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Highly
Recommended
by Tom Williams, chicagocritic.com
Date Reviewed: March 1, 2009
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Gripping black comedy a stunning success
The folks at Redtwist Theatre have been presenting an ambitious body of
work over the last few years beginning with their excellent production
of Equus. Their latest, Edward Albee’s provocative black comedy, The
Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?, is another
triumph that is true to their company mission: “To do white hot
drama, in a tiny black box, with a little red twist.” With a brilliant ultra-modern set (designed by
Ross Hoppe), The Goat unfolds as an absurdist black comedy that
deals with a middle aged man, Martin (the droll Michael Colucci) who
appears troubled by recent events in his life. He sincerely loves his
wife, Stevie (Kendra Thulin) and accepts his gay son, Billy (Andrew
Jessop). He reveals his extra-marital affair to his oldest friend, Ross
(Karl Potthoff).
The sparks fly when Ross sends a letter to Stevie detailing Martin’s
affair. We see both Billy and Stevie become unhinged at the news of
Martin’s incredible interest. This
riveting 90 minutes covers uncharted territory as the depths of rage,
betrayal and sleaziness become vividly presented. This show pushes the
limits of human tolerance, understanding and acceptance. The
outrageous plot gets us to examine the meaning of love and the limits
of our toleration. What is love and who gets to define it is presented.
These intelligent and multi-layered themes cover much more than deal
with an animal fetish and bestiality—it pushes us to our limits as to
acceptable human behavior.
Michael Colucci plays Martin as a complicated man with whom we believe
has truly had a moment of truth when he first saw Sylvia. Kendra Thulin’s rage and betrayal was so
emotionally played that the truth of her rage exuded from deep within.
She was marvelous. This play
is a most disturbing and unique theatrical experience deftly captured
by the cast under Michael Ryczek’s thoughtful direction. The
attention to details give this clever work depth. It is a blistering tragedy, a dark comedy,
and a lesson in toleration all rolled into a theatrical experience that
will shake to your core. There is nothing like The Goat, or Who
Is Sylvia? This
production sizzles.
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Recommended a
"Must See" Show
Centerstage
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True
love comes in many forms.
Possibly the most highbrow drama ever written about man-on-goat love,
this Edward Albee hit is perfectly tailored to Redtwist's strengths:
strong, mature actors and an uncomfortably teensy performance space.
The North Side stalwart has received consistently solid reviews for its
in-your-lap productions, and bestiality is a particular strength
(witness its Jeff-loaded version of "Equus") so this little show is one
to watch out for.
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Characters
pour out their hearts and souls
By Alan Bresloff, steadstylechicago.com
Reviewed March 2, 2009
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Redtwist Theatre is a true storefront
theater, an actual store on Bryn Mawr Avenue that has been converted to
a black box theater staging intimate plays for a more sophisticated
audience. Their current production is the 2002 Tony Award winning
"The Goat, Or Who Is Sylvia," a black comedy written by Edward
Albee. This is a 90 minute examination of the human mind.
What can we face in life? What is Love? What is the
expected behavior of man, woman and child? Albee examines these
questions in a story of a man and his wife, a couple who seem to have
the perfect life: a son, a home, a great career. What can
possibly be wrong here?
Martin (Michael Colucci) is being interviewed by his best friend Ross
(Karl Potthoff) about his new contract when Martin fees the need to
open up about a strange happening in his life. He has fallen in
love with a goat, yes a goat that he calls Sylvia. Ross attempts
to tell him that he is ill and needs help and then proceeds to write a
letter to Stevie (Kendra Thulin), Martin's wife telling her what he has
learned. She confronts him and then the fun begins. The
emotions run the gamut as each spills their guts out relative to this
"affair". Dishes are broken, flowers are strewn about, tables
upturned and even a painting is destroyed. The prop crew must
have a ball each performance. Colucci
and Thulin are both powerful actors, but the Martin character is
written much calmer as he really doesn't know what has happened to him
and what might be missing from his life to lead him in the direction he
has gone.
They have a son, a teenager, Billy (Andrew Jessop) who is torn himself,
not just to see his parents, the perfect couple being torn apart by
this incident but because he is "coming out" in his being Gay at the
same time. Can a man love a goat? Can a goat love him
back? These are not really the questions that Albee is posing,
but rather what is the definition of love? Is love only for a man
and a woman? Is the love of a friend different than the love of a
son to his parent or a parent to their child? How can one define
love? And who makes this definition? This is where Albee is
going with this piece and the audience will have a lot to think about
upon leaving the theater. I won't divulge the ending, but will
tell you that Stevie, who has left the house after struggling with the
facts she has learned and comes back a little different but with her
own form of resolution to he problem.
The Goodman Theatre did this play during their Albee festival but on a
much larger stage. This is a unique
piece to be done in the intimacy of Redtwist as the audience is very
close to the action and one almost feels that they are that proverbial
fly on the wall as they listen and watch these characters pour out
their hearts and souls. Director Michael Ryczek uses the small
stage to frame this story on a marvelous set by Ross Hoppe. I
must give recognition to Properties designer Deborah Lindell for making
sure that every little detail of this living room is perfect.
I will say that if you are in the first few rows, be alert, you may be
in the line of fire!
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Redtwist
Theatre's The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia? packs an emotional wallop for the
beast-curious.
By Madelyn Freed, Chicago Maroon
Reviewed: March 2, 2009 |
Redtwist’s
clever Goat brings bestiality into American home
There’s a laundry list of tragedies most people worry about, situations
that are maddening and heart-wrenching but common enough. Infidelity,
bankruptcy, death—we may not be able to see them coming, but everyone
knows they are a possibility.
But what about an admission from your loving husband, father, or best
friend that he’s been having a profound and soul-changing love affair
with…well, better come right out and say it. There’s no use in beating
around the proverbial bush. Her name is Sylvia, and she is a goat. When
she gazed at him with those lovely yellow eyes, there was an
understanding. Why can’t you understand that they’re in love? Why is
everyone getting so hysterical?
This is the premise of Edward Albee’s The Goat, Or Who Is Sylvia?,
currently running at the Redtwist Theater and directed by Michael
Ryczek. Martin (Michael Colucci), a very successful middle-aged
architect, lives a genuinely happy life with his beautiful wife Stevie
(Kendra Thulin) and their charming son Billy (Andrew Jessop). The play
spans a period of two days in which Martin reveals his exciting new
love to his best friend Ross (Karl Potthoff), who subsequently feels
compelled to alert Stevie of the affair. Eventually, the whole family
is forced to confront the utterly unimaginable affair.
The play addresses the dangers of rationalization, the morality of
being happy and the deeply unclear reasoning behind the act of
forgiveness. If you’ve ever felt that your insultingly brilliant
UChicago friends are justifying the unjustifiable simply because they
think they’re that much more enlightened than everyone else, there’s a
part of this play for you. If you’ve ever been ashamed of the things
that make you happy, or felt pressure to be ashamed of those things,
there’s a part written for you too. And if you’ve ever been in love
with a goat, well, God help you.
The Goat, Or Who Is
Sylvia? itself is wonderfully written, and parts of this production
certainly ring true despite the play’s fantastic premise. Andrew
Jessop, who plays the 17-year-old gay son Billy, has some great comic
timing, and manages a particularly touching moment with his goat-loving
father. Michael Culocci, who is also the founder of Redtwist
Theater, portrays Martin as stoic and maybe a little too emotionally
detached. His best moments are when he finally breaks, but he’s so
quiet and distracted up until these points that each blow-up doesn’t
seem like a climax so much as a tantrum.
My major complaint with Redtwist’s production is the lack of a
recognizable story arc with rising action and a denouement. Maybe it’s
just that once you introduce the concept of sexing a goat, everyone
starts yelling and never stops. However, there are enough moments of
tangible emotion and shocking and hysterically funny scenes to make the
trip uptown worth it.
Keep in mind this play is in part a relatively in-depth exploration of
bestiality. If you can stomach the idea of loving a goat in every
possible way, along with the pretty emotional and visceral reaction a
wife might have when she discovers such a deeply disturbing love, get
tickets.
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Recommended
Chicago Reader, Lawrence Bommer
Reviewed March 8
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A husband’s appetite for bestiality
forces his wife to work hard at preserving the lie of their marriage.
It's tempting to dismiss Edward Albee's taboo-testing black comedy as
merely, and perversely, provocative. But these 90 minutes expose the
lines we draw to keep things in and out. Is it better to crave what's
forbidden or never to love at all? Is it worse to copulate with farm
animals or to believe that the feeling is mutual? Albee mischievously
toys with our tolerance as he pushes one button after another, creating
a Rorschach test for what constitutes more than you want to know. Michael Ryczek's staging doesn't
shortchange the agony or the ecstasy.
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Recommended
Newcity
Lisa Buscani
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What’s your relationship dealbreaker?
Where’s the line your lover must avoid to keep from decimating
everything you’ve built together? Redtwist Theatre’s production of “The
Goat, or Who is Sylvia?” explores that thorny territory.
Martin (Michael Colucci) and Stevie (Kendra Thulin) are
hyperarticulate, too-clever-by-half New Yorkers who’ve been happily
married for twenty-two years. As firmly rooted as they seem, the couple
is rocked by Martin’s transgression. Edward Albee’s script features his
trademark wordplay and head games; while he neatly sidesteps some
unavoidable issues, it’s still great to hear Albee’s language and watch
him examine the fallout of societal taboo.
And while both actors struggle to find the believable emotional
intensity necessary to convey the couple’s pain and confusion, Redtwist
should be applauded for tackling Albee’s subject matter. Ross Hoppe’s
postmodern set is pristine; it’s a shame it (and the relationship) ends
up in a shambles.
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"Twistedly
funny"
Reviewed by Nina Metz
March 9,2009 **
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Edward Albee's "The Goat, or Who Is
Sylvia?"—a.k.a. the play about the guy having intimate relations with a
farm animal—was first seen in Chicago at the Goodman almost six years
ago, and I admit I wasn't a fan. Maybe I took it too literally. Maybe I
was deaf to the metaphors and themes.
At least that's the conversation I had with myself before walking into
Redtwist Theatre's current revival, because Albee is the kind of
playwright who stares you down and forces you to confront yourself. He
is consumed with ideas about the prickly, unwieldy nature of humankind
and has earned the benefit of the doubt.
Or maybe not. Revisiting this Tony winner from 2002, I felt those same
old feelings of discontent rising to the surface. The play, with its
"Jeopardy"-style title and enjoyably arch-snark wordplay
("Semanticist!" goes one hilarious insult), is so much less than a
complete intellectual experience. Not enough is advanced in emotional
terms. Plenty of bark, light on the bite.
It is, however, twistedly funny—an
observation I missed the first time around. A bomb has just gone off
inside this family unit, and yet they can't stop commenting about their
use of language.
Martin is the man of the hour, and all he needs is the right nudge from
the right noodge and his secret— l'affaire de goat—will come spilling
out. ... As Martin, Michael Colucci
(the company's artistic director) has just the right stuff for a role
that demands a soft, open heart to override the freak factor. He has a
terrific stillness and precision. Andrew Jessop, as his teenage son, is
also very good. ...
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"A
theatrical masterpiece"
Reviewed by Venus Zarris
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Some scripts are so exceptionally thought
provoking that whether the production is wonderfully realized,
embarrassingly stumbled through or lies somewhere in between, you’re
sure to be challenged by the writer’s approach to the story. Edward
Albee’s The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia? is unquestionably one such script,
perhaps even the poster play for provocative.
Martin has a wonderfully loving wife & son, successful career and
all around beautiful life. Everything is shattered though, by a
mid-life crisis named Sylvia. Only this light haired lovely is a goat.
Albee brilliantly takes this absurd scenario (NOT that this couldn’t
happen in real life) and scrutinizes the very structure of how sexual
boundaries define us, frame our relationships and effect the physical,
emotional, psychological and even existential safety of our reality.
For me, Albee subversively speaks to one sexual crime, that of
pedophilia, through the sexual crime of bestiality. Martin’s
description of falling deeply in love with the goat is almost
compelling at first in its tenderly heartfelt emotional connection. But
when his attraction to the innocence and purity of the animal turns
carnal, he crosses a boundary from adoration to abhorrent.... It is a
character study of sickness and its shattering effects on those
involved....
It is a funny,
heartbreaking and frightening breakdown of seemingly solid foundations.
The deliciously delightful discourse delivers duplicitously damaging
dissections of internal and external deceit. In The Goat, or Who Is
Sylvia ?, Albee writes perhaps the most emotionally demanding and
dramatically sophisticated role ever penned for a woman and one of the
most strangely fascinating roles for a man. It is a theatrical
masterpiece.
Redtwist Theatre undertakes a pretty big risk by choosing such a
complex and exigent play. The seduction is there for any actor
and/or director as the dialogue is riveting. ... Andrew Jessop’s compelling portrayal of
Billy, devastated son of the devastated couple ...
I can recommend this
production for one strong reason. The story, told by Albee, is so
twisted that you are SURE to come away checking your own boundaries and
talking about it.
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"...it shocks...it
disturbs..."
by Joseph Erbentraut
EDGE Great Lakes Regional Editor
Tuesday Mar 17, 2009
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It can be difficult for a playwright to
shock a theater audience. After some time, it feels as though we’ve
seen and prepared for it all--haven’t we? Sex, murder, infidelity,
political strife - theater touches on every facet of human experience,
reflecting our own lives on stage in ways that more deeply explore our
underlying fears, joys and expectations.
And then, there is a show like Edward Albee’s The Goat, or Who is
Sylvia?, currently playing at the Redtwist Theatre in Edgewater through
the end of the month. Goat, winner of the 2003 Tony Award for Best
Play, is renowned for its ability to challenge even the most
squirm-resistant, liberal-minded theatergoer to question their
perceptions of what constitutes moral human behavior. Directed by
Michael Ryczek, Redtwist’s production of the darkest of dark comedies
satisfies the script’s requirement to take shock to a new level in the
play’s first run in the city in nearly six years, but ultimately leaves
audiences...unsure.
Goat tells the story of Martin, a talented if not brilliant architect
living the liberal life-- married to a beautiful and
intellectually-provoking wife (Stevie), showing acceptance to a witty
and charming gay son (Billy) and living in a beautiful city home. And
then Martin’s world shatters when he falls in love with a goat during a
trip to the country to scope out a new farm home for his family. The
goat’s name: Sylvia. The news of the affair-- delivered via letter by
Martin’s long-time friend (Ross) sends the family reeling into
disbelief and confusion.
The production’s
greatest strength is owed to its physical space. Compared to the
Goodman Theatre production, Redtwist is a far more intimate space (with
a house that seats not more than 50) and allows the actors’
performances to immerse the audience in mood. The set--a
fifty-something, middle-class yuppie family’s living room--could not
have been more perfect with its simplistic, yet refined details,
allowing the action to shine without too much distraction.
The actors’
performances are mostly solid, efficiently disturbing its audience and
handling the script’s delicate balance of comedy and drama... In the role of Martin, Michael Colucci (who
is also Redtwist’s artistic director) is strong, mastering the somewhat
detached, verging on humor feel of the work’s main character almost too
well....
As Stevie, Kendra Thulin
certainly captures the character’s eccentricities...she wildly wanders
about the living room, destroying every piece of china or furniture she
can get her hand on. Its frenzied quality falls just short of
endearingly insane.
Perhaps the
production’s strongest performance is delivered by Andrew Jessop as the
17-year-old son thrown into the middle of the predicament of
inter-species infidelity. His candor is a welcome balance of Stevie’s
hysteria and Martin’s quiet detachment from his plight.
...it is noble of Redtwist to take on such a challenging work,
particularly at a time when its content has already reached top-of-mind
recognition for most theater aficionados. The show grips the audience
from start to finish, leaving them laughing, crying and even screaming
at times, due to the nature of its subject. Yes, it shocks. Yes, it
disturbs. But so does the evening news.
"The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?" plays at Redtwist Theatre, 1044 W. Bryn
Mawr, through Sunday, March 29. Shows run Thursday, Friday and Saturday
at 8 p.m., Sunday at 3 p.m., with a special closing night performance
on the 29th at 7 p.m. Tickets are available by calling 773-728-7529 or
by visiting www.redtwist.org
Joseph Erbentraut
is new to the EDGE stable as Great Lakes Regional Editor.
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