National Theater shop - my hopes for Steppenwolf's new space

One of the things I love about the National Theater in London is that it is a multifunctional building, it houses three theaters, multiple food places, exhibition space, an open podium and a wonderful bookshop.

It's the bookshop I want to single out in this post.

With the demise of many brick and mortar bookstores everywhere (yes I'm guilty too, browsing in the stores only to then order the books online because books add too much bulk and weight when traveling by plane) I am completely in love with the bookshop at the National Theater.

It has plays, plays and plays... and biographies, books about plays, playwrights... and then some video's and merchandise to sweeten the deal... it's the kind of shop I can spend hours and hours in, browsing the plays, contemplating spending the extra money on the special editions.

Those who know me know that I have developed the habit of buying the play-books of the plays that I have seen, as a memento more than anything else, but also to, at times, read the play again and wonder about certain interpretations. It's sometimes hard to find the play-books, there are the specialized webshops of course, but nothing beats thumbing through a book before buying it, looking to see if there is a special edition to be found, or choosing between versions... book people will recognize the feeling.

All this as an introduction to something that occurred to me when killing time between plays on my last trip to Chicago.

Until a few years ago, whenever I would see two plays on one day in Chicago, often one of them would be a Steppenwolf production, and I would kill the time between plays at the Borders bookstore on the corner of Halsted and North (love the American habit of including coffee shops in bookstores!). But alas that bookstore disappeared a few years ago, nothing similar has taken it's place.

When I went to see the matinee performance of The Pianist of Willesden Lane (see post here) at the Royal George (across the street from Steppenwolf) with plans to see an evening performance at Steppenwolf I was wandering the area. Not really enough time to go 'home' relax and come back, but too much time to just hang around. It was a weird time to eat something (plenty of good eating places in the area these days), one can only spend so much time browsing the Apple store and Pottery Barn. What the area really needs for theater nuts like me is a decent bookstore!

Steppenwolf at this time has a small (tiny really) bookshop, mostly selling plays and merchandise of present productions... in desperation I ended up at their front door, waiting for them to open the lobby 1,5 hrs before performance to browse that little shop, it killed about 10 minutes...

Now, Steppenwolf is expanding, they recently bought the building next door and were diligently remodeling the place this summer.

I don't know what they are planning with their new space but I sincerely hope that they have planned for a bigger shop, a place for theater nuts like me to hang, spend some time and extra $$ before or after plays, preferably including a simple coffee shop (another missing feature in the area since Borders closed). Imagine the possibilities... you could do book signings of visiting playwrights, have play discussions there workshop style, organize meet and greets or at the very least simply make a few more $$ to fund your excellent theatre.

Just a thought...

Belleville - Chicago july 2013 part 4

after the triumph of Slowgirl the day before, on with the biggest disappointment of the trip: Belleville.

I had high expectations of Belleville, critics love it, I'd seen some of the cast before in fantastic performances.

But... this play never captured my attention, apart from the odd funny or tense moments, it was flat and boring, I had to consciously keep myself from checking my watch (too often)... like my neighbour surreptitiously kept doing.

at least it was a pretty set, though such
 a big apartment in Paris for  startouts?

Maybe the cast had an off day, who knows, all I took back from this play was that it had a pretty set, the story was boring and did not make much sense rationally (granted, we find out in the end half the characters are not prone to rationality) there are some funny lines and there are some Hitchcock-like suspense moments, but those were rare and sparsely doled out over the course of the play.

None of the cast managed to make me sympathize with their characters, none of them made me care what happened to them. The clean-up scene made no sense to me and was too long...

I'll have to re-read the professional reviews and figure out what they thought was so fantastic about this play... one day...

Cringe moment..., one of the few scenes that connected
with the audience,

Alana Arenas and Chris Boykin
(photo Michael Brosilow)

Kate Arrington and Cliff Chamberlain
(photo Michael Brosilow)

from the official website:

Newly married American expats Zack and Abby live an enviably hip existence in the colorful, multi-ethnic neighborhood of Belleville, Paris. But when a series of small, unexpected encounters escalates the tension between them, some surprising cracks in the foundation of their isolated yet idyllic life begin to show. Belleville is a taut, edgy psychological thriller that asks: does anyone really know who they’re with?

Official review blurbs:

"Unpredictable, breathless thriller…5-stars!"
–Time Out Chicago

"Heart-stopping Chicago premiere"
–Newcity

"A psychological thriller as suspenseful as any Hitchcock film"
–Chicago Theater Beat

"A very juicy night of theater"
–Chicago Tribune

"Shivers with intrigue…an exploration of what lurks in the world of relationships"
–Northwest Indiana Times

Slowgirl - Chicago july 2013 part 3

Day three in Chicago, third play was the event I timed this trip for... PREVIEWS!

I'm in love with previews... when on a longer trip and an interesting play is in previews I try to fit in a few over the course of my trip.


First preview is always special, because it's the first real opportunity for the cast to try out their interpretation of the play on a live audience, the (part of the) audience that is aware of this special moment and pays special attention has a rare opportunity to see actors shaking off their first night jitters, getting used to each other in this space that is suddenly filled with more bodies than just the creative team. The room comes alive, the creative team gets to see if their choices connect with the audience... to me it's the magic of theater!

Then coming back a few times over the course of previews (best to see first and last preview in any case, and then one or two along the way), if you pay attention you get to see the small changes, the little things that actors unconsciously adopt, the difference that a different audience makes... some things that are funny to one audience, make no connection to another... it's fun to try and figure out why (from an outsiders pov... I'm sure the creative team has it's own analysis on things, I've never been privy to their 'notes' meetings, one of my 3 genie wishes would be to be a fly on the wall there).

Becky (Rae Gray) and Sterling (William Petersen)

On with the play of the day: SLOWGIRL

A small, 2 hand, one act, 90 minute play. William Petersen's trademark of late it seems.

"I don't understand why you're in
worse trouble than everyone else"

Slowgirl is a very introvert play, no emotional outburst until deep into the play. A middle aged man who has run away from his problems and settled in the jungle of Costa Rica, content or at least he has convinced himself he is content with his lone uncomplicated existence. Until his niece arrives, 17 years old, unfiltered teen Becky who is on the run from a tragic recent event in her life. Becky's retreat is meant to be temporary, Sterling aims to live out his life there.

"Have you met my tongue?"

Becky's unfiltered way of uttering whatever is in her head rattles Sterling at first, he has no idea how to handle this 17 year old outspoken, sexual being that he saw last when she was his cute 8 year old little niece.

Slowly he gets a grip on things, we see his development on stage, we see the development of Becky's versions of the truth of the event that got her to Costa Rica and we get Sterlings backstory and see him more or less forced to deal with his past as we - along with him - see a parallel to Becky's story.

I adored the play, it's such a subtle play, the actors can't hide behind big emotions, big gestures, big sets or a big cast. They are 'naked' (no props to speak of) and have to engage us by skill and emotion. Both William Petersen and Rae Gray were great in their own character, and managed to mold their separate storylines and characters into one, a thing of beauty.

I'd seen Rae in a play called 'Crooked' last year, which seemed  a perfect jumping board to this one (I doubt Slowgirl was on her schedule at that time, but call it Karma)... William Petersen's last play before this was 'Endgame'... and before that was the magnificent 'Blackbird', three very different plays that I think take three very different skillsets not to mention states of mind. I have no idea how he selects his plays, I wish I knew the secret.

True to my habit, I saw this play 4 times in previews, and as fate has it, that last preview really truly was the moment when everything fell into place and every moment hit its mark... brilliant to see that AND be aware of it.

Sterling (William Petersen) and Becky (Rae Gray)

Greg Pierce did a wonderful job in writing this play, it had it's worldwide premier in New York last year at the Lincoln Center Theater with Zjelko Ivanek and Sarah Steele, I am told there were some changes to the play to adjust to a different kind of cast here. Also according to the Lincoln Center website it ran 10 minutes longer... I wonder if it was just a different pace? I wish I had seen the NYC version so I would be able to make the comparison.

a pivotal moment

from the official website:

In the wake of a harrowing accident at a house party in Massachusetts, a teenager flees to her uncle's isolated retreat in the Costa Rican jungle to await, or avoid, the repercussions. As the reclusive Sterling and his impulsive niece get reacquainted over the course of a week, startling details about their pasts slowly unfold. Performed in the newly reconfigured intimate Upstairs Theatre, Slowgirl is a compelling story about owning your past—and getting on with your life.








Review blurbs:

"Engaging, compassionate and well-written…you’ll likely find yourself touched by how well it charts the loving complexities of families"
–Chicago Tribune

"Under the sensitive direction of Randall Arney, two marvelous actors—William Petersen and Rae Gray—deliver finely tuned, often surprising performances."
–Chicago Sun-Times

"Petersen and Gray make an absorbingly off-kilter onstage pair"
–Time Out Chicago

"The intriguing chemistry between these two masters of the intimate stage is delicious to observe."
–Chicago Sun-Times

"This 90-minute dialogue is funny, introspective, and an excellent chance to showcase the talents of Steppenwolf ensemble member William Petersen and Rae Gray."
–Chicago Theatre Review

"Eloquent…wonderful…Pierce understands life’s unsolvable complexities."
–New City

Chicago - William Petersen!

Just fixed tickets for William Petersen's summer play at Steppenwolf!

Slowgirl, by Greg Pierce... the play is intriguing by itself, the cast makes it even more a must see!

Another two-hander without intermission, Mr Petersen seems to have found himself a pattern.  So far his choices have worked out nicely,  female character will be played by Rae Gray, director Randall Arney. Randall is new to me, saw Rae last year in the wonderful 'Crooked' at Rivendell Theatre. Slowgirl was probably not on her radar at the time, but it seems her part in Crooked was an excellent precursor for this play.

Looking forward to seeing this one!!

TheaterMania: A Beautifully crafted twohander... audiences will find themselves on the edge of their seats, drawn into an ever-deepening relationship that's pulsing with intensity, confusion and love.

While in Chicago this summer... I'll take in as much good stuff as I can manage, definitely will go see Belleville, also at Steppenwolf (downstairs). written by Amy Herzog, Directed by Ann Kauffman, featuring ensemble members Alana Arenas and Kate Arrington.  

Dubbed a “thrillingly good” drama with elements of a “nail-biting psychological thriller” by The New York Times, Amy Herzog’s play asks unsettling questions about upheaval and the power of a lie.

Playbills

I've been working on getting a headstart on the playbills... 

it's kind of a boring task to scan them (without destroying the original), reformat the pages, crop the scans and resize the pages to fit the standard size I set for the website.

Ski Dubai

While not perfect, I think the scans are fairly readable, making higher resolution scans would probably make them better, but then the files would be so big, loading the page might take too long... So, sorry I decided to compromise, the small print had to suffer the consequences.

I've added 5 new playbills today: Blackbird, August Osage County, Ski Dubai, I Sailed with Magellan and Graceland.

I Sailed with Magellan

These plays all hold great memories - which made the task more pleasant but also slow because I couldn't help but stop and read every now and then. Some of these plays are already added as an individual play-page to the accompanying website (at theatermusings.com), the others will follow soon.

All of these will get their own blog entry with my own thoughts and impressions of the play.... later...

   




Theatermusings.com

Gabriel Byrne and August Osage County

Gabriel Byrne and August Osage County pages added to Geeksareus.nl

Gabriel Byrne
Gotta love his d'Artagnan in The Man In the Iron Mask. I'd never really took notice of the man's work before, apart from "The Usual Suspects" but that movie is so mindboggling story wise the actors doing such a great job with it didn't really register with me individually.
I decided to have a look at his work, past and future. The fun part of something like this happening is that actors often have such an eclectic body of work there are bound to be little known gems in there. This was certainly true with Gabriel Byrne... I'd recommend "Into the West" for one... or "Weapons of Mass Distraction" a completely different genre and even artistic merit but very enjoyable, or "Miller's Crossing", "Last of the High Kings", "Smilla's Sense of Snow" and "A Polish Wedding"  the list goes on... and while I am at it "The Poetry of William Butler Yeats" in audiobook, not to be missed if you want to get into the works of Gabriel Byrne.

This Dublin borne, LA based actor is more mainstream these days if not for "The Usual Suspects" a few years ago then certainly for the tv show "In Treatment". I'm happy that I had already added him to my list of 'bodies of work to be collected' years ago...


August: Osage County

Eventually I will retrace all plays on the site in their own dedicated review blog, for now just a few impressions.


So first time in Chicago, first time Steppenwolf, first preview of this brand new play, over 3 hours of excellent entertainment. Maybe not the perfect choice fresh off the plane with a jet lagged mind but excellent none the less. We witnessed a hit in the making! such good memories...

Having just come off a plane from Europe that afternoon, picking up the tickets at box office it was a bit of a shock when the lady said "you do know this is a 3,5 hour play?"… that'll teach me to look at play details before booking tickets for my first night in town!

Thus we came back to the theater after dinner a little apprehensive on the long evening awaiting us with this very new unknown play. A long evening it turned out to be, but an exciting one! We had the good fortune to see the very first preview of this play, actors still getting a feel for it but it already stood firm, the plot was highly entertaining, not a dull moment in those 3,5 hours. and the acting! here's where the worth of an ensemble really comes in, many of the cast were Steppenwolf ensemble members, I think the fact that this complex, exhausting (to the actors) play simply clicked in this first preview ever can be chalked up to the ensemble familiarity. 

Special mention to Deanna Dunagan, not an ensemble member, so above mentioned ensemble benefit reasoning is already disputed somewhat, because did she give a fantastic performance! some images of her Violet have made such an impression on me, I can play them back in my mind second by second, and this is a play I saw 5 years ago!

I'm not exaggerating I think in saying the whole cast gave a fabulous performance, it's really not fair to single some people out.  Having had a chance to talk to a few of them over time about this play made me realize how gracious Chicago actors can be with their time, in my experience most are honestly bemused to baffled  that we the audience even want to talk to them in person or discuss the play. to them it's their job, a job that they love but not something they think we'd be interested in much above and beyond seeing the result on stage.

I for one am interested...