Playwright: James Sherman
At: Victory Gardens, 2257 N. Lincoln
Phone: (773) 871-3000; $30-$35
Runs through: Dec. 28
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Jim Sherman's new play is in comical verse;
It's not Moliere or Shakespeare, but one could do worse.
Homage to the classics is clearly intentional,
With style more important than actions dimensional.
The trick of the trade is to make at one time,
Both swiftly and nimbly, a joke and a rhyme.
At this Mr. Sherman is mostly effective,
Assisted throughout by a gifted collective
Of actors who speak with such verbal dexterity,
That couplets fly by with both crispness and clarity.
Among the six actors, the best and the glowiest
Are Dave New and Kim Wade, whose parts are the showiest.
But CedricYoung has the most int'resting journey
As houseman and preacher, rabbi and attorney.
By now I suspect that you may have an itch
To know what the story is, so here's the pitch.
In a high-rise apartment a rich, old man gloats,
As, against all advisors, he sows some wild oats.
Alas, his young bride, when examined with vigor,
Reveals that she's naught but a seedy gold-digger.
But his son and his ex-wife are greedy as well,
So the man tells the whole bunch to go straight to hell.
The title itself is a joke, Affluenza!
Affluence, influence and rhymes with cadenza.
(I apologize now for the last rhyme I took;
This isn't that easy, though so it may look.)
The targets of Jim Sherman's comedy screed
Are larceny, acquisitiveness and greed.
It's right here, right now with its Lake Shore Drive setting,
A modern morality play he's begetting.
The character types are familiar ones, too,
With long comic ancestries both tried and true.
Don't read through the encyclopedia, smartie,
It's contemporary commedia dell'arte.
It all works pretty well, though the themes are not newish,
And some jokes are unnecessarily Jewish.
It's Jim Sherman's fall-back, his old bag-of-tricks,
But this time he doesn't need trite ethnic schticks;
For he's molded this piece from a new type of clay,
And there's nothing inherently Hebrew at play.
The doctor himself, Dennis Zacek by name,
Has directed this work, to his wealth and his fame.
The pacing is snappy, there's elegant decor,
The audience is happy heading out of the door.
This world premiere play, Affluenza! by mark,
Is at Victory Gardens up near Lincoln Park.
I'll finish by giving the date to remember:
It plays through the 28th day of December.
