BackStage gets sexy, absurd
BackStage Theatre presents |
The Play About the Baby |
by Edward Albee directed by Matthew Reeder at Chopin Studio Theatre, 1543 W. Division (map) through May 8th (more info) |
reviewed by Barry Eitel
Longevity seems to be a difficult goal for many great American playwrights. Not that their works can’t endure for years to come, which is why they’re great. However, many of them struggle with churning out great plays over the entire span of their career. Quite a few start off white hot, but lose their streak as the years wear on. Arthur Miller won his first Tony in his thirties for All My Sons, but ended his career with the mediocre Finishing the Picture after years of other mediocre plays. Tennessee Williams also witnessed the success of The Glass Menagerie in his thirties, but didn’t see much success in the last thirty years of his life.
Edward Albee, however, apparently has escaped this curse. He started his career with the brilliant Zoo Story in 1958 and won the Tony Award in 2003 for his brilliant The Goat, or Who is Silvia? He still has his duds (I’m looking at you, Sandbox) but he has definitely aged well and is still kicking out revisions and new works. The Play About the Baby is one of his later plays (1998). It captures the refreshing absurdism that put Albee on the map, even though it was written after most other absurdists were dead. Not often produced, it’s a treat that BackStage Theatre is mounting the rarely seen play, even though it has its bumps.
The play is indeed about a baby, but also about reality, perception, loss of innocence—pretty mature stuff. It starts with a Boy and Girl (Patrick De Nicola and Kate Cares, respectively), living their blissful lives in a blinding white Eden-like setting. They are blessed with a baby, youth, and unquenchable sex drives. Their world is invaded by the bizarrely vaudevillian Man and Woman (Michael Paces and Karen Yates ). The baby mysteriously disappears, and Boy and Girl do whatever they can to find it (or possibly, believe in it again?). Innocence is stripped away. A double-headed snake, the Man and Woman force-feed the younger couple the fruit of knowledge.
Matthew Reeder’s production is surreal, hilarious, disturbing, intimate, and heartbreaking. He doesn’t try to cram a concept onto Albee, but presents the script as written. Some have suggested theories like Man and Woman are Boy and Girl grown up, but you won’t find any hint of that here. As whacky as it is, Reeder’s interpretation of the play is straightforward. This was the smart choice, but unfortunately Albee can get a little confusing, with his blurring of theatricality, absurdism, and reality. The second act, for example, is pretty much the first act chopped up and repeated. Everything gets a little muddled towards the end; it can be hard to keep up.
The cast deeply respects Albee. De Nicola is vicious yet infantile; Cares matches his vulnerability with soft-spoken empathy and a (occasionally disturbing) motherly quality. Paces and Yates are charismatic, funny, and sort of terrifying. Their extended direct addresses can slip into Open Mic Night stand-up territory, but overall they keep the ship afloat and the audience entertained.
This is only the second production of The Play About the Baby in the city since the Chicago premier in 2003. That isn’t too surprising—Albee doesn’t stake out a clear narrative, there’s full-frontal nudity…even the fact that no character has an actual name is kind of scary. Reeder and BackStage bravely stage this tough script, though, and the cast never backs down from Albee’s challenges. Next season sees a flurry of Albee (both newer and older, but all of it is genius), and BackStage’s The Play About the Baby is a deliciously absurd first course.
Rating: ★★★ |
Filed under: 2010 Reviews, Backstage Theatre, Barry Eitel, Edward Albee | Tagged: Anne Bogart, Arena Dinner Theatre, Around the Coyote Fest, Arthur Miller, BackStage Theatre Company, Barry Eitel, Chicago Opera Vanguard, Chopin Studio Theatre, CLIMB Theatre, Colorado Shakespeare Festival, Danztheatre, Donny's Skybox, Dramatis Personae, Edward Albee, Eric Paskey, Facets Multimedia, Greasy Joan and Co, Grounded Theatre, Heath Hays, Illinois Shakespeare Festival, International Cabaret Conference, Joe Court, Kate Cares, Lindsey Miller, Matthew Reeder, Megan Frei, National Theatre for Children, Oak Park Festival Theatre, Open Eye Productions, Pinting Cultural Group, Rubicon Theatre Project, Seanachi Theatre, Shoelace Academy, SITI Company, Speaking Ring Theatre, Tennessee Williams, The Play About the Boy, The Play About the Boy BackStage review, The Play About the Boy review, The Road Company, Vitalist Theatre, Yousif Mohamed | 3 Comments »