Chicago Reader
REVIEWED BY Keith Griffith
The press release makes Brown Paper Box's production of this 1999 Naomi Iizuka play sound dreadful: a "quirky comedy" about "twentysomethings" looking for a place in the world. In reality, it's an expert mindfuck that explores the abyss of human identity. Primarily set (near as I can guess) in the dreamlife of a character in a story written by a character in the play, Iizuka's plot flings its twentysomethings out of Brooklyn to the noncontiguous states, to the oldest rainforest in the world, backwards through evolution, forward through life. In character-driven scenes where time and space dissolve, director M. William Panek's cast strike a perfect emotional pitch. When I walked out of a matinee performance, blinking in the sun, I could feel the infinite largeness of the present.
WINDY CITY TIMES
REVIEWED by Steven Chaitman
Life as a twentysomething is pretty crazy. Trust me on that one.
Okay, so maybe you've been there before yourself: that time in life where the future seems objectively endless, but subjectively, nothing for the future is falling into place (or everything is falling into place) (or bits and pieces are falling into place but we're not sure how we feel about those pieces).
Naomi Iizuka's Aloha, Say the Pretty Girls, now playing at the Brown Paper Box Co., examines this stage of life as a way to explore larger, existential themes of identity how it evolves over the course of our lifetime.
Although the play incorporates a number of abstract elements, such as characters that change species, it still meshes with the stripped-down production quality of Brown Paper Box Co. The tiny Heartland Studio becomes a box of sorts where time, space and reality are negated, and the only truth is the human experience.
The play begins in New York City following several characters and story lines that all converge or connect over the course of the play. Not an unusual setup, but two actors play both male and female characters and one plays a dog. The relationships that form throughout are temporary at first and then surprising later on. Sexuality proves to be equally as fluid, another way Iizuka illustrates life's lack of permanency.
Most of this eight-person ensemble offers something substantial in this intimate production. Highlights are Christopher Hart as the troubled writer Derek, Pamela Mae Davis as Vivian, a woman who loses everything at once, including her purse, and company member Anna Schutz, who plays the troubled young Billy and bright-eyed Joy. The comedy comes predominantly from Luke Michael Grimes, who is hilarious as both the quirky schoolteacher Myrna and the tense millionaire Richard.
All the characters represent different examples of identity struggle, so at times it can be challenging for the actors to turn them into meaty, interesting characters, especially when so much of the play is philosophy presented through metaphoric action and theoretical dialogue. Things can get too abstract and consequently a tad dull at times, but the production effectively conveys what the playwright offers.
When you're in your 20s, there's always something missing in life; even those who have found fulfillment in one way are missing it in another or are uncertain about it. And when you do make a bold choice to make a change—like moving to Alaska or getting away for a while to Hawaii or Borneo as these characters do—the questions keep coming in other forms. The play's characters all respond to their various emptinesses differently, but none reaches a place of clarity. Ultimately, they must find a path to acceptance, which is the essence of understanding identity.
And who better to perform Aloha, Say the Pretty Girls than young actors pursuing their passion and undoubtedly struggling with some of these same issues in their own lives? The production is a good fit for Chicago, which has seen more than a few twentysomethings flocking toward it, hoping to discover the next steps toward the rest of their lives.
Okay, so maybe you've been there before yourself: that time in life where the future seems objectively endless, but subjectively, nothing for the future is falling into place (or everything is falling into place) (or bits and pieces are falling into place but we're not sure how we feel about those pieces).
Naomi Iizuka's Aloha, Say the Pretty Girls, now playing at the Brown Paper Box Co., examines this stage of life as a way to explore larger, existential themes of identity how it evolves over the course of our lifetime.
Although the play incorporates a number of abstract elements, such as characters that change species, it still meshes with the stripped-down production quality of Brown Paper Box Co. The tiny Heartland Studio becomes a box of sorts where time, space and reality are negated, and the only truth is the human experience.
The play begins in New York City following several characters and story lines that all converge or connect over the course of the play. Not an unusual setup, but two actors play both male and female characters and one plays a dog. The relationships that form throughout are temporary at first and then surprising later on. Sexuality proves to be equally as fluid, another way Iizuka illustrates life's lack of permanency.
Most of this eight-person ensemble offers something substantial in this intimate production. Highlights are Christopher Hart as the troubled writer Derek, Pamela Mae Davis as Vivian, a woman who loses everything at once, including her purse, and company member Anna Schutz, who plays the troubled young Billy and bright-eyed Joy. The comedy comes predominantly from Luke Michael Grimes, who is hilarious as both the quirky schoolteacher Myrna and the tense millionaire Richard.
All the characters represent different examples of identity struggle, so at times it can be challenging for the actors to turn them into meaty, interesting characters, especially when so much of the play is philosophy presented through metaphoric action and theoretical dialogue. Things can get too abstract and consequently a tad dull at times, but the production effectively conveys what the playwright offers.
When you're in your 20s, there's always something missing in life; even those who have found fulfillment in one way are missing it in another or are uncertain about it. And when you do make a bold choice to make a change—like moving to Alaska or getting away for a while to Hawaii or Borneo as these characters do—the questions keep coming in other forms. The play's characters all respond to their various emptinesses differently, but none reaches a place of clarity. Ultimately, they must find a path to acceptance, which is the essence of understanding identity.
And who better to perform Aloha, Say the Pretty Girls than young actors pursuing their passion and undoubtedly struggling with some of these same issues in their own lives? The production is a good fit for Chicago, which has seen more than a few twentysomethings flocking toward it, hoping to discover the next steps toward the rest of their lives.
REDEYE
ARTICLE BY JULIA BORCHERTS
Ever feel like your life could use some drastic changes? Extreme transformation—as a way of discovering yourself—is the theme of "Aloha, Say the Pretty Girls," a quirky comedy with absurdist elements by San Diego-based playwright Naomi Iizuka. Having been born in Tokyo to a Japanese father and a Cuban-American mother and raised in Japan, Indonesia, The Netherlands and the U.S., Iizuka knows a thing or two about the fluidity of identity.
The Brown Paper Box Co. founding executive director M. William Panek directs the comedy, in which a group of twenty-somethings change geographical locations, careers—and sometimes, even species—on their quests to understand love, evolution and themselves. It features minimalist sets, some cross-gender casting and a focus on realistic dialogue and relationships within the surrealist scenarios.
Because the play emphasizes the changes inherent in physical and emotional journeys, we checked in with the cast to find out where they come from, where they live now and one life event that transformed them.
The Brown Paper Box Co. founding executive director M. William Panek directs the comedy, in which a group of twenty-somethings change geographical locations, careers—and sometimes, even species—on their quests to understand love, evolution and themselves. It features minimalist sets, some cross-gender casting and a focus on realistic dialogue and relationships within the surrealist scenarios.
Because the play emphasizes the changes inherent in physical and emotional journeys, we checked in with the cast to find out where they come from, where they live now and one life event that transformed them.
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Bob Skosky
Age: 27 Hometown: St. Louis, Mo. Current 'hood: Lakeview Transformative experience: "Being naked on stage. Once you've been naked in front of a group of people who have paid to see you, you're never the same." Pamela Mae Davis Age: 28 Hometown: Los Angeles, Calif. Current 'hood: Uptown Transformative experience: "Seeing Bob Skosky naked on stage. Hands down." Derek Herman Age: 22 Hometown: Portland, Ore. Current 'hood: Rogers Park Transformative experience: "Graduating from college this May has transformed me and really smacked me in the face that I am a 'real' adult." Stephanie Rohr Age: 28 Hometown: Naperville, Ill. Current 'hood: Logan Square Transformative experience: "Moving to London for my Master's degree. Starting over in a new city/country/continent where I lived alone and knew no one." |
Christopher Hart
Age: 27 Hometown: Milwaukee, Wis. Current 'hood: Rogers Park Transformative experience: "Life, humor, friends, family and the relentless positivity of my dad, John Hart, have transformed me." Luke Michael Grimes Age: 23 Hometown: La Grange, Ill. Current 'hood: Logan Square Transformative experience: "When I played Frau Kost in 'Cabaret.' I felt like I was so far from myself that it really transformed me as an actor." Anna Schutz Age: 28 Hometown: Skokie, Ill. Current 'hood: Lakeview Transformative experience: "When I moved into my first apartment. Being on your own and starting to find out who you are." Justin Harner Age: 24 Hometown: Effingham, Ill. Current 'hood: Uptown Transformative experience: "When I realized that running could be meditative! But seriously, I just found $5 on the street and it feels pretty transformative." |
