PicksInSix Review: The Steadfast Tin Soldier - Lookingglass Theatre Company

A Mesmerizing and Unforgettable Theatrical Treasure!
PicksInSix® Review | Guest Contributor | Kaitlyn Linsner

The beloved and delightfully creative holiday treasure, “The Steadfast Tin Soldier,” is now playing at the Lookingglass Theatre in the Water Tower on Michigan Avenue. Mary Zimmerman first brought the Hans Christian Andersen tale to life in 2018 and years later, it remains an unforgettable theatrical experience. 

“The Steadfast Tin Soldier” follows a small tin soldier through a whirlwind of adventures including falling in love with a ballerina, getting swallowed by a fish and befuddling a rat working in the sewage system’s customs department. The story itself has great charm and enduring life lessons, but it is Zimmerman’s use of wordless storytelling techniques that make this a larger-than-life spectacle. 

Why speak the language of love when you can dance? Or better yet, just slick back your hair, stand up tall and ask your crush out by pantomiming a play-by-play of your ideal date. It’s an absolute riot, and not only does this approach work for the show, it lingers outside of the theater by striking up a curiosity about how to interact in time and space with that same childlike playfulness and imagination.

In addition to the stellar pantomiming, the puppetry, visual imagery and original music by Andre Pluess and Amanda Dehnert elevate this production from endearing to truly remarkable. The musicians play well together, and with the cast, to deepen the experience and connection with the characters. The costumes from Ana Kuzmanic and sets from Todd Rosenthal also dazzle. 

Same goes for the exceptionally talented ensemble cast - Kasey Foster as the Ballerina, Anthony Irons as Goblin, Christopher Donahue as the Nursemaid, John Gregorio as the Rat, and Adeoye as the Tin Soldier - who skillfully play multiple roles and cultivate magic on the stage. Highlights include Irons’ animated movements as the haunting jack-in-the-box Goblin and Gregorio’s hilarious pantomiming as the Rat and the googly-eyed fish monger. 

At a running time of only an hour, the show is perfect for all ages looking to enjoy music, movement, charisma and great comedic timing. “The Steadfast Tin Soldier” continues to embody whimsy and wonder and will leave a lasting impression of just how darling things can be. 

GUEST CONTRIBUTOR | KAITLYN LINSNER is a Chicago-based attorney practicing construction and surety law.

PHOTO CREDIT | LizLauren

LOOKINGGLASS THEATRE COMPANY
Presents
THE STEADFAST TIN SOLDIER
through January 8, 2023

Water Tower Water Works
821 N Michigan Ave.
(312) 337-0665

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2019 PicksInSix Review

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PicksInSix Review: ACT(S) OF GOD

Six characters in search of something.

With a teasing setup about a family gathering impacted by a letter that will alter lives, Kareem Bandealy’s dark comedy “Act(s) of God” was already a fascinating curiosity before anyone took their seats at Lookingglass Theatre Friday evening. As the play unfolds, it becomes curiouser and curiouser—a sprawling three-act theatrical experience better to be discovered than recalled.

There is, as advertised, a family weekend in a desert-plains home. It begins Friday, April 13, 2029, in a living room that has a ’60s-era retro-provincial feel. An old-time radio broadcasts an interview on a cosmic anomaly. While Mother (Shannon Cochran) busily sorts the mail, Father (Rom Barkhordar), a theologian, philosopher and narcoleptic, reads nearby. One of the letters is impossible to open. When their son Middle (Anthony Irons) arrives with Fiancée (Emjoy Gavino) and Youngest (Walter Briggs), and the power appears to fail, it becomes clear that other forces are at work, particularly when Eldest (Kristina Valada-Viars) finally drops in.

The deep convictions of Bandealy’s characters form the context of Director Heidi Stillman’s finely paced production about six characters in search of something. Mother provides the spiritual center of the family, a woman whose faith in God is reflected in her two sons, and shared by Father, although the men are skeptical about her conviction that God is a woman. Eldest, a lesbian writer, is more attuned to Father’s pragmatic views. She is at odds spiritually with Mother and Middle, whose grounded nature has brought him success, but little confidence or emotional security with his long-standing Fiancée. The impressionable Youngest has teetered between Mother’s obsessive nurturing and the radical views of Eldest all his life.

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Technologically, we seem to be all over the map in 2029. There are state-of-the-art smart phones and something called “Telepathy 2.0” with wall clocks, Bundt cake, fruit, whiskey and trains. In its most reflective moments, Father recounts parables while Middle references the sciences comparing Mother to lonsdaleite, an element much harder and rarer than diamonds.

When a misunderstanding arises between Middle and Eldest, the resulting pent-up hostilities spiral out of control like any other family where age-old frictions exist, pivoting the trajectory of the work in another direction. It is then that the seasoned ensemble navigates a series of twists and turns on the way to unravelling everything that has come before.  

The versatile Brian Sidney Bembridge’s set and lighting are exceptional feats of engineering. The Mara Blumenfeld costumes, Rick Sims sound—the aural experience of this production is in a class by itself— and the collective skills of a wide-ranging list of technicians and craftsmen, all help to make the otherworldly “Acts(s) of God” a clever, absurdist adventure.

PHOTOS|Liz Lauren

LOOKINGGLASS THEATRE COMPANY
Presents
ACT(S) OF GOD
through April 7th

821 N Michigan Ave.
(312) 337-0665

WEBSITE
TICKETS

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PICKSINSIX Review: HOW TO USE A KNIFE

"SEARING 'KNIFE' LEAVES DEEP, HAUNTING WOUNDS"

A pivotal reckoning … The stark and haunting wounds of civil strife that lay at the center of playwright Will Snider’s searing drama How to Use a Knife directed by Shattered Globe’s producing artistic director Sandy Shinner are now nearly 25 years old. Coincidentally, news reports have surfaced recently about ongoing efforts to identify the staggering number of more than 800,000 victims of the genocide in Rwanda, a defining event for one of the two main characters whose personal coping methods begin to emerge as the pivotal reckoning for his boss, Chef George, who has a thousand-yard stare all his own.  

What’s it about … Michael worked on the line for Michelin star Chef George years ago. Not very talented, George recalls, but, smart enough to parley meetings with George’s patrons, raise capital and launch his own restaurant.  Meanwhile, after George invented the “12/12 Pairing Menu” his fast-paced lifestyle took a gut-wrenching turn. So now George “needs to get his wings back” and Michael has hired him as the new chef in his trendy Wall Street restaurant.

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Everyone has a story … Peter DeFaria delivers a fine, multi-layered performance as the complex and tortured chef who suffers from drug and alcohol addiction.  Helping George find his way out of the darkness is Steve – Anthony Irons in a powerful, measured performance – whose willingness to learn quickly moves him up as a confidant and mentee. As Steve's past comes back to roost, it is the impassioned, deeply personal, interplay that brings them together and ultimately drives them apart.

A terrific pairing … Snider’s frank statements about accountability and loss permeate this story and there is a depth chart running through each character. Michael (a solid role for Shattered Globe ensemble member Brad Woodard) appears to have completely lost touch with the business and those he works with, so must rely on someone he can trust in the kitchen. The line cooks, Miguel and Carlos, a terrific pairing of Victor Marana and Dennis García, share the responsibility of keeping things running at the restaurant but also need to protect their jobs. Everyone is seemingly trying to stay ahead of Kim (Michelle Bester) from the immigration authorities while Jack, the busboy/writer that Dillon Kelleher splendidly embodies as the voice of the playwright, is happy to just get a paycheck.

Precise detailing … the precise detailing of the set design by Jeffrey Bauer, elaborate props by Abigail Cain, costumes by Hailey Rakowiecki, sizzling lights and sound by Shelley Strasser and Christopher Kriz is so striking that you almost smell the steak coming off the grill. One can imagine what’s happening just outside the swinging doors as the activity on stage heats up and more of this heart-wrenching story unfolds.

A lot to be learned … recreating a busy, fast-paced kitchen environment requires the kind of ingenious staging that Shinner has fashioned with the audience on two-sides in Theater Wit's Theater Three. There is a lot to be learned about the inner workings of expeditors, line cooks, and busboys but not everyone is who they appear to be - particularly when they are holding the knife, which adds an effective and chilling element to the dark side of this play full of manic, unhinged emotions, and mind-searing life experiences that are hauntingly familiar.

PHOTOS|MICHAEL BROSILOW

SHATTERED GLOBE THEATRE
Presents
HOW TO USE A KNIFE
Written by Will Snider
Directed by Sandy Shinner
through June 9th
Theatre Wit
1229 W Belmont Ave
Chicago, IL 60657
773-770-0333

WEBSITE   TICKETS

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