A very light week for me, at least in terms of full, contained stories of stage and screen. I recently arrived in Chicago for a short visit, and a large portion of my time has been spent seeing shows at iO and The Second City. I have also recently (though belatedly) started watching Mr. Robot, as well as reading an experimental novel, House of Leaves. (I shall review both once I finish the first season and novel, respectively.)
Bat Boy: The Musical
Book by Keythe Farley and Brian Flemming, Music & Lyrics by Laurence O'Keefe
Incredibly fun. The supporting cast stole the show, with sharp understanding and command of the comedy of their characters. Act II went a little wonky for me, as it seemed to tonally shift very late in the story, but overall it was an incredibly entertaining production of a decently entertaining show. The production I saw by Griffin Theatre just closed, but Bat Boy will productions will probably pop every so often so keep an eye out for it by local companies in your city.
4/5
In The Heart Of The Sea
Written by Charles Leavitt, Directed by Ron Howard
The subject matter alone can carry a lot of this story, but lack of clear protagonist really held this movie back. There's a sense of scenes just happening in order but with no drive towards character change, largely because there is no clarity of whose story is this. Without a story to get sucked into, the shoddy compositing work stood out, and the few pretty visuals there were couldn't save what was an ultimately unfulfilling narrative. Which is too bad. I love Moby Dick. (I rented it on iTunes, but it's available to rent on Google Play and YouTube as well.)
2/5
The Grapes of Wrath
Stage Adaptation by Frank Galati, Directed by Erica Weiss
This production unfortunately suffered from some simple technical obstacles. A hot theater (aka uncomfortable audience), poor projection and diction from actors, and a shallow stage. While these issues could have been addressed to varying degrees, ultimately the biggest obstacle was direction. Steinbeck's novel is solid, and the adaptation is extremely faithful, but there was very little variance in the dramatic weight of events (and even micro-events within scenes), so everything felt just like it mattered as much as anything else, so it was largely difficult to distinguish characters and moments from each other, intellectually and emotionally. I do recognize, however, that the audience of the performance I saw was completely checked out. Perhaps an audience that gives more ignites the potential this production has, and on another day, it just clicks more. Check it out at The Gift Theatre in Chicago.
2/5