“CIRQUE: SHANGHAI: GOLD”

- reviewed by Venus Zarris

Among the many amazing achievements of this foray into exotic entertainment, “Cirque Shanghai: Gold” illustrated a cultural difference that I had heretofore not realized. Other than a vehicle for serving food, in China, plates can be spun on the end of sticks by flexible acrobats to create dazzling visual tricks. Whereas in Greece, we get drunk, toss them on the ground and yell, “Opa!”

If you are tired of the day-to-day grind, uninspired by the offerings of summertime blockbusters or simply want to escape into the world of something unusually magical, “Cirque Shanghai: Gold” should not be missed! We left the show with an adrenaline rush that made us literally feel like five-year-old children. Chock full of moments that range from “don’t try this at home,” to “no way” to “holy crap” to “shut up,” you cannot help but be astonished and overwhelmed by these award-winning international athletic superstars.

Now, I realize that “Superstar” is a word that gets thrown around quite freely in this country, but forget TV’s Celebrity Circus. These miraculous performers are the real deal, and despite their otherworldly abilities to seemingly defy the laws of gravity and physics, these charming gymnastic geniuses perform their feats of daring acrobatic accomplishment without the slightest air of pretense or bravado. As a matter of fact, you cannot help but fall in love with their contagious warmth and humble enthusiasm. I found myself wanting to throw a party for the entire lovable cast so I could shower them with prizes and affection.

Just when you think that they can’t possibly outdo the astounding act you witnessed, your jaw drops at the following flabbergaster. The flexibility alone elicits profound feelings of personal inadequacy as they do things that a normal body could only duplicate during a lethal fall down several flights of stairs!

As if the talent on stage isn’t enough, the exceptionally creative team behind the scenes is outstanding. Director Sylvia Hase hails from Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus. Emmy Award-winner Steve Base provides the conceptual design. Choreographer Brenda Didier and lighting/scenic designer Brian Sidney Bembridge, both Chicago based award-winners, round off the visionary team.

The beautifully brilliant costumes, lighting, music and dancing pale next to these genuinely gifted performers, who not only entertain beyond your wildest dreams, but also serve as incomparable ambassadors of international good will. I hope that their stay in Chicago returns to them at least some of the joy that they offer everyone who watches this wonderful treat for all ages! The acrobats explode with dazzling talent making “Cirque Shanghai: Gold” a spectacular display of human fireworks and 80-minutes of sheer delight! (****)

(“Cirque Shanghai: Gold” runs through September 1, The Skyline Stage on Navy Pier, 312-902-1500.)

“BLOODY BESS:
A TALE OF PIRACY AND REVENGE”

- reviewed by Venus Zarris

I’m a sucker for lines like, “Why that Hell-spawned bitch!” Stories of strong women in swashbuckling situations with slashing swords and scandalously salty scoundrels should prove sensationally stimulating. “Bloody Bess,” although quite fun, fails to fully suspend disbelief. BackStage Theater Company creates an exciting visual rendering of this tawdry tale with several wonderful components but it is sloppy. From a director who has won multiple awards for fight choreography and a cast that boasts a great deal of stage combat experience; one would expect flawless swordplay. Yet the fight scenes are static and telegraphed, and the characterizations are, for the most part, one-dimensional.

After being taken prisoner by pirates and held for ransom, Elizabeth finds herself betrayed and brutalized by her murderously ambitious betrothed. With nothing left to lose, she seeks revenge on the high seas by transforming herself into Bloody Bess. Ruthless piracy, though, comes at a high price, even when well justified. The story comes across and the key elements are loud and clear but the subtleties are lost to clumsy line delivery. Many of the characters are too cartoonish, which is entertaining but detracts from the dramatic build and the devastating impact of the script’s darker themes.

Eva Swan creates a strong and saucy Bloody Bess, delivering a powerful performance. Scott Graham is devilishly wicked as the evil Commodore Eaton, and Christopher M. Walsh has shining moments as his nasty henchman. Ron Kuzava delivers a charmingly funny Vicar. The rest of the cast is good but uneven.

The space at the Storefront Theater is perfect for the physicality of the production but slightly underused. The design team creates an admirable overall interpretation with several impressive moments but some of the details simply don’t work. The facial scars on N’gali resemble ruffled potato chip sideburns.

When much of your time spent watching a play is engaged in envisioning the “what could be” rather than the “what is,” you are left wanting. It appears that the script was chosen for the swashbuckling, at the expense of the story and characters. The exposition is a vehicle for the combat rather than the fight scenes accenting the story. Still, the enthusiastically likable cast and thrilling visuals of “Bloody Bess” manage to overcome the shortcomings enough to deliver a playfully naughty nautical frolic. (**)

(“Bloody Bess: A Tale of Piracy and Revenge “ runs through July 20 at The Storefront Theater, 66 E. Randolph,. 312-742-8497.)

“TRUE WEST”

- reviewed by Venus Zarris

There is so much staggering talent in Chicago that you may find it can pop up anywhere there is a play being produced. That is not to say that every aspect of every play is brilliant, but you can wander into any production and be quite possibly knocked out by something.

This is the case with Paul Joseph’s portrayal of Lee in Redtwist Theatre’s “True West.” The overall production makes for a solid yet lopsided rendition of the Sam Shepard classic tale of sibling rivalry gone insanely wrong. It is Joseph’s riveting performance that transcends the inconsistent aspects of the show.

Austin, an aspiring screenwriter, is plant-sitting at his vacationing mother’s house while trying to finish a script and seal a movie deal. His drifter brother Lee shows up to take advantage of the upscale neighborhood by way of cat-burgling. He has a script idea of his own, and when the movie producer picks Lee’s story over Austin’s, the conflict spirals into frenetic familial chaos.

Johnny Garcia is adequate as Austin. He creates a comprehensive character, but it is hard to believe him past all of the obvious acting. Scott Jones is perfect as Saul Kimmer, the wheeling and dealing movie producer. Ana Maria Alvarez is confusing as the Mom, but to be fair, her part has the least character development in the script. When she shows up to find her house in ruins, we can’t figure out who she is or what the motivations for her reactions are.

The uneven cast could prove dramatically disastrous, if not for Paul Joseph, who delivers a character so flawlessly realized, with seemingly effortless ease, that there is no sign of a preexisting script. He quite simply becomes Lee, in all of his idiosyncratic, crazy shank, white trash, and mullet-sporting splendor. This is the guy that you have found yourself stuck sitting next to on the train, the one who makes for an interesting albeit unsettling and uncomfortable ride. You can imagine yourself in conversation with him, trying to stay on his good side, fascinated by the strange place where he is coming from but worried that at any moment something you say might trigger him to explosively fly off the handle.

Joseph’s portrayal is striking reality in the midst of theatrical artifice. This contrast illustrates the production’s shortcomings but even more so elevates the efforts by completely drawing you in. His humor and vulnerabilities provide brief and incongruous relief from his menace and manipulations. Safe in your audience seat, you can let yourself indulge in his peculiarity. When the intermission comes, you can’t wait to get back to his completely compelling eccentricities. Redtwist’s “True West” is sufficient; Paul Joseph’s must see performance is staggering. (**)

(“True West “ runs through July 13, Redtwist Theatre, 1044 W. Bryn Mawr. 773-728-7529.)