REVIEW: Collected Stories Via Redtwist Theatre Now Playing Through June 5, 2022

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R E D T W I S T  T H E A T R E  P R E S E N T S

Collected Stories

by Donald Margulies

Directed by Ted Hoerl

Gossip is a neglected art form.

Guest Review

By Catherine Hellmann

I felt like I was at Windy City Playhouse and was looking for the cheese curls, popcorn, and spray cheese can snacks. The set is Professor Ruth Steiner’s apartment, and the audience members are the eavesdroppers in her living room lined against the walls. For a play about sharing secrets and subsequent indiscretion, the intimacy is perfect. 

Jacqueline Grandt (Ruth) and Jillian Warden (Lisa)

“Write what you know” is the oft-repeated piece of advice to aspiring authors about writing. In Collected Stories by Donald Margulies, Lisa Morrison is a young, ambitious yet uncertain grad student meeting her idol/teacher Dr. Steiner for the first time. Lisa is writing about what she knows in her autobiographical selections that eventually culminate in her first published book, Eating Between Meals. She adores Dr. Steiner from her reputation as an author. Lisa fawns so much initially over her prof that it is cringey. Dr. Steiner is very no-nonsense, a little abrupt, blunt, and describes herself as “Thelma Ritter would play me in the movie.” (I love that line!) 

The first time that Lisa is published, Ruth’s surprise and tinge of jealousy is palpable. She wants her student to succeed, but as a fellow artist, Ruth may not truly want her protege to surpass her. (That Artist Ego is hard to shake.) We see Lisa expand her repertoire as a writer while Ruth’s health declines. But Lisa’s first novel is not a tale she experienced firsthand. Is it still fair game to share with the world?

The book in question is obviously inspired by Ruth’s affair decades ago with a well-known poet many years her senior. Ruth reveals this precious memory of her past when pressed by Lisa. Lisa uses it as a springboard for her novel a few years later. Ruth, understandably, feels betrayed. 

All along, Ruth has stressed that “writers are all rummagers.” Lisa reminds Ruth that she herself taught Lisa to be “ruthless.” But Ruth feels her favorite student has “turned into a spy.” Ruth confesses that watching Lisa’s star ascend reminds Ruth of her own mortality. 

The two actresses are fantastic. Redtwist Company Member Jacqueline Grandt is wonderful in every role. The part of Ruth Steiner is perfect for her. Making her Redtwist debut is Jillian Warden as Lisa. She holds her own next to Ms. Grandt. 

On their first meeting, Ruth is surprised to discover Lisa is not who she thinks she is. “My students match their stories.” Lisa’s first story is too serious, and her personality is just too earnest. For these two writers, they shouldn’t judge a book by its cover.    

Catherine Hellmann is a teacher, mom of teachers, daughter of a teacher…and a self-professed Theater Whore. 

Prominent author Ruth takes her fiction student Lisa under her wing – until Lisa’s success comes in the form of a story that’s much too familiar to Ruth. When her protege publishes a salacious story that can only be traced back to her mentor, their relationship is challenged. Spanning six years, this play takes a searching look at the lives of a pair of writers and the tangled connections between creativity and ideology.

THE CAST

Jacqueline Grandt* (Ruth Steiner), Jillian Warden (Lisa Morrison) Understudies: Jean Marie Koon (Ruth Steiner), Meghann Tabor (Lisa Morrison) THE STAFF

E. Malcolm Martinez (Box Office Manager), Karen Epton, Johnny Garcia & Amanda Grissom (Box Office Associates), Charlie

Marie McGrath (Producing Artistic Director)

*indicates Redtwist staff or company members

THE SCHEDULE

Opens: Sun, May 1, 3pm

Showtimes: Thu, Fri, Sat, 7:30pm; Sun, 3pm

Closes: Sun, Feb 13, 3pm

Previews: $15; Thu, Fri, Sat, Apr 28, 29, 30 at 7:30pm.

Runtime: 2 hours, with one intermission

Tickets: Thursdays, $35; Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, $40 (seniors & students $5 off)

RESERVATIONS

Website/Tickets: www.redtwisttheatre.org Call: 773-728-7529

LOCATION/PARKING

Redtwist is located at 1044 W Bryn Mawr, 2 blocks W of LSD, 2 blocks E of the Red Line EL station. Please be aware of the ongoing construction on the Red and Purple lines, which cause delays. Valet parking for Redtwist is available across the street in front of Francesca’s Bryn Mawr for most performances—hours vary. Dining is not required. Parking is also available at Edgewater Mexican Café, with notification of restaurant staff. Dining is not required. Limited FREE street parking is available on side streets. There is paybox street parking via ParkChicago.com app. The paybox is 3-hours on the Redtwist block of Bryn Mawr, and 2-hours on side streets. Paybox parking is free on Sundays, and after 10pm Mon thru Sat.

The safety of our artists and audiences are important to us. During this unprecedented time, we hope to reduce the risk in the theatre-going experience as much as possible. To that end, we are instituting the following policies, effective immediately:

 Masks will be required for audiences inside the theatre.

 Patrons must be able to show proof that they are fully vaccinated via a physical copy of their vaccination card, a clear photo of their full card, or a link to their pharmacy's confirmation of vaccination or vaccination confirmation via their app.

 "Fully vaccinated" means that either 14 days have passed since receiving either the final dose of FDA or WHO authorized vaccines.

 Redtwist will offer exemptions for those unable to be vaccinated, such as children under 5, people with certain medical conditions preventing vaccination, or those with closely held religious beliefs that prevent vaccination. These patrons must provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test—within the last 48 hours—before performance start time.

PLEASE NOTE THAT REDTWIST RESERVES THE RIGHT TO REFUSE ENTRY TO THOSE WHO ARE UNABLE TO MEET THE ABOVE REQUIREMENTS. THE BOX OFFICE WILL BE HAPPY TO RESCHEDULE TICKETS WHEN POSSIBLE IN THAT EVENT.

Thank you for helping us to keep our friends and artists and your fellow patrons as safe as possible during our upcoming season.

ACT OUT: The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later at Redtwist Theatre (Review)

Where else can you currently see 8 actors take on upwards of 50 characters in two interrelated shows?!

Redtwist Theatre is one of our local favorites, with a long string of Jeff recommended productions, and an intimate performance space.   They've got a new entry way into their black box space, off the front lobby now, and a thought provoking show that provides a new entry way into the hot button issue of how hate impacts society.  We've been promoting The Laramie Project:  Ten Years Later since February, on our Facebook and Twitter streams, but if you still haven't seen it yet, you just have until April 7th to check it out.   

We were blown away by Red Twist's current and incredibly timely offering, The Laramie Project:  Ten Years Later.   The choice of simple costume pieces ...glasses here, a tie there, and the presentation of the show on a bare bones set, only serve to accentuate the immensity of the content.   Thirteen years after the horrific beating death of Matthew Shepard, hate crime protection has finally been enacted on the federal level by President Obama, after his two predecessors failed, yet hate crimes, harassment and bullying are still increasing.  As Matthew's mother so eloquently states, "These plays are not about being gay.  They are about being hurt for being different, or perceived to be different, whatever that difference may be."    As the right wing amps up the hate rhetoric to the point where gay teen suicides are in the news frequently and bullies feel sanctified in their violence against others, this production's message is as urgent as ever.

I was saddened though not surprised by the townspeople's collective amnesia, and eagerness to spin history to support a more palpable view of themselves.   A mere ten years later, people who once saw irrefutable court room proof of a heinous, lethal gay bashing, bandied about victim blaming falsehoods about a drug deal gone bad.   Who wants to openly identify with a homicidal homophobic town where peaceful college students are killed for pocket change and partner preferences?   It seems a robbery co-opted into a hate crime by liberals, to advance their politics, is an easier lie to believe.   

On a parallel note, my husband's presently on a TV shoot
with someone who was a student at Columbine during the shootings, and
she recently met with similar resistance and hostility when she wanted
to make a 10 year documentary.   Even as an insider, many of her
classmates refused to talk to her and were adamantly against the
project.   People wanted to forget and not dredge up the past, and gave her so much resistance that the project may not advance.

Still, for all the haters and amnesiacs, there is an encouragingly dogged group in Laramie and beyond, still making sure Matthew's death meant something, and will make a difference for future generations.  The scene of the gay marriage political debate and vote gave me hope, as well.   Even with our current two steps forward, one step back, politics in 2012, there are still leaders who will cross conservative and liberal lines and party views to vote with wisdom and compassion.   This courageous and vital set of shows spread the message to that many more people.   Suggested for adults audiences and mature teens.   Highly recommended.

Interrogation

L-R: Jan Ellen Graves, Gene Cordon, Eleanor Katz, Matt Babbs, Matthew Klingler,Lisa Herceg, Kurt Brocker, Devon Candura,  Photo: Kimberly Loughlin

The Laramie
Project: Ten Years Later

By
Moisés Kaufman, Leigh Fondakowski, Greg
Pierotti, Andy Paris, and Stephen
Belber   

Directed by three-time Jeff Award-winner, Greg
Kolack

The ten-year epilogue is a companion piece to
the iconic, The
Laramie Project,

one of the most-produced plays in the U.S. and
around the world.

---

HISTORICAL FACTS OF THE STORY
On October 6, 1998, a gay University of Wyoming
student, Matthew Shepard, left the Fireside Bar in
Laramie, Wyoming, with Aaron McKinney and Russell
Henderson. The following day he was discovered at
the edge of town. He was tied to a fence, brutally
beaten, and close to death.

By the following day, Matthew's attack and the town
of Laramie had become the focus of an international
news story. On October 12, 1998, Matthew Shepard
died at Poudre Valley Hospital in Ft. Collins,
Colorado.

On November 14, 1998, the members of Tectonic
Theater Project traveled to Laramie, Wyoming, and
conducted interviews with the people of the town.
During the next year, Tectonic would return to
Laramie several times and conduct over two hundred
interviews. The play that resulted is edited from
those interviews, as well as from journal entries by
members of the company and other found texts.


PRODUCTION HISTORY OF BOTH PLAYS

The Laramie Project premiered at The Ricketson
Theatre, performed by the Denver Center Theatre
Company in February, 2000. It was then performed at
the Union Square Theater in New York City, before a
November, 2002, performance in Laramie, Wyoming. The
play has also been performed by high schools,
colleges, and community theaters across the country,
as well as professional playhouses around the world.
In addition, the HBO film directed by Moisés
Kaufman, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in
March, 2002.

The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later is the
epilogue to the original. Ten years after Shepard's
murder, members of the Tectonic Theater Project
returned to Laramie to conduct follow-up interviews
with residents featured in the original play. Those
interviews were turned into this companion piece.

The play debuted as a simultaneous reading at nearly
150 theatres across the US and internationally on
October 12, 2009 - the 11th anniversary of Matthew
Shepard’s death. Most of the theaters were linked by
webcam to New York City where Judy Shepard and the
play's producers and writers gave an opening speech
to begin this unique memorial and evening of
theater.



DIRECTOR
Greg Kolack, former Artistic Director of Circle
Theatre, has won three Jeff Awards as Best Director,
most recently for columbinus,
at Raven Theatre. Greg has been interested in
directing these two projects together since the
nationwide reading in 2009. Several years ago, he
visited Laramie to gather research for the project.
On January 6, 2012, Greg made his second trip to
Laramie on the cusp of the rehearsal period, to meet
with various real-life characters depicted in The Laramie Project.
His travelogue, reported via email to the cast each
evening was filled with first-person reports shared
by the locals who lived through the experience, and
who shared with Greg their unique insights and
poignant reflections on the events over thirteen
years ago that catalyzed tectonic change in our
society. Greg’s diligent research and his eye for
detail as an award-winning director, will surely
inform and enliven this production with a unique
theatrical style.

REDTWIST PRODUCTION
Both shows will be performed by only eight actors,
who portray dozens of roles in our signature,
intimate space. The actors and director have
personally talked with the real characters in the
play, and also with members of the Tectonic Theater
Project. A number of post-show discussions are
scheduled for groups and upon special request.


CAST
Matt Babbs, Kurt Brocker, Devon Candura, Gene
Cordon, Lisa Herceg, Jan Ellen Graves, Eleanor Katz,
Matthew Klingler



STAFF
Greg Kolack (Director), Allison Queen (Stage
Manager), Amanda Lautermilch (Assistant Stage
Manager), Justin Castellano (Tech Director), Andrei
Onegin (Set Designer), Rachel Spear (Sound
Designer), Christopher Burpee (Lighting Designer), kClare Kemock (Costume Designer), Mary Reynard
Liss (Vocal Coach) Jan Ellen Graves (Graphic
Designer), Charles Bonilla (Box Office Manager),
Johnny Garcia (Associate Producer), Michael Colucci
& Jan Ellen Graves (Producers)



REMAINING DATES:

The Laramie Project (the
original)

Saturdays Mar 17, 24, 31, Apr 7, at 3pm

Running time: approx.
2:30 incl. 2 intermissions

Tickets: $15

The Laramie
Project: Ten Years Later (Epilogue)

Performs:  Thu, Fri, Sat at 7:30pm
& Sun at 3pm, Also April 1 at 7:30pm

Closes: Sat, Apr 7, 7:30pm

Running Time: approx. 1:45 incl. 1
intermission

Tickets: Thursdays, $25; Fridays &
Sundays, $27; Saturdays, $30 (seniors & students
$5 off)

Group Rates: Special discounts for groups
of 10 or more, and groups of 25 or more

THE DETAILS

Call:
773-728-7529

Email:
reserve@redtwist.org

Website/Tickets:
www.redtwist.org

Redtwist is located at 1044 W Bryn Mawr, 2 blks W of
LSD, 2 blks E of the Red Line El station. Street
parking (paybox/meters until 9pm) is available on
Bryn Mawr, side streets, and Broadway. Please
reserve 48 hours in advance. Credit cards accepted
by phone and via Paypal to guarantee seating.