Up (The SOB Review) – Downstairs Theatre, Steppenwolf, Chicago, Illinois
***1/2 (out of ****)Maybe it’s that the title is exactly the same as the current
Disney/
Pixar hit.
You know the one. The
film out a pie-in-the-sky dreamer who yearns to be lifted from an ordinary life and uses balloons to take flight from the comfort of his own surroundings. Oh wait, that also neatly summarizes
Bridget Carpenter’s stirring and tender
Up as well. Funny though how dissimilar these two takes on the same essential theme can be.
After being lulled into a false sense that the only way
is up during the first act, Carpenter’s emotionally satisfying play about a wide-eyed visionary named Walter Griffin (a remarkable
Ian Barford) really takes off, even if against any predictable prevailing winds.
With
Anna D. Shapiro’s marvelous direction providing appropriately measured ballast and pitch,
Up is nothing short of a lofty, ambitious play about hope and capacity for discovery, including those of a decidedly introspective nature. And it works.
Years after Walter has succeeded in raising his personal stature by floating three miles high on his own lawn chair, he continues -- perhaps vainly -- in pursuit of the next big thing. He remains undaunted, even as others beat him to the punch.
But there’s a cost to these ongoing pipedreams. Patience is wearing thin at home.
His desperate non-house wife Helen (a beautifully raw
Lauren Katz) is tiring of being the lone family breadwinner and implores Walter to go out and find a real job, even if it means giving up on his dreams. Their emotionally awkward high school son Mikey (a brilliant
Jake Cohen) believes so strongly in his father that he lacks any faith in his own capabilities.
That is, until he meets Maria, a chatty pregnant classmate (the tremendously talented
Rachel Brosnahan), who not becomes his first real friend, but also provides him with an introduction to a new self-awareness wakened by her free-spirited Aunt Chris (
Martha Lavey in one of her two deliciously funny roles from each end of an amazingly wide spectrum).
There is so much to recommend this heartfelt production. However, I’d be remiss if I didn’t add that the penultimate scene was what ultimately had my trio of friends and I arguing long and hard afterward about what had just transpired and all it symbolized.
Far be it from me to even allude to what we discussed, but our strikingly disparate conclusions and our eagerness to vociferously debate points to the true genius in Carpenter’s brilliant writing. There aren’t many shows I experience where I’m passionately discussing it long after.
But Carpenter’s work, inspired by
true events, is nothing short of inspirational.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Anna D Shapiro, Bridget Carpenter, Chicago, Ian Barford, Jake Cohen, Lauren Katz, Martha Lavey, Play, Rachel Bresnahan, Steppenwolf, The SOB Review, Up
August: Osage County - And Then They're GoneCall it a day of theatrical symmetry.
Exactly two years to the day after Chicago's
Steppenwolf Theatre premiered
Tracy Letts' Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning
August: Osage County at its Downstairs Theatre, the show closed at the
Music Box Theatre. Directed by
Anna D. Shapiro, the play enjoyed 648 performances on Broadway.
My dear friend Kevin Daly at
Theatre Aficianado At Large was there for the closing performance, which had its own surprise before it even began. Kevin looked at the board next to the ticket counter and saw that
Rondi Reed was back for the final performance. It wasn't long before he was
tweeting about it to let the whole world know.
Meanwhile, back at Steppenwolf's Downstairs Theatre last evening,
Bridget Carpenter's
Up was enjoying its opening night. This is the latest play to be helmed by Shapiro and it features her husband
Ian Barford (the original Little Charles from
August: Osage County) in the lead. Other noteworthy alums from
August: Osage County were on hand, including Tony winner
Deanna Dunagan (the original Violet Weston) and
Francis Guinan (the original Charlie Aiken). Both were clearly thrilled to hear that Reed had returned for that final performance. Guinan will return to the Steppenwolf stage in
Fake beginning in September.
While dignitaries like
Illinois Governor Pat Quinn were on hand to witness the troupe's latest treasure, the symmetry of Steppenwolf's sweet serendipitous Sunday in New York and Chicago rounded out with actor
Jon Michael Hill of Lett's
Superior Donuts being in the Windy City house. While I can't say whether he'll be part of the transfer to Broadway this fall, I expect great things from this incredible young talent and believe Great White Way audiences will celebrate his name sometime soon.
And once again thanks to Steppenwolf, I'll have bragging rights not unlike those when I was among the first to see
August: Osage County nearly two years ago.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Anna D Shapiro, August Osage County, Broadway, Chicago, Deanna Dunagan, Francis Guinan, Ian Barford, Jon Michael Hill, Rondi Reed, Steppenwolf, Superior Donuts, Tracy Letts, Up
RIP Harold Pinter (1930 - 2008)
After a long battle with cancer, British playwright and director
Harold Pinter died yesterday.
Nominated four times for the Tony Award and winning for 1967's searing, enigmatic
The Homecoming , Pinter also was named a Nobel Prize Laureate in 2005 for his body of work and his mastery of the pause. Seven of his plays were produced on Broadway, beginning with 1961's
The Caretaker -- a show that's since been revived twice on the Main Stem.
While I was completely repulsed by
The Homecoming, I admit to being shaken to my core by the play when
I finally caught the Great White Way revival earlier this year.
The Homecoming essentially haunted my thoughts and dreams for over two weeks, burrowing deep into my soul. Perhaps that's the mark of an excellent playwright.
My personal favorite Pinter work is the non-linear
Betrayal. In fact,
I thoroughly enjoyed the recent 2007
Steppenwolf revival starring an absolutely brilliant, slow-burning
Tracy Letts (yes,
that Pulitzer Prize-winning Tracy Letts) opposite a pitch-perfect
Amy Morton as married couple Robert and Emma, whose relationship is come undone thanks to her affair with his best friend Jerry (a sharp
Ian Barford).
Will there be renewed interest in resurrecting other Pinter works now that he's gone? Given the spate of recent mountings to reexamine his genius in his native United Kingdom, expect more of the same stateside. Not only will Pinter's works live on, but so will his name, which was forever immortalized in
Stephen Sondheim's lyrics to "Ladies Who Lunch" from 1970's
Company.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Amy Morton, Betrayal, Harold Pinter, Ian Barford, In Memoriam, Play, Steppenwolf, The Homecoming, Tracy Letts
August: Coming To A County Near YouIt's
official!
Tracy Letts'
August: Osage County is set to tour beginning just a little over one year from now.
The first stop for the tour will be at San Francisco's
Curran Theatre, beginning -- appropriately enough -- in August 2009 (August 11, to be precise). Other tour stops will be announced soon.
While the touring cast of
August: Osage County has yet to be announced, many key cast changes are set to occur on Broadway after Sunday afternoon's matinee performance, which dovetails with the 2008 Tony Awards. The show, of course, is the overwhelming favorite to win "Best Play," and as
I've stated previously, there are likely to be other key award winners from the production including, I hope, a couple key folks set to depart.
Chief among them are the amazing
Deanna Dunagan and
Rondi Reed, who portray sisters Violet Weston and Mattie Fae Aiken, respectively. Don't be surprised to see either of these outstanding actresses taking Tonys home with them to Chicago come Sunday -- just don't expect to see them in the show come Tuesday. June 17 marks the first performance in which Dunagan will be succeeded by Academy Award winner
Estelle Parsons, while Reed will be replaced by Steppenwolf ensemble member
Molly Regan, who most recently was appearing in the Chicago troupe's production of
Dead Man's Cell Phone.
Regan last appeared in the 1992 Broadway revival of
The Crucible. If you're not familiar with Regan, I can tell you that she was "
wonderfully sardonic" in
Dead Man's Cell Phone, and
I adored her in Steppenwolf's 2006 production of
Love Song in which she played
Francis Guinan's loveable, lovely wife and
Ian Barford's sister.
Speaking of Guinan and Barford -- and coming full circle -- they'll
also be exiting
August: Osage County come Sunday. Guinan's superb performance as Mattie Fae's husband Charlie will be followed by
Robert Foxworth (best known for television's sudsy "
Falcon Crest"), while Barford's Little Charles will be portrayed come Tuesday by Steppenwolf ensemble member
Jim True-Frost (best known for
HBO's "
The Wire").
I last caught Foxworth around 2003 in the touring production of
Proof as he offered an intelligent take on a genius father who went mad. As for True-Frost,
I saw him, interestingly enough, under
Amy Morton's taut direction in the 2006 Steppenwolf production of
The Pillowman (which also starred none other than Tracy Letts); at the time, I saluted True-Frost's "right mix of indignation and fear" in his portrayal of Katurian Katurian Katurian.
As if all those departures aren't enough, a fifth original cast member from the original Chicago incarnation is set to bid farewell. Steppenwolf co-founder
Jeff Perry's Bill Fordham will now be played by Tony-winning actor
Frank Wood (
Side Man).
Of course, with the onslaught of Tonys that
August: Osage County is expected to enjoy, it's likely that the production just might last on Broadway well beyond August. Not bad for a little ensemble piece that was initially set for a limited run.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets.Related Stories:SOB's 2008 Tony Picks - Who Will Win (June 10, 2008)
SOB's 2008 Tony Picks - Part III (June 6, 2008)
SOB's 2008 Tony Picks - Part II (June 5, 2008)
SOB's 2008 Tony Picks - Part I (June 4, 2008)
SOB's Best Of 2007-08: Best New Plays (May 30, 2008)
More August Honors (May 19, 2008)
Whoopi! Tony Eligibility And More Handicapping (May 9, 2008)
An August Award (April 7, 2008)
Today's The Day ... Or Maybe Not (April 7, 2008)
Producer's Perspective Is Sneak Peek (March 24, 2008)
Fantasy Casting Calls (February 26, 2008)
Dennis Letts - RIP (February 24, 2008)
August: Osage County (The SOB Revisit) (February 20, 2008)
August: Osage County Will Extend Again, Moving To Music Box (February 15, 2008)
Is It Just Me, Or... (Part III) (January 22, 2008)
Hot, Hot, Hot August Just Got Longer (January 14, 2008)
SOB's 7 Singular Sensations Of '07 - #1: Deanna Dunagan (December 31, 2007)
SOB's 7 Singular Sensations Of '07 - #3: Amy Morton (December 29, 2007)
ModFab: The Jury Is In (December 28, 2007)
August: Best Time Of The Year (December 15, 2007)
Sorkin "No Tracy Letts" (December 14, 2007)
More Than One Critic Letts August Esteem Show (December 5, 2007)
August Heat Fires Up December Opening (December 4, 2007)
Cold Opening Possible For August: Osage County? (November 16, 2007)
Finally, Back To The Table (November 14, 2007)
Add August To The List? (November 14, 2007)
An August Work (October 30, 2007)
Steppenwolf Letts "Juicy" August Move Forward (September 15, 2007)
This October, Letts' "August" Begins On Broadway (August 22, 2007)
August: Osage County (The SOB Review) (August 19, 2007)
Labels: August Osage County, Broadway, Chicago, Deanna Dunagan, Francis Guinan, Ian Barford, Jeff Perry, Play, Replacements, Rondi Reed, Steppenwolf, Touring Production
