Windy City Media Group Frontpage News

THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

home search facebook twitter join
Gay News Sponsor Windy City Times 2023-12-13
DOWNLOAD ISSUE
Donate

Sponsor
Sponsor
Sponsor

  WINDY CITY TIMES

Theatre: Dutch Love
by MARY SHEN BARNIDGE
2003-05-07

This article shared 1759 times since Wed May 7, 2003
facebook twitter google +1 reddit email


Playwright: Claudia Allen

At: Bailiwick Repertory, 1229 W. Belmont

Phone: (773) 883-1090; $20-$25

Runs through: June 1

Have you heard the one about the young stud canoodling with a mother and her daughter at the same time? Oh, you HAVE. Well, do you know the one about the philandering husband consumed by jealousy at the news that his wife has a lover? That one, too? How about the one where licentious parents assume their offspring to be ignorant of their adulterous habits, only to discover—but who cares? In the hands of a skilled playwright like Claudia Allen, these reliable plots still emerge fresh and funny as this morning's sunrise.

Hal and Leonora met in the romantic fever of 1969. They married, procreated and only later did Hal realize that he was gay. His wife proved tolerant—Andrei, her hub's main squeeze, is addressed as 'Uncle Andrei' by baby Cassandra—but it's now 2002 and the Leonora, determined to 'know passion' after all these years, has found it in Dutch, a brawny, crew-cut, burger-and-fries, gear-headed, football-watching, permanently horny WOMAN. Furthermore, BOTH the women in Hal's life find this cicisbeo charming, sending the stodgily complacent Victorian Lit professor into the histrionics associated with that genre.

'Your family knows you're gay,' Andrei tells Hal, 'In fact, your whole family IS gay!' What Neil Simon did for heterosexual confusion over changing social customs, Allen does for same-sex relations, proposing an interpretation of 'family values' tailored to individual needs as integral to the ultimate goal of peaceful co-existence, even if it means suspension of the conventional Ties That Bind. Who can argue with that?

Integral to the success of this brand of Boulevard Comedy, straight or gay, is the stamina of its players in sustaining the required looney-tunes ambiance. But director Kelli Strickland gets the best from a cast featuring veteran farceur Aaron Hunt as the perplexed papa, Neo-Futurists alumna Marjorie Fitzsimmons as the capable Leonora, along with newcomers Richard Gongaware as the fluttery Andrei and Caitlin Egleson as the wholesome Cass. At the center of the action, however, is Katherine Klein in the role of the libidinous Dutch, so adorably Hardy-Boys butch that she could plausibly tour the dinner-theatre circuit in this role with half the audiences missing the deception altogether.

The Philanderer

Playwright: George Bernard Shaw

At: ShawChicago at the Cultural Center, 77 E. Randolph St.

Phone: (312) 409-5605; free

Runs through: May 19

BY MARY SHEN BARNIDGE

Cinema and video having oriented us to physical action as the predominant means of storytelling, you would think actors ranged behind a row of music stands reading from scripts would be visually boring. Not the ShawChicago ensemble, however. Without ever stirring from their assigned places, its personnel endow George Bernard Shaw's hyperarticulate text with a vibrant and kinetic electricity, using only facial expression, body stance and personal mannerism.

Vivacity is mandatory for this fin-de-siécle satire: clueless Leonard's knack for attracting women through no effort of his own has earned him the label of 'philanderer.' Now he wishes to marry Grace, but former flame Julia refuses to be jilted. Both women are proponents of the New Feminism according to Henrik Ibsen, their scorn of conventional gender roles as intense as their respective fathers' devotion to the Old-Adam-And-Eve. Factor in a pompous doctor smitten with the volatile Julia and a kid sister—likewise emancipated, even to insisting on being addressed by her surname in proper schoolboy fashion—and you have the perfect vehicle for the author's characteristically witty observations.

As is commonplace in this genre, the conflicts are those of attitudes, with none of these social representatives undergoing a change in personality. But under Robert Scogin's perceptive direction, each performer finds wellsprings of timing and nuance to forestall any hint of dramatic stasis. Douglas Brearley, playing Grace's perplexed papa (who just happens to be, of all things, a theatre critic), gets maximum mileage out of the corners of his mouth, Terence Gallagher's eyes at moments seem to function independent of his face, and stage combat designers would do well to note Alyson Green's choreography with Julia's shawl—who says pashminas shouldn't be registered as lethal weapons?

The fundamental question in comedy is not 'Why?', as in tragedy, but 'How?' Or, as Shaw has one of the paterfamilii say, 'I am now going to speak as a Man Of The World—that is, with no moral responsibility whatsoever!' But by the end of the play, we have been inveigled into considering the importance of Friendship over Love, and the paramount importance of Respect over both. Chewy stuff for a giddy romantic romp on a spring day.

----------------------------------------

----------------------------------------

----------------------------------------

---------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------


This article shared 1759 times since Wed May 7, 2003
facebook twitter google +1 reddit email

Out and Aging
Presented By

  ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE

Gay News

City Lit Executive Artistic Director Brian Pastor talks theater, comics, queerness 2024-03-26
- City Lit Theater has announced its programming for the 2024-25 season—which will be the company's 44th. It will also be the first season to be programmed under the leadership of Brian Pastor (they/them), who will assume ...


Gay News

The Jeff Awards announces the 50th anniversary awards for non-equity theater 2024-03-26
--From a press release - A complete list of recipients can also be found online in the Non-Equity and News and Events sections at www.jeffawards.org. (March 25, 2024 - Chicago) — Celebrating its 50th anniversary awarding recognition for Non-Equity theater, the ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Queer musicians, Marvel situation, Elliot Page, Nicole Kidman 2024-03-21
- Queer musician Joy Oladokun released the single "I Wished on the Moon," from Jack Antonoff's official soundtrack for the new Apple TV+ series The New Look, per a press release. The soundtrack, ...


Gay News

THEATER Chicago's City Lit has anxiety on tap with 'Two Hours in a Bar' 2024-03-21
- Two Hours in a Bar Waiting for Tina Meyer by Kristine Thatcher with material by Larry Shue Text Me by Kingsley Day (Book, Music and Lyrics). At: City Lit Theater, 1020 W. Bryn Mawr Ave.. Tickets: ...


Gay News

Jamie Barton brings nuances of identity to her Lyric Opera 'Aida' performance 2024-03-18
- Chicago's Lyric Opera is currently featuring a production of Giuseppe Verdi's Aida starring Michelle Bradley as Aida, Jamie Barton as Amneris and Russell Thomas as Radamès. The opera runs through April 7, 2024, with Francesca Zambello ...


Gay News

Queer Eye's Jai Rodriguez is set to slay at The Big Gay Cabaret 2024-03-05
- Out and proud performer Jai Rodriguez is set to play at The Big Gay Cabaret this March for three days. Presented by RuPaul Drag Racer Ginger Minj, this monthly series highlights the wide world of cabaret ...


Gay News

THEATER 'R & J' puts a female, queer spin on Shakespeare 2024-03-05
- Romeo and Juliet is the theatrical gift that keeps on giving. It's been reworked for the masses numerous times, whether in direct adaptations or musicals such as West Side Story. Shakespeare's plotline points have even inspired ...


Gay News

Center on Halsted hosts 6th Annual Intergenerational Talent Show 2024-03-03
- On the evening of Feb. 29, Center on Halsted held its 6th Annual Intergenerational Talent Show in front of a packed audience at the Hoover-Leppen Theater. The event brought together participants of the Center's youth and senior ...


Gay News

THEATER When growth is paramount: Jim Corti helps fuel Aurora theater expansion 2024-03-01
- Out actor/director/choreographer Jim Corti made his Broadway debut in 1974, in the ensemble of Leonard Bernstein's musical Candide. Director Harold Prince's acclaimed Tony Award-winning revival is often cited as a ...


Gay News

Theater Review: Billy Elliot, The Musical 2024-02-19
- Book and Lyrics: Lee Hall; Music: Elton John. At: Paramount Theatre, 23 E. Galena Blvd., Aurora Tickets: 630-896-6666 or Paramountaurora.com; $28-$79. Runs through March 24 Billy Elliot: The Musical may nearly be two decades old, but ...


Gay News

'West Side Story' gets a sex-positive spin with new burlesque show 2024-02-19
- In partial observance of National Condom Day, which was Feb. 14, Los Angeles-based AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) presented A West Side Story Burlesque at the Harris Theater for two hour-long performances on Feb. 17. The show, ...


Gay News

Second Glance Productions hosts LGBTQupid Soiree 2024-02-16
- In celebration of Valentine's Day, Chicago based film and media production company Second Glance hosted The LBGTQupid Soiree. The event, which was focused on spinning attitudes on this particular day, was presented at The iO ...


Gay News

Carisa Hendrix mesmerizes as Lucy Darling in Teatro ZinZanni 2024-02-12
- Since 2019, Teatro ZinZanni has gathered together amazing performers from all over the world to create an experience in Chicago under the Spiegeltent in the Cambria Hotel building, 32 W. Randolph St. Over the years, ticket ...


Gay News

THEATER Dot-Marie Jones talks Goodman production, 'Glee,' 'Bros' 2024-02-12
- Running through Feb. 18 at the the Goodman Theatre, the production Highway Patrol works with a script conceived entirely from Emmy-winning actor Dana Delany's (TV's China Beach) digital archive of hundreds of tweets and direct messages ...


Gay News

Dr. Lady J explains how opera can be a drag 2024-02-10
- On Feb. 8, Center on Halsted, in partnership with Lyric Opera of Chicago, presented a lecture by historian, drag activist, podcaster and curator Dr. Lady J. The event, titled "Castrated Superstars, Cross Dressed Divas, and Queer ...


 


Copyright © 2024 Windy City Media Group. All rights reserved.
Reprint by permission only. PDFs for back issues are downloadable from
our online archives.

Return postage must accompany all manuscripts, drawings, and
photographs submitted if they are to be returned, and no
responsibility may be assumed for unsolicited materials.

All rights to letters, art and photos sent to Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago
Gay and Lesbian News and Feature Publication) will be treated
as unconditionally assigned for publication purposes and as such,
subject to editing and comment. The opinions expressed by the
columnists, cartoonists, letter writers, and commentators are
their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay,
Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature Publication).

The appearance of a name, image or photo of a person or group in
Nightspots (Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times
(a Chicago Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature
Publication) does not indicate the sexual orientation of such
individuals or groups. While we encourage readers to support the
advertisers who make this newspaper possible, Nightspots (Chicago
GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay, Lesbian
News and Feature Publication) cannot accept responsibility for
any advertising claims or promotions.

 
 

TRENDINGBREAKINGPHOTOS







Sponsor


 



Donate


About WCMG      Contact Us      Online Front  Page      Windy City  Times      Nightspots
Identity      BLACKlines      En La Vida      Archives      Advanced Search     
Windy City Queercast      Queercast Archives     
Press  Releases      Join WCMG  Email List      Email Blast      Blogs     
Upcoming Events      Todays Events      Ongoing Events      Bar Guide      Community Groups      In Memoriam     
Privacy Policy     

Windy City Media Group publishes Windy City Times,
The Bi-Weekly Voice of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans Community.
5315 N. Clark St. #192, Chicago, IL 60640-2113 • PH (773) 871-7610 • FAX (773) 871-7609.