Trish Vignola - Page 4

The original musical, Four Play, opened last night at StudioBE. Written by Jamie Campbell and Amanda Murphy, Four Play ponders the question if there is comedy to be found in tragedy, does it come with a soundtrack? Starring Rich Baker, Heather Bodie, Amanda Murphy and Ted Sima, Four Play follows four thirty-something Chicagoans in the spirit of Nick Hornby's High Fidelity (minus the annoying whining).

The cast was hilarious and the production was lush (a pleasant surprise considering that this is such a short run). Be warned though. If you are a Hitchcock purest, this is by no means the show for you. Nonetheless, if you do enjoy the genre, have a strong funny bone and a deep appreciation for puns, you need to check out Alfred Hitchcock's The 39 Steps.

I have to congratulate local playwright Will Cooper for this truly insightful original work. Although the show is a mere 90 minutes, he doesn't rush it. He takes his time in presenting a beautiful piece about one's struggle for identity. Not only does he give you a girl struggling in relation to her family and in relation to her culture, he also layers in attention to China's one-child policy (established in 1979 to limit population growth). Sure, our relations with China are far different than they were thirty years ago. Nonetheless, Cooper reminds us that the repercussions of this horrific human rights violation are something that we're only starting to really deal with today.

For those of you who read my column regularly, you know that I love when theatre companies produce original work and take chances. You could only imagine my pleasant surprise when I wandered upon Extended Play Productions' "Vaudeville Vivat!" running now through May 22nd at the Playground Theater. Part improvised, part scripted with a bit of clowning and burlesque, "Vaudeville Vivat!" takes us back to the revue-style comedy of our great-grandparents. You might be asking, why would a 1916 throwback show be of any interest to me? I've seen "Titanic." Well, you know The Second City? Consider Vaudeville its great-aunt.

Let's face it. The chance to see an incredibly dynamic cast, like Endgame, is an honor that does not come along every day. The audience of last night's show behaved absolutely terribly and made the show incredibly hard to watch. Yeah, Beckett is not an easy playwright to absorb. I get that. However, that does not give you the right to let your cell phone ring multiple times in a show. Unless you are a doctor (and in that case, put it on vibrate), you are not that important. Oh, and the coup de grace? The man next to me was outright heckling William Petersen. What? This isn't Zannies (and even if it was, that's still not acceptable).

Beyond their superior choice in season, ShawChicago puts on a thoroughly entertaining reading with The Doctor's Dilemma. The cast found a pace to the language in which they were able to nail every joke and find the subtleties of Shaw's humor without getting campy. I also never once looked at my watch, which is a fete within itself, being that when Shaw is done incorrectly, it can be unbearably long.

Unfortunately the Hypocrites production of 'Cabaret' was a bit hit or miss for my taste. This production just lagged. Were two intermissions really necessary? Also, the Hypocrites pride themselves on presenting a dark twist to the show. I don't know if they accomplished a new dark twist or not. After Rob Marshall's revival of Cabaret on Broadway back in the late 90's, it's kind of hard to reinvent the wheel after it's been on a luxury car. If before the 90's, everything was a pale homage to Joel Grey. After the 90's, everything was a pale homage to that revival. The similarities between this production and the Rob Marshall production were far too many to call this revolutionary.

Color me ignorant of musical theatre, but is there any other way to direct 'Into the Woods' without it looking like that Great Performances production we all saw on PBS back in the early 1990s? I found the whole thing incredibly predicable as well as a little under lit. If Sondheim deconstructs the Brothers Grimm in 'Into the Woods', I think he would probably be ready for someone to deconstruct him now.

When Showboat first premiered on Broadway, the curtain fell to stunned silence. When I went to see A True History of the Johnstown Flood, the same thing happened. However, I doubt what I saw last night was the next Showboat.

Chicago's Stage Left Theatre (3408 North Sheffield) is currently the home of the World Premiere of Here Where It's Safe. Written by Stage Left ensemble playwright M.E.H. Lewis and directed by ensemble member Scott Bishop, Here Where It's Safe is running now through April 3rd. Here Where It's Safe is the story of an American couple (Zach and Abbie) and how their lives intertwine with a 19 year old Indian mother (Beena). The former have been struggling on a fruitless quest to have a child, while the latter is attempting to escape her abusive husband. The desperation of the three characters entangles their lives, leading to surprising, albeit somewhat dangerous, consequences.

'This is the future' begins what the DCA describes as a 'darkly comic fable' about the failures of urban development. If this is the future, then I guess we're all going to be stuck in EPCOT. Sure! Cities have problems, but its citizens, even the poor ones, are glossy and every social ill is wrapped up in a pretty unrealistic way. This city is not Chicago. In fact, I can't imagine this city as any city in the United States or Canada for that fact. Even Toronto can't be this goody-goody! This play promised a comic exploration of the themes of Plato's Republic but delivers nothing except the playwright's soap box (as evident by the final scene). Was this really written by one of Canada's most celebrated playwrights?

A Red Orchid Theatre (Wells St. in Old Town) closes its 2009-2010 season with the Midwest premiere of Abigail's Party, written by Mike Leigh and directed by Shade Murray. The production runs now through March 28th. Abigail's Party takes us to a domestic cocktail party gone hysterically and then horribly wrong. In Abigail's Party, Mike Leigh takes the time to expose the obsessions, prejudices and competitiveness of the party-goers. For me, it felt like an updated comedy of manners, satirizing the aspirations and tastes of the bourgeoisie. Although first produced in 1977, its themes, especially of classism, ring true today. I completely understand why the British Film Institute voted its teleplay onto the list of the 100 Greatest British Television Programs.

Nevertheless, as much as I was disappointed by the playwright, the American Theatre Company production of "Distracted" is slick. The set is beautiful, maybe a little clinical, playing into the feel of the numerous therapists and doctors Mama goes to for help. The staging in this somewhat unconventional space kept my interest and frankly…the acting was pretty good (great, considering the fact that I didn't like the actual script itself). I have to give special notice in particular to two of the actors, Dina Facklis and Sadieh Rifai. Rifai found levity and humor in the character of Natalie who was darkly out of place in a play that relied so much on its levity. Facklis, who you could probably count all of her lines on your hand, displayed her brilliant comic timing as Vera, Mama's OCD neighbor. Everything she said was a true homerun out of the park. I'm obviously familiar with Facklis' work in the Improv community; however, "Distracted" shows what a sheer pleasure it is to see her on the theatrical stage.

I'm not going to tip-toe around the fact that I'm a big Tracy Letts' fan; however, this is not August: Osage County folks. Everything for a great Letts' show is here, including Letts' treatment of the themes of morality, spirituality, violence and family. However, in Killer Joe, his earliest work, the ending is best described as... conventional? As much as I root for him, you can't have a hit every time out.

The (edward) Hopper Project is aesthetically a beautiful production and the stronger parts of this show are enough of a reason to check it out. If anything, you should check this production out purely for the challenge they took on. If you do, I guarantee you won't be disappointed. Tickets are on sale now at 312-742-8497 or at www.dcatheater.org.

Alright, I have to confess that I was prepared for a night of processed cheese melting under stage lights. I personally cannot stomach holiday-themed theatre (regardless of the holiday) and this was the second Halloween-themed show I reviewed in the past three weeks. However, I am happy to say that I was completely wrong about this show. The production recalls the decadent intimacy of an old-time cabaret. If you're lucky to get in, you don't want to leave.

I support the promotion of local playwrights, especially women. However, 'Lucinda's Bed' plays into every stereotyped moment of a woman's life: self-consciousness, violence, guilt, fear. Don't get me wrong. A stereotype is a stereotype because there is some kernel of truth to it. Who hasn't had to reread Camille Paglia on occasion? However, McCullough seems to allow her heroine's life to be defined by one moment and by doing that, the play became as predictable as Lifetime Television. I accept McCullough's choice to have her lead dissolve into an anti-hero. Some of the greatest female roles in theatre history are anti-heroes, but Lucinda becomes an anti-hero by giving up. And when she does give up, I stopped caring.

I can't stress enough that if you are looking for something for the kids to do this Halloween, this is not the show for you. There are no slashers or ax-murderers; however, Rhymes with Evil is a scary Hitchcockian good time. This Halloween, if you are looking for an original suspenseful evening, then this is the production to check out. www.infusiontheatre.com www.dcatheater.org

The Profiles Theatre opened its 21st Anniversary Season with the Midwest premiere of Neil LaBute's The Mercy Seat. Directed by Artistic Director, Joe Jahraus, this production runs now through November 15, 2009 at the Profiles Theatre, 4147 N. Broadway. The Mercy Seat was one of the first theatrical responses to the attacks on September 11, 2001 and the current cast includes Profiles' ensemble member Darrell W. Cox and Cheryl Graeff.

No, it does. Literally. The Porchlight Music Theatre opened its 15th anniversary season this month with The Fantasticks. Based on Edmond Rostand's Les Romanesques with music by Harvey Schmidt and a book and lyrics by Tom Jones, this classic has produced Broadway standards such as "Try to Remember." The Fantasticks is simple parable about love and all of its intricacies. Our Romeo and Juliet-esque heroes learn through the difficulties of maturity that fulfillment is found no further than their own backyard in each other arms. The current production is running at the Theatre Building Chicago now through November 15, 2009.