Burning Bluebeard
Written by Jay Torrence
The Den Theatre, 1333 N. Milwaukee (map)
thru Jan 10 | tix: $36 | more info
Check for half-price tickets
Back to burn again, this new holiday tradition remains evergreen
The Hypocrites i/a/w The Ruffians presents
Burning Bluebeard
Review by Clint May
There is perhaps no finer tribute to the tragic victims of that terrible night of December 30, 1903 than the living memorial erected annually by Jay Torrence and his band of clowns. Each night they awake in a Purgatory of their own creation, destined to tell their story—and the powderpuff story within the story—until art can vanquish tragedy and let the souls who perished in the great Iroquois Theatre fire rest in peace. Gratefully, this audacious post-modern pantomime was a cult-level hit that spun off from its Neo-Futurists’ origins to be stewarded by much of its original cast as the newly formed Ruffians. This utterly unique holiday treat has now grown so successful they have moved once again, out of Theatre Wit and to the larger space at The Den (about one-third more seats) and partnered with the The Hypocrites to keep this four-year-old tradition alive.
Stage director Robert Murray (Jay Torrence) begins the production with a somber reflection on theatres themselves, how the words of the many actors who cross the stage seep into the boards and the seats. Put your ear to anything stationary and you may hear a long-forgotten Shakespeare or the gasp of the audience while witnessing some feat of aerial derring do. He then summons the ghosts of his fellow band from body bags set to just one of the many pitch-perfect musical pieces sprinkled throughout Bluebeard. They emerge each night in the still-smoky ruins of the Iroquois (Lizzie Bracken’s revised and expanded set design), their faces smudged with soot. It is both the present and 1903, a ley line—perhaps created by the force of the horror—intersecting the stage and bringing 2015 into their limbo.
That Iroquois’ widely-panned inaugural show would be Mr. Bluebeard and would see its greatest crowd that very night was one of only many cruel twists that extinguished so many lives. As the cast wryly notes, the grand new theater had been billed as "absolutely fireproof" (like the later "unsinkable" Titanic), but the theater goers themselves were not. Tonight, like every night, they will attempt to push through the horrors of the second act by first doing what all great pantos do—summon the faerie queen (the magically malleable Molly Plunk). Everyone gives her their wish to be granted. Chicago’s reigning comic Eddie Foy (Ryan Walters) wants to keep everyone safe. The young aerialist Nellie Reed (Leah Urzendowski) wants to give the children a magic moment. Actor Henry Gilfoil (Anthony Courser) plays Mr. Bluebeard himself, and only wants to see the story end as it should have, with the villain slain and the moral simple and easy to understand. A “fancy” clown (Pam Chermansky) even invokes the intercession of St. Genesius (patron saint of actors) for help.
What follows is one of the best spectacles on any holiday stage in Chicago. With the exception of the role of “fancy clown,” each of the cast members is original to the 2011 production, and their love for the material is evident and contagious. Despite the sobriety of the source, Bluebeard is frequently uproarious in a way that defies all expectation. Much of it comes from the charming chemistry of this cast and their individual and collective experiences in the classic tradition of clowning and a sense of earnest innocence that only makes their desires more empathetic. Whimsy mingles with the surreal in equal measure. From a techno-punk wedding scene and a restoration of the original’s gratuitous butterfly catcher ballet, Bluebeard creates marvels interspersed with the melancholy.
Director Halena Kays marshalls Torrence’s eclectic styles and tones with a steady hand that ensures art’s triumph every night. We are granted our wish despite the inevitable conflagration. Bluebeard meets his doom and the princess is saved, and each night audiences are shown just how important art is in both catharsis and remembrance. In a way, each of the actors is giving a gift not just to the audience but to the actors they are portraying. Easily the most heart wrenching of the cast, Walters’ Foy is both tongue-in-cheek ham and heart-on-sleeve heartbroken, as Foy bears perhaps the most guilt as the man yelling the advice to stay calm and remain seated to the children in the upper areas just before the backdraft engulfs them. That spry pixie Urzendowski gets to do what Nellie never could—flower petals delivered from on high at the climax for no other reason than to delight. The Ruffians’ pairing with The Hypocrites turned potential disaster into delight as well, as Chermansky’s opening night illness meant their new understudy Shaw Nigro stepped seamlessly into the role of Fancy Clown (having seen Chermansky perform the role last year, I can vouch for her abilities in the regular run and wish her a speedy recovery).
Burning Bluebeard is the kind of nervy production that represents what’s best about Chicago theater and its success is little shy of gratifying. Beguiling in all the right ways, this remains a holiday season must-see.
Rating: ★★★★
Burning Bluebeard continues through January 10th at The Den Theatre, 1333 N. Milwaukee (map), with performances Fridays at 8pm, Saturdays 3pm and 8pm, Sundays 3pm. There will be added 7pm Sunday performances on December 20, 27 and January 3. Tickets are $36, and are available by phone (872-205-6525) or online through Tix.com (check for half-price tickets at Goldstar.com). More information at The-Hypocrites.com. (Running time: 1 hour 30 minutes with no intermission)
Photos by Evan Hanover
artists
cast
Anthony Courser (Henry Gilfoil), Pam Chermansky (Fancy Clown), Molly Plunk (Faerie Queen), Jay Torrence (Robert Murray), Leah Urzendowski Courser (Nellie Reed), Ryan Walters (Eddie Foy), Shaw Nigro (understudy)
behind the scenes
Halena Kays (director), Joseph Shupbach (asst. director), Lizzie Bracken (scenic design), Jessica Kuehnau Wardell (costume design), Mike Tutaj (sound design), Maggie Fullilove-Nugent (lighting design), Krista Mickelson (production manager), Justine Palmisano (stage manager), Evan Hanover (photos)
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