No community has a monopoly on savagery; every population shows a disregard for human decency from time to time. Josh Nordmark’s new offering attempts to examine civilization’s failures and unfortunately comes up short.
Verse (Celeste Burns) accompanies painter and scholar Henry (Matt Drake) to an island where he studies the native inhabitants; her spurned lover, the vicious Fauntleroy (Scott Danielson) follows and attempts to win her back. Verse’s refusal of Fauntleroy kicks off a series of events on the newly colonized island that indicates who the savages are.
The performances are intriguing, and Burns is necessarily appealing and she and Drake share believable chemistry. Danielson scores with the best punch lines. But the piece’s narrative arc and staging are clumsy and the show is burdened with unnecessary scenes and actors blocked out of their light. Nordmark has a terrific ear for both poetic and comedic dialogue, but he needs a more confident dramatization. (Lisa Buscani)
Holiday Nostalgia: A Preview of “The Mike Toomey Christmas Special” at Zanies Mike Toomey grew up loving television, and his favorite shows each year were the special Christmas episodes of sitcoms and the wide array of Christmas specials starring celebrities. But the WGN Morning News announcer and local star stand-up comedian noticed as he grew older that those shows were dying off, and in 2013 he decided to do something about it.
No community has a monopoly on savagery; every population shows a disregard for human decency from time to time. Josh Nordmark’s new offering attempts to examine civilization’s failures and unfortunately comes up short.
