Displaying items by tag: The Edge OffBroadway Theatre

I love all things Shakespeare, particularly modern iterations and adaptations of his works, and I’ve had good experiences with Idle Muse Theatre Company. So naturally when I learned that Idle Muse was mounting a new version of "What the Weird Sisters Saw," I was pretty excited.

Fifteen years ago, when Idle Muse was in its infancy, the company’s Artistic Director Evan M Jackson conceived/created an adaptation of the tragedy "Macbeth" from the perspective of the three witches: "What the Weird Sisters Saw". And now, in 2024, with Tristan Brandon’s assistance and with several of the original actors and crew, Jackson (still Artistic Director at Idle Muse!) has revisited the witches for a complete rework of his haunting fantasy.

Jackson’s Weird Sisters aren’t ‘weird’ in the modern sense of the term, nor are they subject to the Judeo-Christian concept of evil women in league with Satan [we don’t have much truck with lots of Judeo-Christian concepts, particularly those involving women!]. No, Jackson’s Sisters are magical women, druidesses whose connections to the land, to their beloved Scotland and to the forces of Nature allows them to commune with spirits both living and dead; spirits from the present, the past, and the future. Between their provenance with their teacher Hecate and with the powerful forces of open spaces, the Sisters are able to conjure visions of events destined to unfold in the future.

Murron (Caty Gordon), the lead (eldest? strongest? she’s definitely the leader here) is having premonitions; by the pricking of her thumbs, she’s convinced that something wicked this way comes … but what – or who – is it? Her Sisters Dana (Jennifer Mohr) and Alastriona (Jamie Redwood) share her disquiet and together they concoct a potion to explore the mystery. They find riddles surrounding Macbeth, Thane of Glanis and brave Scots general under King Duncan; they prophesy Macbeth (stunningly played by Joel Thompson) will wear Duncan’s crown, but that future kings will be descended from his friend and fellow general Banquo (Troy Schaeflein) … and we all know how Macbeth feels about this notion.

Dissatisfied with mere augury, Murron becomes obsessed with not simply divining the future, but altering the actions she’s foretold. Sisters Dana and Alastriona are less sanguine, but they respect Murron and, despite their reservations, they follow her lead as she repeatedly conjures the shades of Macbeth, Banquo, and others. As Macbeth’s avarice becomes undeniable, Murron seeks to refashion his machinations and thus to redeem him. Joel Thompson rocks the role of the dark Thane, portraying an aspect of innate royalty – the gleam of nobility divined by the Sisters– that is curiously not at odds with the audience’s foreknowledge of his wickedness. Of course, despite Murron’s interventions, that wickedness gradually escalates, and the noble Macbeth forges his own doom.

Brendan Hutt is superb as The Porter, whose sporadic appearances both entertain and enlighten … though, actually, not so much with the latter, as his inebriated proclamations are not only veiled by his jocularity but are often, frankly, evasive. Frustration amplifies Murron’s unease; yet the greater the perplexity, the stronger the fascination – we all know how that works! Thus, she is lured ever deeper into the mind and motives of Macbeth, her increasingly reluctant Sisters trailing in her wake. Both Dana (Jennifer Mohr) and Alastriona (Jamie Redwood) become more distinctive in their caution of Murron’s inquest, allowing each actor to further display her skill – did I already say the cast is overall superb?

Case in point: Mara Kovacevic’s sterling portrayal of Macbeth’s not-so-sterling wife. Initially Lady Macbeth, recognizing that the witches are at cross purposes with her vaulting ambition, appears to be deliberately misleading the Sisters. No less baffling is the Lady’s descent into madness, and she further mystifies the Sisters with her macabre hand-washing and eerie mutterings. It’s so interesting to watch this play where we know the storyline of its progenitor, yet are totally absorbed with the Sisters’ nescience!

Hecate (Elizabeth MacDougald) is often onstage, covertly overseeing her acolytes, but unlike Murron she doesn’t intervene. Rather, Hecate allows Murron’s – all the Sisters’ – cabal to evolve, likewise its grisly human consequences. Only at the bloody finale does Hecate reveal herself to her subordinates and upbraid their presumption. I’m sorry we didn’t hear more from Hecate, as MacDougald was a compelling Goddess of Magic, one I’d like to have known better. Likewise, Troy Schaeflein (Banquo) also left me hungry for more of his brilliant stage presence. The story provided more opportunity for us to enjoy Watson Swift’s performance as Macduff, and Erik Schnitger as Duncan and Orion Lay-Sleeper’s Malcolm also used their limited stage time well. I’ll say it again: overall, the cast was exemplary, and each gave fine performances.

The cast was displayed by an equally amazing production crew; they were marvelous as a whole, but I must give a shoutout to a few remarkable aspects. Jennifer Mohr’s costumes were striking and accurate. Most productions I’ve seen of "Macbeth" dress the Scotsmen in kilts, but the ‘kilt’ as we know it today did not actually appear until the late 18th century, having evolved from the feileadh mor (‘big wrap’) that was characteristic in the 15th to 16th centuries; and Mohr outfitted her Scots in feileadh. I also noted that the doctor wore a plague mask, as the Black Death was a consistent threat across Europe at the time. Thank you, Jennifer Mohr, for your due diligence! And I loved The Porter’s criss-crossed belts of dangling fetishes and charms. I could have sworn I spied the head of a Barbie doll in there – if so, I forgive the anachronism in deference to Ryan Gosling’s Oscars gig. I must also offer lavish kudos to Laura Wiley and L.J. Luthringer for lighting & projection and music & sound (respectively). The collaboration of these two artists contrived both light and sound into actual cast members, so effectively did they ‘speak their lines’ of atmosphere, ambience, and tonality. Bravo!

The excellence of the fighting was no surprise to me – after all, violence designer (and assistant director) Libby Beyreis is a member of Babes with Blades Theatre Company, Chicago’s very own troupe of Weird Sisters. And I thought it appropriate for Tristan Brandon to oversee the properties; the co-adaptor of the play would have an intuitive ken [still got Gosling on the brain!] for the objects required. Stina Taylor and Breezy Snyder wisely composed a minimalist set, allowing the story to unfurl via the performances rather than through static objects. As a fervent aficionado of Chicago’s Black Box theatres, I appreciate the challenges these spaces pose for set design and was pleased to see Birnam Wood plausibly wrought without hindering the (considerable!) action.

My sole concern is one common to many – most? – Shakespearean productions: the complexity of the language often made it difficult for me to hear the lines. Granted, that difficulty is partially mine – gotta love getting older! – but some may, I hope, be remediable. For example, further rehearsals and performances will give Luthringer time to fine-tune sound levels to ensure the voices are not eclipsed – but please! without effacing any of the incredible music and … well, noises.

Elizabethan England, William Shakespeare, and the play "Macbeth" are all imperatively and inescapably masculine. With "What the Weird Sisters Saw" Jackson has toppled this patriarchy at its base: sorry fellas, that was then, this is now and it’s a women’s show! The gender imparity created thereby is vital and I wouldn’t want it attenuated in any way.

The script was extremely dense and might benefit from judicious editing. At times I felt the actors were almost tripping over their own tongues in their effort to deliver every word at a brisk (not to say breakneck) pace.
Perhaps Jackson, with text & dialect coach Carrie Hardin, could address all these matters by slowing everything down just a wee bit. The occasional judicious 1-2 second pause would give my poor old brain a chance to travel between then and now, between male and female.

Such a complex production needed all the work of stage manager Becky Warner and her assistant Lindsey Chidester, technical director Line Bower, production manager Shellie DiSalvo, dramaturg Cori Lang, and all the dozens of other people required to bring a vision before the footlights. It takes a village!

Highly recommended, "What the Weird Sisters Saw" will play at The Edge Off-Broadway Theatre through April 14, 2024.

“Caveman Play” by Savannah Reich is a delightful confection that delves into weighty matters—the state of the earth, the fundamental challenges of civilized life—but avoids the angst.

In just 70 minutes, Reich takes us back to our primordial past, when humans first began to drop their roles of hunting and gathering food for sustenance—more aligned with their fellow creatures in nature—and settled down to become farmers.

She does this with a cast of four. Rocky (Jack Rodgers) and his wife Dandelion (Tess Galbiati) are a couple who are big advocates for the agrarian life, and are at work to promulgate its advantages to their community. Their cat, Douglas (played with droll deadpan by Evan Cullinan), resides taciturnly at a keyboard, providing musical accompaniment (and commentary) when required.

Ardently against this new-fangled agriculture drive is Rocky’s friend and hunter-gatherer advocate Chicken Feathers (a vibrantly funny Hannah Antman). She clearly has a history with Rocky, and shows up in time to catch the agriculture advocacy presentation, which has many familiar trappings of a modern office meeting to rally sales. The audience members, including some ringers, participate.

The case for agriculture includes the mixed blessings of the lifestyle: monogamy, life-long marriage, home ownership and the like. Reich also signals the out-sized burden “civilized” humans will place on the Earth. Chicken Feathers staunchly rejects all that, and poses charged questions at the rally about the wisdom of abandoning the free-form and less encumbered life of a hunter.

After the presentation, a vote is taken, and when agriculture wins, Chicken Feathers predicts nothing good will come of it, and it may seem she has been proven right over the eons. Chicken Features pointedly invites everyone down to the river for an orgy. Rocky is clearly torn, realizing that’s something else he must abandon.

The cat Douglas, for his part, never waivers. When asked where he stands on the matter periodically, he answers with a question: “Do I get food?” And he goes wherever the meal ticket requires.

Very well directed by Clare Brennan, "Caveman Play” runs through December 31 at The Edge Off Broadway Theatre in Chicago.

I found DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE to be weird.

Well, it’s supposed to be weird, right? It’s a weird and spooky story about Dr. Henry Jekyll, a respectable, conventional Victorian physician, liberating his dark side: a persona named Edward Hyde, whose cruel and amoral exploits prove ruinous. Yeah. Weird. Perfect for the shuddersome All Hallows Eve season.

Robert Louis Stevenson wrote DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE as a novella in 1886; expanded to full-novel length in 1891.  There have been hundreds of stage and film adaptations of the tale, from its first stage presentation in 1887 to films starring John Barrymore (1920), Spencer Tracy (1941), Boris Karloff (1953), and many others.

Here is a new adaptation, written by Michael Dalberg and produced by Idle Muse Theatre Company, in which the issues of class and gender, intimacy and violence that clash in the original story are amplified. Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde ran in 1971 as a B-movie; Dalberg turns this around by casting a woman, Brandi Jiminez Lee (sh/h) as Dr. Henry Jekyll. Choosing tall dark & handsome Jack Sharkey (h/h) as Mr. Edward Hyde is significant as well. Mr. Hyde is a thoroughly loathsome character, and virtually all adaptations exhibit a face and physique to match. Sharkey’s Hyde, however, is cultured and sensual, an Edward Hyde that I found by no means repugnant – at first, any road. Which is not to say he’s a good guy! just a really slick one.

Stevenson wrote JEKYLL & HYDE to explore the dichotomy between our public and private selves, even more relevant in Victorian times than today. In the play, the dyad extends beyond Jekyll vs. Hyde.  The story is told by Jekyll’s solicitor (and admirer) Gabriel John Utterson, masterfully played by Shane Richlen (h/h), and the contrast between this worthy Victorian gentleman and the unconventional Henri Jekyll is as sharp as that between Jekyll and Hyde – in fact, I found myself scratching my head about his devotion: hie thee to Al-Anon, John Gabriel! 

Other characters mirror the good/evil dichotomy as well. Dr. Hastie Lanyon, played by Joel Thompson (h/h), friend to both Utterson and Jekyll, is the first to learn that Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are one and the same, a grim discovery that haunts Lanyon to his death. Richard Enfield (Ian Saderholm, h/h) is another ideal Victorian gentleman; he is the first to witness Hyde committing a violent crime, while Sir Danvers Carew, played by understudy Ross Compton (h/h), is the first person we actually see Hyde slay. The assault is also witnessed by the Maid (Hanna Beth Mitchell, sh/h), an intermittent character used for comic relief. One final character mismatches Hyde: Dr. Jekyll’s butler Poole (Ross Compton), whose devotion to his master starkly contrasts with Hyde’s treachery.

So, why am I calling this production weird? To begin with, the contradiction seems to extend into the plot. I had real trouble following all the aspects of the story: murder and virtue, rape and seduction, revenge and passion, with snippets of addiction, past sexual molestation, homosexuality, and incongruous heterosexuality tossed in haphazardly.  At the interval I confessed my confusion to my companion, an ardent fan of Stevenson’s novel, and was amazed (and relieved) to learn she was equally befuddled.

And there was a large group seated in front of us who laughed extravagantly throughout (including at things I saw no humor in) – clearly they did not share our misgivings. We concluded they were friends of the cast, devoted and true, and god love ‘em for it. But they were another weird thing.

I was dismayed by the missed opportunities. For example, why, when evil Hyde was a white man and good Jekyll a Black woman, was there absolutely no mention of race? One of the reasons I was interested in this adaptation was the casting of a Black woman in the role of Jekyll, but that didn’t seem at all relevant to the play. I notice this particularly since I’ve seen Chicago theatre come back from covid with much attention on issues of racial and gender disparity, yet this production made no use of multiple openings. And, though sexual abuse is frequently alluded to, its import as a motive is relegated to a throw-away line at the end. I’d like to have seen that issue fleshed out far more. 

The production as a whole was discombobulating, beginning with the script and continuing through its interpretation by director Morgan Manasa (sh/h), with artistic director Evan Jackson (th/th), dramaturges Elizabeth MacDougald (th/th) and Tristan Brandon (th/th) [also props designer and literary manager]. There were glaring anachronisms—the Maid smoking on the street in 1885? And while Elizabeth Blackwell obtained her MD in 1849, Elizabeth Anderson didn’t become the first British female physician until 1865, yet the issue of feminism and suffrage is decidedly underplayed. And I question several choices (rock music between scenes?) made by music & sound director L.J. Luthringer (h/h), and lighting & projection designer Laura Wiley (th/th). 

I wish Jessie Gowens’ (sh/h) costumes had done more to distinguish the various Victorian Gentlemen. Carrie Hardin (sh/h), speech and dialect coach, allowed traces of Yorkshire to slip into London. Fight choreographer Libby Beyreis (sh/h) suffered unfairly by comparison to the Babes with Blades’ production of Richard III, which I saw just a few days earlier. I found the seduction scenes unconvincing, but intimacy designers Samantha Kaufman (sh/h) and Courtney Abbott (sh/h) had quite a challenge with Hyde’s despoilment of Jekyll – though I did love Hyde’s line, “Just think of it as masturbation.” In fact, I was definitely intrigued by the casting of Jekyll and Hyde as two completely different characters.

Stage managers Becky Warner (th/th) and Beth Bruins (sh/h), with scenic designer Stina Taylor (sh/h), created a set that required frequent rearrangement of all the furniture, which I found more disruptive than expressive. The remainder of the creative team are Kati Lechner (th/th), covid compliance officer, production manager Shellie DiSalvo (th/th), treasurer Mara Kovacevic (sh/h) and Gina Marie Hoskins (sh/h) in marketing.

Please remember that my description of the play as ‘weird’ is just that: my description. The cast was superb, and did an excellent job, particularly co-stars Brandi Jiminez Lee, Jack Sharkey, and Shane Richlen. And I’m always pleased when an understudy (Ross Compton) steps forward to give a fine performance.