The Blue Room
Written by David Hare
Directed by Brian Posen and Cody Spellman
at Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont (map)
thru April 15 | tickets: $20-$28 | more info
Check for half-price tickets
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Incendiary classic updated for a modern audience
Street Tempo Theatre presents
The Blue Room
Review by Keith Glab
Around the dawn of the 20th century, Austrian playwright Arthur Schnitzler published La Ronde, a play depicting a series of sexual encounters between pairs of characters. Each of the ten characters appears in successive scenes that explore the before and after of (usually illicit) coitus. The play was banned due to its raunchy content and did not get produced until 1920.
Roughly 50% of the dialog in David Hare’s The Blue Room is taken directly from La Ronde, and the cast of characters in each of the ten scenes is essentially the same. Although this modern adaptation stays true to the original, many of the relationships between the characters are heavily changed by minor divergences in dialog. The biggest difference comes in scene three, when an awkward hookup between a Young Gentleman and Parlor Maid in La Ronde becomes a student raping an Au Pair in The Blue Room.
Hare’s script is set in London rather than the original venue of Vienna, though the effect of this alteration is negligible. The modern day transposition does not alter relationships as much as you might expect, but it is a factor. During the blackouts in which each scene’s actual sex takes place, rock music plays and one of the eight cast members watching from the sidelines announces how long the act lasts. Apart from adding humor, this touches on themes of surveillance that are more relevant today than ever before.
There is more humor overall in Hare’s adaptation than the version written over a century ago, and a talented cast has fun with the material, heightening the laughs. Lights remain up during scene transitions, allowing all ten cast members to dance, seduce, and interact as they move set pieces. The characters previously onstage also get a chance to react to that scene’s events for another moment. A bit of adlib from Amy Roeder highlighted the evening I attended. A few lines after the set bed made a loud, unexpected breaking noise, Roeder managed to work the line “cheaply-made bed” into her dialog.
In addition to the humor, the ensemble excells at altering their characters based on their relationship in a given scene. For instance, Loretta Rezos as The Married Woman is far more self-assured in her tryst with The Student (Ryan Jendrycki) than in her tepid marriage with The Politician (Brendan Buckley), but not so much so as to create inconsistency. The Aristocrat (Tim Curtis) reiterates how people act differently around different people in the closing moments of the play, underscoring an important theme.
By striking a balance between honoring Schnitzler’s original premise and updating themes and humor for a modern audience, Street Tempo Theatre’s The Blue Room is definitely worth visiting.
Rating: ★★★
The Blue Room continues through April 15th at Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont (map), with performances Thursdays at 8pm, Saturdays 7pm, Sundays 5pm. Tickets are $20-$28, and are available by phone (773-327-5252) or online through Vendini.com (check for half-price tickets at Goldstar.com). More information at Stage773.com. (Running time: 1 hour 45 minutes, no intermission)
 
 
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Photos by Brian Work
artists
cast
Kaitlin Fleharty (The Girl), Nathan Borowski (The Cab Driver), Carly Geer (The Au Pair), Ryan Jendrycki (The Student), Loretta Rezos (The Married Woman), Brendan Buckley (The Politician), Arielle Kresich (The Model), Matt Gall (The Playwright), Amy Roeder (The Actress), Tim Curtis (The Aristocrat)
behind the scenes
Brian Posen (artistic director); J. Cody Spellman (director); Katie Johnson-Smith (production manager); Emily Clarbourne (technical director); Claire Chrzan (lighting); Laura Wilson (costumes); Dave Ferguson (set design); Nicholas Kelm (sound design); Danni Parpan (props); Bridget Thomas (stage manager), Brian Work Photography (photos)
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