I really like Chekhov's writing, but there is not a great representation of people who are not white, straight, and depressed in his plays. So I really liked that this play represented people of color and the LGBTQ+ community in the writing and casting. Everyone still seemed pretty depressed. I also really liked that two of the primary relationships (between Dr. Love and Anna and Ivanov and Sam) were gay relationships. I thought the actors in both of those relationships were really spot-on and their performances made me emotional. But I found it strange that their sexuality is very accepted by everyone in the play. I really wish that was the case in the world, but we aren't there yet. I was expecting to see a representation of how people get treated in the world because of their sexuality, even by their own families. But it is also nice to see a play that isn't primarily about the struggle. The attacks on Ivanov and Sam's relationship are about age, not about them both being men, which I think is good to focus on, but in the playwright's note it says this play is about how we haven't come so far since Ivanov's first production. But I think it is very different from how many gay people would have been treated back when the first production of Ivanov was happening. Also everyone seemed to hate Dr. Love, but not because of her sexuality. They hated her because she was too perceptive and noticed all their crap.
It is really hard to like a lot of characters in Chekhov because a lot of them are interesting because of how messed-up and melodramatic they are about their lives. A lot of their lives are pretty crappy, but they throw it out of proportion. They overreact about little things and then when really terrible things happen they are just tired and they kill themselves or give up spectacularly. Is there any character at the end of a Chekhov play who isn't dead or wishes they were? It's like they live in the So-over-it Union. In Leave Me Alone! I feel like there are more characters that are sympathetic. I felt like they were more relatable to people today because it was set in modern times and the way you can live vicariously through them. I felt like Dr. Love, Anna, and Sam keep getting targeted by those in power, but they don't give up. I liked the direct address in this play and felt like it made it more personal. That also might be a reason why I related to these characters and found them more sympathetic. Overall, I found the play less depressing than a lot of Chekhov.
People who would like this show are people who like gayer Chekhov, perceptive characters, and a little vacation from the So-over-it Union. I think this is a really powerful show and I think this was a really good Chekhov adaptation. This show only had a two-week run, and I'm so sorry I couldn't get the review out before it closed. I'm looking forward to what this company does next!
Photos: David Hagan
The general problem with the script is how Bo can physically and verbally abuse someone and she will forgive him and say, "Aw, never mind. He's really cute though isn't he?" Which is problematic for so many reasons. One of the reasons it is so troubling is because it seems to be saying that he was just so in love with her, he had to kidnap her, which isn't a good excuse. I also feel that the way that Bo is supposed to learn his lesson is disturbing: by getting beaten up by the Sheriff. In this production it was particularly distressing to watch because of the current violence against black people by law enforcement in America. I'm not sure if we were not supposed to think about race, but it is hard not to when a white sheriff is beating up a black man and no one is standing up for the victim and we are supposed to think everyone just gets along okay afterwards. It is not like Bo hadn't done anything wrong, but there were better ways to prevent him from bothering Cherie. I also found the answer to the question that Grace asked Carl after they had had a night together--if he was married--was a little late to ask that. And also he did not ever give her a yes or no answer, which is what you call a red flag. I don't think relationships have to be perfect examples in plays; bad relationships can be interesting to watch on stage. But if they aren't examples of good relationships, I don't like to see them placed in front of you as fine.
Near the end of the play they decide to put on a talent show, where everyone can show off their amazing talents. Cherie sings, of course, and Virgil plays the guitar. And Bo whines about his rope tricks. Dr. Lyman and Elma perform a scene from Romeo and Juliet, with casting out of an Opera, also known as casting a very young woman opposite an older man. It actually sums up very well what each of the characters is passionate about and their personalities. Dr. Lyman is a romantic just like Romeo and sort of foolish. Juliet is upstanding like Elma; they both want to do what is right and want to be loved. Cherie is very sultry and vulnerable but self-assured. Virgil is very sweet and gentle, and you can hear that in his guitar solo. And Bo, again, mopes, but then does still cheer on his girl, but he ends up overwhelming her performance, so it doesn't end up being that supportive.
I do really love the mentorships in the show. They really bring some lovely non-romantic relationships into the storyline, which is so full of romance. I really love the relationship between Elma and Grace. They seem to really help each other out, and Grace treats Elma as a sister and tries to teach her and help her to become a self-aware person. They also had really cute jokes they had together, like how Grace didn't like cheese so she never restocked it. I also really love the relationship between Bo and Virgil because you never really get to see Bo be vulnerable or not try and be the strong, manly cowboy that he usually is around anybody else except Virgil.
People who would like this show are people who like significant mentorships, nonexistent rope tricks, and a lack of cheese. I think this is a really interesting show to watch. It has really great actors and a compelling storyline. It just has some old-fashioned and misogynistic ideas that I'm not a huge fan of.
Photos: Scott Dray
Everyman was a Christian, gendered morality play, and Everybody is a non-gender-specific, not-religion-based morality play. I think Everyman really needed an update, and this is exactly what it needed to be to show a story that everyone could relate to. The play shows the inclusiveness of it by the audience not knowing who will play who at the start of the show. You don't even know at first who is the audience and who are the actors. I found that interesting and exhilarating. I had no idea what was going to happen, but I was excited to find out. I think allegory is a good way to tell this specific type of story, where there are a lot of moral questions. Allegories make things that are not people into characters to make the ideas more understandable. The moral of the story, in my opinion, is accepting your life, accepting your body, accepting that terrible things will happen to you, accepting that you are going to die, accepting that people who you love might not love you back. That is not the most depressing thing it the world because you are accepting it, and it is just part of what is going to happen. The rest of your life could have some really amazing parts to it, but there are going to parts of it that we aren't going to like. There are going to be things and consequences we aren't going to like. Acceptance is important because without acceptance you are lying to yourself and as with any lying it will make you sadder in the long run.
There was a very interesting scene where Love was first introduced and made Everybody completely humiliate herself by taking her clothes off and running around saying how much she has disappointed herself. You don't expect Love to completely humiliate someone, especially when it is anthropomorphized, but it is probably realistic. Usually the kind of love that might lead you to humiliate yourself is romantic love, but I feel like the character of Love in this play is not just romantic love. It is showing all the kinds of love in one. He comforts her afterwards and stays with her until he can't anymore, until the very end. That shows how devoted love can be even though some kinds of love can humiliate us.
There are a lot of really funny moments in this show, despite it being philosophical. One of my favorite funny moments was when a dream ballet happened and Time (Nora Fox) and God and Death were all dancing in skull masks across the stage. It was so ridiculous and just kind of popped up half way through the show. It was nice in this play full of so many sad realizations to have this really humorous but vaguely ominous moment. It had a reason for being there--it foreshadows Everybody's impending death--but it was still a nice break and made me think about death in a more lighthearted way. I also really loved the character of Stuff. She was appropriately stuffy and sort of stuck up, and unlike other characters who Everybody asked to go with her, Stuff was honest with her that she wasn't going to come and that Everybody was just being used by Stuff, who would just move on when Everybody died. It was very humorous to see the one thing you think will be compliant--your stuff--be so unnecessarily cruel and self-absorbed. I found Friendship's monologue very funny in how general it was. He would say something like, "Did you know that that one guy that we know got married/divorced/married again/divorced again." It was hilarious and interesting to see the no-no of theater--being general instead of specific--working so well for a play. Which brings us back to how effective it can be to make a show like this that everybody can find a way to relate to.
People who would like this show are people who like relatable plays, evaluating humiliating love, and hilariously ominous dream ballets. I think that people should definitely go see this show. It is an amazing experience, and I really loved it.
Photos courtesy of Brown Paper Box Co.
There were two moments in this show that I think were really inspiring and powerful, the song "Hell No!" and the scene where Celie curses Mister. "Hell No!" was a song sung by Sofia about Harpo raising his hand to her. It is about how she has had to fight for herself her whole life, but didn't know she'd have to fight in her own home. It is about the experiences she had with the male members of her family, and her response is "Hell No!" She has over time realized what Celie hasn't yet, that she doesn't deserve to just take it. I really liked this song because Sofia was stomping across the stage and was so powerful. The singing was really amazing; she had this really great belt and a crazy range. It is really strange to me how Celie can remain so calm when people are furious and yelling at her; I think that shows that she feels that she is getting what she deserves even if she doesn't know or understand why, which is really sad. Celie does eventually figure out that she doesn't deserve to be treated the way she is and that she deserves better. And on the day that she is leaving she decides to tell Mister what has been on her mind for the years of their "marriage," which was a legal but not emotional relationship. She ends up cursing him and saying that everything he touches will crumble until he does right by her. It is justice in the package of a curse. Sofia had the best reaction to when Celie first stood up to Mister; it sounded like she was crying at first and then it eventually started sounding like laughing, and then it was full-on howling. It was great to see how Celie breaking out of her shell inspired every woman at that table to say she didn't need to take any crap.
This show is mostly powerful and heartbreaking, but it also had a lot of great comedic moments. There is a song called "Any Little Thing" sung by Sofia and Harpo about how when all their various children were out of the house and they had done all of their chores, which they would sing about to each other in a very suggestive way, they get a little private time. One of the reasons it is so funny is that it is such a quick turnaround from talking about chores to making it seem like you aren't talking about chores anymore. Also their extreme enthusiasm about no one being in the house is absolutely hilarious to watch. This song is also extremely adorable and shows you how healthy the sexual element is in their relationship. It is healthy because they are both trying to do something for the other person instead of trying to get something themselves.
There is a song near the end of the show called "Miss Celie's Pants," which takes place after she has left Mister and opened a business selling pants. It might have one of my favorite lines in the show, "Look who's wearing the pants now," which perfectly captures what everyone was thinking when they saw they movie. But they put it in a song with an amazing high note, which is even better. The dancing was delightful, especially when Sofia started twerking, which was really iconic. "Miss Celie's Pants" is not just a clever song; it also shows you how far Celie has come. Even though the show isn't over, and something bad could still happen, this song lifts you up and gives you a boost. This is the first time we have seen any of the characters except Shug in bright colors. So that shows you that Celie's pants seem to make all the women in the show who weren't that happy before feel different and powerful in the pants. It is just a super fun number to watch.
People who would like this show are people who like inspiring stories, power pants, and suggestive chores. I think that people should definitely go see this show. It is a powerful, surprisingly funny, heartbreaking, and heartwarming show. I loved it!
Photos: Matthew Murphy
The relationship in this play is very complicated because it is not just a friendship, or a romantic relationship. It is not just a business partnership, or a two-way mentorship. It is all of those things. The play made me uncertain about what person in the relationship was responsible for making it eventually toxic. It seemed like the relationship made each of them more happy, even though they were doing some stupid and hurtful things. So you end up rooting for it. There are not a lot of plays that I have seen that are about middle-aged women building a relationship with each other. I liked how complicated their relationship was and how it showcased how women relate to each other outside of family relationships or relationships centered on a man. At the beginning of the show, Sharon was very scared about letting a new person into her life and into her home that was not from her community, and at first it is really beautiful to see Sharon embracing herself and the things Robyn has introduced to her. And even though it becomes disturbing, it is a very valuable relationship to both of them. I think the playwright is trying to show that it is good to go out of your comfort zone and that the relationship that Robyn and Sharon have is important, even though it might not be the most functional. I liked how it didn't have to be all sappy, like two middle-aged women help each other realize that their lives aren't over. It is empowering--not through sap--but through dark humor and heightened realism.
I really liked the humor in this show. I think it really showed how new both women were to the lifestyles they were entering into. Sharon called her son and told him she smoked her first weed and then immediately realized she didn't mean to do that. I thought that was really funny. She is so used to telling her son every mundane activity she has been doing, that she accidentally told him the one thing she didn't want to tell him. There is a lot of that kind of situational humor in the show, where they are in new situation for them and they don't know how to adapt. Robyn can't adapt to the small-town lifestyle of not feeling like you have to lock your doors at night and she thinks everything Sharon does is old-ladylike. I think they put a twist on the fish-out-of-water humor by making it darker and have larger consequences, and I thought that was really interesting to watch.
I think what is so great about heightened realism is that it keeps you thinking that almost anything could happen, but it still seems to take place in the real world. Robyn and Sharon are both women with children who live in Iowa and got divorced. That seems very normal. But then you discover that they are more complicated than you think. It is fascinating to watch people who seem like they have average lives discover their dark underbellies. You are still in the realm of reality, so you think this is something that can happen in my own life. You understand where the people are coming from because they are in a world you recognize and some of the circumstances are recognizable, but it is exciting to see extreme situations that you probably haven't been in yourself.
People who would like this show are people who like twists on tropes, unexpected friendships, and telling your son you smoked weed. I think this is a surprisingly moving, funny, and inventive melding of genres.
Photos: Michael Brosilow
I thought the characters Rod and Nicky had some really funny songs together and they surely went through a journey. They were a lot like what anyone over the age of 13 suspects Ernie and Bert's relationship might be like. They had a song called "If You Were Gay," which was Nicky repeatedly telling Rod that if Rod were gay that would be ok. He'd been suspecting it for a very long time. And Rod just hides behind his book of Broadway Musicals of the 1940s and denies that he's gay. It is super humorous to see this conflict between two people where Nicky knows Rod better than Rod knows himself. "Fantasies Come True" is the song where Rod realizes he may actually have feelings for Nicky. You notice this side of Rod you haven't seen before because he's always been this cranky kind of guy. You notice him being a lot more open and clear-minded, but not for long because you realize it is a dream. When he's awake, he thinks that being gay is terrible, but when he gets to live in his fantasy world, he realizes that the way he is going to be happy is if he really embraces who he is. He gets up and realizes all the things he thought Nicky was saying in the dream weren't real, which kind of defeats him again. It seems like a very realistic emotional thing. You don't think of a show with puppets being an emotional experience, but it really was.
I was also surprised how compelling the romantic relationships were between Kate Monster and Princeton and also Christmas Eve and Brian. They seemed to actually have a lot of big problems, but a song that I think really showcased in a humorous way how people really feel about their significant others is "The More You Ruv Someone," sung by Christmas Eve and Kate, which is about how the more you love someone, the more you want to kill them. You spend a lot of time with them and you get to know them super well, so you love a lot of things about them but you also find things that you hate. It is also really cool to see Kate Monster and Christmas Eve helping each other out with relationship issues. It is compelling to see puppets have relationship problems because usually puppets and cartoons and other things like that take you out of reality, but this pulls you back in and makes you think about things you might not have thought about before. Kate Monster and Princeton had a cute relationship, but they didn't start the romantic part of the relationship in the best way. It becomes a very sexual relationship very quickly because of the influence of alcohol. There are actual problems that come out of it, just like real relationships based on alcohol. (Ed. Note--Ada wanted echoes and sparkles for the word alcohol and is saying it breathily: "like a unicorn would say equality," she says. I wish I had the typography for that.)
Even though there are a lot of touching and realistic moments in this play, it is 95% a comedy. And it was absolutely hilarious. One of my favorite character duos was the Bad Idea Bears (Stephanie Herman and Smeriglio). They showed up several times in the show basically just to give Princeton bad ideas and then scream whenever he would do what they wanted and sob profusely whenever he wouldn't. This show was showing you that bad ideas can be fun--until they are over and then the consequences are not so fun. The Bad Idea Bears are basically the embodiment of that. "The Money Song," when I saw it, went a little bit awry in a very funny way. They were passing a hat in the audience to collect money for Kate Monster's school. Somebody put a glow-in-the-dark condom in the hat and the cast could barely keep it together. The show already had a lot of audience participation, but this was great because you felt like you were sharing a hilarious experience with them that was unexpected for everybody. Even if it was a plant, it was still hilarious and added quite a bit to the show because they seemed so genuinely surprised.
People who would like this show are people who like surprisingly moving puppet musicals, dark humor, and excitable bears. I think that people should definitely go see this show. It was so much fun to watch and had a lot of fun surprises.
Photos: Brett A. Beiner
Once upon a time I went to a show and it was called Burnham's Dream: The White City. The book and lyrics were by June Finfer and the music and lyrics were by Elizabeth Doyle. It was directed by Erik Wagner. The music direction was by Paul W. Thompson and the choreography was by Jessica Texidor. It was about Daniel Burnham (Pavi Proczko) and his partner John Root (Sam Massey) who were both architects who won the contract to build the World's Fair in Chicago in the 1890s. It is about all the challenges they face and how it affects their personal lives. It is also about the people connected to the fair who were less well known and had less power but contributed a lot to the fair. It is about obsession, true freedom, and tearing down relationships while putting up buildings.
I think this is a really interesting idea for a musical and it did acknowledge problems of racism and sexism in the fair, but I would have liked it if they did more than just acknowledge that and explored the problems more and focused more on the people who had gotten less credit for their work than Burnham. I feel like Burnham is a difficult character to root for because he behaves in racist and sexist ways, so it would have been more satisfying to have Ida B. Wells (Arielle Leverett), Margaret Burnham (Laura Degrenia), Michael O'Malley (Chase Wheaton-Werle), and Bertha Palmer (Genevieve Thiers) as the central characters. I think I would have enjoyed a whole musical about building the women's building or Ida B. Wells' protests or the conditions of workers at the fair. I feel like the musical ends in a way that makes it seem like all the problems have been solved even though they haven't created a resolution or actually improved things. So at the end they try to act like everyone has accepted that people should be equal and the world is all in harmony, even though there's not much evidence of that having happened in the show.
I think the most powerful song in the show is "Sweet Land of Liberty." It is one of the songs that isn't the opinion of white men. It is sung by Ida B. Wells when she wants to have a building dedicated to the work of black people. It is all about how she doesn't see America as a land of freedom if people who look like her aren't given basic human rights or a platform to express themselves and be listened to. This is a song that really showcases how Burnham doesn't really care about anyone but himself. The entire time Ida is singing to him, he is going about his daily tasks, showing an exact example of what she's talking about. That is infuriating in multiple ways. A very similar thing happens in the song "Never Marry an Architect," where Margaret is talking about how her husband never pays attention to her because he is always thinking about buildings. And then he comes home and starts seducing her through building puns. But then he announces that he is going away to build the fair and not coming back for months or years. He doesn't even finish his cake. Basically, he again proves the exact point the woman singing has just made.
I did like John Root a lot better as a character because he would actually listen to people and not just interrupt and mansplain for the rest of their song. He also had a really sweet song called "Celestial City," which was about his vision for the fair. He wanted it to be a collage of all of these different cultures where everyone could get along and learn from each other. I think his dream is a lot more clear and well thought through and progressive than Burnham's dream. I would have liked to have more time with Root in the show before he dies. It would have been a lot sadder to know a lot about this character and then have him die. We never meet his wife and I feel like if we did and got to know more about her and other people more impacted by his death, that would have been a lot more heartbreaking.
People who would like this show are people who like celestial cities, brave activists, and architecture puns. I think this is a really interesting idea for a show. I'd love to see a version of this show not so focused on Burnham or one that cast him as the antagonist. I'm sorry I couldn't review this show before it closed.
Photos: Evan Hanover
