How to Make a Rainbow
Written and Directed by Mike Brayndick
at Greenhouse Theater, 2257 N. Lincoln (map)
thru Aug 13 | tickets: $10-$20 | more info
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Too much is not more
On The Spot Theatre Company presents
How to Make a Rainbow
Review by Patrick Dyer
Tackling a person’s entire life into a concise dramatic story is a daunting task. The narrative has to be flowing without being too episodic, there can’t be too many characters, and the purpose of telling such a story must be clear if audiences are going to be invested. It can be even harder with a real-life person because you’d have to know which facts of that person’s life should be included or not. Unfortunately, that is not the case in On the Spot Theatre’s latest production, How to Make a Rainbow. Here, we learn that too much is not more.
The problem with this piece is obvious from the start: there’s too much going on, and almost none of it is allowed to settle in. Scenes go by so quickly in a very cinematic style that it’s difficult for audiences to know – much less care – about what they’re seeing onstage. Mike Brayndick’s script appears to be taken mostly from Cornell’s personal letters and diary entries, but what works on the page doesn’t always translate well to the stage. Certain poetic passages that are fine as written prose just come off as meandering and pretentious when performed in front of a live audience. Add to that an already episodic storyline lacking in focus and an overly long second act, and what results is a potentially interesting but mostly confusing and messy character study.
To make matters worse, the cast as a whole seems to be on autopilot throughout the evening (at least in the performance I saw). They go from one scene to the next without much in dynamics or even energy. Stroh can’t decide on an accent, and constantly plays Cornell as a tortured artist without much variety or humanity (though, to be fair, Brayndick’s script doesn’t offer him many chances). The rest of the cast play multiple roles, but are unable to effectively differentiate between each character. Dodge is too large for such a small playing space, as he over-projects and over-acts. Sherman looks uninterested in what she’s doing for almost the entire show. Martin captures the physical aspects of Robert Cornell’s cerebral palsy well, but he’s a bit dull in his other roles. Emma Brayndick has her energized moments, but like the others she struggles to make each of her other characters different from the others. Casey Brayndick is unfortunately not experienced enough to handle multiple roles in a more adult show as she struggles to project and annunciate many of her lines.
While it has the potential to be a more interesting character study, especially if it involved more of Cornell’s family, How to Make a Rainbow suffers from trying to squeeze in too many details about Cornell’s life and fantasies without ever getting to the heart of his material or even his relationships with others. Life is a collection of moments whether they be exciting, dramatic, funny, boring, or tragic, but capturing the essence of it is what makes a piece like this work. And sadly, How to Make a Rainbow is not up to the task.
Rating: ★½
How to Make a Rainbow continues through August 13th at Greenhouse Theater, 2257 N. Lincoln (map), performing Thursdays-Saturdays at 7:30pm, Sundays 2:30pm. Tickets are $10-$20, and are available by phone (773-404-7336) or online through GreenhouseTheater.org (check for half-price tickets at Goldstar.com). More info at OnTheSpotTheatreCompany.weebly.com. (Running time: 2 hours, includes an intermission)
artists
cast
Matthew Stroh (Joseph Cornell), Mark Dodge (Joseph Two, others), Katie Sherman (Mother, others), Erik Martin (Robert Cornell, others), Emma Brayndick (Betty Cornell, others), Casey Brayndick (Helen Cornell, others)
behind the scenes
Mike Brayndick (director, playwright), J.R. Pierce (stage manager), Angela Guest (assistant stage manager, props), Nick Rastenis (set design), Pat Henderson (lighting design), Gaspard Le Dem (sound design, original music), Taniel Kilajian (video, projections), Deana Zehren (costumes), Saren Nofs-Snyder (voice and dialect coach), Steven Hill (technical director, build master), Elayne LeTraunik (marketing), Alex Farrington (stage combat and movement)
13-0722
