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PicksInSix Review: Happy Days - City Lit Theater

 
 

“No longer young, not yet old.”
 PicksInSix® Review | Ed Tracy

Days begin and end with an alarm and brilliant flashes of light to signify the passage of time among the chaos of “Happy Days,” Samuel Beckett’s tragicomic vision of the world. There in the middle of it all is Winnie – effervescent in her curiosity, confidence and optimism that belies an undertone of futility even as she is hopeful for the promise of every new day. Winnie is immobile from the waist down, a mound of clutter, dirt and refuge consuming her – perhaps the compounded weight of life’s challenges… or a reflection of our wasteful society.

What lies out of reach is of no consequence. It is the absorbing performance of Kayla Boye, unfolding in a blazing stream of consciousness that is at once confounding and compelling, pushing artistic boundaries in an altogether new direction.  Captivating and buoyant in the first act – playfully taunting the unseen Willie and ripping through Beckett’s tacit observations on marriage, life and love with thoughtful, knowing elegance – Boye’s Winnie is immeasurably aged by her all-consuming surroundings in the second act, weighed down by it all from the neck down, searching for the last shards of hope and promise with only her voice and time-withered expressions left.  Singularly startling, daring and marvelous.

“Happy Days,” as with many Beckett works, restricts the actor’s movements, thereby limiting the tools of their trade. What remains here is a one-on-one experience with the audience. Combining passion and power in the abstract, the play then delivers a moving, not-so-final resolution that begs the existential question: What is it meant to mean?

I have been ruminating on that one for several days.

Boye, a triple-threat Chicago talent who has also written, produced and toured her critically-acclaimed Elizabeth Taylor biography “Call Me Elizabeth” is directed here by Jon Dambacher, who is also designer. The mound of recycled materials and stark lighting, utilizes the intimacy of the City Lit Theater space to full advantage. This is at its core a quiet work about the evolving nature of Winnie’s situation.  It is our eagerness to align our curiosity and expectations with the playwright’s intent that keeps us riveted to the piece.

Developing solo projects of this caliber takes courage and stamina that only a few gifted actors possess. Boye is certainly up to the task. To venture outside a comfort zone and tackle a formidable work of this scale and substance is a worthy ambition that both matures the artist and the audience. A rare and welcome combination indeed.

PHOTO|Kàchí Mozie


KB PRODUCTIONS
presents
Samuel Beckett’s

HAPPY DAYS

Directed by Jon Dambacher

Starring Kayla Boye

CITY LIT THEATER
1020 W. Bryn Mawr Avenue
Chicago, IL 60660

through April 2

TICKETS

WEBSITE

For more reviews, visit: Theatre In Chicago

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PicksInSix® is a registered trademark of Roxbury Road Creative, LLC

PicksInSix Review: The Comedy of Errors - Chicago Shakespeare Theater

 
 

Comedy of Errors – “Thanks. Very Much!”
PicksInSix® Gold Review | Ed Tracy

In perhaps one of the most inspired and hilarious opening scenes in recent memory, Barbara Gaines launched her final stage production as Chicago Shakespeare Theater’s Founder and Artistic Director not with a hearty hail and farewell, but instead a hilarious delivery.

Four of them actually.

The seafaring journey that follows for two sets of identical twins at the center of chaos and confusion is just the beginning of a wild and wondrous adventure. Gaines’s uproarious, over-the-top adaptation of “The Comedy of Errors” is really two shows, in fact, weaved together as one. Shakespeare’s tale of mistaken identities, mischief and mayhem is framed by an altogether new and fascinating story all its own—magnificently conceived by Gaines and brilliantly written by Ron West—that is set on a 1940 London soundstage. The developing storylines of the players is underscored by terrific musical performances, frequent Luftwaffe bombing raids, live Foley sound effects and just the right amount of hijinks and slapstick.

The play centers around the twins who are separated soon after birth by a shipwreck at sea.  Now adults in Ephesus, Antipholus from Syracuse (Robert Petkoff) and Antipholus from Ephesus (Dan Chameroy), along with their servant twins, Dromio of Syracuse (Ross Lehman) and Dromio of Ephesus (Kevin Gudhal) find themselves confounding Adriana (Susan Moniz), the wife of Antipholus of Ephesus, her sister Luciana (Melanie Brezill), the merchant Angelo (Brezon Arzell) and virtually everyone else.

Lehman also plays Dudley Marsh, the director of the film storyline and married to Veronica (Moniz) who is having a torrid affair in plain sight with Emerson Furbelow (Petkoff). Meanwhile Lord Brian Hallifax (Gudhal) is forever posturing for and expanding upon his stage real estate at every opportunity with hilarious consequences. Add to this powerhouse quartet the likes of Phil Sullivan (Chameroy), a dashing, aviator and crooning heartthrob for the charming Lillian Castillo (Marian), with the accident-prone stage manager Charles Chittick (William Dick) and you have the makings of a comic ensemble that’s on fire all night.

A spectacular set design by James Noone evokes the grandeur of filmmaking in a bygone era. It’s a gem that benefits from the stagehands quietly and effortlessly moving on and off in the context of the film shoot. The Courtyard Stage is awash with color and detail from Ken Posner’s lighting design, Mieka Van Der Ploeg’s stunning costumes and Lindsay Jones’s crisp sound and original music.

In a show filled with superb featured character roles, Ora Jones (Abbess), Adia Bell (Fanny) and Bruce A. Young (Monty/Duke) all stand out. Greg Vinkler shines as the ruddy Admiral Philpot and as his brother Eddie Philpot, funnyman Bill Larkin provides the oft-repeated phrase of the night that everyone will be saying to Barbara Gaines in appreciation of her decades of commitment to making Shakespeare accessible to everyone: “Thanks. Very Much!”

PHOTO|Liz Lauren
Barbara Gaines|Joe Mazza

Chicago Shakespeare Theater
presents
THE COMEDY OF ERRORS
Courtyard Theater
Navy Pier
through April 16


WEBSITE

TICKETS

For more reviews, visit: Theatre In Chicago

ARCHIVE

PicksInSix® is a registered trademark of Roxbury Road Creative, LLC

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