Caroline Neff

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Loss can play hell with one’s sense of trust. When everyone you love leaves you, who can you count on?

In Simon Stephens’ “Port,” Rachel is abandoned by almost everyone she loves; those who stay are unable to give her the support she needs. The play follows her through bad choices that her flawed background forces her to make.

Stephens’ hand is subtle, almost too much so. Long stretches of the script need stronger conflict and a more tangible nod to the piece’s thread. But the ensemble injects life into the lulls; Caroline Neff captures Rachel’s grief with a natural touch that tugs at the heart. Andrew Swanson’s portrayal of Rachel’s first love is a bittersweet exercise in bad timing; John Byrnes brings the right amount of tension and insecurity to Rachel’s thuggish husband. Director Jonathan Berry keeps the desperation and longing level with humor and love. (Lisa Buscani)

Griffin Theatre Company at the Raven Theatre Complex, 6157 North Clark, (800)838-3006. Through February 26.

Elizabeth Ledo and Kate Fry/Photo: Liz Lauren

For his debut Shakespeare production, the gender-bender comedy of love-at-first-sight “As You Like It,” accomplished director Gary Griffin chose a straightforward interpretation, free of subtext or modernization. The result is a perfectly fine show, delivered at the highest level of professionalism throughout, that leaves those of us looking for revelation every time we enter the theater still looking. Kate Fry delivers a stalwart performance in the central role of Rosalind, her talents in fullest flourish in the climax, where she plots to wrap up all the unfinished love stories in one broad stroke. It’s a fast-paced scene that underscores the core problem with this production: pacing. Arguably not the Bard at the top of his game—”all the world’s a stage” notwithstanding—this comedy needs a briskness to soar through its increasingly preposterous plot, and brisk this one is not. That being said, Elizabeth Ledo’s Phoebe, a minor role, virtually steals the show with her kinetic performance and Ross Lehman’s Jaques is memorable, but he does get the best lines, after all. Kevin Depinet’s set is, like everything else, satisfactory. Critics often howl in complaint at stylized or revised takes on Shakespeare but there’s something to be said for risk-taking. In that regard, the setting of Shakespeare’s songs within the play to music is a pleasant touch. (Brian Hieggelke)

At Chicago Shakespeare Theater, 800 East Grand (Navy Pier), (312)595-5600, chicagoshakes.com, through March 6.

Joseph Wiens and Eileen Niccolai/Photo: Kevin Viol

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The hyperbolically dark humor and gut-wrenching, even tortuous melodrama in Martin McDonagh’s play is easily matched, if not almost outdone, by the fierce, intelligent energy of Steve Scott’s cast in Shattered Globe 2.0’s production. “The Beauty Queen of Leenane” follows the beyond-dysfunctional relationship between Maureen, a 40-year-old caustic spinster who takes care of her importunate aging mother in the Irish village of Leenane, and Maureen’s unexpected chance at romance. The play is by turns black comedy, moving family drama and theater-of-cruelty-level horror—but what’s most remarkable is the way that McDonagh, with beyond-sharp, mercurial dialogue constantly flowing between banter and revelation, carefully balances and then unhinges our feelings for and understanding of each character. Scott gets performances out of all four actors that are somehow both subtle and balls-out forceful, not a single moment of comedy or pathos ever lost or misused. The technical theater keeps up, with a domestic set that’s equal parts claustrophobic cottage and chapel, and Irish vocal music that’s so well-used it almost becomes another character. (Monica Westin)

Shattered Globe 2.0 at the Athenaeum Theatre, 2936 North Southport, (800)982-2787. Through February 27.

Brittany Burch and Michaela Petro/Photo: John W. Sisson, Jr.

WildClaw has found rich source material in “Carmilla,” a vampire story that predates “Dracula” by twenty-five years and makes provocative parallel between vampirism and lesbianism as phenomena vastly threatening to Victorian social metabolism. And the show is gorgeously produced, with striking stage pictures, an effective, emotive soundscape, and smart multipurpose set. But “Carmilla” is desperately in need of tightening and loses a lot of momentum to painfully slow pacing. There’s nothing revolutionary about the story itself other than its queer subtext, and far too much time is spent on explication and tangential banter, not to mention endless slow-mo fight scenes, rather than exploring transgressive themes while moving the somewhat predictable action forward; on opening night, much of the laughter at self-aware satirical or campy moments seemed to come more from relief than entertainment. Acting is surprisingly uneven; while Michaela Petro steals the show as the titular blood-sucking seductress, beautifully foiled by Brittany Burch’s innocent victim, all big eyes and blonde hair and fragility, most supporting roles, from gypsies to governesses, border on farcical, keeping us from emotionally investing in the show. “Carmilla” feels like the beginning rehearsals for a future play that would be both thought-provoking and immensely entertaining. (Monica Westin)

At DCA Storefront Theater, 78 East Washington, (312)742-8497. Through February 20.

Brian Dickie, who has been a major force in Chicago performance culture since taking the helm at COT back in 1999, is announcing his plan to return to London in 2012. Here’s the press release:

General Director Brian Dickie to leave

Chicago Opera Theater in August of 2012.

CHICAGO, IL (January 13, 2011) – General Director Brian Dickie announced that he will step down as General Director of Chicago Opera Theater at the expiration of his contract in August of 2012, and will return home to London with his family.

2012 will mark Brian’s 50^th year in opera management and administration. Read the rest of this entry »

Andy Somma and Leigh Jones of Lower Links/Photo: Antone

By Monica Westin

Chicago’s longest-running theater and multidisciplinary-arts fringe festival is known both for the compelling risk-taking of its participating artists as well as the age span of its participants. And while it’s been the best place to take in work by artists who have been making innovative work in Chicago for decades, this year’s festival has a particularly strong historical depth as well as serving as a forum for the most nascent of emerging artists.

Beau O’Reilly, who with Curious Theatre Branch has been curating the show for more than twenty years, is teaming up with Prop Thtr to bring back performances to this year’s festival that were seminal in Chicago experimental art, including “Deja Links,” a reunion cabaret show from legendary performance art/music venue Lower Links, which in the eighties and early nineties brought a sense of experimental optimism to the arts scene.

“A lot of the people who have been with the festival for a long time,” O’Reilly says, “played at Links all the time, so Lower Links was a very central place for us pre-Rhino. The list of names at Deja Links is an all-star list from that period.” O’Reilly sees this year’s Rhino Fest as coming full-circle, “a return to the beginning places for us—and also just the whole scene that’s been going on over the past twenty years now.” Read the rest of this entry »

4:48 Psychosis

By Neal Ryan Shaw

More than thirty performances are programmed as part of this year’s Rhinofest. Here are our top twelve picks. All performances take place at Prop Thtr, 3502 North Elston Avenue.

4:48 Psychosis
Curious Theatre Branch remounts their production of Sarah Kane’s highly autobiographical swan song to clinical depression, directed by Beau O’Reilly. The show only ran for two weekends last July, so those who didn’t get to last time now have a second chance to see it.
Fridays, January 14-February 11 and Saturday, February 12, 7pm.

The Aquatic Chronicles
Performance artist Julie Laffin’s career underwent a fundamental transformation a few years ago when she developed multiple chemical sensitivity, a condition that forced her into extreme isolation as well as ironically making much of her later work all the more collaborative. Here a video by Laffin pairs with a performance piece by Judith Harding, each of which echoes the other thematically, if not narratively, around depths explored and ignored.
February 11-February 13, 7pm. Read the rest of this entry »

Once upon a podcast, comedians Mike David and Kyle Lane morphed from DIY radio hosts to successful comedy club owners in one quick year. On Friday, the pair toasts the first anniversary of their Red Bar Comedy Club with a nice ol’ roast. Local comics and friends will unleash the rollicking truth (and perhaps some falsehood) of David and Lane in a free show at the club’s Ontourage home. “Hand-picked by us,” says David, “these are the best comics of the year.”

As host of Red Bar Radio, David has been broadcasting comedy over Chicago’s airwaves for nine years. Lane joined him in 2007, when the duo noticed a gaping hole in the city’s comedy outlets.

“For a city this big, there is no reason there should only be one club,” David says, naming Zanies as the only unequivocal standup venue. Underground comedy abounds, but many of those shows are organized by comics who have little resources for polished presentations, explains David. “We found a different way to do it: we share space with a nightclub that’s been around for years. We can charge a little without worrying about spending.” (Friday night’s show is free, but Red Bar charges a $10 cover with no drink minimum for regularly scheduled shows.) Read the rest of this entry »

The Backrow: Sarah Wonak, Nick Baer, Matthew Meador, Alexandra Argentar

With literally hundreds of theaters, from Steppenwolf to the storefronts, Chicago is a mecca for would-be actors and comedians. Every year thousands of kids fresh out of college sign up for classes at iO or Second City with dreams of becoming the next Bill Murray/Chris Farley/Tina Fey/insert famous funny person’s name here. Growing up in Chicago in the nineties felt like having a backstage pass at the epicenter of the comedy world—my friends and I to this day talk about seeing Tim Meadows and Chris Farley at iO do a bit about interracial dating, or seeing Adam McKay (director of “Anchorman,” “Talladega Nights,” etc), Rachel Dratch (SNL) and Scott Adsit (“30 Rock”) in “Pinata Full of Bees.” Hell, I even went to high school with a guy who was on MADtv (Ike Barinholtz, if you want to look him up).

But that’s the thing, you don’t get famous staying in Chicago. Yes, TJ Jagodowski and Dave Pasquesi are local heroes, adored for their craft. But if you live outside of the cloistered Chicago comedy community you’d have no idea who they were. My friend Michael McCarthy (creator of “Big News!” who now, incidentally, lives in LA writing for “Mike & Molly”) would often refer to Chicago as “The graduate school of the comedy world.” Read the rest of this entry »

Adam Pelty, David Kortemeier, Matthew Crowle and Sean Allan Krill/Photo: Brett Beiner

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The ongoing love affair between “Monty Python’s Spamalot” and Chicago, where the show had its pre-Broadway tryout five years ago, continues. Eric Idle’s wife of thirty years is a Chicagoan and Idle is frequently back in the area as he was over the holidays, even checking out the rehearsals at Drury Lane. Judging from the end product, it would be hard to imagine that Idle wasn’t extremely pleased at his sound judgment in giving Drury Lane permission to give the show’s regional theater premiere.

Making use of the costumes from the London West End production, which recently closed, means that the Drury Lane production looks as good as “Spamalot” ever did, even if the sets are less elaborate. Terry Gilliam’s animations and John Cleese’s voice as God are notable no-shows but the gags and comic timing are far more effective in an intimate environment. When the audience member was chosen to come onstage to celebrate the finding of the Holy Grail, the audience went nuts and the guy was so excited that he dropped his inhaler along the way, all effective fodder for the onstage humor. Read the rest of this entry »