He Who
Written and Directed by Michael Montenegro
Steppenwolf Garage, 1624 N. Halsted (map)
thru April 8 | tickets: $20 | more info
Check for half-price tickets
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Innovative theater elicits deep humanity from the non-human
Theatre Zarko i/a/w Steppenwolf Theatre presents
He Who
Review by K.D. Hopkins
He Who opens with a lovely and haunting melody that blends Fado and Romany traditions. The accompanying musicians float about the stage to the sound of accordion, trombone, and drums. A singer then joins, crooning a forlorn-sounding ballad. Emotion and passion are beautifully conveyed, and the musicians have a surreal quality about them. It is a stirring introduction to this deconstructed story of longing, desire, fulfillment, and suppressed rage.
The Mothers (Nancy Andria, Karen Hoyer, Laura Montenegro, Colleen Werle), like Virgil’s “Furies”, feed the Giant and assist him in all of his needs (including, in a particularly comic moment, elimination). The Mothers are a Noh variation on the Furies, bathed in an eerie ochre light. They mostly speak in unison. They lament and yet serve the Giant, bearing all of the consequences. The music keeps a carnival atmosphere going with well-placed tones of a bowed saw and singing bowl. All of the senses are fully engaged. The eyes can see a swath of live expressionism in the tradition of Weine’s “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari”. The visuals are very stark juxtaposed against the decomposing and incontinent Giant.
There is equally dark comic relief in the characters of Old Man and Inquisitor. Old man is the inventor of Giant, and has supplied the creature with surrogate care for its maintenance and upkeep. Giant is a projection of Old Man’s grief and feelings of failure and abandonment now in helpless dotage.
Ellen O’Keefe plays Inquisitor with a perfect plasticity. She is costumed as a live puppet with an auto tone squeaky voice (conjuring in me the remembrance of how a new doll used to smell – a scary blend of plastic and artificial sweetener). O’Keefe gives a funny and yet creepy performance. It’s reminiscent of the Radiator Dwarf in Lynch’s “Eraserhead”. I cannot get it out of my mind.
 
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It’s an enthralling experience watching this evocative parade of alternate plane humanity. Artistic Director Michael Montenegro brilliantly blends Brechtian decadence with syncretic American life on the fringe. He Who is a wild ride that will spin you around and leave you perhaps a bit off kilter. It is a gift of really great theater to challenge philosophies and the morals of the day.
He Who is one of the Garage Rep 2012 plays staged under the auspices of Steppenwolf to support emerging artists. The three plays chosen for this round are from Chicago’s storefront theaters. Theatre Zarko is one of the most innovative and fresh companies that grace this great city. They use the art of puppetry as an extension of the human condition. Montenegro’s creation for He Who is oddly human, with a great range of expressions. It’s a trip to feel such connection to something that is non-human but animated with a truly deep humanity. Theatre Zarko is one to keep an eye (a human eye!) on for great things to emerge.
Rating: ★★★½
He Who continues through April 8th at Steppenwolf Garage, 1624 N. Halsted (map). Tickets are $20, and are available by phone (312-335-1650) or online here (check for half-price tickets at Goldstar.com). More information at steppenwolf.org. (Running time: 80 minutes with no intermission)
All photos by Ryan Bourque
artists
cast
Nancy Andria* (1st Mother); Karen Hoyer* (2nd Mother); Katherine Jones (Puppet Manipulator); Laura Montenegro* (3rd Mother); Michael Montenegro (Puppet Voice, Puppet Manipulator); Ellen O’Keefe* (Inquisitor, Old Man); Noah Silver-Mathews (Puppet Manipulator); Colleen Werle* (4th Mother); Noah Silver-Mathews* (Puppet Manipulator)
