L.A. transfers, "Ragtime" plans, and dance denouements, shake the city from its sultry slumber.
by Jonathan Abarbanel
After promising Chicago the world premiere of a play by Los Angeles CAST Theatre phenom Justin Tanner, Steppenwolf Theatre Company made do with a regional premiere of Tanner's 1994 Pot Mom, with ensemble members Laurie Metcalf, Tom Irwin, and Rondi Reed in the cast.
Tanner has created vivid but familiar characters in his sharply funny but shallow play about a grass-smoking mother (Metcalf), her live-in trucker boyfriend (Irwin), her best bud (Reed), and her three obnoxious adolescent kids, all sharing a lower-middle-class tract house in Salinas, California. The play is episodic, yet ultimately manages a throughline that includes a mild feminist statement (as the pot mom of the title begins to take control of her life), and a sitcom note of unexpected sibling unity.
The joy of the production in Steppenwolf's studio theatre is the commitment and depth of the performers, who make the play greater than the sum of its parts under Wilson Milam's direction. Her years on the small screen have sharpened Metcalf's nearly perfect timing and taught her to do more with her eyes and face. She still has an incredible intensity that wells up from deep within, and a seriousness of purpose disguised by comedy. It is more than time for Metcalf to turn her talents to Chekhov or O'Neill.
She's backed by Irwin's always on-target and thoughtful work (he finds much more than clichƒd anger, bluster, and machismo in the trucker role) and surprisingly greasy look, and Reed's richly over-the-top, over-sexed best friend portrayal. Always one of my favorites, the undervalued Reed has not appeared at Steppenwolf in four years. There is engaging supporting work from Johnny Galecki (of Roseanne fame), Katie Cassis, and Zoe Perry (Metcalf's daughter by Steppenwolf co-founder Jeff Perry) as the three offspring. Pot Mom is scheduled to run through July 26.
Livent vice-chairman Garth Drabinsky walked the press through Chicago's Ford Center for the Performing Arts/Oriental Theatre last week to show off the marvelous and vivid restoration of the ornate fantasy plaster work of the old 1920s house. The $32 million project (including vast expansion of the stage to 60-feet wide by 105-feet deep) is on schedule for an Oct. 27 first preview of Ragtime, the opening attraction.
The show already has a $6 million advance, and is likely to open with $10 million or more in the till. Drabinsky said the company would include 53 performers, many of whom will be locally cast. When Livent's Show Boat played here for 15 months, more than half the cast of 73 were Chicagoans. He indicated the orchestra would probably be 23 players, although negotiations with the musicians (and other unions) are not yet final.
Beats and Bows
The Chicago Human Rhythm Project (CHRP) brought in big guns Savion Glover, Mark Mendonca, Luke Cresswell, Diane "Lady Di" Walker, Van "The Man" Porter, Sam Weber, and others for Juba!, its eighth annual festival of tap and percussive dance, July 15-26, at the Athenaeum Theatre. The CHRP also handed out its first Juba! Awards, named after the honorary title given to legendary 19th-century African-American minstrel dancer William Henry Lane. Glover and Cresswell both were honored for groundbreaking achievement in percussive dance, while lifetime achievement awards went to veteran vaudeville, club, and Broadway dancers/teachers Cholly Atkins, Prince Spencer, and Ernest "Brownie" Brown. Between them, the three black dance pioneers have 200 years worth of dance experience.
The Joffrey Ballet of Chicago unveiled two world premieres at its June stand at the Ravinia Festival: After the Fall, a female solo by Peter Pucci to a commissioned score by Nana Simopoulos, and Affection, an ensemble piece of eight couples by Randy Duncan, to original music by "Kimo" Williams. Following the Ravinia stand, the Joffrey left on its first-ever tour of Israel as part of that nation's 50th anniversary celebration. It was there that the troupe received news, just after July 4th, that executive director Robert Alpaugh will step down in September after only 18 months in the post.
Alpaugh's resignation leaves the company without an executive director, a development director, or a board president. Reportedly, the board is seeking leaders for itself and for management who will be able to crack open the coffers of corporate Chicago more successfully.
A final dance note: Chicago Dancers United has set the roster for its 7th Dance for Life gala, an annual benefit that raises hundreds of thousands of dollars for AIDS-related causes. The Aug. 29th event will be held at Navy Pier's 1,500-seat Skyline Stage, and will include performances by the Joffrey Ballet, Hubbard Street, Gus Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago, Especially Tap Chicago, Melissa Thodus & Dancers, and Muntu Dance Theatre of Chicago. Members of all troupes will assemble for the final work of the evening, a repeat of Randy Duncan's Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me, created specifically for Dance for Life. Keith Elliott is the producer.
Uphill Battle
Under the title of Prometheus 2000, Bailiwick Repertory has solicited manuscripts and ideas for a millennium tribute to the classic and timeless legend of a man (or humanity) chained to a rock. Already planned are new adaptations of the Aeschylus and Shelley treatments of the subject, with other proposals to be selected. Confirmed participants so far are directors Cecilie D. Keenan and James Pelton, plus authors Nicholas A. Patricca, Dwight Okita, and Ed Mast (the Seattle-based author who also has developed a relationship with Chicago's American Theatre Company).
In the most crucial and highly anticipated casting decision of the year, Goodman Theatre has selected a new Scrooge for its annual holiday money-maker, A Christmas Carol. The miser you love to hate will be Rick Snyder, a versatile Chicago veteran who is moving up from Bob Cratchit, whom he played last year. Also a member of the Steppenwolf Ensemble, Snyder is currently playing an older-than-usual Bert Jefferson in the Steppenwolf production of The Man Who Came to Dinner, now at the Barbican in London. Only the fourth actor to play Scrooge in the 21-year-old Goodman production's history, Snyder succeeds Tom Mula (seven years) and William J. Norris, whose 12-year reign of terror was interrupted for one year by Frank Galati. Goodman artistic associate Henry Godinez will direct Snyder in his late-November debut as the repentant reprobate.
Goodman, by the way, has a smash on its hands with Play On!, featuring original cast members Tonya Pinkins and Andre De Shields (both former Chicago players), plus the Broadway sets, direction by Sheldon Epps, and Mercedes Ellington choreography. The show's book by Cheryl L. West--well conceived but awkwardly executed--has been pared down from the Broadway version to the barest minimum needed to delineate the story. The result is a songfest that keeps the audience cheering just as much for the blues numbers as for the up-tempo ones. Joining Pinkins and De Shields in principal roles are Natalie Venetia Belcon as Vy-Man, Ken Prymus as Sweets, Charles E. Wallace as Duke, and Paul Oakley Stovall as Rev. Play On! is scheduled to run through July, but look for an extension into August, pending cast availability. BSW/D-