|
|
THEATER REVIEW
Inana
by Mary Shen Barnidge 2015-05-20
|
|
This article shared 2293 times since Wed May 20, 2015
|
|
Playwright: Michele Lowe. At: Timeline Theatre Company at Baird Hall, 615 W. Wellington Ave. Tickets: 773-281-8463; www.timelinetheatre.com; $39-$52. Runs through: July 26
Technically, the McGuffin driving our plot is a graven idol, but this is no Maltese falcon, coveted by its pursuers solely for its material value. Instead, Michele Lowe's play opens in 2003, in a London hotel room where Mosul museum curator Yasin Shalid and his new spouse have arrived for their honeymoon. Our first clue that something is amiss is the husband recounting to his bride ( who has barricaded herself into the bathroom ), how his boyhood chum had his fingers amputated as punishment for gathering the shards of artifacts ubiquitous to ancient civilizations.
The significance of the mysterious suitcase mingled with the couple's luggage, and the secret behind his wife's reluctance to remove her wedding dress, are also forthcoming, but only after we have learned that the statue precipitating international intrigue is a 3,000-year-old stone representation of Iraq's Mesopotamian mother goddess Inana, the twin of another effigy destroyed centuries earlier by Mongol invaders. Faced with thuggish religious zealots determined to eradicate purveyors of "decadent' art, as well as the imminent threat of war between the United States and Saddam Hussein, Shalid has vowed to protect his country's precious icon from the hostile factions and rapacious looters associated with foreign occupation.
So is this a political drama designed to elicit horror at the atrocities of Middle Eastern dictatorsa bookseller whose fingernails are ripped out by vigilantes offended at his displaying a nude Botticelli cherub in his store window, for example? Is it a romance of lovers on the lam, and a father's desperate scheme to secure the safety of his daughter? Or is it a heist thriller of smuggled treasure, meant to keep us guessing the extent of each character's involvement in the subterfuge? In a mere ninety minutes, Lowe combines elements of all three genres to present playgoers with their choice of narrative entryways onto paths all ultimately leading to wonder and admiration at the sacrifices undertaken by humble citizens to ascertain the perpetuity of their culture.
These multiple dimensionsdid I mention the flashbacks and the double-casting?could easily descend into vertigo-inducing chaos, but director Kimberly Senior ensures that all transitions are executed cleanly and crisply. She is assisted by the precision reflected in the environmental design, and by an ensemble delivering unexaggerated, immediately sympathetic, portrayals of lone individuals caught up in extraordinary circumstances demanding courage, however microcosmic the range of its expression.
|
|
|
|
This article shared 2293 times since Wed May 20, 2015
|
ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE |
---|
|
| | 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 ...
|
| | SHOWBIZ Raven-Symone, women's sports, Wayne Brady, Jinkx Monsoon, British Vogue 2024-02-09 - In celebration of Black History Month, the LA LGBT Center announced that lesbian entertainer Raven-Symone will be presented with the Center's Bayard Rustin Award at its new event, Highly Favored, per a press release. She joins ...
|
| | Chicago-based production company to host all-inclusive, LGBTQ-focused Valentine's Day event 2024-02-07 --From a press release - CHICAGO — Second Glance Productions will host the LGBTQupid Soiree this Valentines Day, Wednesday, February 14, 2024. The event will be held at the iO Theater, 1501 N. Kingsbury St., from 6 pm to 11 pm ...
|
| | THEATER Nostalgic 'Sunsets' still offers a timely reflection of LGBTQ+ community 2024-02-07 - Nostalgia reigned on a variety of scales this past weekend in Chicago. During her Celebration tour, at a majestically packed United Center, Madonna acknowledged the last 40 years of her career, highlighting her '80s interactions with ...
|
| | The Jeff Awards announces the 50th-anniversary non-Equity theater nominations 2024-02-06 --From a press release - (Feb. 6, 2024 - Chicago) — Celebrating its 50th anniversary awarding recognition for Non-Equity theater, the Joseph Jefferson Awards announces its nominations for theater excellence among Non-Equity theater during the ...
| |
|
|