Playwright: Emily Schwartz
At: The Strange Tree Group at
Chopin Theatre, 1543 W. Division
Phone: 773-598-8240; $20-$40
Runs through: July 19
The full title of The Strange Tree Group's latest production is The Mysterious Elephant and the Terrible Tragedy of the Unlikely Addington Twins ( *who kill him ) .
Typically, such a long title is the mark of something self-importantly pretentious—or something so cutesy that the saccharine will poison you.
Though there are overly whimsical elements in Emily Schwartz's comedy with music, this merrily macabre production is neither too serious nor twee to be detrimental to your health. In fact, The Mysterious Elephant is a thorough delight that playfully toys with the whole notion of storytelling.
You know you're in for something different when you're greeted pre-show to the cast singing and playing an assortment of musical instruments amid Galen Pejeau's wonderfully decaying drawing room set that would do the late cartoonist Edward Gorey proud. Then accordionist Thomas Zeitner takes his place inside an elephant assemblage and the story begins.
We meet the long-lost Addington twins of Esther ( Carol Enoch as the petulant and severe one ) and Edward ( Matt Holzfiend as the overly emotional one ) . In their tattered clothes, they tell of their woeful lives in song and how they ended up in the ancestral home of their late eccentric Aunt Ernerstine ( an imperious Jennifer Marschand ) .
What they find there is the nefarious Narrator ( quite the moustache twirler in Weston Davis' performance ) who has omnisciently been altering the lives of generations of Addington ancestors to horribly tragic ends ( in rhymed poetry, no less ) . They subsequently come to life in their oil paintings to confirm this fact and retell their stories ( a device previously seen in Sansculottes Theater's 13 Dead Husbands ) . Running throughout each story is a bizarre mechanical elephant that now is winding down toward its death in the drawing room.
Where it gets really interesting is when the twins revolt against the narrator and try to make their ending a happy one. And that involves finding a key to wind up the elephant.
Director Carolyn Klein skillfully keeps you guessing at how things turn out. She also reins in all the wacky characters and great dialogue so everything is pitched perfectly by this ultra-talented ensemble of 13. ( Note to Chicago actors: Learn a musical instrument to up your chances of employment. )
Everyone in the cast delights through his or her judicious mugging and cheery willingness to go to the extremes of their characters' messy downfalls. Scott Cupper, in the duo roles of the moldering corpse of nephew Christoff and the imperious hog merchant Captain Mandy, is of particular comic note, as are Enoch and Holzfiend, who maintain their composure amid all the inspired silliness.
So don't let the long title of The Mysterious Elephant deter you from going. This uniquely theatrical comedy is full of surprises that engage you from start to finish.
