Neil LaBute’s ‘In a Dark Dark House’ Unearths Long-Buried Skeletons in Three-Person Play

HollywoodChicago.com — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 21:25:36 -0700

CHICAGO – It’s not in calm seas but within torrential rains when we lay bare our true colors. Lauded playwright Neil LaBute was fixated on testing these human limits and exploring our different styles of conflict resolution when he minted the three-person play “In a Dark Dark House”.

The skeletons buried deep in the past of two brothers are unearthed in an early mid-life crisis that forces Terry (played by Profiles Theatre associate artistic director Darrell W. Cox) and Drew (played by Hans Fleischmann) to experience court-ordered rehab as a brotherly duo.

Profiles Theatre associate artistic director Darrell W. Cox (left) plays Terry and Hans Fleischmann plays his brother, Drew, in the Chicago production of Neil LaBute’s “In a Dark Dark House”.
Photo credit: Thad Hallstein

While Terry is reluctantly agreeable to help with the corroboration of Drew’s vexing story, he’s also skeptical and harbors long-brewing animosities against him. For LaBute, the narrative holds weighty implication in front of Windy City theatergoers.

“This has been a really incredible experience: having a company devote itself to seeing that my work – both full plays and a number of shorter pieces – gets in front of a Chicago audience,” LaBute said about the Profiles Theatre’s decision to devote the entirety of its 2007 to 2008 season to him.

“In a Dark Dark House” first opened in New York in 2007. The Chicago production marks its second performance and Midwest premiere. Also a filmmaker, LaBute’s newest film – “Lakeview Terrace” – stars Samuel L. Jackson and is scheduled for a Sept. 2008 release.

“I started out as a Chicago writer and still consider myself that,” LaBute added. “I’m happy to give even one of my newest plays like ‘In a Dark Dark House’ to Profiles because I know they will take good care of it.”

In the Chicago presentation, Cox clearly shines most brightly as the star of the show and wears the act of the apathetic, raspy, working-class outcast like a glove. Whether animated or meek, all eyes and ears are set squarely on him as Cox nearly single-handedly carries the show.

Though Fleischmann’s character oscillates between the loony bin type and an accomplished lawyer, just sporting a suit doesn’t mean he can pull off a grown and married man with kids. While honestly believing some of his moments of uncertainty, embarrassment and dread as an actor, it was the overshadowing Cox who best consummated what dramatic actors always strive for: true moments on stage.

Profiles founder and “In a Dark Dark House” director Joe Jahraus made an intrepid decision casting Allison Torem as the youthful and naïve subplot. As a real-life junior in high school, this play serves as her professional debut and launching pad into the world of Chicago theater.

In verdict, the choice wielded a double-edged sword. Torem didn’t underwhelmingly stick out like a sore thumb but also didn’t hauntingly command her role like veterans do. Despite some questionable casting and necessary character honing, the play in sum tactfully tackles a valiant subject with candor and pensive storytelling.

“In a Dark Dark House” runs through May 11, 2008 at the Profiles Theatre at 4147 N. Broadway in Chicago. 8 p.m. on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays; 7 p.m. on Sundays. While tickets cost $25 to $30, they are half price with this link.

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

Top Chicago Theater Picks For March 27, 2008: ‘Driving Miss Daisy,’ ‘Dead Man’s Cell Phone,’ ‘Bronte’

HollywoodChicago.com — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 21:56:22 -0700

CHICAGO – Free or half-price Chicago theater and comedy tickets. No catch. Just click the link, take just a moment to make a free Goldstar account (or log into your existing Goldstar account) and you’re on your way.

This week, we feature the Pulitzer Prize-winning play “Driving Miss Daisy,” the quirky comic adventure “Dead Man’s Cell Phone” at the Steppenwolf, the Victorian literary drama “Bronte” at the Victory Gardens Greenhouse Theater, Neil LaBute’s acclaimed “In a Dark Dark House” at the Profiles Theatre and the first full-length Tennessee Williams play “Candles to the Sun” also at Victory Gardens.

For each of the Chicago productions we feature below, Goldstar requires 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: “Driving Miss Daisy”
Venue: Mayslake Peabody Estate in Oakbrook, Ill.
Dates: April 2, 3 and 9, 2008
Full Price: $16-$26 Partner Price: $8-$13!
Description: First Folio presents Alfred Uhry’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play “Driving Miss Daisy”. This story details the relationship between an elderly Jewish matron and her African-American chauffeur over the span of several decades. Uhry has created two outsiders who come to a mutual respect based on their independence, strength and integrity.
Snag your “Driving Miss Daisy” tickets now!

Title: “Dead Man’s Cell Phone”
Venue: Steppenwolf Upstairs Theatre
Dates: March 27 to June 1, 2008
Full Price: $40-$68 Partner Price: $20-$34!
Description: Jean is sleepwalking through her life until she answers a dead man’s cell phone. It turns out to be a wake-up call that sends her on a date with the dead man’s brother, a drinking binge with his wife and a mysterious rendezvous with his mistress as Jean rediscovers herself.

Snag your “Dead Man’s Cell Phone” tickets now!

Title: “Bronte”
Venue: Victory Gardens Greenhouse Theater
Dates: March 28 to May 2, 2008
Full Price: $40 Partner Price: $20!
Description: This inventive drama examines the lives of three of the most studied and discussed writers of all time. Spurred by their brother’s tumultuous personal life, Charlotte, Emily and Anne Bronte write from their remote home on the Yorkshire moors. The real and the imagined collide as the characters the sisters have created come to life.

Snag your “Bronte” tickets now!

Title: “In a Dark Dark House”
Venue: Profiles Theatre
Dates: March 28 to May 11, 2008
Full Price: $15-$30 Partner Price: $7.50-$15!
Description: On the grounds of a private psychiatric facility, two brothers find themselves brought face to face with each other’s involvement in their traumatic past. In Neil LaBute’s powerful new play, these siblings must struggle to come to grips with their troubled legacy both inside and outside their dark family home.

Snag “In a Dark Dark House” tickets now!

Title: “Candles to the Sun”
Venue: Victory Gardens Greenhouse Theater
Dates: March 27 to April 25, 2008
Full Price: $25 Partner Price: $12.50!
Description: Eclipse Theatre Company presents the Chicago premiere of the first full-length Tennessee Williams play “Candles to the Sun”. Set during the Great Depression in Alabama’s coal-mining region, the play paints a portrait of the bleak lives of the miners’ families and their attempts to unionize.
Snag your “Candles to the Sun” tickets now!

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