Steppenwolf Theatre

Route 66’s ‘On an Average Day’ Brings the House Down at Chicago’s Victory Gardens

HollywoodChicago.com — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 13:34:10 -0600

Play Rating: 4.5/5.0

CHICAGO – Chicago theatre often surprises its audiences in the notorious fizzling summer months by providing us what I like to call “Christmas in July”. In this case, though, it’s August and Santa has hopped onto Route 66. He has carried with him in his sack an unparalleled gift from Chicago’s newest theatre company.

Stef Tovar – a Jeff Award-winning actor and American Theater Company ensemble member – recently launched the aptly named Route 66 Theatre Company. It’s an artistic development hoping to cultivate stories that link both the cultures and communities of Los Angeles and Chicago.

Luckily for Chicagoans, the Chicago-based Tovar has decided to mount the company’s first theatrical endeavor at Chicago’s very own Victory Gardens Theater.

Co-produced with the Vs. Theatre Company in Los Angeles, “On an Average Day” tells the bleak and often-darkly comedic story of two long-estranged brothers torn apart by the kind of emotionally distressful past only parents can provide.

Stef Tovar (Jack) and Johnny Clark (Robert) star in “On an Average Day” at the Victory Gardens Greenhouse Theater.
Photo credit: Route 66 Theatre Company

John Kolvenbach (celebrated in Chicago for penning the Steppenwolf Theatre Company’s “Love Song”), masterfully allows the relationship between Robert (Johnny Clark) and Jack (Stef Tovar) to slowly reveal the secrecy and desperation that drenches it.

While the tension that Kolvenbach manifests is almost unyielding, he shows his true proficiency in acutely knowing the exact dramatic beats to reel back in. The dialogue is unapologetically real. Its rapidity and diction reflect those of an actual conversation transpiring between two individuals as opposed to a theatrical one.

This yields a result that’s absolutely searing.

The performances by both Clark and Tovar are arguably two of the best Chicago has witnessed all year. These are performers who view and treat acting as a true craft. Being able to watch their work up close is as hypnotizing and surreal as experiencing a glass blower create his sculptures from mere sand.

Stef Tovar (Jack) and Johnny Clark (Robert) star in “On an Average Day” at the Victory Gardens Greenhouse Theater.
Photo credit: Route 66 Theatre Company

Living as a hermit in the dilapidated family home, Clark’s deranged Robert soars in his simultaneous pathology and desperation. Robert’s tumultuous and possibly narcotic-driven past remains for the most part unknown to us. We meet the half-starved, mentally unbalanced young man who finds himself on trial for a vicious crime.

Clark skillfully plays Robert with unsettling yet enigmatic accuracy. He raises his vocal octave and adds quirks (or really ticks) to the character that viscerally unveil the decrepit state he’s in. These also impel the audience to wonder whether he will in fact snap in the very theatre.

Clark miraculously pays attention to every last detail of Robert from the way he scratches his beard to the way he throws back a can of beer.

Tovar performs the topically controlled family man Jack. He’s Robert’s older sibling and he’s simultaneously reserved and ready to crack. Tovar is a whiz at revealing the meaty yet unanswered space between every one of Kolvenbach’s lines. He succeeds at captivating his audience.

The chemistry that these actors have created between the two brothers proffers such an authenticity that it almost makes you feel like a peeping Tom looking into another family’s kitchen windows.

Jack returns to visit Robert in his pathetic state in hopes to reach a grisly conclusion. The reunion, though, results in the often edge-of-your-seat discussion of their familial histories. The writing and acting cohesively work to grab you – and hold you – at almost every moment of the work.

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Though reflective of the validity of the writing, the directing might benefit from some added variation in movement. It’s often what the artists don’t reveal that makes “On an Average Day” so mesmeric. The piece climaxes in a stage combat scene so frighteningly real that it puts most Hollywood movies to shame.

This is storytelling at its finest.

Indeed, the entire work takes place in just one conversation between two men (and quite a few beers) in a run-down kitchen. The fact that this angle is so ostensibly minute – coupled with its ability to provide one of the most gripping dramas in recent memory – makes you truly believe that big things really do come in small packages. You won’t want to miss this one.

“On an Average Day” runs through Sept. 6, 2008 at the Victory Gardens Theater at 2257 N. Lincoln Ave. in Chicago. The show runs Thursdays and Fridays at 7:30 p.m., Saturdays at 5:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2:30 p.m. Tickets cost $25. To purchase tickets and for more information, visit here or call 773-871-3000.

For a complete listing of all shows and reviews in Chicago, visit our partner TheatreInChicago.com. For half-price Chicago theater tickets, visit our partner Goldstar.

By ALISSA NORBY
Staff Writer
HollywoodChicago.com
alissa@hollywoodchicago.com

‘Superior Donuts’ From Pulitzer Prize-Winning Playwright Tracy Letts a Chicago Dish, Albeit a Stale One

HollywoodChicago.com — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 00:06:25 -0600

Rating: 3.0/5.0

CHICAGO – I wouldn’t have wanted to be Tracy Letts on Saturday afternoon. After winning both the Pulitzer Prize and the Tony Award for his opus “August: Osage County,” he had to have been feeling the tremendous pressure being placed on his newest work and first comedy “Superior Donuts”.

With a slew of Chicago critics, New York critics and high-end producers in attendance, the audience expectations on June 28, 2008 before the lights went down on the Steppenwolf Theatre’s main Chicago stage were almost palpable.

This begs the question: What happens when a celebrated playwright who has swept almost every theatre award imaginable for his famous family drama attempts a follow up to his artistic breakthrough?

Well, if you’re looking to catch another pre-Broadway hit, you may want to look elsewhere. For one thing, “Superior Donuts” is self-aware, unambitious and almost lackadaisical. “August: Osage County,” on the other hand, delved into the meat and potatoes of the human experience, this one merely attempts to scratch its sugary surface.

Ensemble member Jon Michael Hill (left) and Michael McKean in “Superior Donuts,” which is written by ensemble member Tracy Letts and directed by ensemble member Tina Landau.
Photo credit: Michael Brosilow

Having just finished the script in Jan. 2008, Letts describes “Superior Donuts” as his “love letter to Chicago”. As an Oklahoma native, Letts was encouraged by the ethnic diversity and pride that filled the city’s streets to tell a story reflecting this culture.

Though his abilities as an artist and playwright are almost inarguable, Letts’ “love letter to Chicago” seems to begin with the phrase “roses are red, violets are blue”. It’s too derivative to be substantial.

Ensemble members Yasen Peyankov (left) and James Vincent Meredith in “Superior Donuts”.
Photo credit: Michael Brosilow

The story takes place at the establishment of the piece’s title. Superior Donuts is an Uptown Chicago donut shop that seems to be home to more decrepit furniture, grease and graffiti (the main wall reads “pussy” in spray paint) than tasty pastries.

Michael McKean plays a schmucky owner named Arthur Przbyszewski. He’s a passive and unobservant yet lovable, ex-1960s war protester who halfheartedly runs the shop he inherited from his Polish father.

Citing Starbucks as the monstrous evil villain, Arthur laments the oncoming gentrification of a part of Chicago that was once rich with diversity and vibrant with the hope of a better future for its inhabitants. McKean portrays Arthur with respectable subtlety and charm.

He also manages to ease through Brechtian monologues that had the potential to muddle and halt the action.

Just when Arthur is pondering selling the shop to Max Tarasov – a stout Russian immigrant with his eye on business expansion (played charmingly by Yasen Peyankov) – in walks catalytic Franco Wicks to assist him in the fry shop.

Wicks is a young, bright and energetic African-American boy who plans to make a name for himself with his own opus: his great American novel. Almost a direct metaphor for “August: Osage County,” Wicks sees his own story (“America Will Be”) as his one-way ticket out of a lackluster town.

It’s also his payback ticket for the whopping debt that needs to be paid due to a few rather unbelievable dealings with loan sharks. New ensemble member Jon Michael Hill is a lightning bolt on stage in this role. Supremely gifted and energetic, he brings a fresh air not only to the piece but to the entire Steppenwolf stage.

After some frustration, Franco and Arthur soon develop a sweet yet painfully contrived friendship that’s all-too reminiscent of movies like “Dangerous Minds” and “Finding Forrester”. Here we see the typical relationship between the white elder in desperate need of a new breath of life and the tenacious yet troubled, inner-city teenager who will be doing the breathing.

“I hate to break it to you, but the Grateful Dead ain’t gonna hire another guitar player,” Franco spews before a trite, dopey, guy-gets-a-makeover scene that’s more Disney gimmick than literary device. Franco also helps Arthur learn to be more romantically assertive with a harsh yet coquettish cop (Randy Osteen) who’s blatantly more interested in the shop’s owner than its oily delicacies.

It is scenes and structures like these that lead to the déjà-vu feeling of the show.

It’s a story that’d ring true for many audience members: a tale of a beloved but rough town whose very soulfulness is being lost to big business. Still, it’s chock full of the absurd: campy bad guys clad in overcoats, overused “Star Trek” nerds-are-funny jokes, jabs at Starbucks and even some unsettling jeers at the gay community.

The second act falls victim to an ineffective stage combat scene, after-school special dialogue and a predictable ending.

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The acting is proficient, though, and the set, lighting and directing are all more than pleasing to the mind. While unexpected, it’s ultimately the script that leaves the piece feeling vapid. I just couldn’t shake the feeling that I had seen this same show many, many times before.

But for all its cliché silliness, “Superior Donuts” delivers a treat to the proud Chicagoan. The script is infused with gleeful references to Roscoe Village, Old Town, Jefferson Park and even the loose cougar that recently made its way through our neighborhood streets. Letts clearly loves this town and he knows his audience does, too.

With Chi-town quips that would make you just as proud of our hot dogs and deep-dish pizza as it would our rich history, the show really does feel like our city’s story. That would ultimately do well for anyone’s palate.

“Superior Donuts” runs every day of the week except Monday at various times through Aug. 24, 2008 (extended from Aug. 17) at the Steppenwolf Downstairs Theatre at 1650 N. Halsted St. in Chicago. For tickets or more information, visit this special link for free to half-price tickets!

For a complete listing of all shows and reviews in Chicago, visit our partner TheatreInChicago.com. For half-price Chicago theater tickets, visit our partner Goldstar.

By ALISSA NORBY
Staff Writer
HollywoodChicago.com
alissa@hollywoodchicago.com

The Weinstein Co. to Hit Broadway With Stage Versions of ‘Finding Neverland,’ Pink Floyd’s ‘The Wall’

HollywoodChicago.com — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 14:18:54 -0600

CHICAGO – Brothers Harvey Weinstein and Bob Weinstein of The Weinstein Company are becoming just as big on Broadway as they have been in the movies.

Harvey Weinstein (left) and Bob Weinstein (right) of The Weinstein Company.
Photo credits: Harvey Weinstein image (source) and Bob Weinstein image (source)

The Weinstein Co., which is a minority producer in the Tony Award-winning revival “Boeing Boeing” and the Steppenwolf Theatre’s Tony Award-winning “August: Osage County,” recently announced the production of numerous stage projects. They’ll begin with a stage version of the film “Finding Neverland” followed by a work based off Pink Floyd’s seminal album “The Wall”.

Further down the line are musicals based off the Miramax pictures “Shakespeare in Love,” “Chocolat,” “Cinema Paradiso” and “Shall We Dance”.

The Weinsteins first got their taste for live theatre when they helped produce Tom Stoppard’s 2000 revival of “The Real Thing” and the following year on Mel Brooks’ “The Producers”. Up until now, the brothers have played low-key rolls in the creative process, but the newly announced productions will feature The Weinstein Co. at the helm of each.

The Weinstein Co. has also announced a major rehaul on its Miramax TV division, which aside from “Project Greenlight” and “Project Runway” hasn’t been as successful as its film and stage ventures.

New shows include “The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency” for HBO, “Models of the Runway” (a “Project Runway” spinoff for Lifetime) and a sitcom based on the 2007 movie “The Nanny Diaries”. Also in the works include the eco-friendly series “Lovecraft” and a new take on the 1980s franchise “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous”.

By DUSTIN LEVELL
Senior Staff Writer
HollywoodChicago.com
dustin@hollywoodchicago.com

Chicago’s ‘August: Osage County’ Shines at Tony Awards; ‘Cowboys & Aliens’ Gets Green Light

HollywoodChicago.com — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 11:56:01 -0600

CHICAGO – The 62nd-annual Tony Awards, which were held on Sunday night, reflect a diverse but weak year for original theatre. Revivals bested originals nine to two.

Taking home the most awards that night with seven was Bartlett Sher’s revival of the Oscar Hammerstein classic “South Pacific”. The original musical “In the Heights” and the Pulitzer Prize-winning play “August: Osage County” got three and four awards respectively.

“August: Osage County” got its start at the Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago. Company member Rondi Reed took home the Tony for best actress in a play.

Though the Tony Awards were one night celebrating American theatre, sources point to the stagehand strike and a lack of runaway hits like “Spring Awakening” or “Jersey Boys” this year as the foundation for Broadway failing to set new box-office records as it has done the past three years. The full list of the 2008 Tony Awards follows.

Book (musical): “Passing Strange” (Stew)
Original score (music and/or lyrics): “In the Heights” (music and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda)
Revival (play): “Boeing-Boeing”
Revival (musical): “South Pacific”
Actor (play): Mark Rylance, “Boeing-Boeing”
Actress (play): Deanna Dunagan, “August: Osage County”
Actor (musical): Paulo Szot, “South Pacific”
Actress (musical): Patti LuPone, “Gypsy”
Featured actor (play): Jim Norton, “The Seafarer”
Featured actress (play): Rondi Reed, “August: Osage County”
Featured actor (musical): Boyd Gaines, “Gypsy”
Featured actress (musical): Laura Benanti, “Gypsy”
Direction (play): Anna D. Shapiro, “August: Osage County”
Direction (musical): Bartlett Sher, “South Pacific”
Choreography: Andy Blankenbuehler, “In the Heights”
Orchestrations: Alex Lacamoire and Bill Sherman, “In the Heights”
Scenic design (play): Todd Rosenthal, “August: Osage County”
Scenic design (musical): Michael Yeargen, “South Pacific”
Costume design (play): Katrina Lindsay, “Les Liaisons Dangereuses”
Costume design (musical): Catherine Zuber, “South Pacific”
Lighting design (play): Kevin Adams, “The 39 Steps”
Lighting design (musical): Donald Holder, “South Pacific”
Sound design (play): Mic Pool, “The 39 Steps”
Sound design (musical): Scott Lehrer, “South Pacific”

Previously Announced:
Regional Theater Tony Award: Chicago Shakespeare Theater
Special Tony Award: Robert Russell Bennett
Lifetime Achievement Award: Stephen Sondheim

In other news, the graphic novel “Cowboys & Aliens” is coming to the big screen. Robert Downey Jr. is currently in talks for the starring role as a former Union Army gunslinger named Zeke Jackson. Even though the comic book has only been out a few years, the film has been in development for the last decade.

The comic cover for “Cowboys & Aliens”.
Image credit: Platinum Studios Comics

The latest draft of the screenplay was written by Hawk Ostby and Mark Fergus (“Iron Man,” “Children of Men”). DreamWorks and Universal are currently seeking a 2010 release for the film. The story conceived by Fred Van Lente and Andrew Foley follows the adventures of Old West settlers, Native Americans and – of course – aliens from space.

Finally, the big green brought the green into the movie theaters this weekend. “The Incredible Hulk” took the No. 1 spot at the box office with Jack Black’s “Kung Fu Panda” coming in second. M. Night Shamalyan’s “The Happening” performed better than expected.

Weekend Box-Office Estimates:
1) “The Incredible Hulk”: $54.5 million (gross), $54.5 million (cume)
2) “Kung Fu Panda”: $34.3 million (gross), $118.0 million (cume)
3) “The Happening”: $30.5 million (cume), $30.5 million (cume)
4) “You Don’t Mess with the Zohan”: $16.4 million (gross), $68.8 million (cume)
5) “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull”: $13.5 million (gross), $275.3 million (cume)

By DUSTIN LEVELL
Senior Staff Writer
HollywoodChicago.com
dustin@hollywoodchicago.com

Top Chicago Theater Picks For Feb. 14, 2008: ‘Heat Wave,’ ‘Augusta,’ ‘Columbinus’

HollywoodChicago.com — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 12:01:41 -0700

CHICAGO – Following the popularity of our HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film offering (free advance-screening movie passes!), we’ve had numerous requests from readers to offer the same kind of deals for local theater and comedy, too. We are now pleased to bring you the HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Theater & Comedy as a result of a new partnership with Goldstar.

Similiar but a bit different than our partnership with FilmMetro.com for HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, this new package features our top selections for the best theater and comedy shows just about to raise their curtains specifically in Chicago. While these obviously can’t all be offered for free, some are free and most are half price!

We are confident about our decision to partner with Goldstar for this important offering. Founded in 2002 in Los Angeles, Goldstar is comprised of Internet professionals from Warner Bros., Yahoo!, etc. who have been working in e-commerce since before it was called e-commerce.

For each of the Chicago productions we feature below, all they ask is for you to create a free account, which takes but a minute. You’ll then have access to all the free and half-price tickets to top-quality productions that your heart desires. Here are this week’s selections and deals!

Title: “Heat Wave”
Venue: Pegasus Players at O’Rourke Center
Dates: Feb. 21 to 24, 2008
Full Price: $15 Partner Price: Free!
Description: Based on the book “Heat Wave: A Social Autopsy of Disaster in Chicago,” Steven Simoncic’s moving new play looks at the heat wave of 1995 that took the lives of 739 Chicagoans. Simoncic presents a vivid portrait of a city in crisis but with its resources and humanity firmly intact.
Snag your free “Heat Wave” tickets now!

Title: “Columbinus”
Venue: Raven East Stage
Dates: Feb. 14 to March 15, 2008
Full Price: $25 Partner Price: Free-$12.50!
Description: “Columbinus” is a fascinating examination of human behavior based on interviews with Columbine residents. The play first creates a general world of adolescence and then morphs into the factual events leading specifically to the school shootings. “Columbinus” asks: “Why do people treat each other the way we do?”
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Title: “Augusta”
Venue: American Theater Company
Dates: Feb. 14 to 24, 2008
Full Price: $30-$35 Partner Price: $15-$17.50!
Description: American Theater Company presents the Chicago premiere of Richard Dresser’s “Augusta,” which is directed by “Saturday Night Live” alum Nora Dunn. This searing dark comedy puts the clash between working people and corporate America under the microscope. Two women and their boss scheme with and against each other as they strive to make a housekeeping service their ticket to success. As the trio’s desperation moves them to test ethical limits, Augusta confronts the real meaning of getting ahead.
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Title: “Good Boys and True”
Venue: Steppenwolf Downstairs Theatre
Dates: Feb. 15 to 16, 2008
Full Price: $55-$68 Partner Price: $27.50-$34!

Description: Steppenwolf Theatre Company presents the world premiere of Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa’s “Good Boys and True”. When Brandon Hardy – a highly regarded student at an elite prep school – is embroiled in a scandal that threatens his future, his mother must investigate to separate fact from fiction.

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Title: “Talking it Over”
Venue: Lifeline Theatre
Dates: Feb. 11 to March 16, 2008
Full Price: $25 Partner Price: $12.50!

Description: When steady Stuart marries the enigmatic Gillian, his impetuous school chum, Oliver, senses that three has become a crowd. But who will end up on the outside as this love triangle struggles to find balance? This darkly comic look at friendship, loyalty and love is at once funny and brutal.

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