Review: Jerusalem (Profiles Theatre)

Still looking for a real story about real people

Profiles Theatre has created an institution that one might compare to Steppenwolf and Goodman. The Equity house offers its own acting program, stages many Midwest premieres and according to its mission statement, strives to create "provocative and emotionally truthful productions." The problem with Profiles is that, unlike Steppenwolf and Goodman, Profiles doesn't yet have the reputation to compensate for its hit-or-miss repertoire. Jerusalem tries to make a statement on the freedom of country living, but comes off as an endless vanity project for artistic directors Joe Jahraus and Darrell W. Cox.

It's St. George's Day in England, and for the small town of Wiltshire, that means a county fair and general merriment. For Johnny "Rooster" Byron (Cox), this particular St. George's Day begins with an eviction notice on his door. The middle-aged squatter, who keeps company with the minors to whom he deals drugs, has ignored multiple attempts to negotiate with local government and therefore must vacate his trailer and land within several hours. In the meantime, he's supposed to take his young son to the fair and the locals are relying on him to bring the party. As the day wears on, Rooster blatantly laughs in the face of all authority - but could all good things be rapidly coming to an end?

In an interview with Playbill, playwright Jez Butterworth expressed surprise that his script received such a literary interpretation from critics. I echo this surprise: is bloated, condescending and pretentious from beginning to three-hour end. None of the characters are sympathetic and/or interesting: Rooster in particular is a terrible father with a nasty temperament and an all-around degenerate who's dull to boot. Apart from the third act, where some real action occurs, the play consists mainly of hearing drugged-out characters tell stories. (If you've ever been to a party, you'll know how boring this is.) On the whole, the play feels like a caricature of the lower class written from a place of privilege, rather than a real story about real people.

In addition to its excessive length, boasts self-indulgence that never once bothers to include or engage the audience. It's almost as if the play is an acting exercise and viewers are an afterthought. During the show I attended, I noticed at least two patrons leave. Plenty of yawning took place during the three-hour running time. Even the actors seemed disengaged - with so little to work with character-wise, one can hardly blame them. Only Cox and Patrick Thornton (as a senile gent known as "Professor") seemed to buy what the playwright was selling. Despite hailing from the same town, each character spoke a distinctly different muddled British dialect: some sounded Irish, some New Yorker. Many were very difficult to understand. Additionally, Thad Hallstein's set tries too hard to make a statement, but instead reeks of pretension and stagy self-awareness.

As a one-act, Jerusalem could have been a compelling work, full of witty social commentary with a gruff-but-charming lead character. Instead, Profiles' production drags into infinity with a false sense of importance, steadily losing audience interest along the way.

continues through April 24th May 22nd at Profiles Theatre Main Stage, 4139 N. Broadway (map), with performances Thursdays and Fridays at 7:30pm, Saturdays 4pm & 8pm, Sundays 7pm. Tickets are $35-$40, and are available by phone (773-549-1815) or online at PrintTixUSA.com (check for half-price tickets at Goldstar.com ). More info at ProfilesTheatre.org. (Running time: 3 hours, two intermissions)

David Cady Jr. (Parsons), Darrell W. Cox (Rooster), Braden Crothers (Marky - alternating), Cody Davis (Whitworth Brother), Duane Deering (Whitworth Brother), Jeff Gamlin (Wesley), Lyssie Garrison (Tanya), Alison Hixon (Pea), Christian Isley (Troy Whitworth), Theo Moss (Marky -alternating), Erika Napoletano (Dawn), Annie Pfohl (Fawcett), Eric Salas (Davey), Jake Szczepaniak (M), Samantha Tennant (Phaedra), Patrick Thornton (Professor), Scott Wolf (Lee), Broderick Baumann, Sebu Bodo, Cody Davis, Duane Deering, Colleen DeRosa, Georgia Gove, Richard Holton, Stephen Rowland, Desiree Staples, Nora Ulrey, Mary Kate Young (understudies)

behind the scenes

Joe Jahraus (director), Thad Hallstein (set design), Mike Rathbun (lighting design), Brandon Reed (sound design), (costume design), Nate Dion (production stage manager), Sammi Grant (dialect coach), Megan Francomb (dramaturg), Charlotte Drover (choreography), Bradley Bartolo (assistant director), Sam Chaness (assistant stage manager), Jason White (technical director), John Baderman (carpenter), Raquel Adorno (costume consultant), Andrea Michella (prop design), Noelle Humbert and Robin Hellmann, The Cast Station (casting directors), Michael Brosilow (photos)

Tags: 16-0322, Alison Hixon, AmarA, AmarA*jk, Andrea Michella, Annie Pfohl, Braden Crothers, Bradley Bartolo, Brandon Reed, Broderick Baumann, Charlotte Drover, Chicago Theater, Christian Isley, Cody Davis, Colleen DeRosa, Darrell W. Cox, David Cady Jr., Desiree Staples, Duane Deering, Eric Salas, Erika Napoletano, Georgia Gove, Jake Szczepaniak, Jason White, Jeff Gamlin, Jez Butterworth, Joe Jahraus, John Baderman, Lauren Whalen, Lyssie Garrison, Mary Kate Young, Megan Francomb, Michael Brosilow, Mike Rathbun, Nate Dion, Noelle HumbertRobin Hellmann, Nora Ulrey, Patrick Thornton, post, Profiles Theatre, Raquel Adorno, Richard Holton, Sam Chaness, Samantha Tennant, Sammi Grant, Scott Wolf, Sebu Bodo, Stephen Rowland, Thad Hallstein, The Cast Station, Theo Moss

Category: 2016 Reviews, Lauren Whalen, Profiles Theatre