The Brother / Sister Plays (The SOB Review) - Upstairs Theatre, Steppenwolf, Chicago, Illinois
**** (out of ****)
Imagine my utter disappointment when I realized at the January 31 opening night celebration for
Steppenwolf's production of
The Brother / Sister Plays --
Tarrell Alvin McCraney's excellent and deeply poetic trilogy -- that I would only see two of the three parts.
Somehow, I had neglected to read the notice that if I had wanted to see
In The Red And Brown Water that same day, I needed to get there in the early afternoon. But after being completely enthralled by the lyrical power of
The Brothers Size / Marcus; Or The Secret Of Sweet, there was just no way I was not going to return to see what is essentially the first act.
Standing as a towering achievement, not only for the incredibly young yet wise-beyond-his-years playwright, but also for its outstanding ensemble,
The Brother / Sister Plays may ultimately prove to be the most important new work of this new decade. It's honest depiction of life as McCraney knew it in New Orleans coupled with a fanciful air provides a tremendously satisfying depth.
While director
Tina Landau only helmed portions of this sweeping work prior to its Steppenwolf engagement, her singular focus here ensures that McCraney's gift for language dances just as soulfully as the beautifully choreographed
In The Red And Brown Water. Each play is anchored by the impeccable
K. Todd Freeman as Ogun Size, arguably the heart pulsating throughout this ambitious work; Freeman imbues Ogun with a rare level of humanity that makes him simply breathtaking to watch.
Few shows have moved me over the past year like
The Brother / Sister Plays. While each segment could stand on its own, its the confluence of all three together that make this a must-see work. It's truly marvelous in every sense of the word.
This is
Steve On Broadway (SOB).
In keeping with the new Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regulations that unfairly discriminate against bloggers, who are now required by law to disclose when they have received anything of value they might write about, please note that I have received nothing of value in exchange for this post.Labels: Chicago, K. Todd Freeman, Play, Steppenwolf, Tarrell Alvin McCraney, The Brother/Sister Plays, The SOB Review, Tina Landau
Rondi Reed Helps Make Chicago Wicked A Gas This Summer
Rondi Reed Helps Make Chicago Wicked A Gas This SummerLess than two weeks ago,
August: Osage County's
Rondi Reed (pictured) was honored with a Tony Award for her stellar performance as Mattie Fae Aiken.
The
Steppenwolf ensemble member has since returned home to Chicago, but it's not to take on a role in
Tracy Letts' new play
Superior Donuts, which opens this Sunday. No, on that very same day, this amazing actress is returning to a role she originated in the Windy City just over three years ago to the day. Once again, she'll become Madame Morrible in Chicago's sitdown production of
Wicked. Reed will join fellow Steppenwolf ensemble member
K. Todd Freeman, who portrays Doctor Dillamond.
Certainly, her reappearance in the production should be more than enough to entice Midwesterners to make tracks to the city's Oriental Theatre. But wait! There's more!
For performances from July 1 though 6, those who purchase two tickets (with the exception of lowest priced seating) are eligible to receive one $50 gas card. The offer's fine print states:
Valid only for July 1- 6, 2008 performances. Must use code "GAS" when ordering. Not valid on lowest price seating. Gas cards will be distributed at the orchestra level bar on the night of the performance when you present your coded ticket. Subject to availability. Limited number of seats per performance and price level. Not valid in conjunction with any other offer. Regular ticketing and handling fees will apply. Other restrictions may apply. Not available at outlets.
While the Chicago sitdown production of
Wicked is now due to close on January 25, 2009 after 1500 performances and grossing more than $200 million, I would strongly suggest that anyone hoping to see Rondi Reed perform best get there over the next few months. After all,
August: Osage County is due to begin performances in London with most of its original cast come November, and I'd say it's a good bet that Reed will be returning to the role that earned her that well-deserved Tony.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for Wicked Chicago tickets.Related Stories:August: Osage County (The SOB Revisit) (June 18, 2008)
Tony Awards: Win Place Show (June 16, 2008)
August: Coming To A County Near You (June 12, 2008)
SOB's 2008 Tony Picks - Who Will Win (June 10, 2008)
SOB's 2008 Tony Picks - Part II (June 5, 2008)
"What Is The 'Value' Of Theatre?" (March 19, 2008)
August: Osage County (The SOB Revisit) (February 20, 2008)
August: Osage County (The SOB Review) (August 19, 2007)
Approaching One Year, Chicago's Wicked Continues to Captivate (May 23, 2006)
Labels: August Osage County, Chicago, Closing Notices, K. Todd Freeman, Musical, Rondi Reed, Special Offers, Wicked
Carter's Way (The SOB Review) - Downstairs Theatre, Steppenwolf, Chicago, IL** (out of ****)"Sometimes, the flaws are the most interesting part of the performance."
- Oriole Carter,
Carter's WayYet sometimes they aren't.
Despite many a flawless performance in sight, ranging from some genuinely intelligent, heartfelt portrayals to some fancy finger work on display through its coterie of jazz musicians,
Carter's Way nevertheless has its share of flaws that can be downright frustrating.
Rather than serving as the most interesting parts of the performance, they relegate this play with music to one that looks and feels like a work that's still very much in progress, one in search of the appropriate beat. By having his lead character Oriole Carter tossing off a key line like the one in my opening, its efficacy is as if playwright and director
Eric Simonson is laying down a gauntlet, daring his audience to dismiss any portion of the work, regardless of its warts.
Never mind that
Carter's Way hits so many of the right notes. Its examination of artistic freedom and eccentricities -- in this case, the evolution of jazz in Depression-era Kansas City -- colliding with the same period's flawed, overt racial discrimination and flawed laws forbidding interracial relationships certainly strikes a valiant chord, comprising the most interesting and promising aspects of this performance.
But the real flaws revolve around missing plot points and its lacking in fully realized character development. Chief among them is the arrogant Oriole, played by the amazing James Vincent Meredith who tries desperately to wring out every last ounce of what he's given to work with as a revolutionary master saxaphone player with a chip on his shoulder the size of the Show Me State. Yet Simonson only allows glimpses into his heart, pigeonholing him to one-note wonder status.
His arrogance has already placed him out of tune with his former love Marilyn Stokes (portrayed with gutsy gusto by the superb
Ora Jones). It's also contributed to his dubious future as a headliner with the Planet Mars, a jazz joint within Kansas City's limits officially run by Pewee Abernathy (the sensational
K. Todd Freeman), yet actually controlled by the mob's jazz-hating boss Jack Thorpe (
Robert Breuler) and his foot soldier-cum-recording entrepreneur Johnny Russo (
Keith Kupferer).
Why then is it that when Johnny brings around his moll Eunice Fey (
Anne Adams) to Planet Mars, Oriole's artistry alone serves as an unbelievable force of nature, pulling her irresistibly into an orbit of love? Never mind his snubs bordering on the abusive. Sure, there's a glimmer of heart worn on Oriole's sleeve when in his continued efforts to rebuff Eunice's entreaties, he reveals that earlier, he had been forced to serve time simply for the appearance of being with a white woman. But it's not enough to make us believe they'd be drawn together.
That they are is less a case of against all odds than against better judgment. Save for his music, and try as Meredith might, there's just too little heart imbued in Oriole to make him a convincing star-crossed lover; similarly, there's just not quite enough soul in Adams' Eunice, a wannabe jazz singer, to lend plausibility toward Oriole risking everything to be with her. Any man found messing with a mobster's doll, irrespective of the color of his skin, would likely meet the same fate. Someone with Oriole's street smarts would surely know better.
Still, there is much to enjoy, especially
Darrell Leonard's rousing jazz pieces complemented by Jones' surprising singing voice. Nearly flawless, Jones' performance proves to be the most interesting part of
Carter's Way.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets.Labels: Carter's Way, Chicago, James Vincent Meredith, K. Todd Freeman, Ora Jones, Play, Play with Music, Steppenwolf, The SOB Review
SOB’s Best of 2005-06: #6 – “MASTER HAROLD”…And The Boys (Steppenwolf Theatre, Chicago, IL)
In seeing
“MASTER HAROLD”…And The Boys – Athol Fugard’s intensely personal autobiographical account of growing up as a wealthy white boy in South Africa -- it’s perhaps a little too easy for American audiences to dismiss this apartheid-era drama with detached ignorance as some relic from another culture and time. Despite the play’s distant locale, it serves as a stark reminder that the United States’ shameful Jim Crow age wasn’t that long ago either. Fortunately, for many history-deprived Chicagoland high school students whose schools participate in Steppenwolf for Young Adults -- an outstanding outreach program to local schools -- they had the opportunity to see a display of raw emotion that exemplified some of period's the racial inequality. If only racial inequality
were a thing of the past.
Steppenwolf ensemble member K. Todd Freeman’s passionate, yet rapid-paced direction of this classic play demonstrated just how manic codified racism could be, especially in undercutting civil and even seemingly loving friendships between individuals of different color. One has to wonder how incredibly agonizing it must have been for Fugard to bare his soul and his own shameful actions from his youth by exploring his relationship (as Hally, portrayed by Nick Ferrin) -- with his family’s trusted keeper and confidante, Sam, played with a rare dignified eloquence by Cedric Young, and Willie, who despite the soft-spoken nature of his character portrayed by Kenn E. Head, demonstrated his heart and heartbreak with each sweep of his broom.
While Sam provided Hally with a level of unspoken mentoring that his own father was unable to offer, it was breathtakingly halting to witness how quickly the young man turned hostile against Sam when any sign of his own supposed superiority was remotely questioned.
While this version of
“MASTER HAROLD” …And The Boys enjoyed only a brief reign last fall, its profound and poignant message has remained with me enough to make this number 6 on my SOB Best of 2005-06 Theatrical Season list. (Again, in the interest of full disclosure, I am a proud member of Steppenwolf’s Auxiliary Council Board of Governors.)
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Related Stories:SOB's Best of 2005-06: #1 - Theater Of The New Ear (Royce Hall, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA) (May 30, 2006)
SOB’s Best of 2005-06: #2 – Guys And Dolls (Piccadilly Theatre, London, UK) (May 26, 2006)
SOB’s Best of 2005-06: #3 – Hedda Gabler (Brooklyn Academy of Music – Harvey Theatre, New York, NY) (May 25, 2006)
SOB’s Best of 2005-06: #4 – A Blameless Life (Steppenwolf Garage, Chicago, IL) (May 24, 2006)
SOB’s Best of 2005-06: #5 – Reeling (The Children’s Theatre Company, Minneapolis, MN) (May 23, 2006)
SOB’s Best of 2005-06: #7 – Love Song (Steppenwolf Theatre, Chicago, IL) (May 19, 2006)
SOB's Best of 2005-06: #8 - Billy Elliot The Musical (Victoria Palace Theatre, London, UK) (May 18, 2006)
SOB's Best of 2005-06: #9 - The Well-Appointed Room (Steppenwolf Theatre, Chicago, IL) (May 17, 2006)
SOB's Best of 2005-06: #10 - Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (Eugene O'Neill Theatre, New York, NY) (May 15, 2006)
The SOB Five "Worst" of 2005-06 (May 12, 2006)
SOB's Best and Worst of 2005-06 Theatre Season (May 12, 2006)
Labels: Chicago, K. Todd Freeman, Master Harold And The Boys, Play, Revival, SOB's Best of 2005-06, Steppenwolf
