Full disclosure redux: I have been a passionate supporter of A Red Orchid Theatre, the highly-regarded Old Town storefront, since I saw their outrageous, maniacal, insanely funny production of Philip Ridley’s “The Fastest Clock in the Universe” in 2004, one of my top five most memorable and rewarding theatrical experiences ever. I have been so enamored of this theatre’s talent and bravado that I have volunteered for probono strategic planning consulting with them through the Arts and Business Council of Chicago. Over the past three years, they have continued to amaze (as in David Lindsey-Abaire’s wicked “Kimberly Akimbo” about a girl with progeria who finds true love) and baffle (Ionesco’s “Hunger and Thirst”, a three and a half hour extreme theatre marathon which involved men in cages and a turned up heater to simulate the feeling of being in hell for the audience- although for some, men in cages will be more heaven than hell, but I digress). Their season opened Monday, October 22, with the world premiere of “Weapon of Mass Impact”, a highly-provocative, potentially polarizing new work from the highly-regarded Chicago playwright Brett Neveu. Boy, if you are looking for the antidote to “Jersey Boys” fluff, head on over to North and Wells.
“Weapon of Mass Impact” does not follow a conventional narrative dramatic arc, with well-defined conflicts between multi-dimensional characters. The play is structured as a series of alternating vignettes - first, a woman who seems to have been kidnapped by two masked men is filming a ransom video; then the scene shifts to a coffeeshop where two other women are engaged in a cryptic conversation which mixes observations about people they seem to be following and random incidents in their lives. The women, although sketched with meticulous detail, still feel like sketches initially, rather than fully-realized characters in a play. “Weapon” is maddeningly obtuse, and at times, really difficult to sit through, and many, many theatre-goers, even those used to Steppenwolf or Goodman intellectualism, may be unable to provide the focus that the text demands. Brett Neveu has written a play of ideas and provocations, which require critical thinking and time for introspection, with questions around what makes a terrorist? are we all inherently prone to being terrorists because we are capable of rigid coldness (one of the women recounts how she watched the father she hated slowly expire on his respirator) and unbreakable detachment (another woman who seems to be very self-involved tells of her journey to a Mayan reservation which she raves about as an undiscovered locale, when in reality it sounded like a run-of-the mill tourist trap)? Are the ways we “terrorize” our family and friends (from a simple cutting remark to the unbelievable acceptance of a horrific act of violence done to a family member as recounted by another one of the women) almost the same in terms of impact and cruelty as the overtly terroristic acts of groups and regimes? Points to ponder, which riskily but admirably puts the importance of dramatic text front and center again in our “Wicked”-ized times when many people think that good theatre involves spectacle and tidy resolutions.
Of course the text is helped immensely by a trio of magnificent performances from the Red Orchid ensemble. The wonderfully talented Jennifer Engstrom (whom I am positive many gay men would turn straight for in a heartbeat) adds another riveting, scene-stealing performance as the most corporate-drone like of the women, right up there with her grotesque, liver-chomping Cheetah Bee in “Fastest Clock…” Kristen Fitzgerald, who was devastating two season’s ago in “The Sea Horse” (and justly won a Jeff Award for it) is funny and biting as the clueless, Western-gear wearing “Ugly American” stereotype. Mierka Gierten provides the emotional core of the play as the mousy, sheltered suburban mom whose breakdown close to the end puts the themes of the play in the proper perspective. “Weapon” is not for everyone’s taste, and the comments in Chris Jones’ theatre blog already bear this out, but for those who are interested in challenging, gutsy theatre, it will be a rewarding experience.
To read Chris’ unqualified rave in the Chicago Tribune, click here.
“Weapon of Mass Impact” runs till December 2, 2007 at A Red Orchid Theatre, 1531 N. Wells St.
October 28th, 2007 at 11:49 pm
Don’t forget Red Orchid’s production of “The Hothouse.” I thought that was fantastic, along with “Kimberly Akimbo.” I won’t say anything about “The Sea Horse” a.k.a. :The Loudest Bickering Couple In The Universe.”
October 31st, 2007 at 11:16 pm
Hi Sydney. Thanks for reminding me of “The Hothouse”. That was a superb production, with the Red Orchid cast really having a field day with Harold Pinter’s insane but beautifully-crafted language. Jen Engstrom’s Miss Cutts, played as a cross between Marilyn Monroe and Kathy Bates in “Misery”, was classic. Speaking of Pinter and Red Orchid, check out the TimeOutChicago review. The TimeOut theatre section, which always seems to have left its taste in theatre wandering lost in the Indiana Skyway system, frames it’s unabashed rave for “Weapon of Mass Impact” in terms of Pinter’s Nobel acceptance speech. Here is the link to the review: http://www.timeout.com/chicago/article/23864/weapon-of-mass-impact