Review: Blood Wedding (Pursuit Productions)

By Chicagotheaterbeat @chitheaterbeat

  
  
Blood Wedding 

Written by Federico Garcia Lorca
Directed by Kacie Smith
Choreographed by Ahmad Simmons
at Studio BE, 3110 N. Sheffield (map)
thru Aug 11  |  tickets: $15-$20   |  more info
  
Check for half-price tickets 
  
  
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Magical mingling of prose and dance make for riveting production

     

  

Pursuit Productions presents

  

Blood Wedding

Review by Clint May 

A story about the life of writer Federico Garcia Lorca (and there have been several) would closely match one of his fictional tragedies: conflict between public and private personae, spurned love, an early death, and a mystery. Perhaps his most well known play, Blood Wedding has all this and more, written in Lorca’s trademark blending of respect for past conventions and his avant garde stylizations. Pursuit Productions follows up their successful first production of Thirty Thousand One (our review) with another show filled with archetypal characters born of myth and fable. Injecting some Bluesy tunes and Ahmad Simmons’ elegant choreography, this Wedding has been adapted by the new troupe with beautiful results.

In keeping with Lorca’s reverence for the roots of Western literature and poetry, the tragic story arch is cutting in its simplicity. A Mother (Deanna K. Reed) is still distraught about the death of a son and husband years past, and histrionically fearful for her remaining son (Jeffrey Freelon). He’s come into his manhood and is preparing to make his intentions known to marry a comely yet remote woman (Krystal Mosley). There’s a suspicion that she may be “blemished” by a previous fiancé, Leonardo (Dan Rubens), no less than a relative of the men who killed the Bridegroom’s father and brother. Though only a young boy at the time, the Mother is suspicious of any woman who would cavort with that man, even if he had no part in the deed. Still, she is won over by her son’s enthusiasm and agrees to the marriage.

Elsewhere, Leonardo’s present-day wife (Emily Berman)—and a cousin to the Bride—is also despondent. Her husband Leonardo is a distant man who is reported to wander the edges of the plain for mysterious reasons, though he vehemently denies it. When she tells him of his ex’s new betrothal, he becomes obviously sullen. When pressed as to why, it’s clear she doesn’t need to ask. His heart is still in the past.

Far out in the dry plains, the Bride prepares to receive her fiancé. There’s clearly a reticence in her movements, a certain dread not alleviated by the exhortations of her servant girl (Jessica Maynard). The chatty servant can’t help but reveal that she has noticed Leonardo spying on them from afar, which only serves to make the Bride more anxious. As the wedding day begins, he’s the first to arrive to the chagrin of all, and the rekindling of mutual desire will set in motion the events that give the production its name.

What Pursuit has done under Kacie Smith’s direction is shrink the cast and swap Lorca’s poetry in several instances with recorded or sung Blues, pulling the events into an anachronistic otherworld and cutting the play down substantially. Adding to the surrealism, two dancers—Karl Watson and Cassandra Porter—play avatars to Leonardo and the Bride. To Simmons’ sensually slow, emotionally charged choreography, they enact the emotional states of their counterparts. They are transmuted into the traditional Lorca roles just over halfway through, now becoming the Moon (Watson) and Death (Porter), who conspire to ensure that Death gets her due that fateful night. In a particularly haunting interlude, Watson’s Moon dances frenetically with a glowing orb wearing a tattered gray costume that becomes clouds hiding and revealing the moonlight while reciting Lorca’s haunting poetry.

In the midst of some good performances, two stand out as fantastic embodiments of pain and grief. Besides having a beautiful voice for singing the Blues (and the only one to sing live), Berman’s unloved wife moves from stoic resolve to collapse in heartrending fashion. One of the real reasons to see this work would be Reed’s performance. Her Mother is a fierce force of nature—a woman still mourning and cloaked in an Old Testament-style righteousness. Solid and vulnerable at once, when she’s on stage, it’s positively riveting.

Lorca is a perfect choice for Pursuit’s brand of eclectic mingling, with his freewheeling mixture of prose and poetry, naturalism and symbolism that harken back to Greek tragedies. Themes of small things having large effects, interconnectedness, nature (both Man’s and the wild world), desire, honor, and Fate are all heightened by the blend and the paring. This sophomore effort has all the hallmarks of an enduring production company with a fresh new voice.

  

Rating: ★★★½

  

  

Blood Wedding continues through August 11th at Studio BE, 3110 N. Sheffield (map), with performances Thursdays-Saturdays at 7:30pm, Sundays 3pm.  Tickets are $15-$20, and are available online through Artful.ly (check for half-price tickets at Goldstar.com). More information at PursuitProductions.co.  (Running time: 1 hour 30 minutes, NO intermission)

All photos by Chris Dzombak

     

artists

cast

Emily Berman (Leonardo’s Wife), Jeffrey Freelon (The Bridegroom), Lorraine Freund (The Neighbor), Jessica Maynard (The Servant), Krystal Mosley (Bride), Cassandra Porter (Death/Bride Dancer), Deanna K. Reed (The Mother), Dan Rubens (Leonardo), Karl Watson (Moon/Leonardo Dancer)

behind the scenes

Kacie Smith (director), Ahmad Simmons (choreographer), Adam McCarthy (scenic and lighting design), Yonit Olshan (costume design), Colin Fulton (composer and sound design), Lisa Griebel (props mistress), Craig Kidwell (asst. lighting design), Dan Laushman (technical director), Kit Ryan (stage manager), Chris Dzombak (photos)

   

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