Beauty on the Vine

Time Out Chicago

October 28, 2008
BY ZAC THOMPSON

Lauren Chickering is a woman so lovely and charismatic that when she was in high school, two of her less captivating classmates hired a plastic surgeon to make over their faces in her image. As an adult, Lauren becomes a right-wing radio host, supremely successful and highly influential with teenage girls because she is pretty (an important quality in radio) and because she says the sort of awful, pop-Nietzschean things that are, at least in this play, so popular with today’s youth.

Eventually, Lauren is gunned down. We suspect at first that her killer is a fan, enraged perhaps by Lauren's marriage to a multiracial bleeding heart (who also happens to be the play's mealy-mouthed narrator). The widower's encounter with one of Lauren's surgically enhanced doppelgangers raises hopes of a reenactment of Hitchcock's Vertigo, but then we realize, no, it's just a setup for the revelation of Lauren's real killer.

You'd think a story this far-fetched would be told with some acknowledgement of its soap-operatic absurdity, but playwright Berkman is dead serious. We're meant to walk away thinking about celebrity and individuality and how girls are forced to forsake exceptionality for conformity, but mostly you're just struck by how little on stage resembles the world we live in. Director Kae coaxes a game performance from lead actress Barrie, but it's a disappointing start to BackStage's ninth season, especially considering the successes of its eighth (How I Learned to Drive, Waiting for Lefty, Bloody Bess).

SOMEWHAT RECOMMENDED

Patrons responded in posts to TimeOut Chicago:

11/14/08 by Heath
"This is a poor review for an entertaining, well performed and thought provoking show. It IS fiction, but it resonated with my friends and I and we enjoyed dissecting the intelligent parallels within the play and the parallels to our lives. I am encouraged that the comments people are leaving support my impression. It deserves higher praise from Time Out."

11/11/08 by Alex R
"After watching this play I found it to be very cleverly set. The cast worked very well and matched the story. I think it was a good story that hit close to home in certain respects. As much as I hate thinking about how divided are country can be when it comes to politics I think this story portrayed these stereotypes very well and made it into a powerful play. The intimate setting made this a wonderful experience."

11/03/08 by Margie
"In view of the recent and untimely tragic death of the beautiful Little Rock anchor, Anne Pressly, I found the opening act to be quite surreal. Eerily, the review citing the story as far-fetched might be based a little more in realtiy than we'd like to acknowledge. The numerous vignettes, although sometimes perplexing, led to active intermission discussion as well as post-play chatter thereby making it a worthwhile night. The actors did a fabulous job in their respective roles. Congrats!"

10/29/08 by HeyBattaSwing
"I didn't find this to be far-fetched in any way, but rather a commentary on our superficial society , self-esteem, and obsession with celebrity. Throw in some dialogue that challenges the predominant PC lefty worldview about political labels, and you get an engaging story, and a great theatre experience. Dismissing this production as a soap opera wrapped in pop philosophy does a disservice to the actors and the theatre-going public."

10/28/08 by Joseph
"I saw this show this weekend and I find it hard to believe anyone would think this show was far-fetched. A pretty right wing radio host...Ann Coulter. Extreme surgery to look like a famous person...MTV's Give me a Famous Face. Maybe this show does not resemble the world you live in Mr Thompson, but for those who live in the real world there were some scary resemblances. For those of you who read these reviews please know that this show great. Check it out! The lead girl is awesome!"