Playwright: Jeffrey Bouthiette,
Head Writer ( + seven others )
At: Bare Boned Theatre at Mary's Attic,
5400 N. Clark
Phone: 773-764-7645 ( info only ) ;
$10 at door
Runs through: Open
By Jonathan Abarbanel
Tune in any soap opera and you won't have a clue what's going on, except that everyone is related and no one tells the truth. So, ya' gotta see several episodes before you catch on, and so it is with The Ville, the brand-new LGBT comedic soaper presented Monday nights at Mary's Attic with a new episode each month.
Here's what you need to know: The Ville is about the folks who live, work and/or love in Andersonville, although much of Episode One—built around the Pride Parade—took place in Boystown and it wasn't always clear where we were. Part One introduced us to 24 characters played by 12 actors, so it's anyone's guess whom the important ones will be, although I wouldn't bet any money on Homeless Man or Woman on Cell Phone.
No, I'd guess that Robbie the plastic durgeon may feature prominently and certainly Lainey, the young, agoraphobic, newbie lesbian. Also, perhaps, Rio the African-American drag queen, and Denise, the Rosie O'Donnell dyke whose partner has tossed her, as well as John T. and John M., the couple who met at the parade and jumped into bed and the woman who owns the Knitwit Shop ( yarn—very A'ville ) , or maybe the Lesbian homesteaders who host a Pride party. You'd better start constructing your own flow chart now.
The Ville is a fun idea, and at just an hour with a drink and/or burger available, it's a pleasant way to fill an early Monday night once a month. Right now, the production itself is as unsettled as its dramatis personae, with wildly inconsistent acting chops and energy levels. Seen at its third Monday performance, the company seemed not to have had a brush-up rehearsal or a warm-up, apparent in their lack of crisp attack. And the writers ( there are eight ) do need to spend a bit more time establishing who's who, partly by repeating character names more often and partly by having a few longer highlight scenes to establish important people and relationships. I never did get the names of the lesbian party hosts.
For all the presumably-early flaws, performers such as Anna Schlegel ( Lainey ) and drop-dead funny Mary Hollis Inboden ( Denise ) stand out, and the show has a sense of visual style seen in the pulp-inspired opening video titles ( Jason J. Adams ) and in some clever staging elements ( Rebekah Walendzak, director; Lauren Swedlow, scenic designer ) . Mary's Addicts, the resident acoustic femme trio, also provides a welcome live music interlude. Still missing, however, are the resident femme fatale and hunk who are soap-opera essentials.
Episode One now is history but you can catch Episode Two of The Ville Aug. 6, 13, 20 and 27.