The most ardent of musical theater queens can sit through hours and hours (even days) of musicals without breaking a sweat, batting an eyelash, or heaving violently, unlike many people who consider musical theater and film as akin to waterboarding. Ok, so I’m as ardent as they get (sometimes when I’m sauntering down the street, I just feel like floodlights will suddenly blaze on me, a thirty piece orchestra will appear, and I will break into “Maybe This Time” as if on cue- at the intersection of Lincoln and Wilson. Hmmm…that’s a fantasy to be recounted for another day’s blog post). So it was quite the rare and very pleasurable treat, after weeks of seeing Chicago storefront theater drama and bluster, to sit through two musicals back to back last weekend. First, I saw my dear friend Jonathan Verge perform as part of an energetic, committed, very talented cast for Bailiwick’s production of Flaherty and Ahren’s A Man of No Importance. Then, I hopped on over next door to the Theater Building the following night to be enthralled by Porchlight Theater’s staging of Maury Yeston’s Nine, based on Federico Fellini’s cinematic masterpiece, 8 ½. Although both have undeniable pleasures, they also have significant areas for constructive feedback (yep, that’s consultant speak for “you gotta fix this baby”), more problematic for A Man of No Importance than for Nine; on the whole though, they also happen to be worthwhile nights at the theater, even for musical theater agnostics.
I have never been a huge fan of Bailiwick, even though like many theater boys in Chicago, I continuously go back to see plays in what is, in my humble opinion, one of the most decrepit theater houses in the city year after year (and any Chicago gay guy who says he has never seen a Bailiwick production, especially their, uhmmm, saucy Pridefest plays with the actors usually dropping trou in the first 15 minutes probably has that same strain of selective memory that Hillary had with her Bosnia trip). Other than Jerry Springer, the Opera, which in all fairness was exceptionally staged and performed, I have never felt like raving about a Bailiwick play (many of them come off as amateurish, cheaply-done, and one-note). Well, it’s the year of second chances (see also: Profiles Theater) and regardless of the fact that my friend Jonathan is in it or not, I’m glad to a certain extent, to have seen their production of A Man of No Importance. It’s the story of a community theater in 1960s Dublin and more particularly of their unmarried director, a bus conductor by day, who lives with his sister, has no interest in women, and passionate about Oscar Wilde’s plays, slowly coming to terms with his sexual identity (I mean, really, what is there to come to terms with - the character is gayer than Perez Hilton’s closet!), and his love for his hot, but straight, bus driver, who only wants to be his friend. Based on a 1994 film with Albert Finney, I don’t really think this is one of Ahrens and Flaherty’s best scores (that’s reserved in my book for Once on this Island). But the terrific Bailiwick cast sings the bejesus out of the score, pours their collective hearts out, and ultimately makes the show memorable. I especially liked Ryan Lanning (who played the sassy tranny in Jerry Springer, the Opera), who exudes quite the star power here as the bus driver/boyish love interest and Alanda Coon, in one of the ensemble roles, who steals every scene she’s in as the limelight-hungry supporting performer. And of course Jonathan sings gorgeously and makes the most out of his supporting role as the slow-witted but enthusiastic Mr. Lally (and is responsible for some of the bigger laughs of the night). I think the cast is fabulous and is the primary reason to see the show.
Because I do have to ask- what happened to the production design? Lost with Matthew Fox and the rest of Oceanic 815? First of all, the show is supposed to be set in Ireland in the 1960s but neither the sets nor the costumes establish a sense of time or place or milieu. When the company sings “The Streets of Dublin”, one wonders are they singing of the streets in Dublin, Ireland or in Dublin, Ohio? Secondly, why does the set look like it comes from a firesale from the Brown Elephant? Does the design aesthetic need to look cheap and throwaway? That’s been my main problem with Bailiwick shows in the past, they always have the visual look of a “let’s put on a show in the barn” and I cannot accept the argument that this is Chicago storefront theater, so there’s no money to put into the design elements. There are many, many Chicago storefront theaters (GreasyJoan, Strawdog, House Theatre, especially the Hypocrites), that put a lot of thought, care, and imagination into their productions. And these theaters charge the same twenty dollar admission that the Bailiwick does. Third, who thought of using that multi-purpose wooden frame as door, framing device, bus entrance, etc. It makes the scenes look clunky and awkward, and absolutely fails in serving any purpose. I didn’t see a door, or a bus, I saw a rough-hewn wooden frame. Finally, I nearly had to have mouth-to-mouth resuscitation when the Oscar Wilde character comes out costumed like Dame Edna’s hairdresser cousin thrice-removed. The costume designer could have borrowed some outfits from the folks running the drag queen bingo karaoke at Circuit and improved Oscar Wilde’s look. And I really also can’t buy the argument that the design helps establish the amateurish, low-budget nature of the theater troupe. That’s a cop-out. I don’t ask for much, and I manage my expectations (this is not Chicago Shakespeare, I know that), but I do continue to expect from the Bailiwick a cohesive, and coherent, design vision for its productions.
Good design does not demand extravagant costumes or multiple, expansive, ever-changing set pieces. In fact, Porchlight’s Nine is designed in such a highly minimalist manner, that it feels like it’s being performed in a raw loft space. However, there is a massive painting of a naked woman in an ornate frame propped against the back wall which in one single swoop establishes the setting (a remote spa in Italy), and contributes immensely to clarifying the show’s themes (Nine is about a film director, Guido Conti modeled on Fellini, having a mid-life crisis who evaluates his relationships with the strong women in his life). Having everyone in black outfits convey a sleek fantasy world of filmmakers and actresses. So the design complements the show, as any good design will, and makes it come more alive for the audience. Not that Porchlight’s Nine needs any shot in the arm- it probably has some of the best, most wondrous singing currently on view in Chicago. The actresses are all uniformly excellent (and it’s a pity that Maury Yeston only gave them one show-stopping number each) but special mention goes to the phenomenal Maggie Portman, as Guido’s mistress Carla, who sings “A Call from the Vatican” with a lot of panache and smoldering sexiness (thank goodness, she didn’t tumble out of a blanket hanging upside down like Jane Krakowski did in the recent Broadway revival); the bombastic Danielle Brothers, as the producer Lilliane LeFleur who is dazzling and riveting throughout the marathon belting-and-dancing number “Folies Bergere”; and Bethany Thomas, flaming as always, as the prostitute Saranghina, blowing everyone out on to Belmont Avenue yet again (as she did in Bohemian Theatre Ensemble’s The Life a year ago), singing the Act One show stopper “Be Italian”.
Understandably, it will take quite a force of nature to take on the role of Guido Conti, the sole male performer and lead, to catch-up with the women. Guido not only performs in almost all the musical numbers but he also demonstrates a whole range of emotions, from petulant boy-man, to vulnerable middle-aged artist. He isn’t the most sympathetic of characters, so you need to have someone with the charisma, heat, sexiness factor of Marcello Mastrioanni (who played the role Fellini’s 8 ½), or Raul Julia (the original Broadway production), or Antonio Banderas (the 2003 revival), or Javier Bardem (the just-announced movie musical that Rob Marshall is directing). You need someone who commands attention as soon as he enters the stage and does not let it go until curtain call. Jeff Parker, who plays Guido in the production, does this to some extent, and he is not only great-looking but is a wonderful singer and dancer too. But he sometimes plays a little too remote and coolly-observant, versus being a no-holds-barred, lets-run-with-the-bulls participant. He might just be getting warmed up and hopefully will be one hot-blooded, lust-for-life type dude as the run gets under way. Nine is a rousing night at the theater and I hope it packs them in during this not-yet-feeling-like-spring spring that we are having. Just to remind us that warm climates are good for all of us.
A Man of No Importance runs at the Bailiwick Theatre, 1229 W. Belmont, until April 20. Right next door is Nine, at the Theatre Building, 1225 W. Belmont, running till May 18.
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