| PI ONLINE: 3-19-04 | |
| Killer
Angels Brings History to Life BY KEVIN HECKMAN
Director
Ned Mochel makes use of one major device to help the audience understand
the developing battle to great effect. A large map, placed upstage, shows
the developing positions of the opposing armies. A red circle indicates
the location of particular scenes, which frees Mochel and the ensemble
to move quickly from scene to scene without worrying much about transitions
or losing the audience. Simple changes of jackets and hats allow the cast
of nine to easily portray 25 different characters and Mochel’s ensemble
does, on the whole, an excellent job of fleshing out these various men
in the numerous short scenes. Perhaps the only significant weakness in
Lifeline’s production lies in converting an historical event into
a gripping dramatic one when everyone knows the ending. While many moments
of the play are interesting, they are hardly engrossing. But The Killer
Angels is not just for Civil War buffs; Mochel’s staging and several
fine performances make it a worthy dramatic event. If only history class
had been so engaging. The
Killer Angels—Lifeline Theatre Chris
Jones, Tribune—“The skill of this show—an intensely
impressive piece of work in all areas—lies in its exquisite sense
of balance. Despite the obvious physical limitations, it’s sufficiently
epic to excite from time to time. But it’s also unafraid to turn
its back on its audience when necessary. And it’s quiet enough to
reveal Shaara’s deeper points in three dimensions…Thoughtful
performances also abound in Ned Mochel’s dignified and endlessly
imaginative production—a show that avoids the ooze of familiar sentiment
in favor of smart, clear-eyed storytelling.” Hedy
Weiss, Sun-Times—“The Lifeline production deploys just
nine actors, most enacting multiple roles on both the Union and Confederate
sides as they bring the entire Battle of Gettysburg to vivid life. It’s
all there: The strangely reversed alignment of the Confederate Army of
Northern Virginia, dressed in gray, and the Union’s Army of the
Potomac, in blue; the deeply thoughtful arguments about what each side
was fighting for; the complex personalities of the generals and their
attitudes toward sending their soldiers into the most futile situations;
the mutinies and food shortages and inconclusive battle outcomes and spies;
the carefully mapped and sometimes highly unconventional battlefield tactics;
the horrors of face-to-face combat; the piercing reality of life one moment,
death the next.” Kelly
Kleiman, Reader—“Karen Tarjan’s faithful adaptation
of Michael Shaara’s Pulitzer-winning novel is as dull as the book
despite some strong performances, particularly from Brian Amidei as tortured
Confederate general James Longstreet. In this version of the battle of
Gettysburg, there’s a lot of standing around asking “Where
is the enemy? Is that the enemy? Should we engage the enemy?”…Director
Ned Mochel seems stumped even by the basics: a map used to illustrate
the battle’s progress is more confusing than helpful, so if you
don’t already know how things unfolded at Gettysburg you’re
in trouble. Tim
Sauers, Gay Chicago—“The telling of the 1863 Battle
of Gettysburg by a nine-member, testosterone-driven male ensemble in a
little over two hours is quite an impressive feat of theatre. Based on
the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Michael Shaara, Lifeline Theatre’s
staging, adapted by Karen Tarjan and directed by Ned Mochel, has all the
right aesthetic elements needed for historical drama. Although the first
half borders on becoming a somewhat dry social studies lesson, the second
half fires an forceful cannonball that drives the action to its inevitable
conclusion.” American
Dead—American Theatre Company Michael
Phillips, Tribune—“But American Dead, the latest as
well as one of the best from Chicago playwright Brett Neveu, works its
forlorn territory with a stealthy sense of purpose. The play has its puzzling
aspects and narrative lurches. Yet its hermetic, small-town atmosphere
feels like an extension of its characters rather than an authorial imposition…Only
occasionally does the writer, who has a deadpan sense of humor, condescend
to the provincial stasis he depicts.” Hedy
Weiss, Sun-Times—“Neveu has an ear for dialogue spoken
by those who tend to be dulled by life, and preferably even nonverbal.
And under Edward Sobel’s sober and sobering direction, the actors…have
found precisely the right tempo and body language for their depressive
characters. Sobel (who should have dispensed with an intermission) also
sustains the touch of Twin Peaks menace that Neveu has injected into his
story, though mostly it is the grim, sometimes brutal reality of ordinary
existence that holds sway here—all underscored by the design work
of Keith Pitts, Rachel Anne Healy, Michelle Habeck and Ray Nardelli.” Tony
Adler, Reader—“The production, directed by Edward Sobel,
is as good as it can possibly be. Understated, sure-footed, gritty and
sweet. Marty Higginbotham’s Alan is a bully with a heart of gold,
pained equally by the inevitability of his situation as sheriff of a dead
town and by the fantasy that he can somehow do something about it. John
Mohrlein’s Bill is a strange comic masterpiece: old man as old biddy,
the mother hen at the last bar on earth. Danny McCarthy’s Doug is
wonderful to watch in his interactions with the increasingly unstable
Lewie—by turns guarded and generous, pitying and possessed of a
genuine affection for his crazy brother-in-law. But in the end it’s
James Leaming’s show. Leaming’s Lewie is astounding in its
portrayal of a handyman, as doomed as Oedipus.” Nina
Metz, New City—“The scenes between Lewie and Doug are
almost dance-like, their dialogue skirting around the issue so doggedly—Lewie’s
dependence on Doug, and Doug’s conflicted desire to get away—it
is almost uncomfortable to watch. Director Edward Sobel and his design
team (particularly Keith Pitts and his exposed-slat, crumbling-sheetrock
set design) give the play a dilapidated, melancholic nobility that is
very much alive indeed.” Rick
Reed, Windy City—“Edward Sobel deftly directs an outstanding
ensemble here, which give uniformly inspired and credible performances.
Keith Pitts’ set design perfectly mirrors the details of a town
in decline, and uses American Theatre Company’s modest playing space
to craft a very real, three-pronged world. Michelle Habeck’s lighting
is appropriately moody, and Ray Nardelli’s sound design is simple
and evocative. American Dead is one of the finest original works I’ve
seen at ATC, and heralds the arrival of an important voice in American
theatre. It’s not a perfect outing (it could use some script doctoring
and tightening), but it’s much better than much of what passes for
theatre downtown. Definitely recommended.” Struggling
Truths—Prop Thtr Michael
Phillips, Tribune—“For its inaugural mainstage run,
alas, Prop has backed what charitably might be called 'the wrong
pony.’…The Prop production, staged by Scott Vehill, does well
enough by the careering text. Prop’s executive director, Jonathan
Lavan, has fun as Sangsang, though his approach glibs up a role that’s
plenty glib to begin with. The play, finally, never locates a provocative
mixture of seriousness and funniness. Unruly, bloody recent Tibetan history
deserves a more stimulatingly unruly play than this.” Mary
Houlihan, Sun-Times—“With the rich, tragic history
of Tibet at its core, Peter Mellencamp’s Struggling Truths has the
possibility of being a truly unique piece of theatre. The ambitious drama
is rich with ideas, but it sometimes walks a precarious line between drama
and comedy that makes for an uneasy partnership. The play’s reach
is wildly ambitious, and that undermines its effectiveness. There are
simply too many vignettes to be pulled together into a cohesive story...Too
many angles crammed into two hours makes for scattered storytelling.” Kelly
Kleiman, Reader—“Scott Vehill’s production is
most successful in its nods to Mother Courage and Her Children and The
Good Woman of Setzuan, with a narrator who pops in and out of the action
and a portrait of political conflict in which everyone suffers and no
one wins. But the script’s weaknesses are exacerbated by Vehill’s
decision to stage it on a central runway, forcing audience members to
spend the evening turning their heads back and forth like judges at Wimbledon.
Emphasizing dichotomy is all very well, but it might be done without inducing
motion sickness. Jonathan Lavan’s fine performance as the narrator
is complemented by Jason Llamas’s as the brother whose spiritual
quest forms the play’s arc. Llamas turns lines suitable for Luke
Skywalker into something genuine-and genuinely touching.” Jennifer
Vanasco, Free Press—“Struggling Truths is an accessible
play and director Scott Vehill has staged it beautifully, turning Prop’s
new, narrow space with the audience facing each other (the rest of the
theatre is still under construction) into the plains and mountains of
Tibet. Prop Thtr is the oldest non-equity company in Chicago and this
production is one example of why it’s been able to hang around for
23 years. The production is riveting, managing to convey complex philosophical
questions in a direct, engaging way.” Venus
Zarris, Gay Chicago—“Prop Thtr’s Chicago premiere
of Struggling Truths isn’t bad, but it fails to deliver the full
flavor of what it attempts to convey. It tells the story of the Communist
Chinese takeover—or 'liberation,’ as they liked to spin
it—of Tibet and the subsequent exile of the Dalai Lama. The story
unravels through the lives of a brother and sister that follow different
paths and find themselves on opposite sides of the violent conflict.” Mary
Shen Barnidge, Windy City—“Besides, this is a PLAY
and if we are to pay attention for nearly three hours, we need to cheer
for SOMEBODY. The absurdity (to our Western sensibilities, anyway) of
koanic logic was the stuff of a thousand jokes during America’s
craze for esoteric religions in the 1960s, its potential for humor or
insight long since exhausted. And while the tragedy of families split
asunder by Turbulent Times is a reliable premise for melodrama, the naive
siblings’ dogged faith in the righteousness of their respective
ideologies ultimately alienates us, but not in the manner prescribed by
the verfremdungseffekt principle on which this dramatic genre is based.” Critic’s
Quote: “Stick
to the film.”—Lawrence Bommer reviewing The Graduate at the
Shubert Theatre in the Reader. |
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