New Centerstage Review Up

Posted on October 17, 2011 by lisafindley

Who’s in the mood for some seasonal spookiness? Check out the always-odd, often-heartbreaking Strange Tree Group in their latest, The Spirit Play. Tom B. and I saw the show a week ago, and I was delighted with how delighted he was by the production. It’s always fun to feel like you’re really treating someone with your comp ticket.

Here’s an excerpt of my review:

This Halloween special explores the world of Victorian-era séances and the various ways we convince ourselves that something we want desperately to be true is true… Raps on the table, bells ringing in mid-air, and of course, ghostly hands creeping out from behind a curtain; all these were standard practice among séance charlatans of the era, and the medium and her entourage use them here as well.

You can read the rest of it here. Happy haunting!

New Centerstage Review Up!

Posted on September 30, 2011 by lisafindley

I saw my first Victory Gardens show last week. It’s always a little weird to go from storefront theater companies with hardly any budget to an established company with a board of directors and a solid budget for costumes, set design, and so on. If only every theater group had these resources! It’s a Sarah Ruhl play, so there was lots of lofty discussion and several surreal moments. Lovely. Here’s an excerpt of the review:

Dr. Givings (Mark L. Montgomery) treats women with “hysteria,” that particular female condition caused by various problems with the womb, be it too much moisture, lack of children, or any number of things. What the well-to-do ladies in town do is enter the operating theater, lie back on a table, and allow the good doctor to apply his mechanical device under her skirts on her, er, area.

Read the rest of the review here. Enjoy it this weekend. Have a great one! I’m in Montreal on vacation and will, of course, report back soon.

Aesthetically Speaking: Natalie Hurdle

Posted on September 20, 2011 by lisafindley

This week’s interview is with Natalie Hurdle, co-founder of Strange Bedfellows Theatre here in Chicago, a new company just putting down roots in the city. I’m excited to see what productions come next. Thanks for sharing, Natalie!

What is your name and city of residence?
My name is Natalie Hurdle and I live in Chicago.

What medium do you work in?
I work in the theatre–I am a co-founder and ensemble member of Strange Bedfellows Theatre, and I also work at Piven Theatre Workshop.

How often do you work on your art–is it a full-time endeavor or something you work on in your spare time?
That’s an interesting question to answer as a young artist–as Strange Bedfellows continues to grow, I hope that one day it can be my one and only job. In the meantime, I work in arts management at Piven to pay my bills and learn how to run my own theatre company. Even when I’m not actively in rehearsals or meetings, I feel I’m learning and preparing and garnering new resources for my work.

Natlie Hurdle and Jen Westervelt in Strange Bedfellows' "Fire Island"

How does art fit into your life, in general? Is it something you think about and talk about every day, or every week, or only in certain situations, etc.?
Art drives my life. It’s a constant thread in my heart and mind. Almost everything I experience ends up informing my work in one way or another. Every day, artists make the decision to keep creating–a decision that can require considerable compromises and sacrifices when it comes to personal relationships, financial security, and all the other messes in life.

On the other hand, I think to be a great artist, you need to have a life outside of art, otherwise you have nothing new to bring to what you create. Your art is richer and fuller when you step outside of your art bubble and splash around in the world and bump into other people. And there are definitely nights when I have a beer with a friend to talk about anything BUT theatre. We all need time to rejuvenate–making art can be exhausting.

When you start on a piece, what kind of end result do you have in mind? Does it get performed or published, put in a permanent form or is it more temporary?
Theatre isn’t theatre if it isn’t shared with an audience–the performers and sets and sound and lights are only half of the equation. The reaction of each different audience changes the show so incredibly. I love how I can see a performance of the same play with the same actors in the same place ten different times and the makeup of the audience alchemically alters the show. One of the things I love about theatre is how very temporary it is. That performance for that audience will never be repeated again, no matter how long the production runs. And you can’t capture the experience.

What goals do you set in relation to your art, both short- and long-term? Is it something you hope to make money doing, or is it something you want to keep uncommercialized? Does the term “sell-out” hold meaning for you or do you see the art/commerce relationship as a necessary one?
I would love to be bringing more money in as an artist so I can put more time and money back into my art. Art is valuable; I see no reason to refuse payment for making it. I don’t believe that I have a super commercial bent as a theatre artist, but finding ways to reach and engage a new audience is something I think theatre artists in particular should be thinking about–and creatively.

Brooks Applegate and Derrick Marshall in Strange Bedfellows' "Fire Island"

What role does collaboration with others play in your art, if any?
Strange Bedfellows is a very collaborative company. I think the work we do together is stronger and more interesting because it is made by dissimilar people with unique strengths and ideas and a common goal. Strange Bedfellows indeed.

How conscious are you of your artistic influences? Who are your artistic influences?
Very conscious. I read a lot; I see a lot of theatre; and when I feel stuck and uninspired, I go back to the artists who remind me of my passion. Anne Bogart, Paula Vogel, Sarah Ruhl, Mary Louise Parker, not to mention my great teachers–Joan Herrington, Mark Liermann, Jim Daniels, Elizabeth Terrel, and the list goes on.

Since this is a travel blog, how does travel relate to or affect your art? (Themes in what you produce, road trips to perform your music, thoughts on what happens to your painting when you ship it across the country to a customer, etc.)
When I was sixteen, I had the unreal experience of performing at the International Fringe Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland, the largest theatre festival in the world. That sealed the deal for me as an artist. I wanted to make theatre and engage with theatre and connect with other theatre artists and lovers of theatre for the rest of my life. Learning from artists of other backgrounds and cultures and examining the changing contexts in which theatre is made fascinates me. I would love to travel more to do all of that. For now, Chicago is our home base, and I imagine it will be for a long time. Who knows, though?

And finally, a right-brain question: If your art was a map, what would it be a map of?
A map of empathy. A map of magic.

If you are looking for any other information on Strange Bedfellows Theatre, check out our website.

Photos by Daniel Halden Fitzpatrick.

The Perils of Reviewing Theater

Posted on September 16, 2011 by lisafindley

Persuasion is my favorite Jane Austen novel. That story of long-lost love being rediscovered is entirely too easy to swoon over, not to mention the supporting cast of characters is a hoot. So when I saw that my September review options for Centerstage included a musical adaptation of the book, I jumped on it. As Beth said, you can’t miss “Persuasion: The Musical!”

But oh how we should’ve missed it.

Beth drove three hours to visit me and see the play, and she said it was the worst play she’s ever seen. I felt so bad, although of course I couldn’t have known. It turned out to be a really expensively funded community theater production, with several shaky singing performances and one spectacularly bad acting and singing performance. Here’s an excerpt of the review:

Ms. Landis wrote the libretto for this adaptation, and even traveled to England to do research for it, so it is clear that this is a labor of love. Unfortunately, that love didn’t translate into a stronger performance, and enthusiasm alone can’t carry a play. This story deserves a passionate production, not a three and a half hour slog.

Three and a half hourrrrrrrrs. Nothing is that long. Maybe the Ring cycle. No one even does Shakespeare at that length anymore. Three and a half hours I will never get back.

The woman playing Anne, Barbara Landis, is the Artistic Director of the company, so she pretty clearly cast herself, but what she needed was someone to tell her no, you can write the libretto, you can pick the music, but you cannot play this part. We wondered if maybe she had an illness, because her movements and facial expressions were so odd that it seemed possible she didn’t have proper control over them. This would be terrible! To be slamming the performance of a woman who bravely overcame an illness or stroke. Except that there is no mention of that in the program, there is no indication that she is anything but well, so I have to go with the information I’m given. Based on that, it was a supremely narcissistic move to cast herself in a role she couldn’t possibly carry, and that is unfair to her cast, her crew, and her audience.

But also, she has all these accolades from past performances! (I Googled her.) She was in so many prestigious performances, as were many of her cast (several of whom were not at all up to the opera singing required). Who is casting these people? What are they seeing that I’m missing? Am I making a huge mistake in giving this a strongly negative review?

I’ve never run into this problem before. I’ve seen a couple shows that I wrote more negative than positive reviews for, but none that made me want to leave at intermission (I even texted my editor to see if I could do that, but let’s face it, that’s pretty unethical if you’re reviewing a show, to only see half of it). I was torn up about whether I should really lay into this play for being as bad as it was, and this actor in particular, or whether I should give some leeway. As you can see in the review, I devoted a whole third of my allotted words to pointing out the positives. But in the end, that’s all I could afford, because I ultimately saw it as more important to be honest, even brutally so, than to guess at motives and try and be nice. And maybe I’m out of step with the other reviewers in town, but I suppose that’s why we have so many: a reviewer for every taste.

Read the rest of the review here.

New Centerstage Review Up

Posted on September 14, 2011 by lisafindley

Here’s a fun one for your weekend viewing: My Name is Mudd at the Viaduct. A non-linear production of zany antics and broad gestures, it’s about 75 minutes of laughs. Here’s an excerpt of my review:

“Mudd” succeeds by not taking itself too seriously while dealing with a serious topic, thus pushing the bounds of what historical theater can be. After all, you can go just about anywhere with a production when you start with six actors earnestly asking the newly widowed Mrs. Lincoln, “Yes, yes, but other than that, how did you like the play?”

You can read the rest of the review here. It’s a dudely play that didn’t give me a bad taste in my mouth — a rare and wondrous thing! Tickets are like $10, so enjoy.

New Centerstage Review Up

Posted on September 9, 2011 by lisafindley

The House Theatre specializes in grandiose stories, generally involving a hugely ambitious main character and a lot of quick action. I’ve enjoyed The Attempters and All the Fame of Lofty Deeds, and I like the story of Cyrano de Bergerac, so I was excited to see Cyrano. Here’s an excerpt:

“Matt Hawkins’ adaption is a House Theatre production, a company infinitely familiar with the flamboyant confidence and ambitious drive associated with the word, so it will come as no surprise that ‘Cyrano’ has plenty of panache.”

You can read the rest of the review here.

Some additional thoughts:

The fighting was fantastic, like leap out of your seat and grab a sword to join in fantastic. The acting was great, too. Characters leaping on and off the grand piano in the center of the stage make for good visuals, but the actual songs played on the piano are mostly forgettable, except for the “fool in love” melody.

Mostly, I forget that the Cyrano story is not the plot of the Steve Martin movie Roxanne, no matter that the movie is loosely based on the original play. Roxanne is a comedy with a happy ending, and Cyrano is an often funny tragedy wherein most everyone dies. So manage your expectations on that front and you’ll be fine.

I have no idea why they chose Rasputin-like imagery for the poster and promotional materials. It doesn’t fit at all. Ah well.

New Centerstage Review Up and Vacation Announcement

Posted on August 11, 2011 by lisafindley

I recommend you see “We Live Here” at Greenhouse Theater Center in Lincoln Park. It’s an original work, with eight authors contributing individual stories of their quintessential Chicago moments. It’s a snapshot of Chicagoans approaching 30, and as such the stories skew young. A couple stories hint at more experienced writers (a woman who miscarries several times, a man who lived in the Tree Studios when they were still artists’ living spaces and not chi-chi shops), but mostly the stories are about bike messengers, recent college grads, people making their first big move or recovering from their first big heartbreak. It’s about people starting out or just starting over, and as such it’s infused with an exciting energy. The cast is marvelous, and the nimble direction kept my eyes riveted to the stage. Here’s an excerpt of the review:

But perhaps the highest praise I can give for this show is that the next day, as I sat in a train car lurching along the el, I looked around the car and wondered what stories my fellow Chicagoans were just waiting to share.

You can read the rest of the review here.

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In other news, it’s vacation time! I’m headed to my last wedding of the summer and a beach house rental starting on Friday, and I can’t wait. I won’t be posting next week, so try not to pine away too much, and I’ll be back on August 23rd. Do come back then! Wouldn’t want to lose any of you lovely readers. Have a great week.

New Centerstage Review Up

Posted on August 3, 2011 by lisafindley

Last week I reviewed The Swordswomen of San Gimignano at New Rock Theater. The large setpieces were far too stilted, and one of the main leads, Serafina, wasn’t comfortable in the role. But there were many entertaining scenes, and some good performances. I mention the buffoons in the review, but Ruffaelo (Almir Limaj) and Roberto (Mike Ardashnikov) are also a good comedic pair, with an easy rapport. Here’s an excerpt of the review:

“Swordswomen” is a comedy in the classic sense, which means we have lovers who need some help getting together, cross-dressings and misunderstandings, and hapless henchmen providing more insightful commentary than the main characters.

You can read the rest of the review here.

New Centerstage Review Up

Posted on July 20, 2011 by lisafindley

Last week I saw Laer’s Last Prayer, which was not put on by a specific company but rather was the writing and directing project of one man, Stephen F. Murray. I find it difficult to review such personal projects (Like The Untangling at the Junction a few weeks ago), because any negative feedback seems particularly pointed since there’s one person bearing so much of the responsibility. Here’s an excerpt:

Stephen F. Murray’s “Laer’s Last Prayer” is a found poem made up of “King Lear,” “Twelfth Night,” biblical passages, and nursery rhymes. Laer (Elliott Fredland) reigns from a wheelchair, a senile old man tended to by his resentful son, Jack (Nick Lake), and his eager to please doctor, Kent (Brian Hurst).

You can read the rest of the review here.

I liked the idea of the play more than the actual execution. I tried to get at that a bit in the review by talking about the disconnect between absurdism and emotion. Any theater people out there want to tell me if that disconnect is ever bridged in Beckett-ish plays, or if the gap is purposeful?

New Centerstage Review Up

Posted on July 12, 2011 by lisafindley

I reviewed a one-woman show, “Untangling at the Junction,” by Daaimah Mubashshir. It’s a semi-autobiographical show about being a queer Muslim woman in America, and it’s a great concept but a rough show. It was frustrating to see her stumble over some lines, but it was fascinating to see a work in progress, one that she’s workshopping before taking it on the road. I really enjoyed the audience talkback, and Mubashshir and her director seemed interested in all of the suggestions. Here’s an excerpt of the review:

“The Untangling at The Junction” affords Chicagoans the rare opportunity to engage directly with the writer and director in a discussion about the play at hand. Daaimah Mubashshir’s one-woman show explores the intricacies of being queer and Muslim in America, in an often powerful performance.

You can read the rest here.