PicksInSix Review: Henry V - Chicago Shakespeare Theater

Brilliantly Staged ‘Henry V’ at Shakes!
PicksInSix® Review | Ed Tracy

The explosive, contemporary staging of Chicago Shakespeare Theater Artistic Director Edward Hall’s “Henry V” that opened Friday is a riveting soldier’s war story dedicated to the modern military code of honor, duty, service and sacrifice and amplifies Shakespeare’s depiction of King Henry V (Elijah Jones), initially perceived as an ineffective leader, to conquering warrior. Hall’s production broadens the intense combat action that is central to the work.

That initial perception is dispensed early on as Henry keenly roots out deception within his ranks and then proceeds to turn an ambitious, undermanned and seemingly unwinnable assault on France into stunning victories at Harfleur and Agincourt and in so doing, claims the hand of France’s Princess Katherine (Courtney Rikki Green).

The modern framing of the piece allows the unique interweaving of Jon Trenchard’s original music and arrangements that include a variety of musical genres all accentuating the storytelling with a deep sense of patriotism and camaraderie that then turns quickly to the shocking realism of the battle. Framed in Michael Pavelka’s industrial metallic scenic and extraordinary costume design presents a strikingly unified vision. The Courtyard Theatre is draped in camouflage netting and bathed in Marcus Doschi’s searing lighting design with Emily Hayman’s pulsating sound to establish a staggering backdrop for Hall’s company of seasoned actors covering multiple roles at breakneck speed.

Hall dispenses with the prologue as a single voice incorporating the company as a chorus of voices who drive the pace of the production. Within the company of commandos arise superb individual performances: the strong presence—and singularly extraordinary entrance—of Jaylon Muchison’s Montjoy; Axejandra Escante’s Dauphin (and also an almost unrecognizable Mistress Quickly); Rachel Crowl’s Fluellen;  Gregory Linington’s Archbishop of Canterbury; and, pretty much every time Scott Aiello (Nym and others) appears with Ronald L. Conner (Bardolph) and Demetrios Troy (Pistol) as the ragtag Eastcheap Three with the Lad (Green). The unique and multi-faceted roles of Kate Fry include the gentlewoman Alice and feature her appealing bilingual abilities as Monsieur le Fer to Green’s thoroughly enchanting Katherine. Sean Fortunato (King of France/Sir Thomas Erpingham) stands out in this exceptionally fine ensemble.

Elijah Jones is HENRY V at Chicago Shakespeare Theater through October 6, 2024.

And there at the center of it all is Jones’s Henry who so tentatively takes the throne at the top, dispatching his distractors and leading the invasion with the courage and the decisive authority of a battle seasoned warrior. Jones portrays Henry the commander as a soldiers soldier and ally, as a disciplined ruler in the negotiations with Muchison’s Montjoy and as Katherine’s enamored suitor.

There are exhilarating moments of brotherhood, humor and song, stirring special effects and deftly creative enactments of justice. At the most intense moments of this brilliantly staged drama, the sometimes dense text emerges with broad clarity, a longstanding objective of Chicago Shakes to bring the more complex elements of Shakespeare’s plays to an ever-expanding audience on Navy Pier.      

PHOTO|Liz Lauren

Chicago Shakespeare Theater
presents
HENRY V
through October 6, 2024

Courtyard Theater
Navy Pier

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PicksInSix Review: Twelfth Night - Chicago Shakespeare Theater

“Twelfth Night” — Free-Spirited, Comic Gem!
PicksInSix® Review | Ed Tracy

Without a doubt, the astounding quality and resulting popularity of productions of Shakespeare’s work at Chicago Shakespeare Theater rests firmly on the theater’s decades-long artistic commitment to presenting work with universal clarity and understanding, multi-talented casts and purely whimsical staging. A large part of this artistic ethos has to do with the diversity of the massive audiences drawn to Navy Pier, a top Midwest destination attraction that offers a once-in-a-lifetime experience for visitors to Chicago and an endless stream of students whose trip to the magnificent Courtyard Theatre is often their introduction to both theater and Shakespeare.

So, it is no surprise that the opening of “Twelfth Night”—a free-spirited, comic gem directed by Tyrone Phillips—was enthusiastically received on Thursday night. Shakespeare’s celebration of the many facets of love, and its impact on who we are, takes on new meaning in Phillips adaptation which is at the same time true to the comic roots of the original and cleverly awash with 21st century references that fit together seamlessly. With Shakespeare’s robust characters bursting forth with purpose, passion and promise, Chicago Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night” is clever, smart and a joy to watch from beginning to end.

Set in the Caribbean, the story revolves around the separation of shipwrecked twins Viola (Jaeda LaVonne) and Sebastin (Justen Ross) on the island of Illyria. In order to deal with the grief and abandonment that she is feeling with the supposed loss of her brother at sea, Viola disguises herself as a young man named Cesario and takes a position as page to Duke Orsino(Yao Dogbe). The Duke implores Viola(as Cesario) to become the intermediary for his love interest, the Countess Olivia(Christiana Clark) who is in mourning herself about the recent passing of her brother. While Viola finds herself falling hard for the Duke, Olivia, determined to shun the Duke, begins to woo Viola(as Cesario).

Olivia lives with her uncle Sir Toby Belch(Ronald L. Conner) who spends most of his time in drunken—and hilarious—merrymaking with his companion Sir Andrew Aguecheek(Alex Goodrich) along with Olivia’s gentlewoman Maria(Danielle Davis), Fabian(Shelby Lynn Bias) and the jester Feste(Israel Erron Ford).  The group’s brand of roguish behavior riles Olivia’s cynical steward Malvolio(Paul Oakley Stovall) into such a fit that the group conspires to deceive him into believing that Olivia is enamored with him. One comic situation follows another with love eventually conquering all.

The show is infused with a universal blend of contemporary hip-hop and reggae music by music director Robert Reddrick and movement director Sadira Muhammad that befits the storytelling. Philips and his creative team, led by scenic designer Sydney Lynne with costume designer Christine Pascua, have conceived a striking seaside atmosphere that transitions effortlessly from scene to scene. With extraordinary precision, the crystal blue Caribbean skies turn to a thunderous rainstorm in the blink of an eye and a nod to the evocative lighting design of Xavier Pierce, stunning projections by Mike Tutaj and an intricately charged sound design by Willow James.

It all feels like an expertly-crafted ensemble piece. LaVonne’s earnest and engaging Viola/Cesario is a delight. Sir Toby Belch and Aguecheek, two of Shakespeare’s most beloved comic foils, are played here by Conner and Goodrich with reckless comic abandon. Davis, whose sustained laughter is infectious, and the sublime vocals of Ford, round out the band of hooligans at the center of the comic subplot to upend Stovall’s staunchly priggish servant turned infatuated manic lover Malvolio—the brilliant and commanding performance of the night—all make “Twelfth Night” a show to see and enjoy!  

PHOTO|Liz Lauren

Chicago Shakespeare Theater
presents
TWELFTH NIGHT
Courtyard Theater
Navy Pier
through November 26

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PicksInSix Review: SWEAT

SIZZLING ‘SWEAT’ FEATURES POWERFUL CORE PERFORMANCES

“Sweat,” the 2017 Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Lynn Nottage that opened Monday in a crisply directed Ron OJ Parson Chicago premiere production at Goodman Theatre, is set in Reading, Pennsylvania, a steel mill town in the midst of the cyclical industrial turmoil that threatens blue-collar families in communities across America.  

The action occurs at pivot points in 2000 and 2008, bookends that allow for the dramatic elements of the storyline to evolve in vignettes that initially include parole officer Evan (Ronald L. Conner) in meetings with Jason (Mike Cherry) and Chris (Edgar Miguel Sanchez) who have recently been released from prison.

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The livelihood of every character in Nottage’s compelling story is tied to the prosperity of the Olstead steel tubing plant. In the opening scene set eight years earlier at a local bar managed by Stan (Keith Kupferer), three women who have worked together on the factory floor since high school–Chris’s mother, Cynthia (Tyla Abercrumbie) who is African-American, Jason’s mother, Tracey (Kirsten Fitzgerald), and their over-served wingman Jessie (Chaon Cross)–are celebrating Tracey’s birthday.  Stan’s Colombian employee Oscar (Steve Casillas) is present, as well as Cynthia’s ex-husband, Brucie (André Teamer), whose life and familial relationships have spiraled out of control since he lost his job.  

A supervisor opening at the mill has everyone talking. Cynthia views the promotion as a chance to finally leave the floor and applies. However, when she gets the job, the friction riles her relationship with Tracey and Jessie, who know that a change in their work association will be fatal to the friendship. It all starts to unravel when a notice is distributed in Spanish; lines are drawn and tempers begin to flare.

The sizzling emotional interaction of Abercrumbie and Fitzgerald–alternating between sisterhood and disdain for one another–provide the show’s powerful core performances. Kupferer is terrific in the role of the former mill worker whose career was cut short due to injury. The entertaining Cross spends most of the evening delightfully inebriated, while the friendships between the women is mirrored in the fine portrayals of the sons by Cherry and Sanchez, who, with Casillas, raise the dramatic tension of the piece to a fever pitch.

The creative design team–Kevin Depinet (set), Mara Blumenfeld (costumes), Keith Parham (lighting) and Richard Woodbury (sound)–have created a stunner for this production that evokes the pre-911 post-market collapse span of the era as a defining moment for generations of factory workers whose lives and world view have been irreparably altered. Nottage’s profoundly insightful work reminds us of the collateral damage that hateful dialogue and pent-up rage can inflict on others–a stark and valuable lesson for our time. 

PHOTOS|Liz Lauren

GOODMAN THEATRE
Presents
SWEAT
through April 14th
ALBERT THEATRE
170 NORTH DEARBORN
(312) 443-3800

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PicksInSix Review: Pipeline

‘PIPELINE’ LEADS TOWARD ONE DARK DESTINATION

As Dominique Morisseau’s “Pipeline” begins, Nya (Tyla Abercrumbie) has just been informed that her son Omari (Matthew Elam) has had a serious altercation at a boarding school and is about to be expelled. Nya, an inner-city public school administrator, tries gamely to get through the day as she reaches out to her ex-husband and makes plans to bring her son home. In the meantime, we meet Laurie (Janet Ulrich Brooks), an instructor who has returned to her classes after a harrowing confrontation with a student. Laurie makes a pact with the school security guard, Dun (Ronald L. Conner), to protect her in the future.

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In and through Morisseau’s insightful story, deftly directed by Cheryl Lynn Bruce at Victory Gardens Theater, runs the fear of reprisal for anyone who takes a stand against prejudice and discrimination in school systems and what effect those actions will have on the future of the students’ lives. Omari’s impassioned defense, first to his girlfriend, Jasmine (Aurora Real de Asua), and then to his mother and father, Xavier (Mark Spates Smith), begins to rip apart his family—his rebellious attitude the cause of Nya’s growing stress and anxiety. From their perspective, Omari is in the pipeline toward only one dark destination. That reality has everyone worried.

The heart-wrenching performances of Abercrumbie and Brooks, whose mounting frustration at working in a challenging and often hostile educational system that drives one to drink and the other to the edge of her sanity, are raw and compelling.  It seems that no matter how much care and attention they invest, situations will grow out of control in an instant with dire consequences.  

Elam’s Omari believes he has every right to be self-righteous in the face of bigotry and persecution, so he casts aside the safe harbor that his family projects would be a better fit than the lawless unknown of the streets. And, as a role model, the all-business Xavier lost his son long ago—shown as a poignant moment of realization that Smith delivers powerfully as Xavier recognizes that it was largely his past choices that have brought the family to where they are today.

The character study also provides fine opportunities for de Ausa, whose edgy portrayal of Jasmine plays particularly well in a confrontation with Abercrumbie, and for Conner, who has more than security on his mind.

This piece is a conversation starter about attitudes between children and parents, students and administrators and a host of other elements in our at-risk communities and across our educational systems. It asks the questions: How do we know where to draw the line on discipline and behavior if the social lines of toleration keep wavering? How does social media impact those areas? And, what is the impact on our children if we do not get it right the first time? Although there is a hopeful conclusion, Morisseau drives home the point that before answers emerge, everyone must really listen to each other, or face the grim reality that it may already be too late.

PHOTOS|Liz Lauren

VICTORY GARDENS
Presents
PIPELINE
through March 3rd
2433 North Lincoln Ave
(773) 871-3000
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