The song titles alone that make up the late-eighties/early-nineties soundtrack to playwright Patrick Wilde’s “What’s Wrong with Angry?” could summarize the teenage-angst onstage: “Under Pressure”; “Can’t Help Falling in Love”; “Everybody Hurts”; “A Little Respect.” But without intending to marginalize this funny, intimate and charming Circle Theatre production, I think the play will strike profounder chords with gay and gay-friendly audiences, especially those who came of age in the days of crimped hairstyles and colorful DayGlo (the latter briefly played homage to in a moment of inspired lighting design). Certainly the play, charting a gay teenager’s wonderfully miserable affair with the closeted high-school athlete, speaks to the universal feelings of exclusion felt by any “different” individual struggling to find a place at the sometimes unwelcoming social table. But it speaks loudest through its fearless-yet-humorous depictions of the male growing-up-gay experience: coming out to a homophobic father; the plutonic attraction behind gay men and their best girl “friends”; the ineffable appeal of public restrooms. With the help of a clever lighting and set design, the play’s strong visual appeal comes courtesy of director Michael Matthews’s sleight-of-hand staging techniques, a seamless and highly theatrical integration of montage, monologue and music. The unexpected ending is a courageous, challenging and ultimately rewarding finale for any audience member with a heart. (Fabrizio O. Almeida)
Circle Theatre, 7300 West Madison Street, Forest Park, (708) 771-0700. Thurs 8 pm 8/11, 8/18 & 8/25 only. Fri – Sat 8pm/Sun 3pm. $20-$22. Through August 28.
Let’s See Together: A Review of "Choir Boy" at Steppenwolf Theatre Among other compelling reasons to see "Choir Boy" is the power and musicianship on songs sung by the young men who play the students in the choir at the Black, Christian Charles R. Drew School for Boys.
Buggin’ Out: A Review of Bug at Steppenwolf Theatre The audience is the fly on the wall of a dingy Oklahoma hotel room where Agnes White is taking refuge from her recently released, abusive ex-husband Jerry.
