Review: The BenchMark (Step Up Productions)

  
  
The BenchMark

Written by Richard A. Roberts
Directed by Tara Branham
Athenaeum Theatre,  2936 N. Southport (map)
thru Oct 20  |  tickets: $30   |  more info
  
Check for half-price tickets 
  
  
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An eye-opening, humanizing saga of Chicago’s homeless

Step Up Productions presents

The BenchMark

Review by Lawrence Bommer

The wordplay in the title refers to both misfit Mark, the homeless central character of Step Up Productions’ strong new work–and the park bench that has been his “location” for a decade. A theatrical spin-off of author Richard A. Roberts’ documentary about houseless citizens, “The Long Way Home,” this 85-minute one-act focuses on one man’s saga on the streets. Constantly moving for many different reasons, Mark acts as a kind of confessor and tour guide as four seasons pass and a stream of passersby acknowledge or ignore him. Nothing could be less “virtual” than his life, a constant exposure of more than himself.

It’s not clear why this “Streetwise” salesman and street-sweeper is telling us so much. But it’s certainly clear why he needs and loves an audience to overcome the cloak of invisibility imposed on him by the outside world. Based on a real casualty of the city, Mark (a very personable Daniel Houle) is also a composite of many stories from the streets and alleys of Chicago. (Shaun Renfro’s backdrop sardonically contrasts our cityscape of skyscrapers with the litter and graffiti of Mark’s busy but neglected corner.) Roberts’ merry minimalist and self-proclaimed evangelist has opinions on everything. He pities cellphone addicts and iPod devotees for their refusal of reality. He expounds on the value of recycling, distinguishing good shelters from bad ones, citing the authors he loves whose books he preserves in his shopping cart, even encouraging sloth as “down time” to recreate the soul. When he sleeps on one of his treasured volumes, it literally becomes his “Facebook page.” (Interestingly, what looks like bricks here are really books transformed into building blocks.)

A determined drinker who’s not so hardened that he’s not surprised by the unexpected charity from strangers or the more constant kindness from the cop on the beat (Robert Wilson), Mark has lost more than his home—also two kids, now adults, and a wife. Seeing society from the bottom up, however, has given this modern Thoreau a bracing, almost cleansing, perspective on the quiet desperation of the pedestrians around him and the hypocrisy and self-delusion of anyone who thinks they could never be like him. Echoing Keynes, he calls his literal overseers “the beasts of capitalism.” Clearly this 99th percenter has few illusions about income inequality, runaway materialism, conspicuous consumption and so much more.

As the seasons swirl by, our amalgam of King Lear and Beckett’s bums Vladimir and Estragon refuses to blend in. He’s not alone: The corner philosopher’s most persistent neighbor is a mainly mute, dumpster-diving bag lady (Amy Geist), another survivor with surprises but also mental issues. (She scurries away when anyone gets near her.)

Yes, The BenchMark is overweight with exposition and underfueled by drama, but its heart is (street)smart. Tara Branham’s busy 9-person ensemble create a very cosmopolitan chorus, each seen as fleetingly and mysteriously as they must have appeared to Mark. He too is transient, as the bittersweet ending shows. It’s then that you realize why this lonely drifter had so much to say.

Rating: ★★★

The BenchMark continues through October 20th at the Athenaeum Theatre, 2936 N. Southport (map), with performances Thursdays-Saturdays at 8pm, Sundays 2pm.  Tickets are $30, and are available by phone (773-935-6875) or online through AthenaeumTheatre.org (check for half-price tickets at Goldstar.com). More information at StepUpProductions.org.  (Running time: 85 minutes, NO intermission)

Photos by Liz Lauren

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artists

cast

Amy Geist (Bag Lady), Daniel Houle (Mark), Robert Wilson (Cop), AJ Froeber, Raymond Jacquet, Annie Neal, Tricia Rodriguez, Andrew Sellar (Chorus)

behind the scenes

Tara Branham (director), Shaun Renfro (set design), Raquel Adorno (costume design), Mike Durst (lighting design), Steve Baldwin (sound design), Dori Walstrom (makeup design), Haley Borodine (props design), Margaret Lebron (dramaturg), Adrienne Bader (stage manager), Gabriella Welsh (asst. stage manager), Liz Lauren (photos)

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