REVIEW: 1985 (Factory Theater)

 

Strong performances penalized by repetitive punchlines

 

 

Factory Theater presents

1985

Written by Chas Vrba Directed by Eric Roach DCA Storefront Theater, 66 E. Randolph (map) through November 7  |  tickets: $15-$25  |  more info

Reviewed by Oliver Sava

Chicago, 1985, and the Bear Nation holds totalitarian control over the city’s football fans. As the Bear Nation’s chief propaganda writer Winston (Chas Vrba) begins to question why everyone devotes their lives to a team that keeps losing, the unfathomable happens: the 1985 Bears start winning. A lot. In Chas Vrba’ 1985, George Orwell’s dystopian classic “1984” is reimagined in the grisly world of professional sports, where Big Brother is “Papa Bear” George Halas (Ernie Deak) and Room 101 turns Packers fans into blue and orange-clad zombies. Vrba should be applauded for trying to bring a new audience of sports fans to the theater, and the clever script is impressively researched and filled with references to the professional sports world.

Winston’s loyalty to the Bear Nation begins to crumble when he notices the flaws in the Nation’s doctrine. A romance with new recruit Julia (Lindsay Verstegen) blossoms into full blown treason, as the two hatch a plan to enlighten their friends through loss. In the midst of the absurdity, Vrba begins to examine the subconscious of the football fan, and the reasons why people cheer for the teams that keep losing. The reason is for years like the ’85 Chicago Bears. The ‘90s Bulls. 2010 Blackhawks. Winning is so much sweeter when all you know is loss. Unfortunately, the script spends less time on idea and more on the goofy antics of the Bear Nation.

Maybe I’ve been spoiled by The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity (our review), but a comedy about sports culture needs to survive on more than audience-specific jokes and slapstick physical comedy. Vrba’s concept has the potential to explore the deeper emotional and psychological connections between the fans and their team, but this takes a back seat to an uninspired love triangle between Howard, Julia, and foul-mouthed Diane (Stacie Barra). After a while, the script develops the feel of a sketch comedy idea that has overstayed its welcome. Despite the strong efforts of the cast, the limited supply of jokes and gags gets old, making the latter half of the play drag as it retreads old ground. “Bear down!” as a pledge of allegiance stops being funny pretty quickly, and the barrage of groan-worthy Bears puns (“membears,” “bearification,” “bearnificent”) seldom stops, but it’s hard to fault the actors when they show such dedication to their material.

The hardcore followers of the Bear Nation are unabashed in their chaotic revelry, and the larger group sequences are the most memorable in the production. When everyone gathers to watch the game, you sense the camaraderie An early scene where the Nation puts “membear” Matt (Timothy C. Amos) on trial for his allegiance to the Resistance and role in the Cubs’ loss of the ’84 National Series Championship erupts into a viciously hilarious free for all, and an enraged Amos proves a more than capable opponent for the Nation. Matt’s transformation after a visit to Room 101 gives  Amos a lot of opportunities for screwball comedy, and his reactions to cast mates often trump the actual dialogue. But as the show progresses his outbursts become superfluous; his character another joke gone stale. Compared to his ecstatic scene partners, Vrba’s controlled, soft-spoken portrayal of Wilson gets lost in a flood of crazy. Wilson never appears very thrilled about the Bears, so when his friends complain about his odd, withdrawn behavior, it just doesn’t make sense.

The sports play is an intriguing creature. The dramatic and comedic potential of professional athletics has been explored by Hollywood, but remains largely unknown to the theater world. The possibility of the same people packing the stands at Soldier Field filling the seats of Chicago theaters is a thrilling one, both from a financial and intellectual standpoint, but is probably an unrealistic hope for most theaters. 1985 is a step in the right direction, and Eric Roach’s slick direction keeps the pace of Vrba’s clever script as smooth as the Super Bowl Shuffle. Despite it’s problems, 1985 has more comic morsels to offer Bears fans than any other play this season, and football fans should definitely give it a look – it will be a night to “remembear”.

Rating: ★★½

Shows Opening/Closing this week

Show Openings

 

“Master Harold”…and the Boys

– TimeLine Theatre

The Alcyone Festival 2010 – Halcyon Theatre

The Castle – Oracle Theatre

Desperately Seeking – Chemically Imbalanced Theater

Dreamgirls – Cadillac Palace Theatre (Broadway in Chicago)

First Words – Greenhouse Theater Center (MPAACT)

The Dames Storm Division – New Millenium Theatre

Glitter in the Gutter – Annoyance Theatre

Harper Regan – Steep Theatre

Hughie/Krapp’s Last Tape – Goodman Theatre

King of the Mountain – Chemically Imbalanced Theater

Nighthawk Sandwich – Storefront Theater (DCA Theatre)

Phedra – New World Repertory Theatre

Real Bros of DuPage County – Gorilla Tango Theatre

Savage in Limbo – Village Players Performing Arts Center

Short Shakespeare! The Comedy of Errors – Chicago Shakespeare

WHACK! – Gorilla Tango Theatre

The Year of Magical Thinking – Court Theatre 

 

 

Show Closings

 

Annie – Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University

The Capitol Steps – North Shore Center for the Performing Arts

Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan – Dance Center of Columbia College

Give Us Monday – Gorilla Tango Theatre

Icarus – Lookingglass Theatre

Little Women – Circle Theatre

Mamma Mia! – Rosemont Theatre

Mark and Laura’s Couples Advice Christmas Special – Gorilla Tango Theatre

 

Openings/Closings list courtesy of League of Chicago Theatres

REVIEW: Caffeine Theatre’s “Under Milk Wood”

“Under Milk Wood” misses the mark

 

Caffeine Theatre presents:

Under Milk Wood
by Dylan Thomas
directed by Paul S. Holmquist
thru September 27th (buy tickets)

reviewed by Paige Listerud

Few things irritate more than a production that, however outstanding and finely wrought, still fails to gel, to become the whole it was intended to be. Such is the case with Caffeine Theatre’s production of Dylan Thomas’ Under Milk Wood, now onstage at the Storefront Theater. Director Paul S. Holmquist and the producers have done yeoman work transforming what was originally a radio play into full-scale theatrical storytelling, with 9-member cast taking on 47 roles.

The choice of this DCA space is particularly conducive to their artistic intentions—open and spacious enough, yet still conveying intimate communication between audience and cast. Holmquist’s staging and direction is a marvel of agility and grace in the production’s mercurial shifts from scene to scene. His utilization of the set design’s multiple levels successfully hints at the thin veil between dream and waking life; between hidden desires and performed social roles; between life and death.

How frustrating that, in spite of the cast’s talents, the resulting work lacks cohesion and wholeness through the lack of a uniform narrative performance style. Thomas, when he composed the radio play, constructed its narration with Voice 1 and Voice 2. But Holmquist and company divide the two narrative voices among all 9 cast members. That alone might not have defeated the work. However, the cast is uneven in its presentation of the play’s narrative voice.

By far, Dave Skvarla (Captain Cat) performs this narrative feature best. He owns the stage when he speaks and creates three-dimensional space by the use of his voice alone; Dan Granata (Mr. Mog Edwards) and Elise Kauzlaric (Myfanwy Price) exhibit this ability to a lesser, but still tangible degree. Sadly, that same technique falls off with the rest of the cast, whatever their other abilities.

That is really unfortunate, because the cast creates fully committed and indelible characters. The moments of Mrs Ogmore-Pritchard (Kaitlin Byrd) drilling her two deceased husbands, Mr. Pritchard (Paul Myers) and Mr. Ogmore (Dan Granata), through their daily and nightly routines, lasts long after the show has ended; as do Kate Nawrocki’s saucy Rosie Probert and her Bessie Bighead, ethereally fading into death’s oblivion. Paul Myer’s full range in the use of his body suggests the strains and twists life molds into the human character by time.

Well, for the want of a nail, the battle was lost and for the want of a critical performance technique, the world of this play dissipates into fragilely connected scenes. This leads to what Caffeine Theatre’s production lacks most–a sense of place. A tragically missing element, since Thomas wrote Under Milk Wood as his response to the atomic attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Here, in his imaginary Welsh town, fecund with dreams and desire, with the power of language alone, he took his stand against total nuclear annihilation.

Rating: ««

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  Also, check out postings and pics from Under Milk Wood rehearsals.

Chicago Theater News – Think fast….

DCA Theater Incubator
Dog and Pony 
Chicago’s DCA Theater introduces INCUBATOR; a series designed to support the creation of new work by emerging Chicago theater companies. For the inaugural event in the series, Dog and Pony Theatre Company will showcase their work-in-progress, “Watering Hole.”  Click here for more info.

 

Monday, August 25, 7:30 – 9:30 pm, Studio Theater, Chicago Cultural Center
FREE, Reservations Encouraged  312-742-TIXS