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
Good Boys And True (The SOB Review) - Downstairs Theatre, Steppenwolf, Chicago, IL*** (out of ****)If the dearth of new television shows has left you
wondering what all those writers are doing when they're not picketing, look around the country and you may just spot some of them working in live theatre.
Consider the case of Nicaraguan-born playwright
Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, who had recently been added as a writer to television's "
Big Love" series on
HBO. While he had already written his
Good Boys And True prior to the strike, he certainly couldn't have been expecting a unique confluence of events to bring him to Chicago's
Steppenwolf.
At the time my favorite Windy City theatre company had announced
Good Boys And True as part of its 2007-08 Theatrical Season,
Amy Morton was initially attached as the play's director. Of course, anyone who's been paying attention to Broadway
theatre knows that Morton is currently wowing crowds at Rialto's
Imperial Theatre in a "little"
ensemble play. When it became obvious she would be unavailable to helm
Good Boys And True,
Pam MacKinnon was brought in.
Then, of course, the
Writers Guild of America strike was authorized and broke out in early November. That enabled Aguirre-Sacasa to join MacKinnon, along with her outstanding cast and crew, in honing the world premiere of his work, which began last month on the Steppenwolf stage.
The result?
Well, having already read C
hicago Tribune columnist Chris Jones
complete pan:
There is no sense of adolescent sexuality in Pam MacKinnon's icy, clipped, weirdly fractured production. There's not enough pain or passion. You don't believe in it for moment.
coupled with
Chicago Sun-Times critic Hedy Weiss' unfortunate
comparison with
Alan Bennett's
The History Boys:
But where Bennett's work is luminous, literate and bristling, and triggers the sort of instantaneous leap of faith that comes with great writing, Aguirre-Sacasa's play is wholly contrived, heavy-handed and flatly rendered.
I was completely prepared to hate the show and question my judgment for agreeing to become one of the show's sponsors (full disclosure here: when approached by Steppenwolf last fall to serve as an individual production sponsor with a donation, I readily agreed).
Quite the opposite occurred.
I found a very honest depiction of how Brandon Hardy (an earnest
Stephen Louis Grush) -- a popular young 80s prep school student, who seemed to have it all including good looks, excellent grades (he was accepted into Dartmouth) and athletic prowess -- dealt with his fears over being gay. Unlike today's adolescents, who fortunately seem to understand and come to terms with their burgeoning sexuality much earlier than was possible a generation ago, Brandon is compelled to hide who he truly is from everyone else at St. Joe's Prep.
Having developed a relationship with his fellow classmate Justin Simmons (
Tim Rock), Hardy yearns for the day at Darmouth when, together with Justin, he can shed the he-man prep school myth he's created for himself. He's become enslaved by it, not only for fear of complete rejection by his fellow classmates and teachers, but also by his parents, who have come to live through his second generation glory, both as star football player and grade-A student. He has to be just that much better than everyone else. He's essentially become the
best little boy in the world.
Brandon is living in a world of privilege. He understands all too well that gay boys just don't enjoy the same open doors as those boys who have never had to question their own sexuality, who just take it for granted that they're straight. Brandon realizes that he has to work double duty, not only in creating the illusion that he's one of them, but also at excelling at everything he does. He's compelled to do anything he can to safeguard his secret, lest there be a hint of gossip about him and Justin.
Very early on, we learn that there's a videotape circulating of a boy, who looks suspiciously like Brandon from the back, clearly having sex with -- or quite possibly raping -- a young teen name Cheryl Moody (
Kelly O'Sullivan). At the very least, we know that the act itself was taped without her consent.
The video ends up in the hands of St. Joe's Coach Russell Shea (
John Procaccino). He realizes that its contents could undermine the school's local standing. Suspecting that the boy in question is his star Brandon, he approaches the boy's mother Elizabeth (a superb
Martha Lavey), who can't even conceive that her son would be capable of such a thing.
Ultimately, Brandon reveals his secret to his mother in one of the most poignant, heartfelt and truthful scenes I've seen portrayed anywhere dealing with a child's
coming out. It's said that
mothers always know. And far from being contrived, this moment is incredibly honest and true, especially considering how light years away acceptance of homosexuality was a mere twenty years ago.
With all due respect to Jones and Weiss, ask anyone who's been where Brandon Hardy was, someone on the cusp of a great future, but afraid to accept his own truth for fear of losing everything simply because of being gay, and he might very well tell you the lengths of deception he'd go to in concealing who he was.
While most young gay men a generation ago would not have gone to the extreme young Brandon does, far too many resorted to shams of marriages or other devices to create and maintain illusions that rob them of time, relationships and, most of all, the dignity to be who they really are. What Aguirre-Sacasa, MacKinnon and the outstanding cast of
Good Boys And True achieve is a reminder for just how damaging and confining closets can be.
Perhaps no one can really understand unless you've been there yourself.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets.Labels: Chicago, Good Boys And True, Martha Lavey, Play, Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, Steppenwolf, The SOB Review
This October, Letts' "August" Begins On BroadwayEarlier this week,
I waxed rhapsodic about the current Steppenwolf production of
Tracy Letts' (pictured) masterpiece,
August: Osage County.
It's now official: the entire production is being transferred to Broadway's
Imperial Theatre, beginning October 30, with a November 20 opening.
The show will enjoy a 16-week run.
In a statement to Steppenwolf ensemble, staff and trustees last evening, Artistic Director
Martha Lavey said:
We are enormously proud of our artists and delighted that they will have the opportunity to represent our theater to a wider audience.
We are also deeply proud of our staff for the years of diligence and commitment to making Steppenwolf a home for the creation and production of new work.
With an artistic department that shepherds through the artists in the development of new work, that makes available the finest casting possible, that engages the audience in a dialogue about the work on a nightly basis; with the best production team in the country (hands down); with a marketing and audience services staff that reaches out to and serves our audience with intelligence and care; with a fund-raising staff that understands and is committed to the work and the artists and finds appropriate partners for our vision and values; with trustees who give tirelessly in time and treasure, we feel fortunate beyond belief.
Moving August: Osage County to Broadway is a tribute to the collective vision and passion of all of you. Thank you, all, for your commitment to Steppenwolf.
August: Osage County will make its Broadway premiere direct from Steppenwolf’s sold-out world premiere run in Chicago. According to Steppenwolf, the Great White Way production will remain true to the original with the same outstanding cast and creative team that made it the must-see event of Chicago theatre this summer.
While I regret that I was tardy in posting my review -- which certainly didn't leave any time for most to see Steppenwolf's production before it closes this Sunday (and all remaining performances are sold out) -- I'm thrilled that a wider audience will now have the opportunity.
Expect plenty of Tony Award nominations for this excellent play -- I'm hoping Letts earns a Pulitzer.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Related Stories:August: Osage County (The SOB Review) (August 19, 2007)
Labels: August Osage County, Broadway, Chicago, First Word On New Show, Martha Lavey, Play, Steppenwolf, Tracy Letts, Transfer
Love-Lies-Bleeding Meets Washington Post Critic at Kennedy CenterNoted author Don DeLillo's
Love-Lies-Bleeding -- an examination of euthanasia -- has met the critics after opening Sunday evening at the Kennedy Center's Terrace Theater. Yet, the only review I could find was that by
Washington Post critic Peter Marks (a
second Post story by Amy Argetsinger and Roxanne Roberts notes how veteran stage actor Sam Waterston was in the audience Sunday).
Taking issue with the literary delivery of the play's dialogue,
Marks states "That (the) contemplative springboard gives way to a thoughtful if rather clinical evening in the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater." While calling the play's present-day scenes "laborious," and deeming Louis Cancelmi's portrayal of Sean, son of stricken artist Alex (John Heard), "oddly robotic," Marks praises the portion of the production that provides the compelling back story on the relationship between Alex and his second wife Toinette (Martha Lavey), as well as Heard's performance and the excellent lighting design by J.R. Lederle.
As previously noted, I've now seen this play both at its original Chicago Steppenwolf Theatre home and then again on Sunday at the Kennedy Center. The only discernable difference I found was Heard's portrayal of Alex after he had suffered a stroke. In Chicago, Heard's Alex had the slurred speech of a paralyzed stroke victim, while at the Kennedy Center, he spoke plainly. I was later told by someone associated with Steppenwolf that Heard's portrayal changes with every performance.
Time is ticking before time runs out on this play's DC run. Performances run through June 25 only.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets.Related Stories:Love-Lies-Bleeding Blooms at Kennedy Center Tonight (June 18, 2006)
DeLillo's Love-Lies-Bleeding Transfers to Kennedy Center (May 25, 2006)
Assassins Loose in Washington for Another Week (May 31, 2006)
Love-Lies-Bleeding (The SOB Review) - Steppenwolf Theatre, Chicago, IL (May 8, 2006)
Cautious Recommendations for Love-Lies-Bleeding (May 8, 2006)
Love-Lies-Bleeding Opens Tonight in Chicago (May 7, 2006)
Labels: Critics' Capsule, Don DeLillo, John Heard, Kennedy Center, Love-Lies-Bleeding, Martha Lavey, Play, Steppenwolf, Washington DC
DeLillo's Love-Lies-Bleeding Transfers to Kennedy CenterEast Coast audiences will soon have the opportunity to see the thoughtful, nuanced
Love-Lies-Bleeding by Don DeLillo (pictured), June 17-25 at the Kennedy Center's Terrace Theatre. This production is transferring directly from Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre, home of the play's world premiere earlier this month. Jointly produced by Steppenwolf and the Kennedy Center Fund for New American Plays,
Love-Lies-Bleeding examines family members' ethics, love and pain surrounding the moral question of whether to end a stroke victim's life.
As I noted in my May 8 review, "Whatever your moral convictions, DeLillo expertly weaves together both sides of the heartbreaking debate on when or if it’s ever appropriate to end another living being’s life. To be frank, I walked into this production fully anticipating that the Amy Morton-directed study in human emotions would be completely lopsided. Rather than being preachy, it provides a thoughtful analysis of what’s truly at stake on all sides."
With the transfer of the outstanding original Chicago cast -- including Steppenwolf's artistic director Martha Lavey and screen actor John Heard -- Washington audiences (and politicians), some of whom no doubt personally stepped into last year's Terry Schiavo debate, will surely find this production every bit as compelling.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for Love-Lies-Bleeding tickets at Steppenwolf (show closes May 28).Click here for Love-Lies-Bleeding tickets at the Kennedy Center (June 17-25).Related Stories:Assassins Loose in Washington for Another Week (May 31, 2006)
Love-Lies-Bleeding (The SOB Review) - Steppenwolf Theatre, Chicago, IL (May 8, 2006)
Cautious Recommendations for Love-Lies-Bleeding (May 8, 2006)
Love-Lies-Bleeding Opens Tonight in Chicago (May 7, 2006)
Labels: Don DeLillo, First Word On New Show, John Heard, Kennedy Center, Love-Lies-Bleeding, Martha Lavey, Play, Steppenwolf, Terry Schiavo, Transfer
The SOB Five "Worst" of 2005-06Over the past twelve months, I’ve seen several truly excellent productions, the best of which stay with me even today. But remarkably, like a bad song you simply can’t get out of your head, the shows I liked the least still haunt me, too.
As previously noted, the vast majority of the 54 stage productions I’ve seen during the 2005-06 theatrical season were at least enjoyable, if not inspiring and thought-provoking. However, there were more than a handful that I felt fell far short of the mark, some with little or no redeeming value. Of course, this is all in the eye of the beholder. You may vehemently disagree or wonder whether I even have a clue as to what is artistic and what is not. But since my goal in life is to enjoy it rather than simply being a dilettante, I’m going to tell it like I see it by naming the five productions that I enjoyed less than any others.
5 – Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Auditorium Theatre, Chicago, IL)
Andrew Lloyd Webber’s hackneyed production
Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat unfortunately seems to enjoy more dreaded lives than
Cats, continually resurfacing in touring production after touring production. This version -- with the buff Patrick Cassidy in the lead role -- didn’t seem to know whether it wanted to be played straight or as camp. It also contained the season's worst case of deliberate child exploitation, using local school children for an onstage chorus interacting with the show's “American Idol” narrator, no doubt to ensnare their families and friends to fill up the theatre.
4 – Koogoomanooki (Sandbox Theatre, Minneapolis, MN)
It’s a fact that some people sell their souls to get to the top of the corporate ladder, but this ridiculous, one-dimensional play about character Gil Salvatore’s date with professional destiny by playwright Ryan Hill sorely lacked any nuance or soul. This is ironic since Hill’s poorly conveyed message appeared to be that we must be true to ourselves rather than any “fat cat,” which was literally on display. I’ve always enjoyed the talent of actor Nathan Surprenant, who here played a co-worker left behind on a lower rung of the ladder. But even he couldn’t save this mind-numbing production from itself.
3 – Grand Hotel (Drury Lane Water Tower Place, Chicago, IL)
Everything I’d previously heard about this musical during its 1990 Broadway incarnation was extremely positive. After all, a Tony Award-winning show with Jane Krakowski and the late Michael Jeter couldn’t be all bad. Unfortunately for Chicago audiences, the talent on view was nowhere near as grand as that assembled on the Great White Way. This version, with overacting, poor choreography and terrible sound quality, seemed better suited for a third-rate dinner theatre.
2 – Loving Repeating, A Musical of Gertrude Stein (About Face Theatre, Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, IL)
What can can I say say? What, what can I, can I, say, say, say? Say, say, say, “Cow!” No, what you’ve just read are not typos, nor are they the ravings of a mad man. Instead, it’s the repetitive style ad nauseum of relentless dialogue exhibited from start to finish in the tedious production helmed by Frank Galati. Despite the actors giving it their all, a surprisingly beautiful score by composer Stephen Flaherty, and Galati’s own personal abiding love for his source material – which I confess to finding downright condescending – it just wasn’t enough to make a broader audience appreciate Stein’s work that tries to milk sexual innuendo from all things bovine.
1 – After The Quake (Steppenwolf Theatre, Chicago, IL)
As you’ll eventually see when I tally up my favorite productions of the year, Steppenwolf Theatre packs one of the most consistent emotional and satisfying punches anywhere. I saw virtually every one of their shows during the past year (and, in fact, I proudly serve on their Auxiliary Council Board of Governors). With that in mind, it pains me to report that the play I enjoyed least throughout the entire year was its production of
After The Quake. I’m not sure if director Frank Galati and I are simply on the opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of personal tastes (see above with
Loving Repeating), but it seems very curious that he could have directed the very two shows of the last year I disliked most. I harbor no ill-will toward Galati; in fact, I enjoyed his Broadway direction of
Ragtime in the 90s and recognize that he has enjoyed Tony Award-winning success with
The Grapes of Wrath in 1990. While this odd story about the emotional distresses manifested by the Kobe, Japan earthquakes could have packed a jolting wallop, instead it was severely limited by incredibly stilted acting, nonsensical dialogue and a mysterious green frog. All I could do was scratch my head mystified by what was passing for riveting imagery. Yes, it was completely lost on me. Forgive me, Martha Lavey!
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: #6 – “MASTER HAROLD”…And The Boys (Steppenwolf Theatre, Chicago, IL) (May 21, 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 (May 15, 2006)
SOB's Best and Worst of 2005-06 Theatre Season (May 12, 2006)
Labels: After The Quake, Cats, Frank Galati, Grand Hotel, Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Koogoomanooki, Loving Repeating, Martha Lavey, SOB's Worst of 2005-06, Steppenwolf, Touring Production
Love-Lies-Bleeding (The SOB Review) - Steppenwolf Theatre, Chicago, IL***1/2 (out of ****)
No matter which side you took during last year’s dramatic debate over the tragic Terry Schiavo case, chances are it compelled you to take action. Whether it was contacting your Member of Congress or enlisting your attorney to draw up a living will, chances are you had a strong opinion on whether anyone can or should terminate a life, or a shadow of one. The issue likely stayed with you.
So it’s against that backdrop that Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre premiered one of the year’s most riveting dramas embodied in Don DeLillo’s
Love-Lies-Bleeding. Whatever your moral convictions, DeLillo expertly weaves together both sides of the heartbreaking debate on when or if it’s ever appropriate to end another living being’s life. To be frank, I walked into this production fully anticipating that the Amy Morton-directed study in human emotions would be completely lopsided. Rather than being preachy, it provides a thoughtful analysis of what’s truly at stake on all sides.
Steppenwolf’s astounding Artistic Director Martha Lavey takes to the stage in a tremendously nuanced multi-dimensional performance as Toinette, former wife of the patient whose life hangs in the balance. She and her stepson attempt to convince her ex’s current wife Lia -- played with emotional conviction and depth by Penelope Walker -- to pull the plug on a life that is described as a persistent vegetative state. Seemingly, nothing could move Lia to pull the plug on the man whom she knows like none other. Through flashbacks, we get insight into what made life worth living, whether or not it was to continue.
As much as I admired this production, including the wonderful use of lighting to convey various moods and settings, the biggest drawback was the juxtaposition of using both John Heard and Larry Kucharik to portray the same husband and father, Alex, in various state of being. Heard seemed capable of handling the role of Alex after a stroke, but I left wondering why he couldn’t also portray Alex in extremis (my intellectual companion didn’t realize that they were, in fact, the same character until I explained it).
This play will help the dialogue continue, because it will stay with you. (In the interest of full disclosure, you should know that I am an enthusiastic member of Steppenwolf's Auxiliary Council Board of Governors.)
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets.Related Stories:DeLillo's Love-Lies-Bleeding Transfers to Kennedy Center (May 25, 2006)
Cautious Recommendations for Love-Lies-Bleeding (May 8, 2006)
Love-Lies-Bleeding Opens Tonight in Chicago (May 7, 2006)
Labels: Amy Morton, Don DeLillo, Love-Lies-Bleeding, Martha Lavey, Play, Steppenwolf, Terry Schiavo, The SOB Review
Love-Lies-Bleeding Opens Tonight in ChicagoThis evening, one of the last plays of the season from Chicago's renowned Steppenwolf Theatre opens.
Love-Lies-Bleeding, by respected author and infrequent playwright Don DeLillo, includes a small ensemble featuring film actor John Heard and Steppenwolf's Artistic Director Martha Lavey (pictured here), among others. The world premiere play centers around a rather controversial theme: euthanasia.
Given the media and political uproar of the Terry Schiavo case just over a year ago, I'll be interested in seeing what the critics have to say about this delicate topic on the state between life and death. Having already seen the show myself, I'll also weigh in with my own comments pertaining to the performance.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets.Related Stories:DeLillo's Love-Lies-Bleeding Transfers to Kennedy Center (May 25, 2006)
Love-Lies-Bleeding (Review) - Steppenwolf Theatre, Chicago, IL (May 8, 2006)
Cautious Recommendations for Love-Lies-Bleeding (May 8, 2006)
Labels: Chicago, Don DeLillo, John Heard, Love-Lies-Bleeding, Martha Lavey, Opening Night, Steppenwolf, Terry Schiavo
