The Artistic Home’s “Modigliani” delves into the life of one of the art world’s most uninhibited bohemians. Unfortunately, the piece details all of the artist’s bloated excess and none of his storied charm and intelligence.
The show’s opening is “smashing”: Amadeo “Modi” Modigliani (John Mossman) is shown literally and figuratively breaking through barriers. But from there, the story devolves into parody rather than portrait. Modi’s relationships with painters Chaim Soutine (Matt Welton) and Maurice Utrillo (Luis Crespo) are more Keystone Kops comedy than a meeting of minds, and his love affair with poet Beatrice Hastings (Maria Stephens) is reduced to a series of brawls. The cast attempts to inject some humanity and balance in the characters; Zbo (Eustace Allen) provides a welcome oasis of calm. But the script gradually whips them into a frenzy of self-destruction. Ultimately, Hastings retreats from their hardscrabble existence. Who could blame her? (Lisa Buscani)
At The Artistic Home, 3914 N. Clark Street, 866 811-4111. Through March 22.
Communism Can Be Funny: A Review of “Dying For It” at The Artistic Home Adapted from the 1928 satire “The Suicide” by Russian playwright Nikolai Erdman, “Dying For It” tells the story of patriotic proletariats trying to find meaning in an egalitarian, near-secular society where personal value is based on your contribution to the community…but there is plenty of mirth and slapstick.
