|
WINDY CITY TIMES
|
|
|
FOSSILS
Written by: Claudia Allen
by Rick Reed 2001-05-30
|
|
This article shared 1944 times since Wed May 30, 2001
|
|
Watching the formidable Julie Harris on Victory Garden's mainstage, one understands why this woman has such a distinguished career in the theater, including garnering more Tony wins than any other actress. Julie Harris is that rare performer who brings no affectations to her craft and makes her work look deceptively effortless. In the world premiere production of local playwright Claudia Allen's Fossils, Harris plays Carrie, a retired schoolteacher vacationing at a bed and breakfast in northern Michigan. Harris' Carrie is charming, and you immediately fall in love with this woman who does not let age play a part in her choices. Playwright Allen has formed an amusing, endearing character with her creation of Carrie ( even if she did borrow her history from Lillian Hellman ) . Finding a match for the talents of Harris must have been no easy task, but Victory Gardens, and director Sandy Shinner, have succeeded with Ann Whitney, in the role of Abigail, a retired college economics professor, as flinty and steel gray as her hair and a woman for whom self-denial has become a way of life. Whitney probably has the more difficult task in making her character likable, because Abigail is cold, bordering on harsh, yet we warm to her as she reveals a lifetime of sacrifice and secrets that have made her into a strong, yet sad, woman.
Fossils brings these two opposing forces together for a summertime idyll along the shores of Lake Michigan, where the two, unknown to each other until their solitary vacations throw them together, begin the process of fusing histories, outlooks and memories. Credit director Shinner with keeping the performances understated and believable and overseeing the creation of a little world that's so real one can almost smell the water of Lake Michigan and hear its pounding surf. Jeff Bauer's scenic design is detailed ( right down to the faded games and jigsaw puzzles left for guests on the weathered porch where all the action takes place ) ; Andre Pluess and Ben Sussman's sound design is subtle, but heightens the mood with the quiet sounds of summer; and Todd Hensley's lighting design is superb: waxing and waning from early morning to twilight to evening and back again.
Fossils, as a production, has so many good things going for it that it's even more of a shame that its script is such dreck. In spite of Claudia Allen's winning abilities at creating sympathetic characters, natural dialogue, and engaging, she has crafted a story which is not only hit-you-over-head obvious and predictable, but which is also plagued by major credibility problems. It seems as though Allen doesn't trust her audience enough to let us draw our own conclusions; she feels compelled to spell each emotional response out. Worse, the play's resolution is so unbelievable that it ruined the entire production. I don't want to spoil the play's conclusion, but Allen expects us to swallow that one of the character's decades-long prejudices and self-denial could be washed away in a matter of minutes. She also expects us to believe that Julie Harris's character, so vibrant, iconoclastic, and full of passion, would opt to mourn a lost love for thirty years. It would have been so much better if Allen had taken a subtler route to resolving how these two women come together, if perhaps she had shown us just a hint of a beginning of certain walls crumbling down, rather than knocking those walls down with a wrecking ball.
It's a real testimony to Harris and Whitney's thespian skills that Fossils remains an entertaining evening in spite of the complete lack of reality with which the playwright has saddled its conclusion. |
|
|
|
This article shared 1944 times since Wed May 30, 2001
|
ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE |
---|
|
| | THEATER Blue in the Right Way's 'Women Beware Women' offers feminist, trans take on a troubling Jacobean tragedy 2024-04-18 - "Problematic" is a great go-to adjective to describe Women Beware Women. This 1621 Jacobean tragedy is by English playwright Thomas Middleton, who is probably best remembered as a collaborator with William Shakespeare on their pessimistic tragedy ...
|
| | Hubbard Street Dance Chicago announces programs for May 17-19 season finale 2024-04-17 --From a press release - CHICAGO — Hubbard Street Dance Chicago (HSDC) announced program selections for Spring Series: Of Joy, the final installment of Season 46, Abundance. The engagement will include four unique works, once ...
|
| | LGBTQ+ film fest Queer Expression to feature Alexandra Billings in 'Queen Tut' 2024-04-12 --From a press release - CHICAGO — Pride Film Fest celebrates its second decade with a new name—QUEER EXPRESSION—and has announced its slate of LGBTQ+-themed feature, mid-length and short films for in-person and virtual events in April and May. QUEER EXPRESSI ...
|
| | Open Space Arts's COCK offers a complex but compelling take on relationships 2024-04-08 By Brian Kirst - Premiering in 2009, Mike Bartlett's COCK was a comic revelation, exploring notions about fluidity and sexual labelling long before they became commonplace discussions. Granted, conversations about these issues will always ...
|
| | Jeff Awards launches submission period for Impact Awards 2024-04-06 - The Jeff Awards announced the opening period for applications submissions for its 2024 honors to help inspire early career artists of color in the Greater Chicagoland area. Two recipients will be selected for awards of $10,000 ...
|
| | SHOWBIZ Outfest, Chita Rivera, figure skaters, letter, playwright dies 2024-04-05 - For more than four decades, Outfest has been telling LGBTQ+ stories through the thousands of films screened during its annual Outfest Los Angeles LGBTQ+ Film Festival—but that event may have a different look this year because ...
|
| | SHOWBIZ Dionne Warwick, OUTshine, Ariana DeBose, 'Showgirls,' 'Harlem' 2024-03-29 Video below - Iconic singer Dionne Warwick was honored for her decades-long advocacy work for people living with HIV/AIDS at a star-studded amfAR fundraising gala in Palm Beach, per the Palm Beach Daily News. Warwick received the "Award of ...
|
| | WORLD Israel court, conversion therapy, death sentences, Georgia bill, fashion items 2024-03-29 - Israel's Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the Population Authority must register female couples as mothers on the birth certificates of their children they have together, The Washington Blade reported. The decision was made following a petition ...
|
| | City Lit Executive Artistic Director Brian Pastor talks theater, comics, queerness 2024-03-26 - City Lit Theater has announced its programming for the 2024-25 seasonwhich will be the company's 44th. It will also be the first season to be programmed under the leadership of Brian Pastor (they/them), who will assume ...
|
| | The Jeff Awards announces the 50th anniversary awards for non-equity theater 2024-03-26 --From a press release - A complete list of recipients can also be found online in the Non-Equity and News and Events sections at www.jeffawards.org. (March 25, 2024 - Chicago) — Celebrating its 50th anniversary awarding recognition for Non-Equity theater, the ...
|
| | SHOWBIZ Queer musicians, Marvel situation, Elliot Page, Nicole Kidman 2024-03-21 - Queer musician Joy Oladokun released the single "I Wished on the Moon," from Jack Antonoff's official soundtrack for the new Apple TV+ series The New Look, per a press release. The soundtrack, ...
|
| | THEATER Chicago's City Lit has anxiety on tap with 'Two Hours in a Bar' 2024-03-21 - Two Hours in a Bar Waiting for Tina Meyer by Kristine Thatcher with material by Larry Shue Text Me by Kingsley Day (Book, Music and Lyrics). At: City Lit Theater, 1020 W. Bryn Mawr Ave.. Tickets: ...
|
| | 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 ...
| |
|
|
|
|
| NATIONAL Trans woman killed, Tenn. law, S. Carolina coach, Evan Low, Idaho schools | | Through a queer lens: Photographer Paul Mpagi Sepuya discusses Chicago exhibition | | WORLD Ugandan law, Japan, Cass report, Tegan and Sara, Varadkar done | | Q FORCE launches 2024 election efforts in Chicago | | SHOWBIZ Jerrod Carmichael, '9-1-1' actor, Kayne the Lovechild, STARZ shows, Cynthia Erivo | |
|
|
|
|