|
WINDY CITY TIMES
|
|
|
THEATER REVIEW Ghost Bike
by Mary Shen Barnidge 2014-03-19
|
|
This article shared 3943 times since Wed Mar 19, 2014
|
|
Playwright: Laura Jacqmin At: Buzz22 Chicago at the Greenhouse, 2257 N. Lincoln Ave. Tickets: 773-404-7336; www.greenhousetheater.org; $20 Runs through: April 6
Most adults have learned to accept death as a sad inevitability, but for young people first confronting it, the sudden disappearance of a loved oneforevercalls into question the order of the entire cosmos. A playwright writing about this experience must understand its cataclysmic proportions, and the despair too often exacerbated by parents and peers demanding a premature cessation to its unsettling repercussions. Laura Jacqmin acknowledges her heroine's crisis of faith by allowing the bereaved Ora, after fleeing a squad of oppressive therapists, to embark on a journey through the realm of the dead, equipped only with her bicycle, a magic GPS device and a few talismans associated with the deceased friend ( significantly named Eddie ) who long ago taught her to ride the velocipedal wind. Since an adolescent's grief encompasses the entire universe, a panoply of necrodeitiesGreek, Hindu, Buddhist, Norse are recruited to assist the teenaged crusader determined to restore her comrade to the living, whatever the sacrifice.
Oh, but Buzz22 Chicagothe ensemble that conjured a Dungeons-and-Dragons fantasy kingdom in the Steppenwolf Garage for Qui Nguyen's She Kills Monsters in 2012doesn't stop at allegorical hypotheses. Instead, John Wilson's scenic design configures the Greenhouse's upstairs auditorium into a labyrinth of curtained and ramped paths for George Bajalia and Molly Fitzmaurice's dazzling array of wheeled vehiclesneon-hued BMXes, baroque modified Huffies, inline skates, rolling walkers, kick-scootersconveying the underworld denizens on their assigned activities. Izumi Inaba's costumes and Jeff Glass' lighting likewise evoke a multicultural pantheon ranging from the, literally, two-faced Hel and the scavenging Datsue-ba to a band of Lethewater-swilling slackers and a roiling river of malcontents ferried by a weary Charon.
This is a staggering load of tech-spec to pack into 90 minutes, even with Matt Deitchman's original score and Nathan Drackett's choreography facilitating swift changes in the subterranean landscape, making for a few moments of opening-night lag. A playbill insert acquainting us with the myriad phantoms we encounter would also expedite our orientation to each new locale. The lesson underlying all religious myth, howeverthat we are powerless to control our fatesis never eclipsed by the theatrical legerdemain. When Eddie finally speeds Ora on her way back to the light, our elation is as manifest as our epiphany upon sighting the sidewalk shrine erected to his memory ( coincidentally, called a "ghost bike" ). |
|
|
|
This article shared 3943 times since Wed Mar 19, 2014
|
ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE |
---|
|
| | City Lit Executive Artistic Director Brian Pastor talks theater, comics, queerness 2024-03-26 - City Lit Theater has announced its programming for the 2024-25 seasonwhich will be the company's 44th. It will also be the first season to be programmed under the leadership of Brian Pastor (they/them), who will assume ...
|
| | The Jeff Awards announces the 50th anniversary awards for non-equity theater 2024-03-26 --From a press release - A complete list of recipients can also be found online in the Non-Equity and News and Events sections at www.jeffawards.org. (March 25, 2024 - Chicago) — Celebrating its 50th anniversary awarding recognition for Non-Equity theater, the ...
|
| | SHOWBIZ Queer musicians, Marvel situation, Elliot Page, Nicole Kidman 2024-03-21 - Queer musician Joy Oladokun released the single "I Wished on the Moon," from Jack Antonoff's official soundtrack for the new Apple TV+ series The New Look, per a press release. The soundtrack, ...
|
| | THEATER Chicago's City Lit has anxiety on tap with 'Two Hours in a Bar' 2024-03-21 - Two Hours in a Bar Waiting for Tina Meyer by Kristine Thatcher with material by Larry Shue Text Me by Kingsley Day (Book, Music and Lyrics). At: City Lit Theater, 1020 W. Bryn Mawr Ave.. Tickets: ...
|
| | Jamie Barton brings nuances of identity to her Lyric Opera 'Aida' performance 2024-03-18 - Chicago's Lyric Opera is currently featuring a production of Giuseppe Verdi's Aida starring Michelle Bradley as Aida, Jamie Barton as Amneris and Russell Thomas as Radamès. The opera runs through April 7, 2024, with Francesca Zambello ...
|
| | Queer Eye's Jai Rodriguez is set to slay at The Big Gay Cabaret 2024-03-05 - Out and proud performer Jai Rodriguez is set to play at The Big Gay Cabaret this March for three days. Presented by RuPaul Drag Racer Ginger Minj, this monthly series highlights the wide world of cabaret ...
|
| | THEATER 'R & J' puts a female, queer spin on Shakespeare 2024-03-05 - Romeo and Juliet is the theatrical gift that keeps on giving. It's been reworked for the masses numerous times, whether in direct adaptations or musicals such as West Side Story. Shakespeare's plotline points have even inspired ...
|
| | Center on Halsted hosts 6th Annual Intergenerational Talent Show 2024-03-03 - On the evening of Feb. 29, Center on Halsted held its 6th Annual Intergenerational Talent Show in front of a packed audience at the Hoover-Leppen Theater. The event brought together participants of the Center's youth and senior ...
|
| | THEATER When growth is paramount: Jim Corti helps fuel Aurora theater expansion 2024-03-01 - Out actor/director/choreographer Jim Corti made his Broadway debut in 1974, in the ensemble of Leonard Bernstein's musical Candide. Director Harold Prince's acclaimed Tony Award-winning revival is often cited as a ...
|
| | Theater Review: Billy Elliot, The Musical 2024-02-19 - Book and Lyrics: Lee Hall; Music: Elton John. At: Paramount Theatre, 23 E. Galena Blvd., Aurora Tickets: 630-896-6666 or Paramountaurora.com; $28-$79. Runs through March 24 Billy Elliot: The Musical may nearly be two decades old, but ...
|
| | 'West Side Story' gets a sex-positive spin with new burlesque show 2024-02-19 - In partial observance of National Condom Day, which was Feb. 14, Los Angeles-based AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) presented A West Side Story Burlesque at the Harris Theater for two hour-long performances on Feb. 17. The show, ...
|
| | Second Glance Productions hosts LGBTQupid Soiree 2024-02-16 - In celebration of Valentine's Day, Chicago based film and media production company Second Glance hosted The LBGTQupid Soiree. The event, which was focused on spinning attitudes on this particular day, was presented at The iO ...
|
| | Carisa Hendrix mesmerizes as Lucy Darling in Teatro ZinZanni 2024-02-12 - Since 2019, Teatro ZinZanni has gathered together amazing performers from all over the world to create an experience in Chicago under the Spiegeltent in the Cambria Hotel building, 32 W. Randolph St. Over the years, ticket ...
|
| | THEATER Dot-Marie Jones talks Goodman production, 'Glee,' 'Bros' 2024-02-12 - Running through Feb. 18 at the the Goodman Theatre, the production Highway Patrol works with a script conceived entirely from Emmy-winning actor Dana Delany's (TV's China Beach) digital archive of hundreds of tweets and direct messages ...
|
| | Dr. Lady J explains how opera can be a drag 2024-02-10 - On Feb. 8, Center on Halsted, in partnership with Lyric Opera of Chicago, presented a lecture by historian, drag activist, podcaster and curator Dr. Lady J. The event, titled "Castrated Superstars, Cross Dressed Divas, and Queer ...
| |
|
|
|
|