STUDENT ONE-ACT SERIES
At: Chicago Actors Studio, 2040 N. Elston
Phone: 773-645-0222
Runs through: July 12
by Tracy Baim
The work of theater students is often overlooked, especially in Chicago where there is such an abundance of theater to review and attend. Even more difficult to review are rotating productions by the same group. Thus, the double dilemma of the Chicago Actors Studio 2008 Student One-Act Series, featuring The Boor, The Valiant, The Red Carnation and Portrait of the Madonna.
The night I was able to attend included the first and last productions listed above, primarily because I was urged on by the featured actor in Madonna: Shawn Murray, my Walt Disney Grammar School classmate of the class of 1976. I have seen Murray as Uncle Alice in Erik Larson's John Water-esque films, and was anxious to see her again. Expecting her comic hilarity, I was blown away by her amazing dramatic rendition of a crazed older southern belle.
Edward Dennis Fogell directed three of the productions, while Loredan Krug directed The Red Carnation. The studio space is the size of a small living room, with a few dozen seats and the intimacy you'd never find in a downtown theater. That's both scary and thrilling—and, in one case, annoying when a character lit up a real cigarette. The student actors carried out that closeness quite well. The acting was expectedly uneven, but there were a few shining stars. I'm sorry I missed the other two productions, but I would recommend you see them all, because you never know when you might see the early career of a future Tony winner. Especially look for Kimberly Bendix, niece of TV and film star William Bendix, in The Red Carnation.
For Portrait of the Madonna, Murray plays Miss Lucretia Collins, a woman past her prime but in the middle of her insanity. Murray is spot-on and has done Tennessee Williams proud. Other acting was uneven at best, including Krug as the Elevator Boy. The other standout is Jonathan Frank as The Porter, and Frank does another terrific turn in the high-energy The Boor, as Grigori Smirnov. This Anton Chekhov one-act provides a grand stage for Frank and Yasmeen Musa as Helena Popov, who were thoroughly enjoyable to watch. Great chemistry and great acting. Almost stealing the show is Michael Dwiggins playing an extremely gay and very flexible Luka as if he
walked right out of a Monty Python skit. He is worth the price of admission.