‘Ceres’ a High-Octane Probe Into Chicago’s Slippery Investment Banker Slope

CHICAGO – Tucked surreptitiously at the way-way-way-off-Loop location of the Prop Thtr – Chicago’s oldest-surviving non-equity theater in the area – the signature that is “Ceres” is its high-octane energy. The cast act in harmony much in the same way as the “X-Men” character Juggernaut: once their momentum is synthesized, it can’t be stopped.

The theme is carried consistently from the instant “Ceres” lights up all the way through its curtain call. All throughout the middle, The Factory Theater troupe allows theatergoers to feel like privileged voyeurs in the lions’ den of high-volatility investment brokers who crook all their rules, loyalties and ethics in order to make the coveted sale.

Gretchen Carter as Ivy in the Chicago production of “Ceres”. Photo credit: The Factory Theater

The 1992 film “Glengarry Glen Ross” – perhaps the quintessential exploration of sales in cinema – is shrewdly referenced in “Ceres” to imply partial inspiration. Beyond the Al Pacino machination examination, Chicago writer Heather Tyler acknowledges having drawn a direct muse from “sitting in a room stuffed with attorneys and answering some questions one Thanksgiving”.

Set against the milieu of the Windy City’s financial district and honed specifically on the suspect actions of a furtive assemblage called Unit 57, the ensuing outpouring explores the explosiveness, backbiting camaraderie and infidelity often triggered by the towering profit demands of corporate governance.

Chicago director Angelina Martinez – who took on this play with full realization that right and wrong often aren’t blatantly black or white – sets in motion the dangerous “grey area” with a Chicago cast of nine stage actors and a dozen more film actors. A film is presented in tandem with what’s live on stage and is creatively projected onto the stage’s far wall.

While the film crew had a decidedly more grave air about them, the stage crew sometimes fell victim to zealously delivering their lines while neglecting to feel them and understand their intentions.

While film sound was sometimes a screechy issue on preview night, the production will likely iron out that kink. The title “Ceres” has questionable relevance about a planet that never was and perhaps would have been better served as a variation of “Money Talks,” “Get Outta My Way, Sucka” or “Swindling is the Life For Me – Or is It?”.

While auxiliary topical research would have been a credibility improvement and supplementary lasting lessons from the story as a whole would have left us more fulfilled, Gretchen Carter’s Ivy character importantly and ultimately probes the double-edged ethics sword inherent in this profession – amid a probe, in fact, into her unit’s overall profiteering practices – and leaves us with the message to question the beast even if it’s lavishly feeding the cow.

By ADAM FENDELMAN Editor-in-Chief HollywoodChicago.com adam@hollywoodchicago.com