REVIEW: Neverwhere (Lifeline Theatre)

‘Wicked’ isn’t the only dark Oz

 

Lifeline Theatre presents

Neverwhere

Adapted by Robert Kauzlaric from the novel by Neil Gaiman Directed by Paul S. Holmquist Lifeline Theatre, 6912 N. Glenwood (map) Through June 20  |  Tickets: $30  |  more info

Reviewed by Leah A. Zeldes

Alice fell through the rabbit hole. Dorothy was swept up by a tornado.

For good-hearted, mild-mannered Richard Mayhew, unlikely hero of Neil Gaiman’s dark fantasy Neverwhere, now in a world-premiere adaptation at Rogers Park’s always innovative Lifeline Theatre, it’s stumbling on and aiding an injured girl that propels him into a strange new world — London Below – a grimmer, underground  version of the city he knows, a place of sewers and magic and people who fell through cracks … and from which there can be no return. Like Wicked, the 1995 Gregory Maguire novel from which the lighter, happier Broadway musical was adapted, Neverwhere, gives us an upended and blackly humorous view of a familiar place.

Directed by Paul S. Holmquist, Kauzlaric’s adaptation, ten years in the making, sticks closely to Gaiman’s 1996 novel, which was in turn based on a teleplay Gaiman did for a BBC miniseries.  Gaiman’s storyline leaves unanswered questions, and so does this play, but his creatively imagined world overcomes the hanging threads. Kauzlaric’s trimming removes some of the most gruesome and ugly bits, retaining most of the action.

The hapless Richard (guilelessly portrayed by Robert Kauzlaric, the playwright) journeys through the bizarre and deadly London Below with the hunted girl, Lady Door (plucky Katie McLean), and her companions, the dodgy, sardonic Marquis de Carabas (a wonderfully dry and laconic Chris Hainsworth) and the enigmatic bodyguard Hunter (Kyra Morris, in fighting trim). They’re off to see the angel Islington (somewhat over-deliberately played by Phil Timberlake) in an effort to find out who ordered Door’s whole family murdered and how Richard can, like Dorothy, go home again. The wizard … er, angel … sends them on a quest to bring back a mysterious key.

 

Lifeline does its usual beautifully inventive job of bringing the written word to the stage, with just a few minor flaws. Here and there, unexplained lines leftover from the book may be puzzling to those who haven’t read it. Mikhail Fiksel‘s eerie original music fits the mood quite well, but in several places underlying music or sound-effects distract from the dialogue. A few longish monologues slow the action (and add up to a 2½-hour-long production).

Alan Donahue’s multi-level set, full of doors and tunnels and ladders, goes a long way toward evoking the forbidding London Below, aided by puppets created by Kimberly G. Morris and rich performances from Patrick Blashill, Christopher M. Walsh and Elise Kauzlaric as a series of creepy, colorful, underworld characters. Sean Sinitski is spine-chillingly funny as the loquacious and sinister Mr. Croup.

Gaiman fans should be thrilled, but you needn’t know the novel to enjoy this lively fantasy adventure on stage.

Rating: ★★★½

Note: Not suitable for young children. Free parking available in the lot at the northeast corner of Morse and Ravenswood avenues, with free shuttle-van service before and after shows.

A scene from the BBC’s Neverwhere

Neil Gaiman on Neverwhere, Naperville, Feb. 2010

Non-Equity Jeff Awards nominees announced

2010 Non-Equity Jeff Award Nominees

 

 

Production – Play

Busman’s Honeymoon – Lifeline Theatre (review ★★★) Death of a Salesman – Raven Theatre (review ★★★½) Killer Joe – Profiles Theatre (review ★★★½ ) The Pillowman -  Redtwist Theatre (review ★★★) St. Crispin’s Day – Strawdog Theatre Company (review ★★) Wilson Wants It All – The House Theatre of Chicago (review ★★★)

 

Production – Musical

Chess  -  Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre i/a/w Michael James (review ★★½) Evolution/Creation  -   Quest Theatre Ensemble (review ★★★) The Glorious Ones   -  Bohemian Theatre Ensemble (review ★★★) The Who’s Tommy -  Circle Theatre

 

Director – Play

Aaron Todd Douglas: Twelve Angry Men – Raven Theatre  (review ★★★) Michael Menendian: Death of a Salesman – Raven Theatre (review ★★★½) Michael Rohd: Wilson Wants It All – House Theatre of Chicago (review ★★★) Kimberly Senior: The Pillowman – Redtwist Theatre (review ★★★) Rick Snyder: – Killer Joe – Profiles Theatre  (review ★★★½)

  

Director – Musical

Fred Anzevino & Brenda Didier: Chess – Theo Ubique Theatre (review ★★½) Jeffrey Cass:  The Who’s Tommy – Circle Theatre Stephen M. Genovese: The Glorious Ones – Boho Rep (review ★★★) Andrew Park: Evolution/Creation – Quest Theatre Ensemble  (review ★★★)

 

Ensemble

The Glorious Ones -  Bohemian Theatre Ensemble (review ★★★) Red Noses – Strawdog Theatre Company Twelve Angry Men -  Raven Theatre  (review ★★★) Under Milk Wood  – Caffeine Theatre  (review ★★)

 

Actor in a Principal Role – Play

Tony Bozzuto: On an Average Day – BackStage Theatre Company  Darrell W. Cox: Killer Joe – Profiles Theatre  (review ★★★½) Andrew Jessop: The Pillowman – Redtwist Theatre (review ★★★) Peter Robel: I Am My Own Wife – Bohemian Theatre  (review ★★★★) Chuck Spencer: Death of a Salesman – Raven Theatre  (review ★★★½)

 

Actor in a Principle Role – Musical

Courtney Crouse: Chess – Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre  (review ★★½) Tom McGunn: The Who’s Tommy – Circle Theatre Eric Damon Smith:  The Glorious Ones – Bohemian Theatre (review ★★★) Jeremy Trager: Chess – Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre   (review ★★½)

   

Actress in a Principle Role – Play

Brenda Barrie:  Mrs. Caliban – Lifeline Theatre  (review ★★★★) LaNisa Frederick:  The Gimmick -  Pegasus Players (review ★★) Millicent Hurley:  Lettice & Lovage – Redtwist Theatre (review ★★★★) Kendra Thulin: Harper Regan – Steep Theatre  (review ★★½ ) Rebekah Ward-Hays: Aunt Dan and Lemon – BackStage Theatre

 

Actress in a Principle Role – Musical

Danielle Brothers: Man of La Mancha – Theo Ubique Theatre  (review ★★★) Sarah Hayes: Man of La Mancha – Theo Ubique Theatre   (review ★★★) Maggie Portman:  Chess  -  Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre  (review ★★½)

 

Actor in a Supporting Role – Play

Chance Bone: Cooperstown – Theatre Seven of Chicago  (review ★★) Jason Huysman:  Death of a Salesman – Raven Theatre (review ★★★½) Edward Kuffert:  The Crucible -  Infamous Commonwealth (review ★★★) Peter Oyloe: The Pillowman – Redtwist Theatre   (review ★★★) Phil Timberlake:  Busman’s Honeymoon – Lifeline Theatre  (review ★★★)

 

Actor in a Supporting Role – Musical

Eric Lindahl: The Who’s Tommy – Circle Theatre Steve Kimbrough: Poseidon! An Upside Down Musical -  Hell in a Handbag John B. Leen:  Chess -  Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre  (review ★★½)

 

Actress in a Supporting Role – Play

Nancy Friedrich: The Crucible – Infamous Commonwealth (review ★★★) Vanessa Greenway: The Night Season – Vitalist Theatre i/a/w Premiere Theatre & Performance (review ★★★★) Kelly Lynn Hogan:  The Night Season – Vitalist Theatre i/a/w Premiere Theatre & Performance (review ★★★★) Kristy Johnson: A Song for Coretta -  Eclipse Theatre  (review ★★) Mary Redmon:  The Analytical Engine  – Circle Theatre  (review ★★★)

 

Actress in a Supporting Role – Musical

Kate Garassino:  Bombs Away!  – Bailiwick Repertory Theatre   Danni Smith:  The Glorious Ones  -   Bohemian Theatre (review ★★★) Trista Smith: Poseidon! An Upside Down Musical  -  Hell in a Handbag Dana Tretta:  The Glorious Ones  -  Bohemian Theatre   (review ★★★)

 

New Work

Aaron Carter:  First Words  -  MPAACT (review ★★★★) Ellen Fairey:  Graceland  -  Profiles Theatre  (review ★★★) Tommy Lee Johnston:  Aura  -  Redtwist Theatre Andrew Park and Scott Lamps:  Evolution/Creation  -   Quest Theatre Ensemble (review ★★★) Michael Rohd & Phillip C. Klapperich:  Wilson Wants It All  -  The House Theatre of Chicago  (review ★★★)

 

New Adaptation

Bilal Dardai: The Man Who Was Thursday -  New Leaf Theatre   Sean Graney:  – Oedipus  – The Hypocrites (review ★★★★) Frances Limoncelli:  Busman’s Honeymoon – Lifeline Theatre (review ★★★) Frances Limoncelli:  – Mrs. Caliban  – Lifeline Theatre (review ★★★★) William Massolia: Little Brother  – Griffin Theatre

 

Choreography

Kevin Bellie:  The Who’s Tommy  -  Circle Theatre Brenda Didier:  Chess   -  Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre (review ★★½) James Brigitte Ditmars:  Poseidon! An Upside Down Musical  – Hell in a Handbag Productions

 

Original Incidental Music

Andrew Hansen: Treasure Island  -  Lifeline Theatre  (review ★★★½) Kevin O’Donnell:   -  Wilson Wants It All  -   House Theatre   (review ★★★) Trevor Watkin:  The Black Duckling  -  Dream Theatre

 

Music Direction

Ryan Brewster:  Chess  – Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre (review ★★½) Gary Powell:  Evolution/Creation  -  Quest Theatre   (review ★★★) Nick Sula:  The Glorious Ones  -  Bohemian Theatre   (review ★★★)

 

Scenic Design

Tom Burch:  Uncle Vanya -  Strawdog Theatre  (review ★★★) Alan Donahue:  Treasure Island -  Lifeline Theatre (review ★★★½) Heath Hays:  On an Average Day  -   BackStage Theatre Company Bob Knuth:  The Analytical Engine  -  Circle Theatre (review ★★★) Bob Knuth:  Little Women  -   Circle Theatre (review ★★★) John Zuiker:   I Am My Own Wife  -   Bohemian Theatre (review ★★★★)

 

Lighting Design

Diane Fairchild:  The Gimmick  -  Pegasus Players (review ★★) Kevin D. Gawley: Treasure Island – Lifeline Theatre (review ★★★½) Sean Mallary:  St. Crispin’s Day  – Strawdog Theatre Company (review ★★) Jared B. Moore:  The Man Who Was Thursday – New Leaf Theatre Katy Peterson:  I Am My Own Wife -  Bohemian Theatre (review ★★★★)

 

Costume Design

Theresa Ham:  The Glorious Ones  -  Bohemian Theatre  (review ★★★) Branimira Ivanova:  Treasure Island  -  Lifeline Theatre (review ★★★½) Joanna Melville:  St. Crispin’s Day  -  Strawdog Theatre Company (review ★★) Jill Van Brussel:  The Taming of the Shrew  -  Theo Ubique  (review  ★★★) Elizabeth Wislar:  The Analytical Engine  – Circle Theatre (review ★★★)

 

Sound Design

Mikhail Fiksel:  Oedipus – The Hypocrites (review ★★★★) Michael Griggs:  Wilson Wants It All -  The House Theatre (review ★★★) Andrew Hansen:  Treasure Island -  Lifeline Theatre  (review ★★★½)   Joshua Horvath:  Mrs. Caliban -  Lifeline Theatre (review ★★★★) Miles Polaski:  Mouse in a Jar -  Red Tape Theatre  (review ★★★)

 

Artistic Specialization

Kevin Bellie: Projection Design, The Who’s Tommy  -   Circle Theatre Elise Kauzlaric: Dialect Coach,  Busman’s Honeymoon  – Lifeline Theatre (review ★★★) Lucas Merino: Video Design, Wilson Wants It All – The House Theatre of Chicago (review ★★★) James T. Scott:  Puppets, Evolution/Creation – Quest Theatre (review ★★★)

 

Fight Choreography

Geoff Coates: On An Average Day  -  BackStage Theatre Company Geoff Coates:  Treasure Island  -  Lifeline Theatre   (review ★★★½) Matt Hawkins:  St. Crispin’s Day -  Strawdog Theatre Company (review ★★) R & D Choreography:  Killer Joe  -  Profiles Theatre  (review ★★★½  )

 

More info at the Jeff Awards website.

Review: Lifeline’s “Busman’s Honeymoon”

The mystery stew of Busman’s Honeymoon

review by Paige Listerud

Fans of the Lord Peter Wimsey mystery series, by Dorothy L. Sayers, are sure to be delighted by the well-produced world premiere of Busman’s Honeymoon, adapted by Frances Limoncelli and directed by Paul S. Holmquist, both Jeff Award-winning ensemble members of Lifeline Theatre. This is the fourth in a line of Sayer’s Wimsey novels that Limoncelli has adapted for the stage at Lifeline; preceded by Gaudy Night in 2006, Strong Poison in 2004, and Whose Body in 2002. Peter Greenberg and Jenifer Tyler respectively reprise their roles as Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane from Gaudy Night, for which they both received Jeff nominations.

Famous crime sleuth Lord Peter Wimsey and equally famous mystery novelist Harriet Vane escape the glare of publicity by eloping to their newly-purchased English country house. There, with the aid of Lord Wimsey’s long-suffering, perfectionist butler, Bunter, they amiably manage the blighted amenities of their run-down home and the intrusions of eccentric locals on their honeymoon, until murder disturbs everyone’s peace. Embroiling themselves in the mystery threatens their relationship, as much as the crime and their celebrity disrupt the English countryside.

This production is filled with nostalgia, not just for Sayers’ characters in particular, but also for all those crime-solving couples from the Golden Age of Hollywood. Elegant pairings of men and women who are just as likely to toss off a witticism as detect an overlooked clue, all while keeping the romance between them frothy and bubbling. Limoncelli’s adaptation, in accordance with Sayers’ novel, attempts to take Lord and Lady Wimsey to deeper levels. They struggle with intimacy, with keeping their integrity, with staying together while forces pull them apart, and withstand the darkness of bringing someone to execution, according with the law of the land.

There is much here that fans, familiar with both Sayers’ books and/or Lifeline’s series of adaptations, will thoroughly enjoy. The scenes of the rapacious press on Wimsey’s heels are fun and precise in their execution. The scene of the villagers bursting into song creates a much-needed sense of community. The vicar with his blunderbuss is a riot. The rant that Bunter (Phil Timberlake) breaks into over the disturbance of his lord’s delicate port is precious, as is the enmity that it sets up between him and Mrs. Ruddle (Millicent Hurley) from thereon.

People unfamiliar with this series will find enough that detracts from the complete enjoyment of the play, despite the yeoman-like work of the cast and crew.

It takes a deft hand, in writing or in acting, to shift from clever, lighthearted sleuthing to more serious melodrama without a hitch. The challenge is always to create a seamless whole in the characters’ progression, while building and maintaining suspense in resolving the murder.

Here is where one threatens to overweigh the other. Here is when the necessary introduction of stock mystery characters threatens to distract from the deeper development of the central love relationship on stage. Here is where one wonders whether too much is being crushed into an already 21/2 hour-long production. Here one questions whether another form, similar to a mystery television series, would better serve.

What cannot be fulfilled through the structure of the play must be carried by the actor’s performances. Let it just be said that, across the board, these are stock provincial English characters. It is harder to play a stock character than one realistically written. So much of the actor’s performance relies on what is not contained in the script, which is by nature stereotypical, at least in such a predictable genre as mystery. The actor must make three-dimensional a two-dimensional and cliché figure, yet not exceed the boundaries of the character.

Still, these characters must be inhabited in order to keep them from seeming predictable or trite. While the entire cast is technically excellent and uniformly pulls off dialect, character intentions, and complex scene changes with aplomb, nothing replaces the performance that makes one believe that an actor is the gardener, is the jilted old maid, is the vicar, etc.

It’s very possible that in the course of the run each of the cast members will grow deeper connections to their characters and make them seem less superficial. It’s also quite likely that Greenberg and Tyler will better negotiate their characters’ shift between sleuthing with elegant charm to the graver, more precarious pursuit of truth and love.

Rating: «««

Info: Previews beginning Friday, May 1, 2009, opening Monday, May 11, 2009, and running until June 21, 2009. Lifeline Theatre is located at 6912 N. Glenwood Ave. Chicago, IL 60626. For tickets call the box office at 773-761-4477 or visit www.lifelinetheatre.com. Photos by Suzanne Plunkett.

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Lifeline welcomes Allison Cain as new Managing Director

Allison Cain Joins Lifeline Theatre as Managing Director

Lifeline Theatre welcomed Allison Cain as their new Managing Director starting March 24, 2009. In this fulltime, on-site position, Cain will be responsible for all the theatre’s non-artistic functions, including operations, finance, marketing and strategic planning, and hsave oversight of all development and fundraising. Together with Artistic Director Dorothy Milne, Cain will continue to work on the ensemble’s 26^th anniversary, 2008-2009 season, which will feature the “Mystery³” (or “Mystery Cubed”) benefit with Sara Paretsky on April 16 at the Chicago Cultural Center, and concludes with the world premiere adaptation of Dorothy L. Sayers’ “Busman’s Honeymoon,” running May 1–June 21, 2009. Lifeline Theatre is also a member of the community partnership that will present this summer’s Glenwood Avenue Arts Fest (August 22–23, GlenwoodAve.org). The non-profit’s 2009–2010 season begins with two world premiere stage adaptations – the MainStage production “Treasure Island” (running September 11–November 1, 2009) , and the KidSeries musical “Dooby Dooby Moo” (running October 17–December 6, 2009).

From 2001-2008, Cain was Factory Theater’s Executive Director (where she remains an ensemble member), and was Artistic Director of Studio 108 from 1991–1998. She received her training at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA, and at Chicago’s Columbia College, and, since 1990, has worked almost exclusively on new work in Los Angeles, Connecticut, and Scotland, in addition to Chicago. Lifeline audiences will recognize Cain from her work as an actor in the MainStage productions of “Johnny Tremain,” “Crossing California,” “The Mark of Zorro,” and “Mariette in Ecstasy,” as well as in numerous productions over the past 17 years with Factory and other Chicagoland theaters. Cain had been concurrently working in the corporate world for the past 25 years, and for 13 of them as a Human Resources professional.  She said, “I am thrilled to make the full-time transition to the not-for-profit theater world, and remain committed to the development and production of new works.”