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.

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

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