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Mrs. CalibanChicago Steadstyle
Lifeline Theatre, celebrating 27 years of quality productions, is known for "Big Stories Up Close". Part of this is due to the very limited space they have in Rogers Park. Their current production, "Mrs. Caliban," an adaptation of a story written by Rachel Ingalls by Frances Limoncelli is a love story with some unique twists. Mrs. Caliban, Dorothy (a marvelous character depiction by Brenda Barrie) is married to Fred (Dan Granata), but there appears to be nothing left for either of them. They sleep in different rooms, there is no goodbye kiss when Fred leaves for his office and each night he calls to let her know if he is coming home for dinner. Dorothy is a sort of Stepford Wife around the house. She dusts, cleans, washes dishes and dances to the music of the radio. It appears that she escapes from her marital problems by being the happy-go-lucky homemaker.
On the second morning of the play, everything is just as it was on the first. The exception is a news bulletin about a reptile-man has escaped and is roaming the city. He is said to be dangerous, but on the third day he appears at her house and they communicate by touch and feel. She feeds him and hides him in her bedroom (where Fred never goes). They talk and love blossoms between them. She now has found that forbidden love and the excitement of a young adventurous girl. The only real question to the audience is whether or not this is truly happening or is all this a fantasy that she has created in her mind to escape the lifeless existence that she calls her life. As the story unfolds, we find that she had a child that died during surgery and she also lost a baby, so wouldn't it be logical that she would find a way of putting these things out of her mind? The monster, Larry (a divine performance by Peter Greenberg) is green in color but a reasonable man who comes from a different lifestyle. This is a little unclear as we do not know where he really comes from. Is he an alien? Is he a sea monster or is he just a figment of her imagination? Tragedy befalls all the characters in this story. Dorothy's best friend, Estelle (a solid performance by Jenifer Tyler) is the divorced mother of two brats and is dating two men, living in a special world that she has created. Her daughter Sandra is a bit of a slut (deftly handled by Monica Dionysiou, who also takes on a few other roles) who it turns out is more than just a friend's daughter. I certainly don't want to take the mystery out of the events in this play, but the ending will kind of leave you drawing some of your own conclusions or allowing some deep discussions with your partner or friends. Ms. Ingalls said that she "likes to lay with conventions" and I for one found this to be more of a combination fantasy and science fiction story. When the curtain came down (there is no curtain, but this is the term for a play ending) many of us were left with unanswered questions. This is okay, as it allows us to use our own minds and imaginations. How did we want the story to end? There is no right or wrong answer, just what makes you feel as good as Dorothy felt once she met Larry. Directed by Ann Boyd, who is working within a very small space, the movement of scene to scene has a few awkward spots and it takes few scenes to realize that there is a wall between the kitchen and the living room. There also appears to be a back door but that one also is unexplained. The set designed by Chelsea Warren is workable, using the same kitchen for two different apartments and the aisles of the stage for shops and a grocery store. When they go to the beach/sea they use the bedsheets shimmering as the water with a blue light by Brandon Wardell. The sound and original music by Josh Horvath is wonderful in keeping us tuned in on the action on stage. Branimira Ivanove handled the costumes for this show and to be honest, it would have been nice to see Fred have a little variety in his closet. "Mrs. Caliban" is considered by some a modern fable and that being the case, one might lean a bit more in the direction of the fantasy idea. It is however beautifully performed and all the pieces fall into place. Again, Lifeline is limited on space, but they always seem to make it work. I would suggest only one thing with the set that bothered me and that is the entry door to their apartment having some molding and trip so it looks like a real door instead of a cut-out in drywall where a door was placed. Other than that, everything is a perfect two hours of entertaining theater and who can ask for anything more? |
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