Displaying items by tag: Red Theater

For some, an evening of Chekhov may sound like pure misery, but Red Theater’s “The Seagull” running at The Edge Off Broadway soars. The original adaptation by Red Theater cohort Ian Mayfield imagines Anton Chekhov’s emotionally searing dramady as a chamber play. Under his direction, this faithful version is a hidden gem of this winter’s storefront theatre scene.

Though known for depressing family melodramas, Chekhov did have a sense of humor, and perhaps in no other play is his cynical wit more on display than “The Seagull”. Any production is only as good as its neurotic, self-involved Arkadina. Anne Sheridan Smith is a captivating presence in the role of the celebrated actress. She brings an amusing larger-than-life performance that’s devilish to watch. Lovelorn and constantly drinking Masha played by Magdalena Dalzell delivers cutting physicality that’s also quite thrilling.

Jamie Herb is one of the production’s strongest assets in the role of Nina. Her performance takes full advantage of the closely drawn staging. She tells entire stories with haunting gazes. Her eventual breakdown feels more disturbing than the play’s actual tragic conclusion. However, perhaps no character is as pitiful as Medvedenko the schoolteacher. Ben Murphy plays the role with a subdued quietness that’s like whatever the opposite of “golden retriever boyfriend” energy is.

Original scoring by Jonathan Hannau lends to the chamber play atmosphere and elevates the ambiance. Maggie McGlenn’s sumptuous costumes combined with Hunter Cole’s minimal staging keep the focus on the action. As the actors move in and around the space, audiences will feel personally drawn in, as if they’re a silent guest at a party.

Red Theater’s “The Seagull” is a great example of what makes Chicago’s fringe and storefront scene so exciting. While many may look to the bigger institutions like Goodman or Steppenwolf to tackle major works by important playwrights, with the right talent in place a small theater can be just as impactful, if not more in some cases. Ian Mayfield’s version spends a lot of time dissecting Chekhov’s musings on artistic forms, and that curiosity about the craft of theatre feels evident in this cast. The result is a labor of love, and exactly what you want from a good night of theatre–that you lived through something. 

Through March 15 at Red Theater at The Edge Off Broadway. 1133 W Catalpa Ave. Tickets via www.redtheater.org

This review is proudly shared with our friends at www.TheatreInChicago.com. 

Written by Abbey Fenbert and directed by Elizabeth Lovelady, Red Theater’s new play Sickle takes on the very little-known subject of Holodomor (or “Golodomor”, Famine-genocide, or “death by hunger”). The story takes place in 1932-33, in a Ukrainian village, one of many Ukrainian villages sacrificed by Stalin to advance his communist agenda of land de-privatization and collectivization. Though initially collectivization was voluntary, eventually all agricultural land was declared Socialist property. Later all farmers (“kulaks”) were ordered to give up their land ownership to the State, merge their land together into collectively operated farms (“kolkhozy”) that would “belong to all”. Farms that refused were given requisition quota of grain that was set at unreasonably high levels. Any grain withholdings were severely punishable by ceasing of property, Siberian labor camps, or death without trial. A law was passed forcing peasants who could not meet their grain quotas to surrender any livestock they had. Collective farms that failed to meet their quotas were placed on "blacklists"; blacklisted communes had no right to trade or to receive deliveries of any kind and became death zones. In January 1933 Ukraine's borders were sealed in order to prevent Ukrainian peasants from fleeing to other republics. Black flags were placed outside of the villages failed to comply with the Soviet Government. Thus, full scale mass murder was underway.

In Sickle, by the time comsomolka (young party activist) Nadya (Katherine Bourne Taylor) arrives in the village, the only remaining inhabitants are four women (Iryna, Anna, Yasia and Halka) dressed in dirty clothes and weak from “skipping meals”, and a baby. Grain is severely rationed, their husbands and family are either dead or in Siberia - there’s really no hope left, but with self-given titles like general, lieutenant and captain, they consider themselves soldiers and theirs is organized resistance. Comsomolka Nadia had been sent by the Party to investigate why the village is under-performing; she accuses them of cheating and keeping more grain than they claim they had. Nadia is from a city and knows next to nothing about farming, but she’s good with numbers, and she’s a really good Party dog.

Wonderful acting, most notably by Christine Vrem-Ydstie who plays General Yryna, and Katherine Bourne Taylor who plays Nadya, and witty dialogue make the play very enjoyable, despite its grim subject matter. The tiny space that is Strawdog theater seems like the perfect venue, giving the story the layer of intimacy for all five [well developed] characters to relate to each other.

The play is a brave undertaking, considering the authentically Ukrainian terminology used that’s unfamiliar to most American theater-goers. But it is a poignant story that needs to be told. There was a terrible time in the history of Ukraine when, by some accounts, nearly 12 million people were exterminated, yet very few people know about that.

Red Theater's production of Sickle is being performed at Strawdog Theatre through July 29th. For more show info visit https://redtheater.org/.