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Showing posts with label THE REVOLULTIONISTS. Show all posts
Showing posts with label THE REVOLULTIONISTS. Show all posts

Sunday, June 3, 2018

REVIEW: "The Revolutionists" by Organic Theater at Greenhouse Theater Center, running May 29-July 8, 2018

Chi IL Live Shows On Our Radar:


THE REVOLUTIONISTS & 

TIRESIAS WAS A WEATHERMAN 

Via Organic Theater Company of Chicago at the Greenhouse Theater Center


Sara Copeland (Charlotte Corday) in Organic Theater’s production of The Revolutionists, directed by Bryan Wakefield, assistant director Julia Rufo, May 29 – July 8, 2018. All Production Photos by Anna Gelman.

Review By Catherine Hellmann, guest critic

A play about a woman playwright, a woman Haitian rebel spy, dethroned Queen Marie Antoinette, and a tough-girl would-be rebel assassin? In the same play set in 18th Century France with female characters dropping f-bombs? Sign me up!


Playwright Lauren Gunderson uses modern language in her clever, thought-provoking play that is tough to classify. It begins in a somber mood, images of serious discord, pending beheadings...until the delightful Stephanie Sullivan as playwright Olympe de Gouges breaks the tension by asking how could a light-hearted comedy begin with a scene at a guillotine? (Or something like that...I forgot a pen and was mad at myself for not capturing more lines of dialogue verbatim. There are so many wonderful lines in this script.)



Stephanie Sullivan (Olympe de Gouges) and Laura Sturm (Marie Antoinette)

The Revolutionists explores feminism, friendships, rebelliousness, the French Revolution, and makes us feel sympathy for ousted Queen Marie Antoinette---all while making us laugh!


One of the best lines in the witty script is when the characters are debating topics for Olympe de Gouges’ next play, and musicals are discussed. “Who would want to see a musical about the French Revolution?” There is an inside-joke line about a barricade, which elicited laughs from the appreciative audience, and such banter makes The Revolutionists extra fun for theater fans. Gunderson takes advantage of having a playwright character as the others in the story discuss the impact of theater and how a play can affect society or cause change.

All four actresses are so perfect; if I had to pick a favorite, it would be the Narcissistic Queen Marie Antoinette played by Laura Sturm. She was so funny in her “It’s all about ME” mode, like how she knows it is her cue to stand up when she hears the blare of trumpets to announce her entrance! But there is a vulnerable side to her as well, when she describes her life, and how she was married off to a stranger she met on her wedding day.


Taylor Raye (Marianne Angelle) in Organic Theater’s production of The Revolutionists, directed by Bryan Wakefield, assistant director Julia Rufo, May 29 – July 8, 2018. Photo by Anna Gelman.

My companion said his favorite was Taylor Raye as rebel spy Marianne Angelle. Her character is undercover in France fighting for freedom in Haiti, where she has left her husband and two young children behind. I loved her description of her family as she recalls what she is risking for them.

Stephanie Sullivan (Olympe de Gouges)

                                                      Sara Copeland (Charlotte Corday)

Energetic and intense Sara Copeland as assassin Charlotte Corday is also excellent. I had to look up the backstory on her tale, which is fascinating. Indeed, twenty-four-year old Corday did fatally stab a very sickly Jean-Paul Marat in his own bathtub. She was persistent--it took three tries to receive admittance to his home. For her efforts, she was beheaded a mere four days after her crime. In contrast, Marat was hailed as a martyr to his cause, which is mentioned in Gunderson’s play.

As Corday is killed, Copeland ties a red ribbon around her neck to signify the beheading. She later, as an interrogator, gets to wear the coolest stage mask ever. It is unusual to see an all-female cast get to debate art, politics, andtheir destinies in a funny, entertaining way. The Revolutionists are some thought-provoking, kick-ass women. Go support them.


The Revolutionists runs from now until July 8 and is being performed in rotating repertory with Tiresias Was a Weatherman by Jaime Mire, which also sounds intriguing. Greenhouse Theater Center is located at 2257 N. Lincoln Avenue near Oz Park.

ORGANIC THEATER COMPANY – 2018 SUMMER REPERTORY SEASON:
AWE-INSPIRING WOMEN STAND UP AND FIGHT BACK; OR, 
 WHICH IS WORSE, THE REIGN OF TERROR OR THE REIGN OF BIG PHARMA?

Monday, May 28, 2018

OPENING: THE REVOLUTIONISTS & TIRESIAS WAS A WEATHERMAN Via Organic Theater Company of Chicago at the Greenhouse Theater Center

Chi IL Live Shows On Our Radar:

ORGANIC THEATER COMPANY – 2018 SUMMER REPERTORY SEASON:

AWE-INSPIRING WOMEN STAND UP AND FIGHT BACK; OR, 
 WHICH IS WORSE, THE REIGN OF TERROR OR THE REIGN OF BIG PHARMA?


Organic Theater Company of Chicago returns to the Greenhouse Theater Center for its 2018 summer repertory season, May 29 - July 8. The Organic is committed to staging bold, relevant productions of classic, contemporary, and adapted works with a permanent group of artists over a sustained period of time.

This summer we continue our focus on women and present the works of two female playwrights. With THE REVOLUTIONISTS, we carry on telling more amazing stories of women from history that we started last summer with Lauren Gunderson’s EMILIE. This time the show features an all-female cast, and brings together four inspirational and (mostly) historical women in a modern, girl-powered perspective on the French Revolution. Jaime Mire’s new comedy TIRESIAS WAS A WEATHERMAN deals with timely issues of today such as mental health, pharmaceuticals, predatory media, and extreme weather, in a world where a minimal scientific alteration to your brain could potentially save both you and the world. Or at least that’s what they say …

THE REVOLUTIONISTS, a fast-paced, comedic quartet by 2017’s most produced playwright, follows four very real women who lived boldly in France during the French Revolution’s Reign of Terror. Former queen Marie Antoinette, playwright Olympe de Gouges, Jean-Paul Marat’s assassin Charlotte Corday, and Haitian rebel spy Marianne Angelle collide in this true story, total fiction, and play about a play. Join us for this passionate, poignant and decisive call to action through the true (and sometimes not) stories of these four extraordinary women.

Company member Bryan Wakefield, who directed Gunderson’s EMILIE last year, directs the Chicago premiere of Lauren Gunderson’s thrilling and moving new play.  Familiar faces in the cast include Organic company members and former EMILIE cast members Sara Copeland as Charlotte Corday, and Laura Sturm as Marie Antoinette. Stephanie Sullivan, as playwright Olympe de Gouges, returns after making her Organic debut in last year’s PHANTOM PAIN. We are excited to welcome Taylor Raye as Marianne Angelle to the Organic team this summer.

TIRESIAS WAS A WEATHERMAN is a world premiere comedy about serious stuff. In this kinda-sorta adaptation of Sophocles’ classic ANTIGONE, playwright Jaime Mire imagines a world, parallel to our own, where human emotions have a direct connection to the weather. These events occasionally result in immediate and disastrous meteorological events. In a time when not taking your medication can lead to weather disaster (or can it?), would you consider implanting a microchip into your brain to help control these threatening emotions for public safety purposes?  How far are we willing to go to stay dry? Grab your umbrellas for this off-beat and touching comedy about family, mental health, and the weather.

Directed by company member Josh Anderson, TIRESIAS features company members Sara Copeland, Colin Jackson, Joel Moses, Laura Sturm, and artistic associate Adam Zaininger, all of whom appeared in last summer’s KING UBU, plus company member Will Burdin rejoins us after a summer off, having been seen with Organic most recently in the 2016 summer season in THE GOOD DOCTOR and OUT OF THE BLUE.  We welcome back Nyssa Loewenstein from our most recent production, WHY DO YOU ALWAYS WEAR BLACK? and John Arthur Lewis from last summer’s EMILIE.  Newcomers to the Organic stage are Shaina Schrooten and Taylor Raye (also appearing in THE REVOLUTIONISTS).


THE REVOLUTIONISTS

By Lauren Gunderson
Directed by Bryan Wakefield

OPENS: Tuesday, May 29, 2018 at 7:30 PM
DATES: May 29 – July 8, 2018
TIMES: Wednesdays – Saturdays at 7:30 PM & Saturdays/Sundays at 2:30 PM
VENUE: The Greenhouse Theater Center – 2257 N. Lincoln Avenue
NOTE: Plays in repertory with TIRESIAS WAS A WEATHERMAN, see list of specific dates below
WEBSITE: www.organictheater.org

The Cast:
Olympe de Gouges – Stephanie Sullivan
Marianne Angelle – Taylor Raye
Charlotte Corday – Sara Copeland
Marie Antoinette – Laura Sturm

The Production Team:
Playwright – Lauren Gunderson; Director – Bryan Wakefield; Assistant Director – Julia Rufo; Stage Manager – Angela Kring; Costume Co-Designer – Jeremy W. Floyd; Costume Co-Designer – Morgan Saaf-White; Sound Designer – Tony Reimer; Scenic Designer – Terrance McClellan; Lighting Designer – Theresa Kelly; Properties Designer – Brandyn Nordlof

 
TIRESIAS WAS A WEATHERMAN

By Jaime Mire
Directed by Josh Anderson

OPENS: Thursday, May 31, 2018 at 7:30 PM
DATES: May 31 – July 6, 2018
TIMES: Wednesdays – Saturdays at 7:30 PM & Saturdays/Sundays at 2:30 PM
VENUE: The Greenhouse Theater Center – 2257 N. Lincoln Avenue
NOTE: Plays in repertory with THE REVOLUTIONISTS, see list of specific dates below
WEBSITE: www.organictheater.org

The Cast:
Sara Copeland, Jack Lewis, Shaina Schrooten, Taylor Raye, Laura Sturm, Nyssa Lowenstein, Will Burdin, Colin Jackson, Joel Moses, Adam Zaininger

The Production Team:
Playwright – Jaime Mire; Director – Josh Anderson; Associate Director – Anna Gelman;
Stage Manager – Angela Kring; Costume Designer – Jeremy W. Floyd; Sound Designer – Tony Reimer; Scenic Designer – Terrance McClellan; Lighting Designer – Theresa Kelly; Properties Designer – Brandyn Nordlof

 Purchase tickets online at www.organictheater.org or by calling the Greenhouse at
773-404-7336. Admission is $25 (Adults).


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