the Jan Brady of the trio, Meghan M. Hillmeyer was a pitch-perfect Stephanie; her physical resemblance Jodie Sweetin was uncanny & her presence onstage was a consistent highlight of the production. Ali Keirn played the baby Michelle; I would imagine this is the most difficult to cast & perform in the musical. It’s a strange enough challenge for an adult to play a child, let alone a baby. But Ms. Keirn dominated the role by channeling a toddler-esque gurgle to her words & applying an adult’s interpretation to the R-Rated text. Her acting abilities were phenomenal; from other reviews I’ve read, I am not alone in this opinion. My one complaint regarding the girls: I wish they had all been blonde (DJ was brunette, Stephanie was blonde, & Michelle was a redhead). The Tanner girls were notorious blondies & I would have liked to see that element of the show kept consistent.Miryam Andrews and Tom Daily rounded-out the cast by filling in the miscellaneous remaining characters: Kimmy Gibler, DJ’s BF Steve, Aunt Becky, Mr. Woodchuck & miscellaneous drunk drivers. During the opening number, I assumed Miryam Andrews was playing DJ & Katie Johnston-Smith  was playing Aunt Becky (based only on physical appearances) but she ended up being a lovely performer & versatile actress. Most of Tom Daily’s stage time was spent playing a drunk, which he did convincingly. He had a wonderfully expressive face & fluid physical flexibility that added to his ability as a skilled actor. As the production’s accompanist (and musical director), Rhapsody Snyder created a strong backbone for the entire production.

The production was genuinely funny: it’s humor was original while incorporating the necessary mocks & digs towards the original sitcom. I am glad they didn’t wholly rely on relaying show’s original jokes or overplay the cheesiness. I was surprised, however, that there weren’t any jokes about the original cast members (especially Jodie Sweetin), but overall the production was energetic, innovative, engaging, & definitely worth the trek to Blue Line Country. 

* EXTENDED UNTIL JULY! *  Saturdays @ 7:30 * 


*UPDATE* ATTEND THE TALE OF DANNY TANNER: A FULL HOUSE MUSICAL has been extended yet again! 
It will perform TUESDAYS at 7:30pm, August 14 & 21, & September 4-25.
Tickets are $15 @ www.gorillatango.com or             773-598-4549       for tickets and more info. 

A Behanding at Spokane @ Profiles Theatre



I love Martin McDonagh. I saw The Lieutenant of Inishmore on Broadway & The Pillowman at Philadelphia’s Wilma Theatre. I have never seen a play from The Leenane Trilogy, but they have received enough acclaim to get props without my first-hand endorsement. The McDonagh I know creates an authentically heightened alternative world, presents a sincere farce that is genuinely funny, and uses heightened metaphors to create an authentically parallel world. This McDonagh tried to write from an American perspective and lost a lot of the qualities I had grown to love about his writing: this humor lacked a smart subtlety & was quipper than his previous writings. From the audience, there was genuine laughter as well as nervous laughter, but neither of these indicated a presence of genuinely humorous writing. McDonagh’s signature is his use of satirical but severely upfront violence with the purpose of transferring the play’s underlying moral. Somehow, he always makes the insane approachable, but that tendency was lost on this script & it just seemed bizarre without a direct intent. The play’s conflict centered around Carmichael, a degenerate trying to track down his hand that was stolen & semi-torturing a young, weed-dealing couple who claimed to have his hand for the dealing. The repeated sentiment that tortured Carmichael was the image of his attackers waving goodbye to him with his own hand. I had to assume this metaphor’s purpose was to communicate a commentary on the great loss of wanting something back that rightfully belongs to you. I do like that theme, but I remain unsure if that was McDonagh’s intended thought-provocation; that uncertainty does not speak well towards the quality of the script.

The Players

The quality of the cast made up for the flaws of the script. As Carmichael, Darrell W. Cox created & committed to a well-rounded but still intriguing central character. I saw him at Profiles in last season’s reasons to be pretty, and was very pleased with the complete & necessary physical transformation he made from that role. The ability to physically transform is a necessity for a member of an acting troupe, and I appreciate that Profiles is aware incorporating that reimagining into each production. As Marilyn & Toby, the weed-dealing couple held prisoner by Carmichael, Sara Greenfield & Levenix Riddle exhibited perfectly nuanced energy, excellent interaction with the text, and cleverly communicated comedic ability. As the front desk clerk Mervyn, Eric Burgher provided clean moments of punctuation during the overall production. His character unfolded throughout the script more than the others, and he was smart & subtle about delivering plot-punctuating moments of realization. This was a strongly cast ensemble piece with no weak link who acted with unadulterated commitment to their roles, and their performance quality alone makes this a show worth seeing.