Review: The Pitchfork Disney (Interrobang Theatre Project)

By Chicagotheaterbeat @chitheaterbeat

  
  
The Pitchfork Disney

Written by Philip Ridley
Directed by Jeffry Stanton
Athenaeum Theatre, 2936 N. Southport (map)
thru March 2  |  tickets: $18-$20   |  more info
  
Check for half-price tickets 
  
  
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Strong direction, performances propel creepy piece

     

  

Interrobang Theatre Project presents

  

The Pitchfork Disney

Review by Oliver Sava

Alone in a dilapidated home with no parents, a man and his sister confront the darkest recesses of humanity in Philip Ridley’s surreal 1991 drama, a challenging, visceral piece that examines the worlds we create in solitude to escape the bleak environment outside. Presley (Fred Geyer) and Haley (Aislinn Kerchaert) have been living on chocolate bars and sleeping pills for a considerable period of time at the start of the play, a diet that likely contributes to the hallucinatory action that occurs when the malevolent Cosmo Disney (Kevin Webb) appears at their front door.

With a rundown set by Stephen Carmody, the entire play has a nightmarish atmosphere that suggests this is a terrifying dream brought upon by malnourishment and drug use, but this same phantasmagoric quality can make the events difficult to follow at times. The claustrophobic environment also becomes a bit exhausting, but that seems largely intentional, trapping the viewer in the same strange situation as the characters. The play’s momentum dips a bit during the middle section where Presley learns more about his red jacket-wearing, cockroach-eating visitor, but picks up considerably for the play’s final moments, which feature an astounding monolog from Presley and one hell of a creepy appearance from Cosmo’s partner-in-crime, Pitchfork Cavaliere (Mark Lancaster).

As evidenced in Interrobang’s Terminus earlier this season, Jeffry Stanton is an exceptional monolog director, understanding the rise and fall of lengthy speeches and blocking his actors so that there’s action to bring visual variation to the language. It’s an invaluable trait to have when bringing Ridley’s monologue-heavy script to the stage, and the cast does remarkable work with huge chunks of text. Geyer’s performance as Presley is particularly excellent in this regard, and his monolog detailing one potential meaning of the play’s title is the highlight of the production, exquisitely using Ridley’s language to transport the audience to a new hellish scenario in the middle of the one currently unfolding.

Presley is the core of the show, and Geyer gives his strongest performance yet on a Chicago stage as he embodies a man tortured by his dreams and unaware of how to free himself from his anguish. He has to keep his exasperated character going for 100 minutes without a break, a feat he accomplishes with only a few hiccups in that aforementioned middle section. In general, the play is very well cast, with Kerchaert emphasizing the infantile mentality of her character while Webb’s slim physique and sly movements give Cosmo an almost snake-like presence, a nice fit for a character with some very satanic undertones. The ensemble is rounded out by Lancaster’s frighteningly calm Pitchfork, who shambles into the room like a zombie, carrying a naked baby doll to create an even more unsettling visual. His huge, lumbering presence creates a wonderful contrast when he’s next to his much smaller partner, and his arrival is the perfect jolt of energy to speed the production along toward its disturbing conclusion.

  

Rating: ★★★  

  

  

The Pitchfork Disney continues through March 2nd at Athenaeum Theatre, 2936 N. Southport (map), with performances Thursdays-Saturdays at 8pm, Sundays 3pm.  Tickets are $18-$20, and are available by phone (773-935-6875) or online through OvationTix.com (check for half-price tickets at Goldstar.com). More information at InterrobangTheatreProject.org.  (Running time: play length, includes an intermission)

Photos by Emily Schwartz

     

artists

cast

Fred Geyer (Presley Stray), Aislinn Kerchaert (Haley Stray), Mark Lancaster (Pitchfork Cavaliere), Kevin Webb (Cosmo Disney); Understudies: Eric Feltes, Nico Ager, Matthew Dealy.

behind the scenes

Jeffry Stanton (director), Stephen H. Carmody (set design), Noël Huntzinger (costume design), Claire Chrzan (lighting design, production manager), Christopher LaPorte (sound design), Josh Hurley (props design), Lindsay Bartlett (dialect coach), Julia Rohed (stage manager), Justin Snyder (technical director), Emily Schwartz (photos)

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