9-15-06
This Train Worth Riding
Jay Torrence,Ryan Walter,and Lisa Barker in the Neo-Futurists’ Roustabout.The Neo-Futurists' current show is based around a killer metaphor.
Actually, it's more than a metaphor. It's the truth. In 1918, a circus train was stopped on the tracks outside Chicago when a military train heading the other way ignored all the signals and plowed head-on into the circus. Eighty plus circus performers died in the wreck and the fire that followed and not one occupant on the military train (which was largely empty) was injured. Not one. If you want to do a play about how "war is bad and people get hurt" as one performer says, there's your metaphor.
Though only Jay Torrence, who also performs, is listed as a writer, Roustabout has the feel of an ensemble-written piece. A lot of ideas clutter the stage, which, while messy, isn't necessarily a bad thing. Even if you don't find one bit effective, the hyper ensemble will soon be moving on to something else. And far more of the pieces work than don't.
Some of my favorites: the clown in the wheelchair who urges the audience to stand and then wheels off muttering "I can't stand"; the Avenue Q type lip sync between cast and their muppets proving, as I have long maintained, that lip sync can be hilarious when done with commitment; the story of the elephant Edison electrocuted; and the fictional story of Di Di, one of the circus performers seeking her place in life.
Some of the early expositional material is interesting but doesn't really match the tone of the rest of the show. The self-referential material in the beginning will probably be funniest to those intimately familiar with the Neo-Futurist's work. Things really take off when we get to the circus material and the fictional stories of three of the performers.
When it comes to the actual circus "tricks" the ensemble (who all deserve mention: Lisa Barker, Eliza Burmester, Luke Hatton, Lauren Sharpe, Jay Torrence and Ryan Walters) won't amaze anyone with their incredible skill sets. Lookingglass, this ain't. But they more than make up for any such failings with enthusiasm and energy.
The point may be a little done: it's not going to come as a shock to anyone that war is bad and people get hurt. But there's a ton of fun to be had in arriving at that point. This one's a keeper.
Roustabout – The Neo-Futurists
Chris Jones, Tribune—"This sad piece of local history isn't entirely forgotten, but it probably was news to a good portion of the audience for Roustabout, a deeply flawed but nonetheless emotionally compelling new show about this great circus train wreck. It is penned by Jay Torrence for the Neo-Futurists, and the subject is so powerful—and the show has so much potential—you want to shake the whole affair out of the self-indulgent insecurity that currently condemns it to mediocrity."
Hedy Weiss, Sun-Times—"As it turns out, what Torrence and his five enthusiastic collaborators have created is a kind of latter-day Spoon River Anthology, with much of that work's goofy, twisted, very dark storytelling, too. Only unlike the Edgar Lee Masters classic—in which the inhabitants of a little Midwestern town rise from their graves to reveal some surprising truths about their lives—Roustabout lets the mostly incinerated members of an erstwhile troupe of circus performers do the talking. It is a troupe of freaks, outcasts and innocents who no doubt toured through towns very much like Spoon River."
Kerry Reid, Reader—"Torrence provides beguiling narratives for three of the unidentified victims, interweaving their stories with a broad meditation on the transience of the theatrical experience and the costs of war. The show comes dangerously close to jumping the rails whenever the six energetic cast members go crazy with the Neo-Futurist meta aesthetic ('We're putting on a show, and isn't it a hoot?'). But Torrence knows that pathos wins the day, and the conclusion of this 90-minute collage of 'historical fact and historical fiction' is heartrendingly gorgeous."
Nina Metz, New City—"Despite the subject matter, this might be the most joyous show from the Neo-Futurists in years. Playwright Jay Torrence spotlights the grisly deaths of more than 80 circus workers, burned alive one June night in 1918 when their train, stopped near Gary, Indiana, was blindsided by an empty military transport train. Torrence pulls whole handfuls from this historical wreckage. The Neo-Futurist aesthetic—all meta, all the time—is spelled out more than usual, which helps defuse some of the wide-eyed antiwar self-seriousness hovering at the edges. Though it mimics the chaos of a three-ring circus, it doesn't actually feel all that organized, but I'm not sure a show like this needs an orderly structure, particularly since Torrence is a skillful and funny writer."
Lawrence Bommer, Free Press—"What emerges from the hit-and-run sketches is your usual Neofuturist embarrassment of parallels and paradoxes... Fortunately, the cast members never resort to hip condescension or gallows humor. They maintain the mystery at the heart of pointless loss. Still, even for an 85-minute show, there's too much padding, including the wacky framing device involving the kidnapping of the Neofuturists' mentor. The 1918 horror is story enough, a portrait of showbiz innocence undermined by war fever and destroyed idiotic bad luck."
Venus Zarris, Gay Chicago—"The story is an unconventional combination of tricks and treats, gentle moments, jolting catastrophe and unpredictable silliness that throw all formulas of exposition out the window. The result is something that should be a disjointed mess but miraculously comes together with impact as well as spectacle. This is one of those rare shows that takes your head off and reattaches it in another direction. You know, when it is so unique that it sort of tears your brain a new one, thereby reinforcing the limitless possibilities of creation and the limitless possibilities that one can approach the 'great commission' of storytelling."
The General from America – TimeLine Theatre Company
Chris Jones, Tribune—"Come fall in Chicago, the thriving, 10-year-old Timeline Theatre Company typically begins our theatrical conversation. And this year's season opener is a very juicy start from this city's leading non-Equity theater... [Director Louis] Contey's shrewd visual metaphor here recalls the kind of trestle staging from the old stock companies. It's a clever idea, albeit one that makes this show rather static in the slow-to-ignite first act. But as Terry Hamilton's Arnold digs himself an ever-deeper hole, things pick up fairly expeditiously. And in a show that surely tested this troupe's budget, there are some spectacular costumes to enjoy from Alex Wren Meadows."
Hedy Weiss, Sun-Times—"A great page in history is the backdrop for Richard Nelson's play The General From America, which opened this weekend in a TimeLine Theatre production notable for its incisive writing, its crystalline direction by Louis Contey, and the ability of its top-notch cast to make historical drama feel completely of the moment... Hamilton's masterful portrayal of Arnold is central here. Just watch his face turn into a mask of tense politeness as he is grilled about his improprieties. See it relax in the manly company of Washington. Or feel the pain as he stands, stone-faced, while receiving a humiliating tongue-lashing from Sir Henry Clinton."
Barbara Vitello, Daily Herald—"TimeLine's production hums along under director Louis Contey. Concise and impeccably crafted, with spot-on period costumes by Alex Wren Meadows and a simple, rustic set by Brian Sidney Bembridge, it reflects the company's trademark expertise. The acting is especially good. The impressive Hamilton delivers an expressive, convincing performance as Arnold, making palpable the internal battle waged by a seething, embittered man. [David] Parkes' Washington is weary, conflicted yet stalwart, as befits the general who holds the nation's fate in his hands. His emotional monologue about the inexperienced, poorly equipped yet dedicated soldiers he commands, the men for whom he sacrifices his friend, is a high point."
Albert Williams, Reader—"TimeLine Theatre—whose motto is 'yesterday's stories, today's topics'—couldn't have chosen a more apt season opener than this thoughtful, suspenseful drama about Benedict Arnold... Director Louis Contey's intimate, plainspoken production reminds us that notions of right and wrong, good and evil, patriotism and treason, are too simplistic to convey the complexities of human nature and human history."
John Beer, New City—"Timeline has given Arnold's story a solid production, featuring a meticulous design by Brian Sidney Bembridge. Terry Hamilton's Arnold is a rough-hewn soldier, barking out his contempt for politicians and hiding his ultimate disappointments behind a stiff mask. He's ably complemented by David Parkes' gruff Washington; while he may not achieve the thorough reimagining of the Father of our Country available in Cox and Combes' YouTube hit, this irascible general seems never to have met a cherry tree he wouldn't enjoy cutting down."
Lawrence Bommer, Free Press—"Contey's staging is never stronger than when it exposes their sins of survival. As Arnold's flirtatious, shallow and morally worthless wife, Mackenzie Kyle's amoral opportunist reinvents venality. (Too bad Nelson omits the scene when, learning about her husband's betrayal, she feigns insanity—though of course it was her greed that fed his disloyalty.) In contrast, Jennifer Avery as Arnold's all-suffering sister is a sad case of collateral damage, a loving lady caught in the crossfire. Finally, Tom Bateman plays Washington's aide-de-camp Alexander Hamilton with period-perfect suavity and moral vigor, the 18th-century at its more enlightened."
Venus Zarris, Gay Chicago—"TimeLine's excellent production values present an attractive and well-executed delivery of this story, but it is sadly sterile. It is interesting but far from riveting. And it is a shame when there are so many exceptional components to a show but still it fails to fully succeed. The lighting, set design and costumes create a gorgeous look and feel. The direction is impressively tight. But Terry Hamilton's portrayal of Benedict Arnold lacks the dimension and confidence to carry off the lead with all of its complexities."
Mary Shen Barnidge, Windy City—"It is a rare Richard Nelson play that is not burdened with weighty political subtext, but if the West Wing parallels to our own times seem to be driven home too blatantly during the first act of this Timeline Theatre production, it is likely more the fault of the author than of Louis Contey's direction. Indeed, details that could easily be reduced to low-comedy shtick, under Contey's guidance, are rendered with no-bigger-than-life subtlety... And while it may be true that history is written by the victors, Nelson, Contey and a company of virtuoso artists, led by Terry Hamilton as the ultimately tragic Arnold, delve into the existing facts to raise questions as complex as the times they depict."
Shakesploitation – New Millennium Theatre Company
Nina Metz, Tribune—"Playwright-director Andy Grigg brings the Bard back to his groundling roots with Shakesploitation, a tongue-in-cheek homage that tosses reverence out the door, along with decisive storytelling and good pacing. But why complain when Othello has an Afro? Of the three Shakespearean plays dissected and re-assembled here, 'Grand Theft Othello' works the best, even if its blaxploitation inspiration is a bit obvious. Still, Othello's opening line made me laugh ('You damn right, [I'm] Othello')—and Leldon Omar De La Cruz is having a fine time doing his Shaft-meets-Samuel L. Jackson impersonation."
Tony Adler, Reader—"The New Millennium Theatre Company reprises its Shakespearean satire consisting of three one-act parodies: Grand Theft Othello, Romeo and Juliet II: Dead by Dawn, and Ninja Hamlet: Burning Fist of Denmark. The language is vulgar, the situations involve drugs, sex, and martial arts—sort of like cable. But no one's going to come out of this hilarious show with anything less than a vastly enhanced appreciation for the Bard's badass potential."
Catey Sullivan, Windy City—"In a berserk 90 minutes, we get Grand Theft Othello, Romeo & Juliet: Apocalypse and Ninja Hamlet: Burning Fist of Denmark. Don't look for subtlety or subtext. This show is as over-the top and realistic as Liza Minelli's wedding (only intentionally, with a smaller budget and without the oddly waxed eyebrows.)... On the whole, Shakesploitation is noisy, trashy, disrespectful and idiotic. I loved it."
Ten Little Indians (And Then There Were None) – Drury Lane Oakbrook
Chris Jones, Tribune—"[Director Michael] Halberstam hasn't come up with some great revisionist triumph—the acting styles vary considerably between the terrific Joe Van Slyke's intense and emotional honesty to Larry McCauley's droll but more flamboyant theatricality. And there are moments when pacing sags and you can catch a few heads drooping in the theater—this is a thriller from an era when light entertainment was consumed in bigger bites. But overall, Halberstam catches the right mood and style—grandiose homage but with tongue just an inch inside the cheek. His visual work is especially elegant here."
Hedy Weiss, Sun-Times—"What happens when the safe and predictable Drury Lane Oakbrook Terrace Theatre puts that chestnut of an English mystery into the hands of a guest director like Michael Halberstam, the artistic force behind Glencoe's Writers' Theatre, and an artist who knows his way around Shakespeare, Shaw and Dostoyevsky? You get something altogether fresh, sparkling and surprising—an intriguing psychological thriller with plenty of comic bite, played by a cast that includes some of Chicago's finest actors, and that is enhanced by the kind of sophisticated design rarely seen at Drury Lane."
Kim Wilson Buck, Reader—"In Agatha Christie's classic whodunit (adapted from her book), ten strangers gather at an island estate only to find themselves prey to their murderous, unseen host. Director Michael Halberstam and a superb cast treat us to an elegant revival—a smorgasbord of diverse complex characters who gradually turn on one another."
Lawrence Bommer, Free Press—"The process of elimination was never so scary. Agatha Christie's still potent 1943 murder mystery delivers a ton of unguessable thrills, along with a richly textured rogues gallery of deserving victims. Crackling and cascading, Michael Halberstam's taut staging makes good on the menace, his crackerjack cast applying years of thespian experience to their immaculate performances. It's well worth the trip to Oak Brook to find out, well, what you can't find out."
Mary Shen Barnidge, Windy City—"A heavy-lifting ensemble (featuring such regional favorites as Craig Spidle, Deanna Dunagan, Larry McCauley, Joe Van Slyke, Timothy Gregory and Carey Cannon) hoists suspension-of-belief in volume as cumbersome as that required of its audience, their industry resurrecting all the freshness and suspense displayed by this mossy museum artifact at its premiere in 1944. The real stars of the show, however, are Brian Bembridge, Rick Sims and Bob Christen, who together create an ocean vista so meteorologically accurate, we can almost smell the salt spray."
Quote of the Fortnight:
"What more delicious topic for a new musical than life in Naperville." – Chris Jones reviewing White Horse Theatre Company's production of Keep Ishmael in the Tribune.