Lighthousekeeping (New Leaf Theatre/DCA) 10 Things

1. While I was waiting in the lobby Artistic Director Jessica ‘movie star hair’ Hutchinson came over to say hello and thanked me for coming. Jessica is director the play I am about to enumerate for you and is also my neighbor. Here is a picture, taken from our back stairwell, of a box of kitty litter outside her apartment next to the box my crock pot came in, outside mine.

1. Did you see New Leaf’s fantastic The Man Who Was Thursday a few years ago. You didn’t? You missed it? Well…it was GREAT. Jessica directed that, too.

2. When you walk in the theatre, you hear some lively Celtic music that seems Irish. Then you realize you are in a lighthouse, with three long rows of seats on either side of the set. This may be my favorite use of the DCA Storefront space ever. The slight smoky mist: nice touch.

3. All of my knowledge of lighthouses comes from The Simpsons so this should be cool.

4. This is a play of two intertwining stories. Silver is telling us the story of how she came to take care of the lighthouse and how she came to leave as Pugh, the lighthousekeeper, is telling Silver the story of the conflicted Babel Dark and his lost love Molly. The play switches between scenes and direct address (Silver only, if I recall) to accomplish these story gymnastics. It spans quite a few years and is about many things; the nature of stories; that we don’t use linear narratives to remember our lives; growing up; and you can never go home.

5. The lights are pretty gorgeous throughout and are at times pretty breathtaking. The dress that Molly wears is [SPOLIER ALERT] two dresses, with a few little pulls of a string long underskirt appears and we travel back in time. This is pretty ingenious.

6. The acting is uniformly good. Even the kid, Caroline Phillips, who plays young Silver, is good. Can we take a second to give it up for the character actor who plays many roles and changes costumes constantly and also has to establish an entire human being with wants and needs in a matter of just a few seconds. This show is blessed with such actors.

7. Scott Ray Merchant could have his own Little Britain style variety show; he switches between the guys he plays with great ease.

8. One thing I love is when a show incorporates something that people only do outside like [SPOILER ALERT] swinging on a practical swing.

9. From my friend Katy Dailey, who came with me to the play: “I don’t know why but I am obsessed with that armchair up there with the stuffing flying out of it in mid-air. It is so dream-like.” And she is right. That detail and all the others like it make this a lovely evening at the theatre.

Go see this play!

A+

-Anita Deely

The Goat or, Who is Sylvia? (Remy Bumppo)

10 things on The Goat or, Who is Sylvia? At Remy Bumppo

1. As I was looking for the numbers on the seat, I guess it looked like I might take this older dude’s seat. So he turns to me from the aisle and says: “I don’t think so.” Not “Excuse me.” or “Let’s take a look at our tickets.” Urge to kill rising, rising. Hey, my seat is right behind that of a Head Critic. Urge to kill falling.

2. Michael Pacas and Katherine Keberlein are the understudies. Hey BackStage Theatre hey.

3. The set, of a totally homey and modern well-appointed living room, is a place I want to live in someday. It’s really beautiful. And, you know when you see a few liberal magazines of the educated organized in a way both bragging and decorative that someone is about to get their comeuppance for making all that money and not knowing better about whatever it is they are supposed to know better about.

4. Nice Aaron Sorkin-ey dialogue with a correct use of who/whom runner. The audience is warming to the play. Nick Sandys and Annabel Armour have a good chemistry. All their jokes seem to be landing. All the actors are very good.

5. First mention of the goat. But…is this like a metaphor for something or…huh. Wait…you don’t mean that he and…how would that even work?

6. Oh man, the play just got weird. Annabel Armour is KILLING IT. She is so SO great.

7. One of the books on the shelf: Primary Colors. Another: Memoirs Of A Geisha.

8. The play just got weird again. You could hear a pin drop right now.

9. Hey Annabel Armour’s back and…oh…my…god…holy crap.

10. Well, that was sort of like putting the audience in tepid water so we didn’t realize the heat was increasing gradually enough that we were all getting boiled alive. Like how they do to frogs. You won this time Albee but we’ll be back. I jotted down the conversation of the couple next to me:

Lady: “That was stunning.”

Man: “Annabel was absolutely…absolutely… it’s …it’s…”

Lady: “I agree.”

Go see this play!

-Anita Deely

A-

Black Watch (National Theatre of Scotland)

10 things The National Theatre of Scotland’s Production of Black Watch Brought To Mind as I Was Watching It.

1. When you enter the theatre, you hear bagpipes and drums and there is a light smoky haze with search lights moving all around the space which is set up like a basketball game, with bleachers on each side. If every piece of theatre felt like an event like this one does, we’d all be rich.
2. The announcement telling the audience there would be “staff on each side of the stage to offer medical assistance” …are we going to die?
3. All these boys are so young and cute and not one belly on them. The acting is really really good. And their accents are gorgeous. Wait, what did he just say? No bother, I’ll catch up.
4. The Black Watch, which is a battalion of soldiers from Scotland with a long storied history, used to wear kilts in battle. Wow.
5. Changing the scenery in front of the audience is the only way to do it. Blackouts=boosauce.
6. There have been, like, 8 “holy crap I am so surprised and mesmerized by this moment” moments in this show. That is about 1 every 13.125 minutes. There’s your formula, theatre companies of Chicago; do that and you are guaranteed success.
7. Every time I hear a live bagpipe I want to yell “Bagpipe! Bagpipe!” like when a kid sees a fire truck. Good thing I have learned to control that impulse because when the live bagpipe enters the scene, it’s sad.
8. What would be like to tell your family you were going to be stationed in a place known as the “Triangle of Death”?
9. The Iraq war was a terrible terrible mistake.
10. I hope everyone gets a chance to see this.

Anita Deely

The New Electric Ballroom (A Red Orchid Theatre Company)

A couple weeks ago, I had the pleasure of visiting the Old Town neighborhood to see a play! My wife and I were ecstatic to take in a story in a different part of town. We get used to the ho-hum, same old North side joints and forget that there are other places in this beautiful city. Old Town is MUCH better of a place.
They've got a stand-up comedy theater, a Subway restaurant, and the bums are much more cosmopolitan and pay you compliments when you walk past.
This is also where you will find A Red Orchid Theatre Company. A Red Orchid has never been afraid to push the boundaries of theatre and art, and plus they are equity, so most actors know they will never work there.
The actors that DO work there are of the highest caliber, and from the moment you arrive, you can tell that these guys are in it for the love and not the hundreds of dollars awarded them.
Case and point: The Irish classic "The New Electric Ballroom" a 2008 piece from the New Voice of Ireland Enda Walsh.
The play is cast with actors we have all undoubtedly heard of, if not seen perform a thousand times before. They are Legends of Chicago, and this is the piece that has brought them together.
Let me tell you what it is about, I think.

There are these three sisters that live in a kitchen in Ireland. They sit around all day and stare at the wall and put lipstick all over their faces and talk in these crazy Irish accents that are not the funny and sort of racist Irish accents we are used to. Well, these women do something really special. Everyday, they reenact this time when a pop singer came to town and made out with one of them and then the other one saw and ran off. They sit all day long and do the same monologues everyday about how they felt when they were in high school and this happened. Then they put on the same clothes they were wearing that night and then they cry or make cakes, depending on the day. They always go through this night, which must have been pretty painful, and an event we can all relate to.
Remember when you were in high school, and Bell Biv Devoe came to town and you and your sister were so excited to see Michael Bivins onstage. Then, during "Poison" he happens to catch your eye in the audience. You lock eyes. Your hearts beat as one. He waves you backstage and your sister follows. You are ready to sacrifice your purity for one night with this award winning musical hero. He sits you down by his makeup bench. He comes in for a kiss and his tongue is where happiness lives. He kisses you hard, then harder, then softer, then, you hear a noise and Michael goes to find out what it is. You wait for him but secretly you know that the moment has been lost. All your dreams of getting the high, hard one from your greatest musical influence of the last 15 years have vanished. Then you go home and tell this story everyday for the next 40 years. All hope of ever starting a family or finding any sort of relevance in your own life has disappeared because you are too big of a pussy to just get over Michael Bivins.
So you sit in your kitchen and put lipstick everywhere, in the hopes of...

Now, I will be the first to tell you that I have a very utilitarian male brain. I love a get up and go story with somebody to cheer for and a bad guy who wants to blow up all these hostages, and sometimes nuance and mental illness confuses me on stage because it's not all spelled out. I find myself thinking things like:

"Wait, why can't these women just get over it already?"
and
"Why did they send off that lady to the plastic room?"
and
"How much fish can these women possibly eat?"
or
"Who's THIS dude?"

In between the moments of confusion for my tiny brain though, there is beautiful poetry to be heard. Words are spoken in ways you have never heard before, since they have this crazy accent, so simply adjusting to the sounds adds a feeling of isolation to American audiences. There are stellar performances by the whole cast, but the standouts for me were Kirsten Fitzgerald as the younger sister who is sort of like "What the fuck is going on around here" and Guy Van Swearingen as the fish delivery man who gives monologues in doorways.

In addition, I'd like to tell Elise Kauzlaric to watch her back because there is a new dialect coach in town that's no joke. Her name is Anita Deely and she has turned these actors into the real deal.

This play isn't for everyone, but it IS still playing, and I bet you will have a good time.
When my wife and I left, we discussed it for the rest of the night! Sometimes, maybe it is better to see things that make you think about junk and take you to Old Town.

Thank you A Red Orchid for making my marriage stronger!!
Do it for your OWN marriage!!

A-

-Anderson Lawfer, Eric Roach

Jenny & Jenni- The Factory Theater (theatre review)

As a reviewer, sometimes I like to take my friends to see plays with me. This time, I took Michael Dailey, Tom Hickey and Anita Deely. They LOVE Factory Theater productions, so I was sure we’d have a good time.


First we went out to dinner at Chief O’Neill’s restaurant and drinkery. The reason we went to this Irish teach was because it was the only place close and also they gave us 2 for 1 appetizers and entrees because we had tickets to the show. The following is a conversation we had following the performance and after we went back to the Irish place for deserts.


Tom: That was a good show. I particularly liked the actor who played... what was the main character’s name again?


Andy: I can’t remember. Something like...Susan.


Tom: Right. Well, whoever played her friend was amazing.


Andy: At first I wasn’t sure what was happening, because there was a voice over and this one guy was dressed like a Mexican. He was all telling these other kids about Spanish, and then they tried to beat him up! But it turned out it was a girl instead! The play Jenny & Jenni at the omnipresent Factory Theater is about 2 girls who were always picked on and so they decide to get even by being even nerdier and doing exercises that are usually good for old men. They do little circles with their arms and then they do some, like, cheerleader moves, but not as good as cheerleaders. Tom, what did you have for dinner again?


Mike: I really wish I could have read the play beforehand. The language was difficult to understand. Was this play in Spanish?


Anita: Tom is having steak. You never have steak, do you Tom? When was the last time you had a steak?


Tom: Actually, last night I...


Anita: Don’t ruin it!


Mike: So guys, during the play did you try to keep an open mind about the choices the director had made about the production while evaluating their effectiveness? I was going to, but I forgot.


Andy: I paid attention and here is what I have to say about it-


Mike: Is there anything better then sausages piled high atop a mountain of mashed potatoes?


Anita: Yes there is!


Mike: Covered in gravy?


Anita: Nope, nothing better.


Andy: GUYS! Let’s focus on the play we saw! Now what was everyone’s favorite moment?
My favorite moment was when the girls were in trouble and hooked on drugs and then a dragon came out. That dragon symbolizes being in trouble with drugs.


Mike: Oh! I thought the dragon symbolized ‘working out’. I still have nightmares about that dragon.


Andy: You see, there’s this lady named Lola who is really mean to the girls, even though she has everything. She is very successful and handsome and has rich parents that love her, so why is she so mean to the nerds?


Mike: I guess, deep down, she still doesn’t love herself. In spite of money and the love of her parents, she is sad inside. You ever notice that in fake world (TV,movies and plays) it always sucks to be rich and have non-divorced, loving parents?


Andy: Yeah, I have. I think that’s a device that writers use to show that someone can just be inherently evil. They used to do it a lot with Princes and Queens.


Mike: Yeah, one thing fake world has taught us is that the more troubled your fake life is, the more interesting you will be. And happy! Yay divorce and poverty!!


Anita: I liked when the play got all Scottish, all of a sudden.


Andy: Oh yeah. There was this actor in the play named Wm. Bullion, and I have to tell you that I think he is great. He has been good in everything I have seen him in, so far.


Mike: Matt Engle really rocked that wig too. He is one of Chicago’s premiere wig actors. Did he have a wig in Ren Faire? If he did, I bet he rocked that shit.


Andy: I think the real beauty here was the direction. The script was funny, but Laura McKenzie really took the reins of that bitch and jazzercized it to health.


Mike: Agreed Andy. This thing moved. Oh man. Speaking of moving quickly. Mashed potatoes. Sausages. Gravy. Will you all excuse me for a moment. Need to go to the little boys room.


The conversation went on like this for hours and hours until we finally had to go home, but here’s the basic rundown of what you need to know for the show this weekend:


1.Shannon O’Neill wrote a good script that is just right for the Factory. If you aren’t a Factory fan then you should probably go see something else like “The Sing Off” on NBC.


2.Christine Jennings shoves her lovability down your throat and you will leave with a new fave on the stage.


3.What really makes this play good is the direction.


4.The Factory is the only theatre company in town making loud, bawdy, original comedies. They aren’t based on the music of someone, or stolen from a movie, they are original and they really tell a story that, when you dig deep down, says something universal for us all.


Jenny & Jenni says: “Love yourself regardless of your imperfections, because you are great.” That’s something we all need to hear sometimes.


A


-Anderson Lawfer, Eric Roach, Tom Hickey, Anita Deely, Michael Dailey

100th POST ANNIVERSARY: A review of Reviews You Can Iews (Critic Megan Powell)

There’s a strange and efficacious charm at work in Eric & Andy's Reviews You Can Iews! , which celebrates its 100th post this month. The cute misnomer “iews,” in fact, limns the essence of the blog: be as entertaining as you can and willfully obtuse as often as possible. Exhaustively (and sometimes exhaustingly) reveling in a gleeful and resolute punch-drunkenness, its topics range from films and obscure music (ever wonder who the eff Moxy is?), games and toys (favorite childhood playthings vs. their contemporary iterations = simple charm), to theatre (back off). Iews’ infrastructure makes the parts work, but not sing. Visually perfunctory, the blog could use more brio, and we wondered why a Microsoft Office 2007 add-on attempts to run when we click on certain posts. Also, its commitment to its craft is somewhat in question. What happened? 49 posts in August 2009 diminished to a lean four just the next month.

But the blog overcomes both the vagaries of Blogger (truly a user interface still stuck in 2005) its own loquaciousness. While some early posts are the equivalent of the unsolicited pontification of that talky woman that works the 10 pm to 6 am shift at the 24-hour (and seemingly last remaining) White Hen Pantry in the basement of the condo building at Armitage, Clark and Lincoln Park West, the introduction of guest reviewers has variously revitalized their efforts. Anthony Tournis’ exploitation of the parenthesis masked as a spring baseball update is prodigiously, er , parenthetical, while the newer music reviews are informative, honing in on a particular rock music group or song (thanks, Rob Biesenbach for the history of “My Sharona”—no really, that gets my rocks off. I mean, between you, me and the wall -- I’d love to review music. Just once. I mean, I don’t know, maybe Eric and Andy would let me guest review a wee bit of music for the blog. Believe me, I shouldn’t quit my day job to do that, but it’s fun to talk about obscure things like how many bottles of Old Grand Dad Keith went through during the recording of Exile on Main Street and to share all the obscure bits of cultural detritus I can mine from this series that I usually have to bore my friends with when they just want to have a beer and some grilled brats and not think anymore, thank you very much. For once it’d be a relief to indulge in some choplogic and trade some heavily mixed metaphors about something besides why John Guare plays do not age well or Darrell Cox’s abs …Um. Anyway.).

Eric & Andy's Reviews You Can Iews! has ultimately and entertainingly blossomed in its infancy. Let’s see if it can cut some teeth in during its toddler phase.

Eric and Andy's Reviews You Can Iews
A-

-Megan Powell (important critic)
*this review does not reflect the opinion of TimeOut Chicago. We know this because TimeOut Chicago thinks we are the fucking JAM.

Chicago Recycling Trucks (Trucks) GUEST REVIEWER ANITA DEELY

This morning, at an unexpected viewing of A Chicago Blue Recycling truck I mused the following: this truck delivers the expected which is timely retrieval of your coded plastics, glass, paper and aluminum for use in yet to be made products such as carpeting and Jay Leno’s comedy hour(zing!). But to view this vehicle as merely a truck is to miss the point. It is at once a receptacle for waste and THE MOST ANNOYING ALARM CLOCK ON THIS CONTINUALLY HEATING, SURELY DOOMED PLANET. I remember bluebags back in 90’s and early 00’s. Those didn’t wake you up. When I watched those, I felt good. As I put my various detergent bottles and empty yogurt containers in the bags I felt like the party was still going. Actually, I think “Keep Partying, America!” was the tagline for the project then.
But, this morning, as I swore a blue streak at the blue truck, I thought:” I wonder what happens to that trash”. And that line repeated in haunting refrain over in in my head as the A Chicago Blue Recycling truck pulled away. Till next time, my worthy foe. Till next time.