Playwrights: Danielle Holtz, Daniel Jackson, Bernadette Johnston-Peck, Danny Volk and Robert Walter. At: Blackbird Theatre at The Side Project, 1439 W. Jarvis. Info: www.blackbirdtheatrecompany.com; $15-$20. Runs through: Sept. 6
Blackbird Theatre ends its inaugural season with The Tragedy of Jennifer, Brad and Angelina, As Performed by the Members of Blackbeard Theatre in Their Last Production Due to the Recession.
But like the extremely long title, there is just too much going on in the show. The Tragedy of Jennifer… is a spoof of young, idealistic actors who try to juggle their artistic aspirations with the unflattering realities of performing storefront theater in Chicago.
There's potential in this premise, as anyone who has ever seen the backstage farce Noises Off knows well. But the realization of The Tragedy of Jennifer… is diluted by too many contributing authors who fail to converge their writing into a consistent vision for the show.
Like many a struggling itinerant company, the fictional Blackbeard Theatre is on life-support due to the recession. In a last-ditch attempt to drum up audiences, they do a show ripped from tabloid headlines about the love triangle between actors Jennifer Aniston, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.
But being far too artsy than necessary, the company retells the gossipy love saga in a variety of styles ranging from Shakespearean, with abstract masks and song spoofs ( "Summer Nights" from Grease! becomes "Gossip Sites," while Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive" becomes "The Adopting Baby Craze" ) .
These tabloid scenes are the best parts of the show, but The Tragedy of Jennifer… stumbles during the "backstage" scenes played out in front of the audience. ( One glaring problem with the show is we're never told if we're the invited audience at the final dress rehearsal, or if we're a crowd watching the show during the middle or end of its run. )
The acting company is unconvincing playing actors themselves, even though they use their real names for character names. But they're not entirely at fault because of their poor script.
We never truly believe that Andrea Warren is that stressed about losing her waitress job, or the jealous threats of background performer Bernadette Johnston-Peck. Jonathan Rodkin seems far too savvy to truly be a newbie from Normal, Ill., while the artistic blow-up between friends Daniel Jackson and Rob Walter arrives far too late for us to care.
And though Meghan Norine McGrath's song "Part of the Cast" ( a spoof of The Little Mermaid's "Part of Your World" ) is a good insight to a stage manager wanting to be an actor, this character number sticks out as a structural flaw ( the other songs are performed with the context of being in the show's show ) .
Blackbird Theatre's The Tragedy of Jennifer… had the potential, but it was squandered with its poor execution. So chalk up the show as yet another "too many cooks spoil the soup" situation.