Idle Muse Theatre Company’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is good, dark Halloween-season entertainment, especially if you’re a fan of the Hammer/Amicus/American International Pictures-style of lurid rethinkings of Victorian horror classics. Adapted by Michael Dalberg and directed by Morgan Manasa, this production ups the sex-and-violence aspects of Robert Louis Stevenson’s 1886 story of morally upright Dr. Henry Jekyll, who concocts a potion that transforms him into wantonly murderous Edward Hyde—the embodiment of Jekyll’s own hidden evil urges. 

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. HydeThrough 10/23: Thu-Sat 8 PM, Sun 3 PM, the Edge Off-Broadway, 1133 W. Catalpa, 773-340-9438, idlemuse.org, $20 ($15 students and seniors, $10 Thu industry nights)

Dalberg’s crisp, epigrammatic script turns Henry Jekyll into Henri Jekyll (Brandi Jiminez Lee), whose ambitions are thwarted by the sexism of London’s medical establishment. Henri is romantically drawn to her straitlaced solicitor, Gabriel Utterson (Shane Richlen), as is he to her. But demonic, lustful Hyde (the commanding Jack Sharkey) keeps intruding, eager to wreak vengeance on the men who Henri feels have wronged her, including fellow physician Hastie Lanyon (Joel Thompson) and corrupt aristocrat Sir Danvers Carew (played by understudy Ross Compton at the performance I saw). 

Having Jekyll and Hyde played by separate actors deprives the audience of a transformation scene, traditionally the high point of Jekyll/Hyde movies and plays. But there’s plenty of payoff in the alter egos’ heated arguments—the external manifestation of Jekyll’s interior monologues—and the malevolent glee with which Sharkey imbues Hyde is delicious in the ripe Vincent Price/Christopher Lee tradition. Sound designer L.J. Luthringer’s pounding techno background music adds a contemporary intensity to the Gothic tale.

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What is an artist’s relationship to their art? The complexities of that question form the central story in Franco-Uruguayan playwright Sergio Blanco’s Tebas Land, now appearing under the direction of Argentinean director Juan Parodi in its U.S premiere as part of the fifth Destinos: Chicago International Latino Theater Festival. Presented by the Chicago Latino Theater Alliance  in collaboration with the National Museum of Mexican Art, the show is performed in Spanish with English subtitles. 

Tebas Land Through 10/9: Thu-Sat 7:30 PM, Sun 3:30 PM, Chicago Dramatists, 1105 W. Chicago, destinosfest.org, $20-$25. In Spanish with English subtitles.

Tebas Land tells the story of S (Esteban Schemberg), a playwright seeking to create a project around the story of Martín (Tommy Rivera-Vega), a young man who murdered his father. Through several meetings on a prison basketball court, the pair gets to know each other as S gives Martín a space to share his story in his own words.

Guided by his artistic vision, S initially intends to understand Martín’s decisions to kill his father and to unravel the psyche of a parricide before, during, and after his crime. As their meetings progress, questions emerge about the complexities of portrayal and what it means to represent someone else’s story. The line between the artist and his subject becomes increasingly obscured, impacting S’s final vision for his performance. 

Parodi and both performers skillfully illustrate the intricacies and subtleties of S and Martín’s relationship, whilst centering the play’s most critical questions. The central relationship is elevated by the play’s unique structure, which is distinctly and sometimes humorously meta and weaves thoughtful parallels between Martín and the myth of Oedipus.

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Lette (Dennis Bisto) assumes that since he’s the inventor of his company’s latest product, he’ll be the one to present it at the big upcoming corporate event. But then his coworkers and wife reveal a secret kept from him his entire life: his hideous face. No one would ever buy his genius invention when he looks like that! Thrown into existential turmoil, Lette is convinced to undergo unproven and radical plastic surgery under the knife of the ghoulish Scheffler (Alexis DawTyne) to change his looks. The operation succeeds too well and overnight he becomes the envy of everyone he meets.

The Ugly One Through 10/29: Thu-Sat 8 PM, Trap Door Theatre, 1655 W. Cortland, trapdoortheatre.com, $25 (two for one Thu)

The transformation from an ugly talent to a universally adored Adonis isn’t a fit made to last. With fame and riches come envy and paranoia. Soon Lette spends most of his time clinging to fool’s gold rather than satisfaction at work or happiness at home. He’s trying to hold on to something he never even wanted before he got his new face. Marius von Mayenburg’s 2007 horror comedy gets a bracing, utterly contemporary interpretation with Trap Door under Michael Mejia’s direction. Lette’s desperate striving for hollow beauty will be familiar to anyone who scrolls Instagram, and Scheffler’s triumphant declaration that she’s an artist rather than a doctor will evoke countless unwatchable reality TV shows. 

Like an old-fashioned fairy tale, this brash, over-the-top show reminds us to be careful what we wish for.

Read More

Idle Muse Theatre Company’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is good, dark Halloween-season entertainment, especially if you’re a fan of the Hammer/Amicus/American International Pictures-style of lurid rethinkings of Victorian horror classics. Adapted by Michael Dalberg and directed by Morgan Manasa, this production ups the sex-and-violence aspects of Robert Louis Stevenson’s 1886 story of morally upright Dr. Henry Jekyll, who concocts a potion that transforms him into wantonly murderous Edward Hyde—the embodiment of Jekyll’s own hidden evil urges. 

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. HydeThrough 10/23: Thu-Sat 8 PM, Sun 3 PM, the Edge Off-Broadway, 1133 W. Catalpa, 773-340-9438, idlemuse.org, $20 ($15 students and seniors, $10 Thu industry nights)

Dalberg’s crisp, epigrammatic script turns Henry Jekyll into Henri Jekyll (Brandi Jiminez Lee), whose ambitions are thwarted by the sexism of London’s medical establishment. Henri is romantically drawn to her straitlaced solicitor, Gabriel Utterson (Shane Richlen), as is he to her. But demonic, lustful Hyde (the commanding Jack Sharkey) keeps intruding, eager to wreak vengeance on the men who Henri feels have wronged her, including fellow physician Hastie Lanyon (Joel Thompson) and corrupt aristocrat Sir Danvers Carew (played by understudy Ross Compton at the performance I saw). 

Having Jekyll and Hyde played by separate actors deprives the audience of a transformation scene, traditionally the high point of Jekyll/Hyde movies and plays. But there’s plenty of payoff in the alter egos’ heated arguments—the external manifestation of Jekyll’s interior monologues—and the malevolent glee with which Sharkey imbues Hyde is delicious in the ripe Vincent Price/Christopher Lee tradition. Sound designer L.J. Luthringer’s pounding techno background music adds a contemporary intensity to the Gothic tale.

Read More

What is an artist’s relationship to their art? The complexities of that question form the central story in Franco-Uruguayan playwright Sergio Blanco’s Tebas Land, now appearing under the direction of Argentinean director Juan Parodi in its U.S premiere as part of the fifth Destinos: Chicago International Latino Theater Festival. Presented by the Chicago Latino Theater Alliance  in collaboration with the National Museum of Mexican Art, the show is performed in Spanish with English subtitles. 

Tebas Land Through 10/9: Thu-Sat 7:30 PM, Sun 3:30 PM, Chicago Dramatists, 1105 W. Chicago, destinosfest.org, $20-$25. In Spanish with English subtitles.

Tebas Land tells the story of S (Esteban Schemberg), a playwright seeking to create a project around the story of Martín (Tommy Rivera-Vega), a young man who murdered his father. Through several meetings on a prison basketball court, the pair gets to know each other as S gives Martín a space to share his story in his own words.

Guided by his artistic vision, S initially intends to understand Martín’s decisions to kill his father and to unravel the psyche of a parricide before, during, and after his crime. As their meetings progress, questions emerge about the complexities of portrayal and what it means to represent someone else’s story. The line between the artist and his subject becomes increasingly obscured, impacting S’s final vision for his performance. 

Parodi and both performers skillfully illustrate the intricacies and subtleties of S and Martín’s relationship, whilst centering the play’s most critical questions. The central relationship is elevated by the play’s unique structure, which is distinctly and sometimes humorously meta and weaves thoughtful parallels between Martín and the myth of Oedipus.

Read More

Lette (Dennis Bisto) assumes that since he’s the inventor of his company’s latest product, he’ll be the one to present it at the big upcoming corporate event. But then his coworkers and wife reveal a secret kept from him his entire life: his hideous face. No one would ever buy his genius invention when he looks like that! Thrown into existential turmoil, Lette is convinced to undergo unproven and radical plastic surgery under the knife of the ghoulish Scheffler (Alexis DawTyne) to change his looks. The operation succeeds too well and overnight he becomes the envy of everyone he meets.

The Ugly One Through 10/29: Thu-Sat 8 PM, Trap Door Theatre, 1655 W. Cortland, trapdoortheatre.com, $25 (two for one Thu)

The transformation from an ugly talent to a universally adored Adonis isn’t a fit made to last. With fame and riches come envy and paranoia. Soon Lette spends most of his time clinging to fool’s gold rather than satisfaction at work or happiness at home. He’s trying to hold on to something he never even wanted before he got his new face. Marius von Mayenburg’s 2007 horror comedy gets a bracing, utterly contemporary interpretation with Trap Door under Michael Mejia’s direction. Lette’s desperate striving for hollow beauty will be familiar to anyone who scrolls Instagram, and Scheffler’s triumphant declaration that she’s an artist rather than a doctor will evoke countless unwatchable reality TV shows. 

Like an old-fashioned fairy tale, this brash, over-the-top show reminds us to be careful what we wish for.

Read More