Goodly Creatures: "An Ideal Husband" at Elgin Art Showcase

"It's a very dangerous thing to listen," says Sir Robert Chiltern, the leading man in Oscar Wilde's 1895 play An Ideal Husband. It's but one of hundreds of witty one-liners that speckle this long, wordy script considered one of Wilde's best.

But listen you must, to the vivid characterizations, hilarious contradictions, and covert social observations.

This stalwart cast carried off the four act play with gentle and believable London accents that never distracted, and reeled off sparring dialogues with nary a flubbed line. Slowing the tempo to savor this language would have pushed the play to four hours — a bargain wisely not taken.

Greg Waldyn was brilliantly cast as Sir Chiltern, the flawed and flustered politician with something to hide. Katie McClatchey played a convincing Lady Chevely with a palette of colors — never muted, and sometimes just a tad dark for the upholstery.

Jamie Ewing as Lord Goring (left) and Tom Viskocil as the Earl of Caversham, neither of whom are the ideal husband.

Among many strong performances, Katrina Plonczynski stole a scene as Lady Markby with a delightfully elastic, bombastic delivery. Jamie Ewing brought depth to the two-dimensional Mr. Goring, "the most idle man in London," with his conceited Victorian mansplaining.

You won't notice a little static noise from the P.A. during these scenes of parties, ex partes, and prattles as the Lost Art of Conversation is gloriously revived.

But George Bernard Shaw was right in saying Wilde is "our most thorough playwright; he plays with everything," including props, visual situations and stage movement. Director Rachel Stevens handled this word-heavy script nicely, with just the right amount of action and set design to complement the brilliant writing: exactly what's necessary, and no more.

Set against a plot of political games(wo)manship, the play examines the politics of relationships and the unavoidable hypocrisy of defining ideals in a fallible human society.

An Ideal Husband continues through March 1st at the Elgin Art Showcase, 164 Division Street in downtown Elgin, with shows at 8pm Thursdays thru Saturdays, and 2pm Sundays. For tickets and further information, go to goodlycreatures.com.

"Suite Surrender" Gets More Than Three Stars

The service is first class in this amusing hotel farce in which two pretentious divas are booked into the same suite. It has all the gasping, door slamming and misdirection you'd expect in this classic comedic genre, populated by stereotypes so exaggerated that the roles almost play themselves.

Tania Joy (as Claudia McFadden) and Jennifer McHugh (Athena Sinclair) are the two leading ladies who create fantastic caricatures of 1940's era USO songstresses, delivering complete performances of music, movement, multiple costume changes and sneering dialogue.

Gabor Mark (Bernard S. Dunlap) portrayed a heel-clicking yet beleaguered hotel manager with an amazing repertoire of attitudes and affects as he exchanged lines with his VIP guests and his fumbling, ingratiating staff.

Casting by Director Julie Price was superb, as the supporting actors all turned in boisterous, over-the-top, physical performances in parts that were nearly impossible to overact.

Suite Surrender is an excellent choice for the Elgin Art Showcase with its high ceilings and grand piano, set up with vases, velvet, and vintage decor that perfectly evoked the extravagance of a bygone era. Though the script may not break any new creative ground, its familiar trajectory is punctuated by a clever plot twist. No spoilers here!

Cross your fingers for another wardrobe malfunction — it's just the sort of unscripted element that perfects a comedy like this, in the hands of such skilled actors.

The show continues through February 9th at the Elgin Art Showcase, 164 Division Street, Eighth Floor, in downtown Elgin. Shows are Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm and Sundays at 2pm. For reservations or more information, call (847) 741-0532, email tickets@inil.com or go to elgin-theatre.org.

American Maniacs Unlimited at Elgin Fringe Fest

History, Politics, Geography, Business — everything gets skewered* in "Manifest Destiny," the latest production by your friends from last year's Robert Frosty Theater Company.

Who says pirates can't attack your Montana hat shop? Who says the world market can't run on rutabagas? Who says you can't combine pitch day in the writer's room with the 1994 hit "Breakfast at Tiffany's" by Deep Blue Something? This is America, dammit, and it's our destiny!

(And this is what happens when you reorganize a small Chicago theater company which is interested in exploring other media and has a tight Instagram following ... and you don't have a mission statement.)

But once again, the award for "Best Anachronistic or Cross-Species Stage Violence" goes to ... you guessed it, American Maniacs!

Don't be the Saddest Boy in Illinois —put on that adult diaper and get down here to see their last show Sunday at 3pm at the Elgin Art Showcase. We know for a fact that people have been disemboweled for lesser reasons. What we don't know: was it horsemeat steaks? or horseburger?

* No crocodiles, cowboys, fishmongers, pirates, vikings, horses, little ponies, poets, puppeteers, führers or senators were physically harmed in the production of this show.

Goodly Creatures Premieres "Nevermore" at Elgin Art Showcase

The word "nevermore" calls to mind the one-word vocabulary of the Raven in Edgar Allan Poe's narrative poem of the same name. It's emblematic of Poe's life, which is best known for its endings rather than its beginnings.

In "Nevermore," the original theatrical adapation of several of Poe's poems, the cast of Goodly Creatures portrays a gang of outsiders with rough exteriors that conceal their complicated consciences. The two act play was written and directed by Katrina Syrris, Founder and Artistic Director of Goodly Creatures, who also appears in a minor role.

The floor of the Elgin Art Showcase is set up in borderless vignettes where characters transition in and out like the persons in a dream. Their relationships are gradually exposed through monologues that borrow the direct text of Poe's poetry, including "The Raven" and many lesser-known works.

The characters are constantly self-medicating as they share their fears, grief, and gothic fantasies in period verse, which adds to the illusory quality of the sixteen short scenes which are emotionally and sometimes physically raw.

A few syllables get lost in the crying, whispering or drunken mumblings, but the key storytelling is in the action and excellent costumes and set. Although Poe had a (somewhat undeserved) reputation as a sullen or angry drunk or even a madman, he loved puzzles and hoaxes, and the cast injects glimpses of good humor that provide welcome relief from the literary syntax and heavy imagery.

And like Poe's life, "Nevermore" can also be seen as a sequence of endings, daring us to wonder what may come next. At times, you'll experience Poe-esque confusion and intrigue at what you're seeing and hearing, but let your imagination supply some of the material for this fable, just as his own characters did.

And yes, even intoxicated people can say some pretty amazing things. Check out "Nevermore" through August 18th, with showtimes at 8pm Thursday through Saturdays, and 2pm Sundays at the Elgin Art Showcase, 164 Division Street in downtown Elgin. Advance tickets are $15 ($12 seniors/students), available at goodlycreatures.com

Independent Players present a Classic Comedy

In a play about the theatre, in which actors play the roles of actors and other theatrical personnel, the possibilities for a multi-layered plot are intriguing. Where Noel Coward's Present Laughter (1939) is light on plot, it's heavy on characterizations, to which good actors will bring the best of their craft.

Directed by Don Haefliger, the Independent Players' cast of eleven seized the opportunity on opening night Friday at the Elgin Art Showcase.

In a role which Coward created for himself, Gabor Mark plays Gary Essendine, a temperamental and self-indulgent actor turned 41. Mark captures the exaggerations and peccadilloes of a spoiled British Thespian in his brilliant caricature, flinging out lines like "My entire life is one long torment, and no one remotely cares!"

Standing out among the supporting cast was Madeline Franklin as the vivacious Joanna, a wife and mistress within Gary's inner circle. Her stage presence and delivery commanded attention in every scene she shared with the other quirky and pretentious characters.

Coward's classic script is witty and downright hilarious at times, but still richly detailed with self-conscious lines like "I'm always acting," and "Don't be affected, Gary," and "Stop being theatrical!" All of these characters — not just the actors — are profound liars in their own way, and even the hired help injects drama into the story.

But this is really an actor's play. The more experienced players' quality of entrances, body language, and diction was superb, showing just the right restraint in this barely civilized farce. Some of the accents were better than others, but they were all successful, even communicating region and social class which, along with excellent costumes, created vivid personalities.

The run time is more than two hours (with an intermission), but you won't be checking your watch with all this colorful and comedic melodrama happening just a few feet away. See it for yourself, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30pm through March 16th at the Elgin Art Showcase, 164 Division Street. For tickets and more information, go to independentplayers.org

At Grandmother's House with Elgin Theatre Company

Just like Italian food, Over the River and Through the Woods is savory and easy to swallow. The two-act play written by Joseph DiPietro and performed by the Elgin Theatre Company opened Friday night at the Elgin Art Showcase in downtown Elgin.

The grandparent-grandchild relationship is the lens through which this plays looks at life's priorities. For the older generation, it's faith, family and food. "Tengo familia" ("I have a family") is the cherished tenet of two sets of grandparents, whose grandson's career ambitions are threatening to take him thousands of miles away.

Though the thermostat is always set too high in Grandma's house, the characters are comfortable — with themselves and each other — and the situations seem familiar. The cast seasoned their portrayals of Italian-Americans from New Jersey with subtle accents, manners and costume to make them very believable and likeable.

Tom Ochociniski and Linda Sak play Frank and Aida Gianelli, whose kitchen is always open and table always has room for one more. Richard Johnson plays Nunzio Cristano and Arlene Arnone plays Emma, who tries to fix her grandson up with a nice local girl Caitlin, played by Jess Smith. The scenes flow like a sketch comedy with plenty of laughs.

Grandson Nick Cristano, played by Matt Hellyer, is at the center of the plot tension. On one side, he's the reason for his grandparents' fear of detachment; on the other side, he's the object of Caitlin's fear of attachment.

This family's style is more words than action, and the cast wasted no time delivering the next line. True to her character, not even a broken wrist could stop Arnone as Emma from talking with her hands.

With highly effective lighting and sound by Andrew Murschel and excellent casting and coaching by Director Richard Pahl, this production was like a fine lasagna: a little cheesy, just enough meat, and definitely warm and satisfying.

Enjoy a little theatrical comfort food! Over the River and Through the Woods runs for three weekends, through February 24th. Shows are at 8pm on Fridays and Saturdays and 2pm on Sundays. For tickets and complete information, go to elgin-theatre.org or call (847) 741-0532.

Fremont Street Theater Company's "Mrs. Claus"

In a clever twist on the traditional Santa Claus story, the Fremont Street Theater Company delivered a healthy message about generosity, multiculturalism, and acceptance in the world premiere of a colorful Christmas musical, "Mrs. Claus Saves Christmas Eve," with script, lyrics and music by Sue Mrotek.

The cast of "Mrs. Claus Saves Christmas Eve" joined by friends and audience members.

Adults were just as captivated as the kids by the elaborate costumes and set featuring the magnificent fireplace of the Elgin Art Showcase decked out in holiday trimmings. The characterizations and amusing action directed by Julie Price held childrens' attention, but parents could see something more: a multigenerational cast, a multilingual script, and a story that emphasized values and the better parts of human nature.

The very affordable ticket price of $6 had no bearing on the quality or the talent, as these accomplished performers sang sophisticated solos and combos with superb musical arrangements by A.J. Braman. A more ambitious lighting design could have helped shape some vignettes better, but the staging, seating and sound reflected the considerable experience this group brought to the production.

This was the debut of Fremont's R.A.T.E.!! project -- Raising Awareness through Theater Expression!! -- an effort to engage dual language families through the arts. It clearly has potential in Elgin, where the significant number of multilingual households are currently underserved by English language theater groups and Anglo- and Euro-centric art music.

Alongside Children's Theatre of Elgin, which produces musical theatre by children, R.A.T.E.!! could become an important complement: multilingual musical theatre for children. The next production is planned for Summer 2019, and will be announced soon at www.fremontstreettheater.com.

Janus Theatre Co presents Marsha Norman's "'Night Mother"

All the pain of misunderstanding is summed up in a daughter's last words, "'Night Mother," the title of a Pulitzer prize-winning 1983 play by Marsha Norman. Produced by Janus Theatre Company, the show opened Friday night at the Elgin Art Showcase, the first of a series titled "Underplayed: The Margo Jones Theater Project."

In one eighty-minute scene, a lifetime of personal baggage is unpacked by a mother and daughter over cigarettes and hot cocoa. Leah Soderstrom plays Jesse Cates, an estranged wife who has given up on life, and Maureen Morley plays her anxious mother Thelma. After a tense conversation preoccupied with the minutiae of interpersonal communication, their mundane routine will come to an abrupt end.

With a set made of elements borrowed from somewhere in small town America, sometime in the twentieth century, the actors play to a 360 degree audience in a style practiced by Margo Jones, the regional theatre pioneer and namesake of this month-long series of plays written by women. Excellent direction by Lori Holm places the characters just a few feet from the audience, in Janus' trademark "up close" approach to live theatre.

Maureen Morley (left) and Leah Soderstrom in 'Night Mother.

Soderstrom plays a clear-thinking but nihilistic Jesse, easily switching from perfunctory home management recitations to moments of confession or frustration. Morley is brilliantly casted as her mother Thelma, whose unresolved issues are skillfully telegraphed through tone and body language.

The patter of dialog was rushed at times but the stage chemistry was excellent, and the intimacy of the seating layout revealed incredibly detailed acting within each character's personal space.
 
'Night Mother returns to the Elgin Art Showcase October 21st and 27th. Also playing this month are Circle Mirror Transformation and Sunday on the Rocks on select dates though November 4th. For tickets, times and more information go to www.janusplays.com

Robert Frosty Theatre Company at Elgin Fringe Festival

Nobody works so hard at something so #EFFing ridiculous as the Robert Frosty Theatre Company, whose one-act play "Frostvengers: Insanity War" unites Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer, Pope Francis, Tomahawk Peterson the Social Justice Warrior, and President Andrew Jackson 2.0 in an epic battle against a Schaumburg mayoral candidate.

Lathered and gasping from physical combat after almost every eye-popping scene, the cast splatters a melting pot of American pop culture references across the huge open floor of the Elgin Art Showcase, never looking back on their trail of mayhem.

The action is a heavy metal medley of The Three Stooges, Bruce Lee, and Wrestlemania, performed with excellent craft and powered by childlike exuberance. You'll need more than one Kleenex and possibly a diaper to contain your joy.

Catch your breath during the Guns 'n' Roses Kum-ba-yah moment. You'll need all your strength for what comes next.

Shakespeare's Sonnets for Modern Times: A Goodly Creation

Among the giants of English literary history, Shakespeare is head and shoulders above the rest for his creativity, craftsmanship and masterful use of language. Beside his well-known plays are more than 150 sonnets collected into a sequence published in 1609.

This 14-line poetic form tradtionally addresses themes of love and beauty in an idealized or metaphorical way, but Shakespeare introduced material that confonts the human experience of love as it truly is: erotic, erratic and often tragic.

Though never intended as a theatrical script per se, the sonnets have internal voices that lend themselves to dialogue, and a continuity of subject matter that offers many adaptations to a plot. It's these qualities that make "Goodly Creatures: A Review of Shakespeare's Sonnets for Modern Times" viable as a staged production.

Created by company founder and director Katrina Syrris, "Goodly Creatures" uses the original text of twelve sonnets to construct a layered and interconnected story of three couples and two singles in various stages of relationship. In each of the twelve short scenes, the action, costume and a few choice props establish context and story lines that illuminate the Elizabethan period language.

Amaria Von Dran and Cam Tucker perform Sonnet 145 in "Goodly Creatures: A Review of Shakespeare's Sonnets for Modern Times."

Incredibly, the cast is able to portray complex modern situations involving childless same-sex couples, adultery, bedroom politics, and perhaps even suicide. Shakespeare's dense and often opaque turns of phrase become clear through the sharp direction and careful acting of this highly original piece.

Thoughtful sound and lighting design and a minimal set reinforce the idea that stories such as these happen in every time and place, as the 400 year old language speaks of universal truths to adults of any century, age or gender.

Borrowing a creative device from the form itself, the final scene reinforces the enduring primacy of Love like the closing couplet of an ingenious sonnet.

"Goodly Creatures" continues Thursday through Sunday until July 15th at the Elgin Art Showcase and runs for two more weeks at Stage 773 in Chicago. Come early to get a front row seat, as you'll want to hear every word. For tickets and more information, go to goodlycreatures.com

Elgin Theatre Portrays War ... and "Piece"

The memories of women who survived the Vietnam War are brought vividly to life in Shirley Lauro's 1991 play A Piece of my Heart suggested by the book by Keith Walker, performed by Elgin Theatre Company Saturday night at the Elgin Art Showcase.

Written in documentary fashion, consisting of scenic vignettes divided up by monologues and music, Piece is a scrapbook of situations experienced by a collage of characters that suggest the range of capacities in which women served in the war: nurses, relief workers, entertainers and soldiers. Every woman had a distinct personal story, and many volunteered as a means of escaping the social constraints of pre-feminist, mid-century America. Once they arrive "in country," however, the alternating horror and monotony of daily experience drives them to escape to booze, drugs and rock 'n' roll.

Rather than develop each individual character in the cast of seven, the play often uses them interchangeably to stand in for generic people and voices of The War. In fact, the only male role is simply that of "The American Men," played by Mark Brewer. As "Leann" (Angel Novie) puts it when she arrives in Vietnam, "I'm not special. Everybody's here."

During the long first act, the characters become exhausted by the relentless assault on their senses, their ethics and their identities, and feel their humanity slipping away as routinely as the soldiers lose their limbs. When they escape the war to return home in Act Two, they find themselves wounded, once again in a country that seems entirely foreign to them.

A great script becomes an amazing production when the set, the action, and the sound and lighting tell the story as eloquently as the words. Superb interpretation by director Madeline Franklin presents the non-linear material as it should be envisioned: with an abstract set, symbolic costumes and minimal props.

In roles that border on "performance art," the cast gave inspired performances, shifting smoothly in and out of multiple characterizations, going from panic to intoxication, breaking into song, resetting the stage, never missing a cue or an entrance. Libby Einterz ("Martha") and Elizabeth Dawson ("Whitney") rose above the script in delivering key lines that may have been overwritten but were not overacted.

Kiara Wolfe ("Sissy"), Jamie McCalister ("MaryJo") and Marixa Ford ("Steele") added to the excellent talent that keeps Elgin Theatre Company still fresh after more than fifty-five seasons on stage. A Piece of my Heart closes with three more shows, Feb. 16th and 17th at 8 p.m. and Feb. 18th at 2 p.m. at the Elgin Art Showcase, 164 Division Street in downtown Elgin. For more information, go to www.elgin-theatre.org.

Independent Players Spell Out Blessing's Eleemosynary

Five years was worth the wait to finally see the Independent Players' excellent production of Eleemosynary (1985) by Lee Blessing. The unlikely title is a deep dictionary word so recondite it gets in the way of its own meaning and usage. It's a perfect metaphor for the flaws of three generations of women whose preoccupation with arcane knowledge has taken the place of understanding themselves and maintaining meaningful relationships.

A near-capacity audience was seated on two sides of a minimally set space at the Elgin Art Showcase Saturday, as the action shifted fluidly through interconnected moments of narration and dialog anchored to impressions of place and time. The talented cast was well directed to maintain such continuity through the excellent non-linear script.

The overall skill and professionalism of this production was epitomized by Marge Uhlarik-Boller as grandmother "Dorothea," a free spirit whose frustrating formative years evolved into a fascination with theoretical possibilities. Her colorful delivery was perfectly timed to inject comedy that often carried, like the play's abundance of obscure words, layers of embedded meaning.

Dorothea's daughter "Artemis" — from the Greek goddess of wilderness and the hunt — was played with tangible complexity by Lisa Schmela. Her stage movements and body language brilliantly decoded the references in Artie's words: she is always seeking relief from her multiple "attachment disorders" by immersing herself in biochemical research and moving from place to place.

Sarah Bartley played Artie's daughter "Echo," a precocious chatterbox (raised by Dorothea) whose source of joy, object of love, and purpose for living is to know the spelling and definition of every word in English. The frequent spelling recitations and sheer number of words make this role challenging, but far from one-dimensional. 

Echo covers the greatest range of all, from infancy through childhood, and on to maturity in a powerful role-reversal in the closing scene. Like her loquacious, mythical namesake, words were at times an emotionally obstructive handicap, and Echo's voice indeed reverberates with the quirky tendencies of her two mothers. But Dorothea (meaning "God's gift") is the prophet of the family as she repeats, "It's a terrible desire to want to know everything."

Clockwise from upper left: Lisa Schmela, Sarah Bartley, and Marge Uhlarik-Boller.

This ensemble did an amazing job of creating surprisingly relatable characters in vignettes that often consisted of six-syllable words, one-sided conversations and imaginary props. After 39 years, the Independent Players have not lost the knack for assembling together wonderful actors, directors and scripts. 

Eleemosynary, directed by Larry Boller, continues for one more weekend, March 17-18 at 8 p.m. at the Elgin Art Showcase.  Tickets are available at independentplayers.org or at the door.

"Peace and Redemption" Draws an Overflow Audience to Elgin Art Showcase

They needed extra chairs to accommodate all the people who came to hear "A Concert for Peace and Redemption," a program of classical vocal performance with themes that celebrate love, faith and unity. The voices of Soirée Lyrique were joined by the Elgin Master Chorale Children's Chorus and grand piano accompaniment in the spacious eighth floor venue in downtown Elgin.

Tenor Cornelius Johnson displayed his theatrical acumen in delivering Handel's "Comfort Ye My People" with clear meaning as well as art, and left us wanting to hear more solos of such eloquence. At first, the dark, polished tone of mezzo-soprano Jennifer Kosharsky reminds you of exquisite contralto voices from another continent and century, but her strength and control in the upper register of Verdi's "Oh dischiuso è il firmamento" proves she can cover either part with her impressive tessitura.

No one can fill a room with sound and feeling like soprano Solange Sior, whose solos like Bizet's "Je dis que rien ne m'épouvante" are as powerfully emotive as they are gracefully musical. Baritone Aaron Wardell's concert technique was wonderfully on point in cerebral performances like "Pro peccatis" from Rossini's Stabat Mater, whose tense Latin vowels remained vibrant even at low pitch and volume. As always, the piano accompaniment of Chiayi Lee was a learned and vivid interpretation of these great works' orchestral settings — never overpowering, nor too literal.

The singers of Soirée Lyrique and the Elgin Master Chorale Children's Chorus
take a bow after "A Concert of Peace and Redemption" at the Elgin Art Showcase.

Many in the audience had come to see the EMC Children's Chorus, a 19-voice ensemble directed by Becky Narofsky. Their beautiful unisons were enlivened by part-singing, counterpoint and several fine solos. These young singers' excellent coaching was reflected in their focus and very professional bearing.

The Elgin Art Showcase is a fine acoustic space for soft timbres and small ensembles, which favored the soloists and children's choir, but its rectilinear surfaces are not selective enough for greater volumes of sound. Soirée Lyrique's powerful solo quartet from Verdi's Requiem was simply too big for the room with the combined forces of Sior, Kosharsky, Johnson, Wardell and Lee.

But the message of these classics clear. It's the finest qualities of human nature that inspire the most beautiful music, and that is ultimately what audiences want to experience: love, unity and a glimpse of the Divine.

Janus Theatre Turns Tragedy to Victory in "Hamlet"

With the audience seated tightly together in a cluttered utility room, the stage manager turns off the only light, leaves the room and shuts the door. So begins Janus Theatre Company's promenade-style production of The Tragical History of Hamlet.

The action takes place in a series of minimally-lit "found spaces" within the Elgin Art Showcase, divided by black curtains. Between each of its eight segments adapted from historic versions of the original play, the audience moves through a doorway or a draped passage to another small set, where the cast performs a classic scene in Janus's trademark intimate style.

Described metaphorically by Artistic Director Sean Hargadon as "a maze of Hamlet's mind," the sequence of spaces borrows ingeniously from the modern-day theatrical haunted house, in which a group of strangers is ushered through harshly lit, draped rooms amid disembodied noises, images of violence and intermittent appearances by ghosts. It's the perfect vehicle in which to experience the psychodramatic journey of Hamlet.

But there are few props, minimal makeup and costume — nothing to distract from Shakespeare's story and brilliant use of language. Unfazed by the Elizabethan English of the script, the actors trade lines as if they were written yesterday, yet you'll recognize many of the Bard's famous phrases and snippets of verse that have taken on lives of their own.

And you'll feel an attachment to the characters unlike anything you've experienced in an auditorium. The action is so close, you are inside the scene — and seeing the raw humanity of skin, spit, and sweat as actors stammer and tussle their way through dialogues activates all the emotions that drama is supposed to evoke.

The cast is anchored by returning Janus players Kelly Bolton, whose cunning comedic delivery was perfectly cast as the Gravedigger, and Melody Jefferies (Ophelia), whose command of character never fails to amaze us.

Newcomer Jim Hinton (Ghost/Claudius) is in fact a highly experienced actor and singer whose excellence of craft is apparent, and Joe Cattoggio in the title role channeled a conflicted and introspective Hamlet through his own naturally tense and impetuous persona. The tears we held back in the final scene with Ben Vogt (Horatio) were quite unexpected.

The Tragical History of Hamlet continues through May 7th. See www.janusplays.com for exact dates and times.

The Independent Players Take the Trick in "Octette Bridge Club"

Eight Irish Catholic sisters and their biweekly ritual are the ingenious premise for "The Octette Bridge Club," by P. J. Barry (1984), performed for a full house on opening night by the Independent Players.

Beautiful depression-era set design and costumes set the tone for a story that transports us to a time when people still relied on traditional gender roles and brittle social norms to find their place in the world. When these sisters gather to play cards, they gently suppress their classic birth order personalities and find moral support in censoring each other.

Cast of "The Octette Bridge Club" (back row, from left) Lori Rohr, Laura Schaefer,
Beth Hitzeroth-McDonald, Nancy Braus, Angela Douglass; (seated, from left)
Marilyn House, Patricia Rataj, B. J. Franquelli; Christopher Lenard.

Each of the actresses in this excellent cast must rely on careful timing to squeeze her lines in edgewise during scenes cluttered with smalltalk, which masks their real-life problems the way corsets and face powder hide their bodily imperfections. Repeated lines like "You're not yourself!" are subtle signals that even the sisters themselves can't decode.

Yet as the play develops, each artist manages to introduce glimpses of individuality through body language and highly nuanced delivery of an opportunistic script. Then a sudden childish regression takes over Betsy (played by Lori Rohr), triggering a game-changing breakdown as momentous as the crumbling walls of Jericho.

The struggle for true individual identity is not a unique plot trajectory, but this clever script is an excellent choice by veteran director Don Haefliger. Large families have a language and culture all their own, and "Octette" elicited standout performances by Rohr, Beth Hitzeroth-McDonald ("Connie") and Patricia Rataj ("Martha") in challenging roles.

Playing the entire second act in Halloween outfits, the sisters literally compete for the Best Costume award, but only Betsy rips off her veils to expose herself as she truly is. And the card game is a brilliant metaphor for the constant tension between cooperation and competition, switching partners, and "playing the dummy" in a family — and a society — with complex rules.

If you love a relatable story, vibrant acting, or powerful composition, and whether you like comedy or drama, you'll find it in "The Octette Bridge Club," which runs Friday and Saturday nights through March 19th.  For reservations, call (847) 697-7374.

Janus Theatre's Immersive Take on "An Iliad"

Don't let the title mislead you, this is An Iliad unlike any you've read, heard or seen before. Janus Theatre Company's area premiere of the work by Lisa Peterson and Denis O'Hare puts the classic story of the Trojan War literally front and center.

The main character in this drama is the Epic Poet archetype, played alternately by actors Lori Holm, Ann Marie Nordby, Joe Cattoggio and Janus Artistic Director Sean Hargadon. In a series of monologues, the Poets retell the story like they have for generations, linking the tragedies of the ancient plot with centuries of human experience.

Shifting fluidly from narrator, to character to eyewitness, the Poets speak through elevated verse, classical Greek and bar room vernacular with a delivery so genuine we wonder how much material is scripted and how much is improvised. Because the play is not so much a drama as a description of a drama, its success relies crucially on the Poets' raw power to captivate an audience with storytelling.

Shadeless lamps lit several different spaces of the Elgin Art Showcase like the torches of Spartan tents as the audience moved from set to set, sometimes encircling the cast, other times surrounded by it. Carrying a suitcase of memories from scene to scene, the Poets deftly used a walking stick to portray personalities, punctuate key lines and act out combat with invisible warriors.

The finest performance of a role is when we see a character, not an actor. For this mixed cast to share the same role without any help from costumes or idiomatic scripting requires amazing sensitivity to the elements of character like voice, gesture, and manner. It couldn't succeed like it does without great talent, disciplined rehearsal and strong, deeply experienced directing.

Drinking freely from bottled spirits like the gods' ambrosia, the Poets remind us of a time when war was a gruesome but beautiful art, in which a soldier addresses his enemy in verse before disemboweling him. In the here and now, the horrors of war remain, but is there yet anything beautiful in the human heart for which good people will bravely fight, or even die?

An ordinary theatre production sets out to make you believe the action you see in front of you, but this is no ordinary theatre production. Janus Theatre's immersive take on An Iliad makes you believe characters and scenes you don't see, through a story channeled collectively through four skilled actors playing a single role.

Performances continue Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm and Sundays at 2pm through February 28th. For tickets, go to janusplays.com.

"The Poetry of Music" at Elgin Art Showcase

After a weekend of amazing live chamber music performances at the Hemmens Cultural Center and Elgin Community College, two other groups joined forces at the Elgin Art Showcase to perform "The Poetry of Music" presented by Chamber Music on the Fox.

The 20-voice Chamber Singers of Elgin Master Chorale (EMC) were accompanied by the Elgin Chamber Players string quartet in Beethoven's "Elegischer Gesang" (1814) to open the death poetry-themed program. The choir made the room sound like a much bigger hall, especially faithful to the upper registers and more than honest with sibilant German consonants. Displaying tremendous dynamic range, the choir was capable of well-balanced fortes that could almost wake the dead.

The singers' gaze rarely left EMC Music Director Andrew Lewis, whose lucid conducting revealed the depth of their skill and preparation. No less a communicator with words, Lewis the educator shared insights on the evening's vocal works in impromptu remarks, for which the audience was overheard to whisper their gratitude during intermission.

The highlight of the choral performance was "Dark Night of the Soul," (2010) by living Norwegian composer Ola Gjeilo, an expansive work that opens with a minimalist piano accompaniment played by Jon Warfel, known locally as the Choirmaster of Elgin's First Congregational Church.

Long, sustained vowels and modern harmonies evoked the mood of long Scandinavian nights, combined with the mysticism of the text by St. John of the Cross (1542-1592). Moments of powerful musical rapture fueled by lyrics like "love's urgent longings" were almost too big for the room, as complex chords gushed out overtones like a North Sea gale. "Dark Night" is a beautiful piece whose only critic was the hard surfaces of the Showcase.

Franz Schubert's String Quartet No. 14 in D Minor ("Death and the Maiden") offered a chance to witness the talents of area musicians Tarn Travers, Eleanor Bartsch (violins), Aurelien Pederzoli (viola) and Sara Sitzer (cello), who is also co-founder of Chamber Music on the Fox.

Despite its nickname, the piece is neither frail nor morose. A better understanding of its subject comes from the medieval "dance of death," understood for centuries as a pushing and pulling between mortals and the Grim Reaper.

The four players traveled a wide range of emotions and musical postures throughout the work's four movements, matching each other's phrasing, dynamic changes and rubatos as if they have played together for a long time. Schubert's startling shifts in key, rhythm and register never put these pros off their game.

The room made it difficult to play soft enough at times, but they are few and far between in this nearly 50-minute masterpiece of the quartet repertoire. Displaying the stamina to match their talents, the players rallied through a dramatic and tumultuous finale with aplomb.

Equally astonishing is the mere fact that performances of this quality are now appearing regularly in venues throughout Elgin, creating critical mass for the arts here, in the middle of what was once viewed as a lifeless suburban cultural desert.

Vocal Harmony Comes "Home For The Holidays"

If you've ever mourned the loss of old-fashioned, high-quality entertainment, take heart. In an age when entertainment is measured by its shock value, precocity and media shadow, "Home For The Holidays" is a class act in a class by itself.

This review of traditional pop music from the golden age of show business is performed by a company of four multi-talented artists who remain on pitch, on cue, and on point during more than 25 numbers that last a continuous eighty minutes.

Flora Ann McIntyre, Jennifer Mather, Michael Ehlers and Jim Goodrich are each highly trained professionals with extensive stage experience, whose excellence of craft is exceeded only by their charisma and group chemistry.

Flora Ann McIntyre, Michael Ehlers, Jenny Mather and Jim Goodrich
perform in "Home For The Holidays" at the Elgin Art Showcase.

From the Great War's USO shows, to fabulous fifties Miami, to December in Vermont, moments of lively and well-written comedic banter paces us through skillful arrangements of classics, standards and forgotten gems. The quartet sails through complex harmonies, key changes and flights of a cappella, synced with a variety of dance, props and costume changes.

Unlike the instant art (just add water!) and microwaveable music we're used to, this is Baked Alaska -- it's the real thing, and you can taste the difference.

Musical director Bob Kresz is an amazing one-man band, simultaneously handling sound tracks and playing multiple voices on keyboards. The technical production is simple, as it should be with this much talent on display.

"Home For The Holidays" is the kind of show that could become a perennial favorite for large repeat audiences, like the Nutcracker or the Rockettes. We hope this show never goes away, and might next year make one of Elgin's larger venues it's home for the holidays.

Janus Theatre's "King of Shadows"

When you see Janus Theatre Company's Chicago-area premiere of "King of Shadows" at the Elgin Art Showcase this month, you don't have to answer whether you believe in a place of darkness whose forces are trying to break through to our world, but you will be asked that question — asked by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa's tightly wound script and an excellent cast. The two-act, two-hour play is a perfect pick for this company named after the god of transitions.

The story revolves around Nihar, a runaway whose back story combines graphic accounts of abuse and vivid descriptions of a shadowy netherworld, ruled by a king and queen determined to snatch him back. When he seeks help from Jessica, a graduate student in social work, her world soon becomes darkened by stormy relationships and the fog of doubt.

Christopher Sylvie, Melody Jefferies, Jaime Patriarca and Joe Cattoggio in
Janus Theatre Company's production of "King of Shadows."

Jaime Patriarca (as Jessica) layers her character with veneers of scholar, girlfriend, and big sister but these do not conceal Jessica's tendency to see the people around her as objects for study and documentation rather than personal connections. Patriarca's overthinking social worker who is reluctant to actually touch people creates a delicious contradiction.

Joe Cattoggio plays Eric, Jessica's live-in boyfriend who confesses he became a cop in order to conquer his own inner darkness. Cattoggio shows us Eric's mixed feelings about the job during scenes of bravado foiled by faraway looks of uncertainty, the body language of compromise, and putting his uniform on and taking it off.

Little sister Sarah, brought to life by Melody Jefferies, is a restless, sexually ambivalent teen who is constantly out of place — the wrong city, the wrong street, the wrong room, or the wrong time. Sarah's preoccupation with a tragic past, alternative realities, dreams and the spirit world is brilliantly captured in the breath control of Jefferies' colorful delivery.

Christopher Sylvie is the mysterious teen Nihar, who trades sex in the San Francisco streets by day and hides in buildings at night. Despite all the damage done in his short life, Nihar is the most sure of himself, and Sylvie's forceful and unblinking portrayal persuade us that "facts" cannot always be trusted, and the truth is whatever you're willing to believe.

Like a conflict of worlds, or competition of darkness and light, scenes develop rapidly in "King of Shadows" as characters exchange positions of power through arguing, bargaining, accusing and acquiescing. Well directed movement gives shape to dialogue-heavy scenes that are sometimes too quick to escalate, and poetic monologues and excellent lighting effects provide welcome relief from the constant dramatic tension. 

Don't see "King of Shadows" if you expect to troll social media between laughs and leave with a happy ending. But if you want an intimate theater experience, with superb production and great acting, see if this play doesn't convince you that we are all orphans, trying to escape the fears and self-doubt that rule over us.

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Weekend performances of "King of Shadows" directed by Sean Hargadon run November 6-22 at the Elgin Art Showcase.  For more information and tickets, go to www.janusplays.com