|
WINDY CITY TIMES
|
|
|
OSCAR REMEMBERED
Playwright: Maxim Mazumdar
by Rick Reed 2001-08-22
|
|
This article shared 2502 times since Wed Aug 22, 2001
|
|
The bare facts belong to literary history: Oscar Wilde, indomitable wit, distinguished playwright, poet, and novelist had one great love in his life: Lord Alfred Douglas, affectionately known as "Bosie." Bosie is purported to be the inspiration for one of Wilde's best-known and most popular works, The Picture of Dorian Gray. Sixteen years Wilde's junior, Bosie was the object of Wilde's love and lust for many years and was the impetus behind the famous legal hearings that landed Wilde in jail for the crime of sodomy.
Playwright Maxim Mazumdar brings alive these facts, and mines the relationship between the two men for thought-provoking dramatic fodder in Oscar Remembered, now being performed by Speaking Ring Theatre Company at the Theatre Building ( an earlier incantation of the work was performed to critical raves by the Writers Theatre in Glencoe ) . Mazumdar, who died from AIDS a few years ago, at age 36, presents a competently structured portrait of the growth of the relationship between the two men, beginning with its inception and ending shortly after Wilde's death in 1900. To tell his story, the playwright draws upon letters, Wilde's own literary output, and historical accounts. The thing that sets this version apart is that it is told through the eyes of Bosie himself ( portrayed by Aaron Cedolia ) , a man whose presence looms large in any account of Oscar Wilde's life, but for whom history often has little to say. It's a novel approach, and one for which the playwright was lauded during his brief life.
The dramatic structure, for the most part, succeeds in painting a compelling portrait of an artist and his paramour, and how a "love that dared not speak its name" was conducted at the end of the 19th century. What Mazumdar fails to supply the audience with is a real point of entry into Bosie's psyche. Although we hear from him and watch as his mercurial moods change alternately from light to dark, there's no connection with the audience. Mazumdar has chosen to make us eavesdroppers on a fascinating relationship, but we never get to enjoy the immediacy of true connection. The second act, also, does not fare as well as the first. It's self indulgent, Bosie's mourning and the decline of Oscar Wilde could have been conveyed more succinctly. The act tends to drag on with a reading of a long letter from Wilde and the entire text of his poem, "The Ballad of Reading Gaol."
But overall, the playwright has provided us with a unique glimpse into history and the minefield of human emotion and love.
Speaking Ring's production, on the other hand, leaves much to be desired. In a monologue show such as this one, everything rests on the performance of the lead ( naturally ) . Aaron Cedolia chooses to interpret Bosie as a mincing queen most of the time, leaving us to wonder why a genius like Wilde would have fallen for such an effeminate twit. A more balanced, credible portrayal would have made the play a lot more compelling.
|
|
|
|
This article shared 2502 times since Wed Aug 22, 2001
|
ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE |
---|
|
| | Local queer opera composer premiering her first show, a coming-of-age tale with LGBTQ+ themes 2024-04-23 - A Lake View woman is debuting her first opera as a composer, a coming-of-age story with LGBTQ+ themes. Gillian Rae Perry, a fellow with the Chicago Opera Theater's Vanguard program for emerging artists, composed The Weight ...
|
| | The importance of becoming Ernest: Out actor Christopher Sieber dishes about the Death Becomes Her musical 2024-04-20 - Out and proud actor Christopher Sieber is part of the team bringing Death Becomes Her to life as a stage musical in the Windy City this spring. Sieber plays Ernest Menville, who was originally portrayed by ...
|
| | SHOWBIZ Celine Dion, 'The People's Joker,' Billy Porter, Patti LuPone, 'Strange Way' 2024-04-19 - I Am: Celine Dion will stream on Prime Video starting June 25, according to a press release. The film is described as follows: "Directed by Academy Award nominee Irene Taylor, I Am: Celine Dion gives us ...
|
| | Kokandy Productions now accepting submissions for Chicago Musical Theater Fest returning Aug. 8-11 2024-04-18 --From a press release - CHICAGO (April 18, 2024) — Kokandy Productions is pleased to open submissions for the 2024 Chicago Musical Theatre Festival, returning this summer following a four-year hiatus. Kokandy is thrilled to ...
|
| | 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, ...
| |
|
|
|
|