TribNation: CHC & ART

ChicagoForward: Do Chicagoans Embrace the Arts Scene?

Chicago Forward is a program hosted by the Chicago Tribune & serves as a forum to tackle & discuss issues that effect the city. This particular program addressed the question of what it takes to succeed as an artist in Chicago. The event was hosted by The Tribune's Bruce Dold [editorial page editor] & Chris Jones [theatre critic]. Jocelyn Winnecke [Tribune VP & associate editor] & Kevin Brookins [senior VP @ ComEd] served as the opening speakers. The panel was made up of: Rick Bayless: nationally acclaimed chef & restauranteur, Michelle Boone: Commisioner of Chicago's Dept. of Cultural Affairs & Special Events, Tony Fitzpatrick: Chicago-based playwright, poet, & visual artist, & Jeanne Gang: award-winning architect & MacArthur Fellow. 

A FEW THEMATIC HIGHLIGHTS:

+ The Livable City: It was the general consensus than Chicago holds a strong appeal for young artists starting out because it is an affordable, livable city. I would agree with this idea considering I used to live in NYC & moved to Chicago specifically due to the affordability of theatre tickets/life as a whole. The flip-side of that coin is Chicago’s notoriously frigid winters, which was generally acknowledged as a difficulty in both the production of art & its’ accessibility to the public. 

+ Crime & The Arts: The problem of crime in Chicago could not be ignored in this conversation & was discussed with a hopeful, though frustrated, attitude. Michelle T. Boone cited Steppenwolf’s production of How Long Will I Cry?: Voices of Youth Violence as an example of art attacking violence. Each production also offers a talk-back session as an avenue for conversation. The ambitious (though slightly idealistic) goal is that kids will put down the weapons & pick up a pen; if any company has the smarts to have such a strong effect, it is Steppenwolf. 

+ Greenery: The issue of applying environmental innovations to the arts was a topic that held a particular emphasis in the architecture & culinary aspects of the talk. Jeanne Gang cited the main architecture trends as going more green, material research to cut out waste, tactical urban design through community gardens, & reclaiming the vast paved areas for pedestrians rather than cars (an idea which has been implemented in Times Square & is one of my favorite places to hang out in New York). She also emphasized the importance of one’s knowledge of their materials (using concrete as an example: we think of concrete as impenetrable but it’s actually a very fluid, malleable substance). Rick Bayless conveyed a similar mentality regarding agricultural excellence & it's being application chefs. His reasoning was based on the idea that quality ingredients allow the food to shine in a more simple presentation. On a completely unrelated note,  Rick Bayless & I were at the same performance of ATC’s awesome production of RENT last year. So, I respect his opinion on both food AND theatre.  
+ Education: Tony Fitzpatrick was especially passionate about the impact that education has & will continue to have on the arts. My favorite moment during the panel's conversation was his statement: “my biggest worry is the poverty of imagination.” To apply his passion for education in a tangible way, Fitzpatrick enlists interns to educate & enrich [all of whom have gone on to arts-related employment]. He implored his fellow leaders of the artistic community to give back by becoming mentors, which I think is a great & accessible way to invest in the future of one’s particular art. 

I Love Lucy: Live OnStage @ The Broadway Playhouse

"IT'S 1952. 
You & I are part of a studio audience 
watching a taping of I Love Lucy, 

the early TV sitcom starring Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz...
of course, we see Lucy & Desi and company 

do their stuff in the 2 episodes that are 
theoretically being recorded.
It's a pleasant illusion for the most part."

~Tony Adler, The Chicago Reader

I am very glad I read Mr. Adler's review before seeing this show. I didn't realize the title I Love Lucy: Live On Stage would be taken so literally in this musical adaptation [and honestly don't understand why that was the artistic vision chosen by the creators of this show, but still held hope]. I had also seen a brief preview of LUCY at the Broadway in Chicago Summer Series Concert, which appeared promising. So, I entered the theatre with semi-high hopes. 

All my hopes were crushed. 

Sirena Irwin & Bill Mendietas were sub-par & generic choices for our Lucy & Ricky. Their performances qualified more as off-kilter charicature than thoughtful interpretations of this iconic couple. As Ethel & Fred, Joanna Daniels & Curtis Pettyjohn brought a little more to the table in terms of acting with an appropriate degree of authenticity [and were styled in a much less cartoony manner]. I'm sure all the performers are actually quite talented, but I don't think this material would have allowed any actor the opportunity to shine. 

Re-creating two episodes being filmed in front of a live studio audience did not offer the audience any fresh perspective on the TV show I Love Lucy. Rather, it presented a sub-par interpretation of something awesome without offering any innovative style, perspective, or information. Lucille Ball was a firecracker & trail-blazer, but, most importantly, she still serves as one of the most important women in the history of American comedic entertainment. Before there was Tina, Chelsea, Ellen, & Mindy, there was LUCY. And learning about the woman behind the laughs would have been a much more enriching, enlightening, & authentic theatrical experience than trying to transpose a few vintage episodes to the stage. 

There has been a recent string of musicals that pay homage to some of our more glorious female representatives. This musical did not take that historic route, but here are some musicals that did:

• Scandalous: The Life and Trials of Aimee Semple McPherson starring Carolee Carmello [who I saw in The Scarlet Pimpernel & LOVED as the Parade's original Lucille Frank]. 
• End of the Rainbow starring Tracie Bennet as Judy Garland
• Bombshell: The (fictitious) musical on the TV show SMASH that should be real & is the story of Marilyn Monroe
• Evita [2012 Broadway revival] starring Argentinean actress Elena Roger as Eva Peron. 
• One Name Only @ Black Ensemble Theatre: A Chicago world-premiere tribute to The Ladies of Soul which featured the music of Aretha, Gladys, Patti, Chaka with a special tribute to Whitney.

I also find it interesting that there is a show for the theatre that is based off of a television show that is an homage rather than a spoof. The only TV-based musical I've ever seen was Gorilla Tango Theatre's Attend The Tale of Danny Tanner, which was an awesome, gory, re-imagined version of Full House; but to see the same principle applied in a more literal manner would be a fun trend to erupt onstage. Some shows I'd like to see: 

• LOST: It is my favorite show ever, after all. The storyline(s) were highly complicated though, so it would have to be something like Potted Potter, which melds the entire Harry Potter series into a 90-minute recap. Or like the time I saw Henry the IV Parts 1 & 2 @ The National Theatre, which was an 8-hour event complete with a break for dinner. 
• My So-Called Life: It could be performed like a gloomier, more suburban but equally angsty & awesome RENT. Good luck finding someone to stand up to the original Jordan Catalano though 
• Sex & the City: I firmly believe the sassy & urban Cosmo Girls are an underrated demographic in the theatre world. Profiles made a smart move by appealing to their production of Bachelorette. However, I think the SATC musical could easily marry the this TV-trend with the Chick Flick Musical trend to produce something glorious. 
• Six Feet Under: Dark musicals work. I'm picturing something like Martin McDonagh meets The Addams Family Musical meets John Patrick Shanley: one that is satirically dark, at the root focuses on the importance of family values, and is presented in a clean, contemporary manner.

RENT @ American Theatre Company

I’ve loved Rent for over a decade, but this production still offered a fresh, innovative, & much-appreciated insight; it surpassed the Broadway production. I largely credit this to the strong interaction & understanding of the text, both from an staging & performance perspective. The staging choices used ATC’s space in a startlingly effective manner, which was especially useful in scenes with overlapping settings that communicate critical plot-points. The timeline was definitely more definitively articulated; I never fully appreciated Larson’s structural choices in crafting the piece until stumbling upon a production that fully tapped into the text.  

The first act takes place on Christmas Eve; it is just one day, but one that is jam-packed with the aftermath of prior relationships, the butterflies of meeting a new love, & setting the stage for the mayhem of Act II. The first act should be & was used as an introduction to these individuals so that the audience will be invested in & acquainted with the events that will unfold for them in the following year. Act II opens a week later on New Year’s Eve & ends on the following Christmas eve (with Valentine‘s Day & Halloween serving as moments of punctuation); it was a fast-paced, electric, emotional roller coaster. The two acts together created an authentic circle of time & made the production’s tagline How Do You Measure a Year In a Life & the iconic sentiment of Seasons Of Love make a little more sense.  

Mark Schmuckler & Derrick Trumbly

This production was notably & fittingly more raw & gritty. Collin’s mugging actually seemed scary, there was a more biting meanness in the fights between friends, & the role of the homeless was more pronounced. The sense of social commentary seemed wider-spread than just the presence & permeating problem of HIV/AIDS. I never fully appreciated the difficult obligation to share one’s HIV positive status with potential partner; this struggle was always presented as a shadow of an idea in productions past, but I understood it more this time around. The contrast of Benny & Angel openly & immediately admitting their HIV-status versus Roger’s struggle with self-restraint in hiding it from Mimi was articulated & much appreciated.

As Mimi, Grace Gealey grew on me. She was hard to gauge during Light My Candle, but overall likeable; Out Tonight was not perfect. Despite good growls & a nice sense of pent-up energy, her solo spotlight moment was inconsistent & not entirely engaging. I began to love her performance during Christmas Bells; she stood out in the crowd & had an intrinsic charm that made it easy to see how Roger fell so fast & hard for her. I also liked that she had an awesome cropped hair-cut instead of the traditional long curls. She seemed like a 19 year-old girl & communicated the complications of youth, which is a rarity in this casting; she created a character from the text whose 19 year-old history you could actually envision. Without You was graceful, poignant, & the line goodbye love, hello disease could not have been more heartbreaking. Derrick Trumbly played a perfect partner in performance as Mimi’s Roger. He had that 1990’s flannel-clad, anguish-ridden, guitar-guy persona down pat; but he also acted through his singing with stunning subtlety & created a consistent, charismatic character independent of the love story dynamic. Tony Santiago played an excellent Benny; he didn’t play him as a flat, bad-guy character & it was easy to envision him as Roger & Mark’s former roommate/friend rather than the evil villain. As Roger’s current roommate Mark, Alan Schmuckler was good from the get-go & only improved exponentially. He was an introspective performer with a strong voice & equally strong narrative skills. Tango Maureen was never one of my favorite numbers, but this rendition was a smart, sassy performance that had little resemblance to prior, campier interpretations.

Aileen May 

As his tango partner Joanne, Lili-Anne Brown was flawless; her acting & singing was impeccable. Ms. Brown also directed Bailiwick’s 2011 production of Passing Strange, which was as flawless a production as her performance. Joanne’s other notable duet is Take Me For What I Am: her break-up song with Maureen (Aileen May)which was a number that  that erupted from history & a multi-faceted energy of frustration, pleading, and indignity (rather than the clashing of two big & clashing personalities). Aileen May was a stunning Maureen; her smart & quiet use of inflection was unparalleled. Over The Moon was strong, solid & her cow-head reminded me of Equus; it truly seemed like the heart-felt performance from the heart of a crazy artist. Speaking of the artist, I saw Angel’s understudy: Eduardo Placer. He was appropriately sweet, strong, stunning, & inspiring; I would imagine Angel is a difficult role to understudy & Mr. Placer did it so well. He created his own charm while simultaneously creating love-life with Collins, played by Alex Agard. I can’t say enough good things about Mr. Agard’s performance: he inspired, broke hearts, sang like an angel, & glorified a glorious role.


P.S. THE BAND WAS GREAT. Maybe it was because the prior productions I’ve seen of RENT were in Broadway-esque venues with an orchestra pit, maybe it was my seat’s close proximity to the band’s suspended studio, maybe it was that my youthful ears lacked fine-tuning…but this band created a more cohesive (and quality) sound than the orchestra pits of productions past. The band’s blare overpowered the singers at times, but they sounded so great that I didn’t find their dominance too offensive.

Rent Returns: Part II

RENT @  New World Stages

It looks like a reimagined & updated perspective on the traditional production, which is absolutely ideal. The original production of Rent had flaws, but it is a pillar of musical theatre history & the established perception of Rent should be respected in its’ future productions. For that reason, I am grateful that Michael Greif served as director of this piece as well as the 1994 premiere production. The characters appear less exaggerated & more approachable. This production also incorporates a more lively physicality, contemporary energy, & smarter pacing. I love the fresh kaleidoscope of costume choices. Rent always seemed out of place in its huge Broadway home. This production looks like a more intimate, grounded, thoughtful piece & I wish I could see it.



RENT returns.

I am intrigued.

DreamCast: RENT

I have a soft spot for Rent.

The Jonathan Larson story is amazing.
Someone needs to write a musical about that story.
 I was 13 years old when Rent exploded on the scene.
I remember crying as his sister accepted his Best New Musical Tony &
hanging up the Time magazine cover in my room.
I also remember September 7, 2008,
when it closed on Broadway.
I lived in New York at the time, and
my church was right next to the theatre that housed Rent.
It was painted lime green & decorated like the back of a yearbook
with sad goodbyes in Sharpies.

The Players

Justin Timberlake as Roger

He can play guitar,

has the perfect attitude/coloring, &

has the charisma to handle our romantic male lead.

Adam Brody as Mark

I love this guy.

I first saw him on Gilmore Girls, &

he was my first thought in casting Mark.

I could see him being a great narrator.

 I have low expectations with Mark(s)  because it seems to be a throw-away casting choice that directors throw away upon the likes of Joey Fatone (my first Mark),

but it's a great part that deserves a great actor.

Omar Epps as Benny
On House, he plays a doctor who isn’t always right or kind, but has a higher track record in being right.

It was difficult to get Taye Diggs out of my head, but I like Omar Epps for the role because:

1. He is a more age-appropriate casting choice.
2. I would imagine his performance being gritter & fresher than Taye Digg's smooth & perfected portrayal of the part.
3. I could picture a hypothetical time when Omar, J. Tim, & Adam Brody were friends. Other productions have created such a severe Benny that it was difficult to imagine this friendship that is at the basis of their Rent problem. We are supposed to take for granted because the script alludes to it, but remnants of that relationship also need to be realistic & present.

Will Smith as Collins

He is aged to perfection & has quality of range in his acting.

I loved his performances in Hancock & The Pursuit of Happyness

because they were thickly multi-faceted.

He is a smart man who adds dimension to a part like a prism,

and that’s what Collins requires.

Plus, he is just likable.

In casting Collins, one must consider that

his grief is the one that the audience needs to feel.

The reality of losing Angel is what this musical is all about.

The bulk of communicating the impact of that loss falls on Collins.  

Freida Pinto as Mimi

Rosario Dawson was great in the actual movie.

It's strange because her face was the only fresh one in the film,

and it wasn't a bad casting choice, considering the goal of the film.

(That goal being: To recreate the 1996 Classic & Beloved Musical as closely as possible)

In my mind's eye, Frieda Pinto's portrayal would highlight

the more relevant Mimi characteristics. 

Rosario Dawson played a hot dancer with a seedy past/present
more than a terrified, HIV-infected, 19-year-old whose life & choices

left her in the most desperate of situations. 

I picture Freida Pinto's performance as a more realistic

(though less glamorized) character who seems like,

despite whatever facts we know about her,

could communicate a solid, good, misled heart

at the root of her choices & actions.

Austin Scarlett as Angel

Angel needs to spin the loveliest web of an impression
before his untimely exit.

Which is exactly what Austin Scarlett
during Season 1 of Project Runway.

He has an innocence & refreshing perspective, 
but knowingly faces his trials.

Mila Kunis as Maureen

She pulled off the girl-on-girl energy in Black Swan.

I could quickly picture a good residual chemistry with Adam Brody.

She also has that Maureen-esque charisma

that you can feel too much but touch too little.

Jennifer Hudson as Joanne

She has lungs of steel & the iron strength that Joanne requires.

Plus, she is a local actress.

I have yet to see Dreamgirls, but the my sister's reaction

(and the Oscar committee) make me think this woman was

cater-created for movie musicals. 

I also have so much respect with how she handled her personal tragedies and

she deserves only the best of everything.