
|
WINDY CITY TIMES
|
|
|
THEATER REVIEW Stupid F*kg Bird
by Mary Shen Barnidge 2014-08-27
|
|
This article shared 2885 times since Wed Aug 27, 2014
|
|
Playwright: Aaron Posner. At: Sideshow Theatre Company at the Biograph, 2433 N. Lincoln Ave. Tickets: 773-871-3000; www.victorygardens.org; $20-$25. Runs through: Sept. 21
Don't be fooled by the publicity promoting this adaptation of The Seagull as a deconstructive farce on the order of Inspecting Carol. Aaron Posner's surprisingly smart gloss on Anton Chekhov's seminal 19th-century Russian drama reads more as live-action script analysis, tracking its source's subtextual dynamics unencumbered by period social and environmental factors.
The entourage attached to popular film and TV actress Emma Arkadina may now dwell in the modern world, but what remains the same is their inability to express what's on their minds, making for utterances riddled with verbal place-holders like "you know," "sort of" and that favorite modifier, "fuck." ( The title of the play derives from someone asking Conrad if the dead fowl he carries is a seagull, to which he replies, "I don't know! It's a stupid fucking BIRD!" ) To combat these obstacles, Posner graciously orchestrates opportunities for soliloquies launchedand frequently interruptedfrom the obsessively egotistical introspection currently in fashion, and for occasional assertions worded in echolalic affirmations of objectives. His characters also revel in the candor rendered permissible by relaxed post-millennium artistic censorshipstripping down to their underwear when pursuit of their goals deems such tactics necessary.
These goals, ironically, are likewise unvaryinglending fresh credence to author Doyle Trigorin's assertion that nothing be declared worthy of consideration until it has endured for a hundred years. Conrad, Emma's playwright son, may professin rants of operatic proportionsto change the world through art, but his agony always ends in his yearning for muse-next-door Nina Zachary. Alack, Nina is groupie-hot for the aforementioned Doyle, who is Emma's unprotesting consort ( though not immune to a mid-life fling with a willing fan ). In the meantime, cook-housekeeper Mash Amberson burns for master Conrad, while nerdy best-buddy Dev Dylan pines for the surly goth-girl servant and old uncle Eugene wonders why he can't share in all the emotional extravagance.
Chekhov has been examined extensively this season, what with being sent to Afghanistan and relocated to Lincoln Park ( with more to come in 2015 ), but never does Posner's irreverent insights or those of the intrepid ensemble secured for this Sideshow Theatre production stoop to juvenile mockery, even during such verging-on-caricature spectacles as a baroque full-cast oratorio of "I want" testimonials, or the gloomy serenades of the ukulele-plucking Mash. The results may not fulfill Conrad's dream of inspiring us to "live better or fuller," but they go far to redeem decades of scholarly obfuscation and misguided reverence imposed upon Chekhov's bemused look at his foolish contemporaries. |
 |
|
 |
This article shared 2885 times since Wed Aug 27, 2014
|
ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE |
---|
| 
|  | SHOWBIZ Coming-out film, James Baldwin, Madonna, 'White Lotus,' women's soccer 2023-03-31 - Director/co-writer Shariff Nasr's intimate coming-out drama El Houb will be out on Digital and DVD on April 4 via Dark Star Pictures (and in L.A. theaters on April 7), per a press release. The film's decorated ...
| 
|  | House Musical: Coming of Age in the Age of House, celebrating the house music scene, to run April 20 - 30 2023-03-30 --From a press release - Chicago, Illinois (March 30, 2023) — Campsongs Productions today announced the on-sale of world premiere musical House Musical: Coming of Age in the Age of House, celebrating Chicago's famed house music scene at the legendary Warehouse ...
| 
|  | Hell in a Handbag Productions premieres intergalactic queer extravaganza 'I Promised Myself to Live Faster' 2023-03-29 --From a press release - Hell in a Handbag Productions is pleased to continue its 21st season with the Chicago premiere of I Promised Myself to Live Faster, an intergalactic queer extravaganza ...
| 
|  | Book of Mormon's Sam Nackman knocks on Cadillac Palace door 2023-03-28 - The Book of Mormon is returning to Chicago on a mission to convert new followers into the musical fold. The masterminds behind the satirical cartoon series South Park, Matt Stone and Trey Parker created a smash ...
| 
|  | The Jeff Awards announces recipients of 49th- anniversary non-Equity theater honors 2023-03-28 --From a press release - MARCH 27, 2023 — CHICAGO — In its 49th anniversary celebration of non-Equity theater excellence, the Jeff Awards recognized 35 award recipients selected from among 167 theater artist nominees across 28 artistic and technical categories. Awar ...
| 
|  | SHOWBIZ 'Joy Ride,' Cynthia Erivo, David Bowie, March Madness, Kevin Bacon 2023-03-25 Video below - The first trailer for the upcoming comedy Joy Ride has been released, Out noted. The movie stars Ashley Park, queer Oscar nominee Stephanie Hsu (Everything Everywhere All At Once), bisexual comedian Sherry Cola (Good Trouble) and ...
| 
|  | Kokandy Productions announces 2023 Season 2023-03-22 --From a press release - CHICAGO (March 22, 2023) — Kokandy Productions is thrilled to announce its 2023 season, including two fully produced musicals, plus plans for the return of the Chicago Musical Theatre Festival. This summer, Kokandy will dive into ...
| 
|  | Opera Preview: Life of gay World War II hero Alan Turing transformed into a world-premiere opera 2023-03-17 - It has taken a decade for The Life and Death(s) of Alan Turing to grow from an idea into a full- fledged opera. Chicago Opera Theater stages the world premiere of composer Justine F. Chen and ...
| 
|  | Chicago Black Dance Legacy Project to present dance concert 'Sans Pareil' 2023-03-14 --From a press release - Deeply Rooted Dance Theater joins the Chicago Black Dance Legacy Project again to take the stage in a dance concert entitled Sans Pareil—French for "unparalleled," a nod to the Haitian lineage of Chicago's founder, Jean-Baptiste Pointe ...
| 
|  | House Musical, Coming of Age in the Age of House, coming to Hoover-Leppen Theatre 2023-03-14 --From a press release - Campsongs Productions presents the world premiere of House Musical - Coming of Age in the Age of House, with book by Marcus Waller, music by Scott Free (with Michael Foley) and lyrics by Scott Free and ...
| 
|  | RuPaul's Drag Race WERQ THE WORLD in Chicago Aug. 4 2023-03-12 --From a press release - RuPaul's Drag Race WERQ THE WORLD, the largest drag show on earth, returns in 2023 with a show in Chicago Aug. 4 and in 100+ cities across the United States, Canada, Australia, Asia, Europe and Mexico! ...
| 
|  | SHOWBIZ Little Richard, Indigo Girls, Rodriguez's honor, dance film, Pedro Pascal 2023-03-10 Video below - Produced by Bungalow Media + Entertainment for CNN Films and HBO Max, in association with Rolling Stone Films, director Lisa Cortes' Sundance opening-night documentary Little Richard: I Am Everything will debut in theaters and on VOD ...
| 
|  | Steppenwolf Theatre Company's 2023 Gala May 13 at The Old Post Office 2023-03-06 --From a press release - CHICAGO (March 6, 2023) — The Steppenwolf Ensemble and Board of Trustees are pleased to host Steppenwolf 2023 Galaan unforgettable evening celebrating 47 years of powerful and thought-provoking storytelling. Emceed ...
| 
|  | Center on Halsted presents annual Intergenerational Talent Show 2023-03-06 - On March 2, Center on Halsted hosted its Fifth Annual Intergenerational Talent Show, featuring performances from participants from the Youth and Family Services and the Senior Services programs. Participants in the free event presented a program ...
| 
|  | SHOWBIZ Wanda Sykes, Jonas Brothers, 'Queen of Versailles,' 'Bloodshed' 2023-03-04 Adam Lambert video below - Award-winning comedian Wanda Sykes' new comedy special, I'm An Entertainer, will premiere globally on Netflix on May 23, a press release announced. The special, directed by Linda Mendoza, was filmed in early February 2023 at Philadelphia's ...
| |
|
|
|

|
 | WORLD Venezuela code, Oxfam, Bosnia items, 'Brokeback,' Pope Francis |  | NATIONAL 'Don't Say Gay,' anti-trans bills, gay Irish leader visits, gay Calif. mayor |  | SHOWBIZ 'Joy Ride,' Cynthia Erivo, David Bowie, March Madness, Kevin Bacon |  | Michaela Jae Rodriguez honored at HRC dinner |  | Biden appoints Laura Ricketts to Council on Sports, Fitness & Nutrition | |
|
 |
|
|