Steve On Broadway (SOB)

fracture/mechanics (The SOB Review)

fracture/mechanics (The SOB Review) - Red Tape Theatre, St. Peter's Episcopal Church, Chicago, Illinois

** (out of ****)

Can a twenty-something woman trying to keep up with the boys in boudoir antics, bouncing from bed to bed, do so without any consequences or emotional scars?

In Mallery Avidon's frequently intriguing, yet ultimately frustrating new play fracture/mechanics currently being mounted by Chicago's bold Pavement Group theatre company, the answer appears to be a flat-out "no." Instead, there's a lot of anger and resentment.

Cyd Blakewell offers a particularly stunning turn as the coitus girl interrupted. Blakewell displays a remarkable, nearly manic range, often within a span of mere moments.

What was particularly captivating was the way in which this young woman's sex life was literally spinning out of control. Credit director David Perez for his keen eye on how mine the allegories inherent in her personal discoveries. Thanks to his vision, I actually felt chills running down my spine during the climactic turning point in the story.

Right through that critical moment, Avidon's script remained funny, engaging and wildly unpredictable. But from there, the 11th hour revelation offered a provocative detour that threw the show off balance. With that distraction, I was left pondering what clues I had missed all along. What Avidon's promising play is lacking an important degree of depth and elucidation. Fortunately for the audience, Perez's direction and his fearless ensemble do their best in transcending the material.

This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).

Labels: Chicago, Cyd Blakewell, David Perez, fractured/mechanics, Pavement Group, Play, The SOB Review

posted by Steve On Broadway (SOB) @ Friday, June 19, 2009