Displaying items by tag: David Lovejoy

Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest is one of the greatest farces ever written. His wordplay caricatured high society, and clever pay-offs are hilarious when executed properly. The play was first performed on February 14, 1895 (Valentine's Day). The premiere took place at the historic St James's Theatre in London. Wilde famously subtitled the work “A Trivial Comedy for Serious People,” a reminder that its brilliance lies in treating absurdity with absolute sincerity. Unfortunately, No Dogs in the Kitchen Theatre Company’s recent production, directed by Genevieve Corkery, misses the mark when bringing this beloved play to the stage.

For those unfamiliar, the classic comedy follows two high-society bachelors, Jack Worthing and Algernon Moncrieff, who invent secret personas to escape the boredom of everyday life. Trouble arises, however, when Jack (going by the name of “Ernest”) proposes to Gwendolen, who is intent on only marrying a man with that specific name. Matters are complicated further when the carefree, mischievous Algernon also dons the moniker “Ernest” to woo Jack’s ward, Cecily, who shares the exact same romantic obsession with the name. To find happiness, the lovers must quickly untangle a web of ridiculous misunderstandings and mistaken identities. The true brilliance of Wilde’s script lies in its wordplay and sharp societal satire, taking the audience on a wild, hysterical ride where the utterly absurd is treated with the utmost importance.

Founded in 2023, No Dogs in the Kitchen is still a young company, and a certain learning curve is both natural and expected as they continue shaping their artistic identity. Their past work has already shown a clear interest in bold, unconventional staging, often embracing heightened physicality and playful absurdism. That adventurous spirit is a defining part of their aesthetic, and it’s evident the ensemble values experimentation and a willingness to push familiar texts in unexpected directions. While this production didn’t always find harmony between those impulses and Wilde’s finely tuned verbal wit, the company’s enthusiasm, imaginative framework, growing technical confidence, and emerging vision suggest they have the tools to grow into a distinctive and compelling presence within Chicago’s storefront theatre scene.

The cast of No Dogs in the Kitchen’s “The Importance of Being Earnest” at Facility Theatre.Photo: Alex Albrecht

That said, where this production struggles is in its apparent distrust of the script, adding jumbled and superfluous elements that only serve to undercut the humor it tries so hard to generate. It is as if the creative team didn't believe the script was funny enough on its own, choosing instead to pile on unnecessary subtext that needlessly deviated from - and was unsupported by - Wilde’s text.

This staging regularly undermines its own comedic timing with added, cartoonish sound effects that reduce wit to silly gags. From boinging springs to breaking plates, it felt as if someone was trying to use every button on a soundboard. Furthermore, a heavy hand of physical humor frequently distracts from the brilliant dialogue. During several monologues, cast members distracted the audience with routines like fighting on a sofa. Another oddity occurred in the final act when multiple cast members broke the fourth wall to deliver lines - a trick they hadn't used up until that point. It’s unclear why there was such distrust in the source material, and why a surplus of additions was believed to be the solution.

The performances also suffered from this same directive, often relying on over-the-top delivery. Mitch Karmis, who played two different butlers, mugged for the audience and utilized an almost cartoon-like physicality. David Lovejoy portrayed Lady Bracknell as a Mommie Dearest caricature instead of the formidable, sophisticated society matriarch who delivers scathing lines with dry, icy wit. The performance moved between widely contrasting vocal registers, creating an uneven tone that often felt out of step with Lady Bracknell’s traditionally controlled presence. It was also unclear why, in the final act, Lady Bracknell suddenly transformed into a flirtatious aggressor who growled at Jack and threw herself at the butler. Another odd decision was to have Dr. Chasuble played by Sara Corkery in a rubber race mask.

Amidst these choices, there was a bright spot in Garret Weigel’s Jack. For the most part, Weigel found the right balance between inventive character choices and a respect for the script. Jack could easily be played as a boring straight-man when up against the whimsical Algernon, but Weigel added a distinct flair to his interpretation without straying too far from the original play.

It is genuinely unfortunate that the production chose to deviate so drastically from the text. When done faithfully, The Importance of Being Earnest is a true theatrical gem. While there were moments that elicited genuine laughter, they occurred when the text was allowed to speak for itself, rather than being buried under extraneous gags.

While this hyper-stylized, over-the-top version might appeal to theatergoers seeking a radical, alternative spin on a classic, those looking for a faithful, witty adaptation of Wilde’s masterpiece will likely find this production is not the one.

The Importance of Being Earnest runs through July 26th at Facility Theatre. For more information and/or tickets, visit https://nodogsinthekitchen.org/.

Trapdoor Theatre’s “The Cuttlefish” ought to be confounding, but somehow this 1920’s surrealist play from Poland is clear as a bell. Though ostensibly about the philosophical struggle between art and politics, the audience easily recognized echoes of the present-day overall fix in which society finds itself.

Before any dialog, even before house lights go down, “The Cuttlefish, or the Hyrcanian Worldview” (its full title) opens somewhat bewilderingly on a stage with four characters: a masked, gold-clad Statue of Alice D’Or (Keith Surney), whose postures beside a short classic stone column suggest a Greek sculpture. Further backstage is a high ranking church cleric in mitre and liturgical robes, gesturing spiritually—Pope Julius II (Emily Lotspeich), patron of Raphael and Michelangelo. Stage left, a figure in a suit slouches and periodically collapses against a wall, the artist Pavel Rockhoffer (Nicole Wiesner). And a woman wanders, hands outspread—the Mother (Venice Averyheart) of Rockhoffer, who settles into a seat and manages percussion.

What is going on? The audience puzzles through these characters, trying to make sense of the silent tableau, and the lights go down and dialog begins. Rockhoffer has become pessimistic about his creative works, which we learn have been condemned by a government council. “My art is a lie, a carefully planned hoax,” says Rockhoffer.

“Even prisoners serving a life sentence still want to live,” the Statue offers. Along the way Julius remarks, “A man without a worthy adversary is like God without Satan,” and leaving, offers “I wish you a short and unexpected death.” With very little naturalism or conventional exposition, these snippets reveal the conflict that is to be resolved by the end of “The Cuttlefish.”

But it is with the arrival of King Hyrcan IV (David Lovejoy) when the story comes alive. A villainous despot, he smooth-talks Rockhoffer, coaxing him to abandon his dedication to absolute artistic ideals, and come on over to pragmatic freedom of Hyrcania, the land he rules.

Lovejoy is an energetic force on stage, and brings the play to life. “I am a superman, or ‘an uber mensch’” King Hyrcan declares, convincingly. He offers to unchain the artist from historic patronage of entities like Julius, and to have full freedom.
“What do you believe in?” queries Rockhoffer.

“In myself,” King Hyrcan shoots back, and as inexorably as the manosphere today sucks in its lost, wandering adherents, Rockhoffer, after a bit of resistance, falls under his spell. He obeys when Hyrcan tells him to jettison his fiance Ella (Gus Thomas), as unfitting for the new Hyrcanian order. King Hyrcan works his wiles on a weakened Julius, who admits to doubt and crumbles too.

As the action unfolds and the plot thickens, it becomes clearer that the times prophesied by “The Cuttlefish,” which unfolded in the rise of fascist Germany, offer parallels to today —when cultural centers are being expropriated and renamed, arts funding cancelled, and freedom of expression curtailed.

The magic of Trap Door is its penchant for mining an obscure work of 1920s playwright Stanislaw Witkiewicz (translated by Daniel Gerould) to find a work that is regarded as a precursor to later absurdist and expressionist stage works in the 1930s. Under the direction of Nicole Wiesner, what might have been an inscrutable drama instead is intuitively understandable. As we laugh with relief at the line, “One can only hope” (the Mother’s interjection about the end of such terrible times), we may be reminded of Kurt Vonnegut’s advice: “The arts are not a way to make a living. They are a very human way of making life more bearable.”

“The Cuttlefish, or the Hyrcanian Worldview” runs through April 25 at Chicago’s Trap Door Theatre and comes recommended.

This review is proudly shared with our friends at www.TheatreInChicago.com. 

“Galileo” written in 1938 by German playwright Bertolt Brecht, tells the straightforward story of the 17th century physicist and astronomer’s run-in with church authorities for asserting that the earth revolved around the sun. For this Galileo, played with Brechtian finesse by Trap Door’s David Lovejoy, was hauled before the Roman Inquisition, and threatened with torture until he recanted.

Brecht’s play centers on how this conflict played out in Galileo’s personal and professional life, and his final years under house arrest under the watchful eyes of the authorities. Galileo was torn between unfettered scientific assessment of the world, and his need to make a living. Even before the play opens, director Max Truax has Lovejoy’s Galileo seated, nearly naked, facing away from the audience posing in contemplation, reminiscent of Rodin’s famous sculpture. Throughout the scenes that follow, Galileo’s nakedness seemed to represent the periods when he was thinking most freely. He seemed to be dressed when he was engaging the public or the authorities.

But the style of Brecht’s script for “Galileo” is not naturalistic - this version of the script was the second, written in English with Charles Laughton who starred in it in 1947 - and the audience is distanced from the characters who dwell with him: Galileo’s daughter Virginia (Genevieve Corkery), his protege Andrea (Shail Modi), his student Ludovico (Caleb Lee Jenkins), and a character, the Inquisitor, who is present throughout. Brecht wanted audiences to be unattached to the emotions of the characters, so they could focus intellectually on the story and the social values he wanted to convey, a style known as Epic.

Lines are repeated multiple times with different emphases. At certain points, the actors address the audience directly, breaking the fourth wall, said to be another technique favored by Brecht. The Inquisitor (Joan Naid) who is blindfolded in early scenes, at times seems more like a spouse to Galileo in the household.

Lovejoy’s performance of Galileo is described by Trap Door as “a humanizing portrait,” and he is in this respect distinct from the other characters on stage. One example: when his daughter Virginia’s betrothal is threatened by Galileo’s branding as a heretic for his work, she registers no emotion. We simply hear the facts of the matter. Lovejoy’s performance is intense, and a remarkable achievement overall: and he is on stage every minute of the two hour show. Also notable is Modi as Andrea, a character with whom I was able to connect. 

I can’t say I am a fan of Brecht, and am always surprised that he continues to be popular among troupes and actors. For me Brecht takes a lot of work to appreciate and enjoy. But “Galileo” has remarkable currency for our times, as the retreat from modernism finds factual science and the age of reason under attack by the authorities. For this concern alone the Trap Door production of “Galileo” is valuable. Kudos to Merje Veski for stage design and Jonathan Quigley for projection design that gives us synopses of historical contexts at key moments.

“Galileo” runs through June 14, 2025 at Trap Door Theatre, 1655 W Cortland St. inChicago. Tickets are now on sale at trapdoortheatre.com

*Extended through June 28th

For the final show of its 30th anniversary season, Trap Door Theatre—the little company that could—has selected a sure-fire hit with a production of “Nana,” a play based on the 19th century melodrama about an actress and bordello courtesan, Nana, by French author Emile Zola.

Adapted for the stage by the late Olwen Wymark, and co-directed by choreographer Miguel Long and managing director Nicole Weisner, this reimagining of the original 2002 production at the tiny theater—tucked away behind a restaurant at 1655 W. Cortland—was flawless on opening night. It’s a cabaret style musical, and the premise of the story gives us a Parisian cabaret that doubles as a bordello, allowing occasions for song and dance that fit the storyline perfectly.

As the audience arrives, the actors are already in character, welcoming us as patrons of the establishment. At curtain time, the anticipation builds among onstage patrons—mostly emotionally overwrought, palavering males—all hoping for a glance of recognition from Nana when she arrives.

After this artful build-up, which heightens the expectation of the audience as well, drapes are snapped opened for the big reveal: Nana (Maryam Abdi is miraculous) emerges on a swing as a vision of Venus—long blonde tresses, and a gossamer robe opened to barely cover her breasts, minimally hidden by glittery clamshell pasties. It’s all very nineteenth century, and the men fit exactly in our expectations of swooning romantic gestures salted with salacious innuendo.

Amber Washington in "Nana"at Trap Door Theatre through May 19. 

We also meet the coterie of sophisticated ladies in orbit around Nana. There is Sabine (Amber Washington) just too too, all wrapped in a gorgeous gown and chapeau, waving a cigarette holder while delivering bon mots and pithy observations. And her dresser Zoe (Emily Lotspeich), who carefully manages the arrivals of suitors, parceling them out to every room until Nana’s apartment is filled. And Satin (Emily Nicholson), Nana’s BFF and occupying the same role, just at a lower echelon than our diva.
The song and dance numbers were quite good, and flawlessly performed.

Dan Cobbler, Emily Nichelson, and Emily Lotspeich in "Nana" at Trap Door Theatre through May 18, 2024.

Always in need of cash, Nana is pursued by a chorus of snarling creditors, who snarl in unison, to powerful effect on stage.Yet there is a substantial core to Zola's story: Nana, as she rises in stature as the object of desire for wealthy men, extorts them in their ardor, then walks all over them when their funds are depleted. She does this with greater rapidity, yet their generosity never falters. For example, Steiner (David Lovejoy is terrific) has given her a country retreat amid a high society and royal enclave, yethe never receives thanks or very much of Nana’s attention, who only escalates her demands for cash and orders this paramour to surrender his own key to the house he bought for Nana.

Indeed, Nana plays all her many suitors to the limit, relenting only enough when she senses she has pushed too far, an incredibly adept dominatrix.

Yet amid all this, Nana has a private life, and we learn where her earnings go. She retains her maiden aunt (Tia Pinson is the essence of propriety) to care for her infant. And she also has a significant other, Fanton (Caleb Lee Jenkins is the playful, yet mercenary scoundrel). We soon see that Fanton does to Nana what she does to her suitors, though far worse, as he is also physically abusive.

Nana, whose reputation has preceded her, is rejected by the "polite" society around her country home, though local suitors visit surreptitiously. And ultimately, Nana  meets her fated downfall in full expression of melodramatic justice. 

Costumes (Rachel Sypniewski) are spectacular, as are wids (Igor Shashkin) and make-up (Zsofia Otvos). Most amazing in this Trap Door Theatre production is the performance of Maryam Abdi as Nana. Abdi dominates her suitors, and the stage. She is fully in the role, inhabiting Nana’s character in a star-is-born delivery that would fit comfortably in an Off-Broadway, or even Broadway. So too for the entire cast. The Trap Door Theatre has outdone itself with “Nana,” a jewel in its 30th season celebration. “Nana” runs through May 19 at Trap Door Theatre, 1655 W. Cortland St. in Chicago.

*Extended through May 25th