Richard bores, Chad soars, and Fedra flops
The Elaborate Entrance Of Chad Deity
Welcome to Footlight Footnotes, The A.V. Club's lowdown on the most interesting and notable productions in the city. Today’s performances: a Shakespearean bloodbath, a pro-wrestling tragicomedy, and a Greek tragedy retold in post-political-apocalypse Haiti.
Richard III at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre
The main problem with Richard III is Richard. When the success of an entire play hinges around one incredibly complex character, the actor had better be really good. Over the course of three hours, Richard, Duke Of Gloucester, manipulates, cheats, and kills his way to the throne of England, yet Wallace Acton fails to capture the charm that makes the villain so enthralling. Richard seduces Lady Anne at her husband and father-in-law’s funeral, both of whom Richard killed, but Acton's attempts at flattery ring hollow, and it feels like watching someone get hit on by a creepy uncle. Richard's delight at his evil deeds makes him seem more like a petulant bully than a tormented man, and the end result is an unsympathetic character that isn't fun to watch. Plus, why does he have a British accent when no one else does?
While the show's lead may not be as captivating as he should be, the supporting cast picks up the slack. Phillip James Brannon chills as the Duke Of Clarence, Richard's brother imprisoned in the Tower Of London, and he brings a fear and anxiety to the stage in one of the few times Richard's threat is truly felt. Jennifer Harmon's bat-shit crazy Queen Margaret takes control of the space when she appears in tattered rags to curse Richard for killing her husband, and her manic energy heats up an otherwise bland production. From a design perspective, what the hell were they thinking with the music? The choice of hard rock for transitions pulls the audience out of the pseudo-Elizabethan setting established by director Barbara Gaines and really serves no other purpose.
Cheapest way to get tickets: Chicago Shakespeare offers $20 tickets for patrons under 35. Just sign up here.
The Elaborate Entrance Of Chad Deity at Victory Gardens Biograph Theater
When pro-wrestling loser Macedonio Guerra discovers the perfect partner in Vigneshwar Paduar, a trash-talking Indian baller, the ultimate wrestling team is born: Enter new wrestling sensations Che Chavez Castro and The Fundamentalist (complete with "Sleeper Cell" finishing move). Kristoffer Diaz's wrestling-focused, razor-sharp script seamlessly transitions from gut-busting totally non-P.C. laughs to intense criticism of nationalism, globalization, and that favorite theme of modern playwrights, "The American Dream," but it always makes room for a headlock or the occasional chair to the back of the head.
Desmin Borges turns in a star-making performance as Macedonio, seamlessly moving from comedy to tragedy without missing a beat, and giving Diaz’s language the hip-hop flair it needs to sound authentic. His monologues anchor the over-the-top show in reality by revealing the emotional connection Macedonio has developed with wrestling, from his days sitting in front of the TV with imitation Frosted Flakes, to his current predicament as the guy who just can't catch a break in the ring. When Borges teams up with actor Usman Ally as Vigneshwar, the two are electric. Ally has a similarly excellent handle on Diaz's dialogue, and the two have outstanding chemistry in the ring.
Cheapest way to get tickets: Ten $20 tickets are available for purchase on the day of performances.
Fedra: Queen Of Haiti at Lookingglass Theatre
In Greek mythology, Phaedra is the wife of Theseus (a.k.a. bad-ass slayer of the minotaur) that tries to seduce her stepson Hippolytus. In typical Greek fashion, they all end up dead. Fedra, Lookingglass's disappointing season opener, reimagines the tragedy as a political-sexual-supernatural thriller set in a not-too-distant future where Haiti is a global hegemon, and it simply flops. J. Nicole Brooks’ script can't focus, dividing time between Fedra’s obsession with Hippolytus, Hippolytus’s obsession with prisoner-of-war Aricia, and a painfully weak attempt at political intrigue in the form of Fedra’s Iago-esque associate Enone. The dialogue jumps from poetic, heightened language to contemporary street slang, and the contrast is jarring.
Groan-worthy attempts at comedy plague the production, particularly in the scenes between Hippolytus and Aricia (“You can call me Hip.”), and pop-culture references ranging from The Wizard Of Oz to Star Wars are inserted lackadaisically and accomplish nothing. Tamberla Perry is the play’s sole high point, playing both Aricia’s handmaiden Ismene and the goddess Aphrodite, and she finds the reality in Brooks’ amalgamation of styles that eludes her costars. Her Ismene seems genuinely concerned for her mistress, and she oozes sexuality as Aphrodite, letting her body language do all the talking. Unfortunately, her minimal role cannot save the mess that is Fedra: Queen Of Haiti, and the play ends up being the final corpse on the pile of bodies at the end of the night.
Cheapest way to get tickets: Face value only.
