By Fabrizio O. Almeida

“There are two things I hate a lot,” says Steppenwolf Theatre Ensemble Member Amy Morton, “getting dressed up and talking to people publicly.  I’d rather pull the skin off my face.”

I’m sitting with the seasoned stage performer and director in the third-floor lobby of the Steppenwolf’s Upstairs Theater, and Morton looks confident and stylish in a smart getup that includes black slacks, a charcoal cable cardigan and a crimson scarf that unostentatiously hangs around her neck. There’s a slight chill in the air, and I equate it to the large uninsulated window next to our table where this interview takes place, and not to Morton’s blistering comment, typical of this tell-it-like-it-is gal.

I had first met Morton in 2002, when I was roaming the hallways of the Steppenwolf as an intern, and she had just finished directing David Mamet’s “Glengarry Glen Ross.”  Now, almost a decade later, on the heels of a Tony Award-nominated turn in playwright (and fellow Steppenwolf ensemble member) Tracy Letts’ “August: Osage County” (which she reprised on Broadway earlier this year), on the cusp of appearing on the big screen in a featured role opposite George Clooney in this month’s “Up in the Air” and on the verge of premiering a new revival of Mamet’s “American Buffalo,” Morton has remained Morton:  smart, salty and down to earth, the stalwart of the Steppenwolf set who refuses stardom, but who is finally earning the respect and recognition nationally that she’s had in Chicago for decades. Read the rest of this entry »

Here’s the press release from Profiles:

Profiles Theatre announces its
2009- 2010 Season
Midwest Premieres by Neil LaBute and Annie Baker,
a modern classic by Tracy Letts,
and an extended run of Graceland by Ellen Fairey

Chicago—Artistic Directors Joe Jahraus and Darrell W. Cox announce Profiles Theatre’s 2009-2010 Season.  Profiles, one of Chicago’s longest-running ensemble theatres, is presenting its 21st season of new and challenging works, beginning with an extended run of the hit production of Graceland by Ellen Fairey.

The Profiles Theatre season also includes the Midwest premiere of The Mercy Seat by Neil LaBute; the Midwest premiere of Body Awareness by Annie Baker, marking only the second production of this acclaimed new play since its World Premiere at the Atlantic Theatre Company this past season; and Tracy Letts’ modern classic Killer Joe, directed by Steppenwolf ensemble member Rick Snyder.

Profiles Theatre is following up its celebrated 20th Anniversary season, which featured new works by acclaimed writers Lee Blessing, Anthony Neilson, Adam Bock and Ellen Fairey. Read the rest of this entry »

On the day of this year’s Tony Awards, two of Chicago’s previous winners, director-playwright Mary Zimmerman, whose revival of “The Arabian Nights” is tearing up the stage at Lookingglass right now, and playwright Tracy Letts, who’s preparing his “Superior Donuts” for a transfer from Steppenwolf to Broadway this fall, appeared before a packed house of book lovers at the Printers Row Lit Fest on a panel moderated by retired Tribune theater critic Richard Christiansen.

Here are a few of the more memorable moments:

Letts on why he started writing plays in addition to acting: “To write roles for other out-of-work actors like myself.”

Zimmerman on her first work: “The story of Lady Godiva—it had one line in it.”

Letts on casting “August: Osage County”: “At Steppenwolf, we have an ensemble, so we try not to hurt any feelings.”

Letts on writing the screenplay for “August: Osage County,” which he’s doing now: “It’s terrible… just terrible. It’s like a combination of a bad adaptation with ‘Erin Brockovich”… avoid the movie at all costs!”

Zimmerman on fruitlessly rewriting certain lines over and over again in her plays and then hearing them on stage: “It strikes the ears so awkwardly and I’m just like ‘oh, just get past the moment, please!”

Steppenwolf announces that the Broadway engagement of Tracy Letts’ “Osage” follow-up, “Superior Donuts,” is opening at a TBD Shubert house on October 1, juiced by the producers behind “Osage,” Jeffrey Richards, Jean Doumanian, Chicago’s Steve Traxler and Jerry Frankel, and helmed by ensemble member Tina Landau, who did likewise for its world premiere at the Stepp home on Halsted last summer. Casting has not been announced, but Michael McKean, Lenny on the hit seventies sitcom “Laverne and Shirley,” turned in a noteworthy performance in the Chicago production and might have just enough celebrity appeal to reprise.

Tucked away in a fall season announcement for American Theater Company, the mid-size company decimated by the departure of virtually its entire ensemble in March, is this bit of news: ATC’s “Hedwig and the Angry Inch,” a co-production with About Face, is the company’s highest grosser this season, and is on track to be ATC’s biggest hit ever. You can almost hear the “touché” out of the camp of artistic director PJ Paparelli. Of course, the whole season has that feel, from the “get” of the Chicago premiere of “Urinetown” creators Mark Hollmann and Greg Kotis’ “Yeast Nation (the triumph of life)”—already bumped from this season—to the very fact that the season is taking place at all.

Here’s the press release from Steppenwolf:

Steppenwolf Theatre Company Announces
2009-2010 Subscription Season:

Fake
a new play written and directed by ensemble member Eric Simonson
featuring ensemble members Kate Arrington, Francis Guinan and Alan Wilder

American Buffalo
by David Mamet, directed by ensemble member Amy Morton
featuring ensemble members Francis Guinan and Tracy Letts Read the rest of this entry »

What makes Chicago’s theater world special? We picked up the latest issue of Entertainment Weekly for clues. In the cover story, “CSI” star William Petersen explains his decision to leave his role as one of the top paid actors in television, earning a rumored $600,000 an episode, to move back to Chicago and Chicago theater: “It was too safe for me at this point. So I needed to try and break that, and the way to do that, for me, is the theater.” EW went on to credit Petersen for much of the show’s success, notably bringing a theatrical ensemble philosophy to play in its production. Or consider the runaway success of Steppenwolf’s “August: Osage County,” which transferred to Broadway,  receiving critical acclaim and multiple Tony Awards, not by shaking it up with Broadway “names” but instead by virtually transferring the Steppenwolf production intact, with the addition of lead producer and fellow Chicagoan Steve Traxler. What makes Chicago theater—or for that matter, Chicago dance or any other form of performance practiced on our stages—special? We’d contend it’s the power of the ensemble, the spirit of collaboration that champions artistic risk-taking and subordinates the commercial. And so, in that spirit, the critical ensemble responsible for Newcity’s ongoing stage coverage presents our take on the most influential people on and offstage in Chicago. Read the rest of this entry »

Top 5 Shows

“Caroline, or Change,” Court Theatre

“A House with No Walls,” Timeline Theatre

“The Glass Menagerie,” Steppenwolf Theatre

“No Darkness Round My Stone,” Trap Door Theatre

“The Birthday Party,” Signal Theater

—Monica Westin

Top 5 Shows

“Jon,” Collaboraction

“A Very Merry Unauthorized Children’s Scientology Pageant,” A Red Orchid

“Be More Chill,” Griffin Theatre

“Men of Tortuga,” Profiles

“Picked Up,” Neo-Futurists

—Nina Metz

Top 5 Theatrical Experiences

“Caroline, or Change,” Court Theatre

“Columnibus,” Raven Theatre

“As You Like It,” Writers’ Theatre

“The Comedy of Errors,” Chicago Shakespeare Theater

“Romeo y Julieta” (Staged Reading), Chicago Shakespeare Theater/Shakespeare in Español

—Fabrizio O. Almeida

Top 5 Guilty Pleasures

“Jarred: A Hoodoo Comedy” by Tanya Saracho, Teatro Luna

“Speech and Debate” by Stephen Karam, ATC

“Dead Man’s Cell Phone” by Sarah Ruhl, Steppenwolf

“The Little Dog Laughed” by Douglas Carter Beane, About Face Theatre

“After Ashley” by Gina Gionfriddo, Stage Left Theatre

—Fabrizio O. Almeida

Top 5 New Plays

“Kita y Fernanda” by Tanya Saracho, 16^th Street Theater

“The U.N. Inspector” by David Farr and James Sherman, Next Theatre

“Dead Man’s Cell Phone” by Sarah Ruhl, Steppenwolf Theatre

“Our Enemies: Lively Scenes of Love and Combat” by Yussef El Guindi, Silk Road Theatre Project

“Superior Donuts” by Tracy Letts, Steppenwolf Theatre

—Fabrizio O. Almeida

Top 5 Revivals

“The Maids,” Writers’ Theatre

“The Lion in Winter,” Writers’ Theatre

“Requiem for a Heavyweight,” Shattered Globe

“Plaza Suite,” Eclipse Theatre Company

“The Birthday Party,” Signal Ensemble Theatre

—Fabrizio O. Almeida

Top 5 Play Revivals

“Our Town,” Hypocrites

“The Lion in Winter,” Writers Theatre

“Requiem for a Heavyweight,” Shattered Globe

“Journey’s End,” Griffin

“M Butterfly,” BoHo

—Dennis Polkow

Top 5 Memorable Productions by a Smaller Theatre Troupe

“Multi-Purpose Doom,” Sandbox Theatre Project

“The Further Adventures of Hedda Gabler,” Dog & Pony

“Termen Vox Machina,” Oracle Productions

“On My Parents’ 100^th Wedding Anniversary,” Side Project

“The Last Days of Judas Iscariot” (original mounting), Gift Theatre

—Fabrizio O. Almeida

Top 5 Directors

Ann Filmer for “Kita y Fernanda,” 16^th Street Theater

Charles Newell for “Caroline, or Change,” Court Theatre

Sean Graney for “Edward II,” Chicago Shakespeare Theater

William Brown for “As You Like It,” Writers’ Theatre

Greg Kolack for “Columbinus,” Raven Theatre

—Fabrizio O. Almeida

Top 5 Musicals

“Caroline, or Change,” Court Theatre

“Grey Gardens,” Northlight Theatre

“Tell Me On A Sunday,” Bailiwick Theater

“The Full Monty,” Marriott Lincolnshire Theatre

“All Shook Up,” Marriott Lincolnshire Theatre

—Fabrizio O. Almeida

Top 5 New Musicals

“Caroline, or Change,” Court Theatre

“Grey Gardens,” Northlight Theatre

“Songs for a New World,” Porchlight

“The Ballad of Emmett Till,” Goodman Theatre

“I Am Who I Am: The Story of Teddy Pendergrass,” Black Ensemble Theater

—Dennis Polkow

Top 5 Musical Revivals

“Tell Me on a Sunday,” Bailiwick Theater

“Sweet Charity,” Drury Lane Oakbrook

“1776,” Signal Ensemble

“Jacques Brel’s Lonesome Lovers of the Night,” Theo Ubique

“Gentlemen Prefer Blondes,” Circle Theatre

—Dennis Polkow

Top 5 Worst Musicals

“Shout! The Mod Musical,” Drury Lane Water Tower

“Avenue Q,” Broadway in Chicago

“Dirty Dancing,” Broadway in Chicago

“Russian on the Side,” Royal George Theater

“Gutenberg! The Musical,” Royal George Theater

—Dennis Polkow

Top 5 Worst Musicals

“Dirty Dancing,” Broadway in Chicago

“The Kid from Brooklyn,” Mercury Theater

“Gutenberg! The Musical!,” Royal George Theatre

“Jekyll & Hyde—The Musical,” Bohemian Theatre Ensemble

“Sweeney Todd,” Broadway in Chicago

—Fabrizio O. Almeida

Top 5 Operas

“Manon,” Lyric Opera

“The Abduction From the Seraglio,” Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Ravinia

“Lulu,” Lyric Opera

“Porgy and Bess,” Lyric Opera (second cast)

“Don Giovanni,” Chicago Opera Theater

—Dennis Polkow

Top 5 Productions of Shakespeare

“As You Like It,” Writers Theatre

“Comedy of Errors,” Chicago Shakespeare

“Much Ado About Nothing,” First Folio

“Merchant of Venice,” Boho

“Twelfth Night,” City Lit

—Dennis Polkow

Top 5 Touring Shows

“Saint Joan,” Shaw Festival Canada, Chicago Shakespeare

“Cirque du Soleil: Kooza,” United Center

“The Drowsy Chaperone,” Broadway in Chicago

“My Fair Lady,” National Theatre London, Broadway in Chicago

“Jesus Christ Superstar,” Broadway in Chicago

—Dennis Polkow

Top 5 Holiday Shows

“The Christmas Schooner,” Bailiwick Theater

“A Dublin Carol,” Steppenwolf Theatre

“A Christmas Carol,” Writers Theatre

“Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular,” Rosemont Theatre

“The Seafarer,” Steppenwolf Theatre

—Dennis Polkow

Top 5 Comedy Shows

“Impress These Apes,” Blewt!

“Shatter,” Pat O’Brien’s solo show at Second City e.t.c.

“Steve and Jordan, Respectively” i.O. Theater

“Brother, Can You Spare Some Change?” Second City e.t.c.

“PennyBear: A Collection of Miniature Plays and Curious Diversions,” Apollo Theater Studio

—Nina Metz

Top 5 Female Performances

Janet Ulrich Brooks, “Golda’s Balcony,” Pegasus Players

Christina Anthony, “Brother, Can You Spare Some Change?” Second City e.t.c.

Erin Barlow, “Red Angel,” LiveWire

Sarah Goeden, “13 Dead Husbands,” Sansculottes Theater

Rachel Quinn, “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes,” Circle Theatre

—Nina Metz

Top 5 Male Performances

David Cromer, “Our Town,” The Hypocrites

Usman Ally, “Celebrity Row,” American Theater Company

Steve Wilson, “Red Angel,” LiveWire

Edward Thomas-Herrera, “The Last Days of Beast,” Live Bait’s Fillet of Solo Festival

Daniel Behrendt, “Beggars in the House of Plenty,” Mary-Arrchie

—Nina Metz

Top 5 Out-of-the-Box Performances

“Inner Space,” Joffrey Ballet’s American Moderns

“Walking Mad,” Hubbard Street Dance Winter Series

“The Young Ladies Of…,” About Face Theatre

“Dr. Egg and the Man With No Ear,” Redmoon Theater

“One on One,” Hubbard Street Dance Winter Series

—William Rogers

Top 5 Dance Shows by Chicago Companies

“The Sky Hangs Down Too Close,” Lucky Plush Productions

“Nuevo Folk,” Luna Negra Dance Theater

“De-Evolution of Mudwoman,” Breakbone DanceCo

“Vintage Modern,” Same Planet Different World Dance

“American Moderns,” Joffrey Ballet

—Sharon Hoyer

Top 5 Overrated Productions

“Dave DaVinci Saves the Universe,” House Theatre

“Dirty Dancing,” Broadway in Chicago

“Shining City,” Goodman Theatre

“The Glass Menagerie,” Shattered Globe Theatre

“Scenes from the Big Picture,” Seanachai Theatre

—Fabrizio O. Almeida

Top 5 Theatrical Disappointments

“Dirty Dancing,” Broadway in Chicago

“Les Miserables,” Marriott Lincolnshire Theatre

“Yohen,” Silk Road Theatre Project

“Richard III,” Strawdog Theatre

“Macbeth,” Greasy Joan & Co.

—Fabrizio O. Almeida

 

You’ve seen storefronts like this, usually located under the El. The interior is speckled with a layer of grim and tepid aspirations, the worn-out furnishings a sad grace note. Every time you pass by, the place looks empty save for a guy or two behind the counter. How do they stay in business, you wonder? Most don’t. That’s the broad overlay in Tracy Letts’ new melancholic comedy (at the Steppenwolf) which he has set in Chicago—the city where this recent Pulitzer-winner has lived most of his adult life, and perhaps more importantly, the city where he became a playwright. Like Brett Neveu’s recent “Gas for Less” (at the Goodman), “Superior Donuts” presents the little guy as endangered species, fighting off the encroachment of chain branding and impersonal transactions. Arthur Przybyszewski (Michael McKean) is the proprietor of said donut shop, an aging hippie so withdrawn from life that he retreats into a haze of pot smoke whenever reality punches through the glass door of his store. McKean’s performance is enigmatic—a resigned sigh that only begins to suggest Arthur’s state of mind. The role is bookended by Franco Wicks (Jon Michael Hill), the young, frenetic African-American Arthur hires as his assistant. Franco is ambitious and restless, but his inner life is just as mysterious—both he and Arthur are characters in search of meaning, and their uneasy co-existence mirrors the ethnic jostling of the neighborhood itself. (Yasen Peyankov has a terrific time as the Russian-born owner of an electronics store where he offers “the personal touch. And Croatian pornography.”) I like the way Letts parses the idea of disinterest-as-racism. The debate is false, but the spirit behind it is true. That dichotomy is everywhere in this production (directed by Tina Landau), where the dialogue rhythms don’t synch up with the real world, even if the sentiments do. You’re very much aware that you’re watching a play, and it’s only when Robert Maffia strolls onstage, playing a bookie in a cashmere coat, that things abruptly snap into place. Suddenly you’re immersed in the drama at hand. Landau’s pacing is deliberate, perhaps to a fault—the production includes a protracted stage fight that is so plainly fake in its execution that it becomes theoretical—but Letts has an ear for idioms that I really admire. “Look at you, all worked up over some female lady,” Franco tells Arthur, and it’s the kind of throw-away line you remember more than anything else. (Nina Metz)

At Steppenwolf Theatre, 1650 North Halsted, (312)335-1650. Thu-Fri 7:30pm/Sat-Sun 3pm & 7:30pm/Tue-Wed 7:30pm. $20-$68. Through August 24.

RECOMMENDED

At their worst, families are like shape-shifting monsters that ultimately—unbearably—remain the same as they ever were. Family, in Tracy Letts’ new play, “August: Osage County,” is a thing to be wrangled with while averting your nose from the awful stench. The setting is now, Pawhuska, Oklahoma. It is a place I know nothing about. An actual blurb from the town’s Web site: “Anyone can look for problems and find them. Because human beings are involved, there’s always the bad with the good.” What an odd thing to find on a civic-minded Web site, but there you have it. And in essence, there you have this play. “Nothing gets by me,” is an oft-repeated line that sounds an awful lot like someone looking for problems. This hits home with an uncomfortable precision. Read the rest of this entry »

Harold Pinter’s “Betrayal,” from 1978, has always left me wondering about the wife we never see. A drama about infidelity—and its domestication and eventual terminus—the unspoken fury and frustrations are those of Robert, his wife Emma and their somewhat less complicated friend, Jerry. One night at a party, Jerry makes eyes at Emma and the result is “seven years of afternoons,” which sounds more like an extended run in therapy than an extramarital affair. The play starts two years after the liaison has ended and spirals back in time to that moment when the infidelity first began. In between, we see Robert and Emma’s strained marriage. Or Jerry and Emma playing house in the flat they’ve purchased for their romantic escapes. All is subtext—polite conversation that could be masking anything; dissatisfaction, desire, whatever. But as far as the play is concerned, the unseen wife—Jerry’s wife—is a non-entity. And yet surely she is just as betrayed as the central trio—and perhaps even a betrayer herself. Her absence has a poignancy not found in the suppressed emotions of the three self-involved characters we see on stage. But what this Steppenwolf revival has going for it are the kind of knifelike performances we have come to expect from ensemble members Tracy Letts (as Robert) and Amy Morton (as Emma)—their bedroom scene, as directed by Rick Snyder, retains a sly passive-aggressiveness—and Ian Barford (as Jerry), who, along with several other actors, is among the new Steppenwolf ensemble members named last month. (Nina Metz)

This production is now closed.