It’s a moot point whether Redmoon Theater’s latest offering is a “non-theater theatrical event, ” an interactive art installation or an American take on the uniquely British form of holiday entertainment known as “panto” that makes adults as well as children equal contributors to its audience-participation success. “From Nothing” is all of these things and much more. Like its composition, a genre-blending amalgam of architectural design, performance art, dance and original music, this multifaceted experience admits fifty people at one time into its sprawling art-playground cum jungle-gym-obstacle-course of slides and swings and visually inviting nooks and crannies whose combined effect is less sensory assault than serene sensory saturation, your favorite mood music album brought to theatrical life in which each exhibition has the potential to inspire or intensify a wide range of personal emotions. Intellectually, “From Nothing” doesn’t come from nowhere: under the guidance of director and project conceiver Jim Lasko the multi-disciplined teams of artists have been inspired by the world’s different creation mythologies in shaping the more story-based installations. Visually, the ambient environment has been saturated in the soothing hues and constructed of the soft textures usually associated with therapeutic, winter-like dreamscapes, as if Superman’s majestic ice fortress had been crafted of marshmallows to render it kid-safe. Bracingly original and endlessly creative, “For Nothing” will certainly enthrall those around or below the age of reason. Its overall intelligence and insouciance is also likely to bewitch even the most cynical, sentiment-shy Chicagoan. (Fabrizio O. Almeida)
Redmoon Central, 1463 W. Hubbard. (312)850-8440. Wed-Fri 6:30pm-9pm/Sat & Sun 3-8pm (Ticketed entrances every half hour). $10. Through Dec 23.
Fields of Love: A Review of "As You Like It" at Chicago Shakespeare Theater A pastoral comedy is just what the doctor ordered to ease our way out of our recent confinement. Chicago Shakespeare Theater obliges with its bright, energetic tale of souls fleeing death and duplicity and finding peace and love in the woods.
