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Showing posts with label TIRESIAS WAS A WEATHERMAN. Show all posts
Showing posts with label TIRESIAS WAS A WEATHERMAN. Show all posts

Sunday, June 10, 2018

REVIEW: Tiresias Was a Weatherman by the Organic Theater Company at the Greenhouse Theater Through July 8, 2018

Chi IL Live Shows On Our Radar:
Tiresias Was a Weatherman 
by the Organic Theater Company 
at the Greenhouse Theater 2257 N. Lincoln Avenue 



Review
By Catherine Hellmann, Guest Critic

According to the press release, “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…” 


John Arthur Lewis (Troy), Adam Zaininger (Sun), Laura Sturm (Joyce), Will Burdin (Wind), Colin Jackson (Thunder), and Joel Moses (Rain) in Organic Theater’s production of Tiresias Was A Weatherman, directed by Josh Anderson, associate director Anna Gelman, May 31 – July 6, 2018. 
All Production Photos by Anna Gelman.


The storyline reminded me of my favorite beach on the East side of Lake Michigan, Pier Cove. There is a pile of rocks along the beach that have inspirational quotes on them. The usual expressions of thanks, blessings, and encouragement are penned on the rocks...but one rock reads: “Take your meds,” which I think is awesome. Then all will be well, right? The emphasis on taking one’s meds is at the forefront of Mire’s play. 


Taylor Raye (Cindy) and John Arthur Lewis (Troy)

The taking of meds from “Crazy Pants Pharmaceuticals” (love that name!) can cause catastrophic meteorological effects, even deadly hurricanes. One of the main characters, a doctor named Troy, lost his only son, Paul, in the last huge storm. Troy, who seems to have no emotions, is later accused of using his dead son for publicity; he even refers to Paul’s autopsy as a “research cadaver.” Ouch. Troy needs a feelings chip...

Annie, Troy’s stepdaughter, is portrayed by Shaina Schrooten, who does a great job as the frustrated, emotionally distraught daughter of Laura Sturm’s Joyce. She misses her brother Paul terribly, and describes to her psychiatrist how losing a sibling is its own category of being orphaned. Like the character of Antigone, she just wishes for her deceased brother to be buried so he can rest in peace. “He deserves a burial,” she insists. Annie has some wonderful lines, like how she doesn’t consider pot to be a med on her health history paperwork---”it’s like toothpaste,” she explains.


John Arthur Lewis (Troy), Nyssa Lowenstein (Charlie), and Laura Sturm (Joyce)


Four actors personify the Sun, Wind, Rain, and Thunder. Some of their dialogue is expressed in rhymes like a Dr. Seuss book which makes their intentions less sinister. “We are the weather. We work well together!” But the plot is confusing. 

Was it just me being un-hip again? So I asked my date what I was missing. His response: “The Weather freaked out when meds weren't taken or taken on time, I think. I interpreted the weather as thought, like side effects ??? Does that make sense?  I say this because the weather was also encouraging Annie, a.k.a. Annabelle, to pop a pill. I wish I could be of more help but that's how I interpreted the weather.” This is one of those shows that you don’t want to take your parents to because if we were lost, mom and dad are really going to be clueless. 


Sara Copeland (Izzy) and Shaina Schrooten (Annabelle)

All of the actors are well-intentioned and do a commendable job. I was especially impressed with three actresses who are also in The Revolutionists,
which I reviewed last week. The two plays are showing in repertory at Greenhouse until July 8. Sara Copland, Laura Sturm, and Taylor Raye appear in both productions, which is admirable. As my amusing companion noted: ”How do they do that? I would be fucking up and saying my lines from the wrong play.” Taylor Raye is funny, offering some of the only humor in the show as a talk-show host who is a bit too admiring of her guest, the doctor.

John Arthur Lewis plays the doctor who has developed an experimental chip that can be implanted in a person’s brain to suppress and control emotions. Referred to as a “remote controlled brain inhibitor,” the talk show host is thrilled with the possibilities, but the doctor wants its uses to be kept in check. Troy must be his own test subject---he is so deadpan about everything.

loved the costumes, which are all black and grey for the human characters, but bright colors for the Weathermen. The Weathermen are a talented group who also sing, sometimes in harmony. They had a clever list of medications: “fuck it all, Adderall,” and “closure is overrated, just get medicated.” 


Shaina Schrooten (Annabelle) and Adam Zaininger (Sun)

The play ends with Annie’s birthday. As she observes, birthdays “make us look at ourselves---or we are just furniture.”



This show runs in repertory with The Revolutionists (check out my review here) through July 8. 




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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