BWW Reviews: The Ruffians' BURNING BLUEBEARD Salvages Hope From the Ashes

"We theatre people love our stories within our stories," one of the performers declares to the audience in the first scene of the play. And, oh, are we theatre people treated to a great one with "Burning Bluebeard," put on by The Ruffians, currently playing at Theater Wit through January 5th, 2014.

This particular story-within-a-story tells the true tale of Chicago's Iroquois Theatre fire of 1903, which started from some shoddy wiring used to create a moonlight effect during the Christmas musical, "Mr. Bluebeard." With an oversold house, the fire killed over 600 people, mostly women and children.

To relay these tragic events, the audience of "Burning Bluebeard" is introduced to a group of six sooty players, members of the cast and crew of the fateful play, back to attempt to tell the story right, to give the audience the beautiful moonlight effect, and finally, reach that happy ending that "Mr. Bluebeard" promises. However, as optimistic as they are for finishing "Mr. Bluebeard" this time, they are not shy to remind the audience that we, in fact, are attending a play about an audience that died seeing a play.

This production of "Burning Bluebeard" is remounted from its run in 2011 at the Neo-Futurarium and is fairly intact from the original run (including the full cast), although there have been a few changes and cuts. In the original production, the multiple shifts to hip-hop dance breaks and lip-synching segments felt unmotivated, (despite being very entertaining), and, in turn, the core story would be lost in those moments. In this run, however (perhaps due to what feels like cuts to a few of the scenes, but could, truthfully, merely be my impression this time), everything feels as if it belongs to one, cohesive piece and even these musical breaks feel more rooted in the telling of the story.

Perhaps the biggest difference between the two productions is an altered ending; one that is more rewarding than the original and well-worth a return visit for those who saw the show in 2011.

Under Halena Kays' moving direction, the cast of six are a tight unit with no weak link. Particularly outstanding, however, is Dean Evans as the manipulative clown who gives the audience a sense that his feelings about the fire differ a bit from his fellow players. Evans' cooing voice is so luscious, you nearly give yourself over to his ideals.

Dan Broberg's deserted-theatre set and Maggie Fullilove-Nugent's lighting translate very well to the new space (a more traditionally set-up theatre than the Neo-Futurarium, a space that truly did make you feel that if there were to be a fire, escaping it would be more than a little difficult), but it's Mike Tutaj's sound design that stands out, perfectly exhibiting just how effective the use of music in a play can be.

All of these elements come together (and are at their best) during the climax of the play, a moment that literally started my heart racing and is, easily, the most visceral moment I have ever experienced in the theatre.

However, don't let such dark elements keep you from attending "Burning Bluebeard" this holiday season. Amidst the telling of this tragic story, there are absolute moments of both hilarity and joy and, with the newly constructed ending in place, you are bound to head home feeling fully theatrically satisfied, more than entertained, and, even, carrying a small flame of hope.

The Ruffians' "Burning Bluebeard" is currently running through January 5th, 2014 at Theater Wit (1229 W. Belmont in Chicago). Tickets can be purchased at www.theaterwit.org, in person at the Theater Wit Box Office, or by calling (773) 975-8150. Tickets are $25. Student rush tickets are also available for every performances, subject to availability.

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