the joy list (51-60)

Look, I’ll get to 100 eventually.

51.  Jane Eyre: Because it’s the best book ever written, and I’m riveted each time I open it.

52. Simon Pegg: I saw the “Doctor Who” episode he did a week or so ago, and it made me realize that Pegg is always a joy to watch, be it in “Shaun of the Dead,” “Hot Fuzz,” “Run, Fatboy, Run” or anything. Clearly, he’s having fun. And it translates.

53. Oreo Cookies: ‘Nuff said.

54.  Guinness Cake: I like making it more than I even like eating it, and I especially like hearing people’s reactions.

55.  Samantha/American Girl: I have nothing but fond recollections of, as a younger girl, poring over the new American Girl catalogue and dreaming of pretty things. My Samantha doll is a sight to see these days, her hair ratty and matted and dressed like something out of Gray Gardens, but.. it was all good fun.

56.  Vanity Fair Photo Spreads: There is something about VF that lines up the best photographers, best subjects, and best ideas for photo shoots. I’ll spend hours looking at them if no one stops me.

57.  The Marx Brothers: If I need a laugh, all I need to do is enlist Groucho, Chicago, and most particularly Harpo.  It was anarchy, it was madness, but it’s flawless. Even the stupider movies.

58.  Sushi: It’s more the experience of going with someone to EAT sushi, but I think it’s about as fun as food can be. I should really learn to use chopsticks, though. Forks are just NOT authentic.

59. Singing showtunes to the cats: I’m a nerd, whatever, but I get a big kick out of singing edited versions of Broadway classics to Oz and Magellan. Some of my favorites? “I feel you.. Magellan..” to the tune to Johanna from Sweeney Todd. “Magellan, I’ve just met a cat named Magellan” to the tune of Maria from West Side Story. “Oz-a-mania, this cat has swept the nation!” to the tune of Will-a-mania from The Will Rogers Follies. They stare at me like I’m a loon, but deep down I know they love the attention.

60.  Grammar: Whether I’m discussing with Mom, Bob, or Eric, correcting grammar in publications ranging from the always-riddled with errors Alpena news to The New York times… is fantastic. So there.

(61-70 coming soon!)

Buy the ticket, take the ride: Hunter S. Thompson on film

Buy the Ticket, Take The Ride: Hunter S. Thompson on film (2006)

I’m late to the Hunter S. Thompson party, I guess.

My entire knowledge of this highly-regarded man comes from having read his astonishing book about the Hell’s Angels while in college for a class in American Radical Thought, and from my awareness that there is a movie called “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” where Johnny Depp plays Thompson. I’ve never seen said movie, or read any of his other stuff.

Apparently, I’m missing out.

While assembling chairs and a bench for our new dining room table on Sunday night, we decided to hit up Netflix streaming video (It’s changed our life, I tell you) for a documentary.  After scrolling past a bunch of other interesting looking films we weren’t interested at that second in, we came to “Buy the Ticket, Take the Ride.”

It was fascinating.

Thompson’s vivid life is told by his friends, colleagues, and people who knew of him.  Everyone from childhood friends to both his wives, to Johnny Depp and Bill Murray (both of whom have played Thompson onscreen) show up for the party to recall fond memories and to tell a tale of a man who fought the concept of establishment, then became trapped by the character he inadvertently created along the way.

(The documentary is narrated by Nick Nolte. It also features, as one of it’s interview subjects, Gary Busey. Gary Busey’s appearance makes Nick Nolte look like the sanest man on earth. The filmmakers were genius to include ALL of Buseys interview set-up, which is jaw-dropping in it’s weirdness.)

I found the documentary fascinating, and it’s made me want to read more of Thompson’s writings, as I recall being astonished by “Hell’s Angels.”  Eric’s got some of his works, and I’ve added them to my reading list.

The story of this man of a million parties ends on a sad note, as Thompson shot himself in February of 2005.

He left a telling note, which was published in Rolling Stone.

“No More Games. No More Bombs. No More Walking. No More Fun. No More Swimming. 67. That is 17 years past 50. 17 more than I needed or wanted. Boring. I am always bitchy. No Fun — for anybody. 67. You are getting Greedy. Act your old age. Relax — This won’t hurt.”

Harry Dean Stanton closes the doc by singing “Danny Boy,” and it’s quite touching.

If you’re interested in writers and counterculture heroes, the movie is engrossing.  Check it out.

 

 

November/December Reading List!

Every time I turn around, a queue of books is forming behind me.

This is going to prove a challenge come January when I’ve got textbooks that need to be read, but for the present time, bring on the books!

Currently Reading:

THE BOXER REBELLION -

The Dramatic Story of China’s War on foreigners that shook the world in the summer of 1900 -

by Diana Preston.

 

Next up:

GODDESS OF THE MARKET – Ayn Rand and the American Right – by Jennifer Burns.

THE YEAR OF THE FLOOD – By Margaret Atwood.

FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS – By Hunter S. Thompson

 

I like books.

the joy list (1-50)

100 things that bring me joy.

Nothing is off-limits.

Shallow things count.

Not necessarily in any order.

(These are the first 50.)

1.  Eric: (Please see above photo. I don’t think I need to say more.)

2.  Oz and Magellan: The joy bugs themselves. I see why it’s been said that pets add years to your life. It’s hard to be sad and upset when a cat reaches out a paw for you, as Oz is prone to do.  They provide a much needed dose of silliness each and every day, and I’m far too attached to them. I love these guys.

3.  Memories of Buddi: My dear wonderful Buddi was an Akita/mutt who I was fortunate enough to spend 15 years with. It still makes me smile to think of her wet nose, the way she smelled like hay, her sweet spirit, and what a troublemaker she was.  She got drunk on rotten apples fallen from a tree once. Seriously.

4. Documentaries: I like learning things, and I also find documentaries to be one of the coolest uses of the film media. When done right, like “Monster Camp,” “The King of Kong,” or the chilling “Jesus Camp,” it can open your eyes to a whole new, real, world. I’m interested in the real world, and have a great appreciation for filmmakers bold enough to let the story tell itself. Also – I adore MTV’s “True Life,” which I’m including here.

5. Frankenstein: The book, and the lore of The Shelleys/Lord Byron/William Godwin/Clare Clairmont, etc. I find it all very grand and fascinating.  Mary Shelley had depression, which is also interesting to me. In fact, I think I can say that though I love the novel, I loved “The Monsters” which is about the people who were there for the creation of the novel even more.

6.  Horror franchises: Though it’s no secret that my greatest love is Nightmare on Elm Street/Freddy Krueger, I am also a die-hard Hellraiser, Halloween, Texas Chainsaw, Saw, and Child’s Play fan. (Friday the 13th never really did it for me, but then again.. I saw Jason X in the theatres, so…) There’s something just so amazing about the evolution of a horror franchise in all it’s peaks and valleys. Love it. Can’t wait for the NOES remake – Jackie Earle Haley for the win.

7. Tea: Iced or hot. Green, black, orange, or any color. Any time of day. It’s the most perfect beverage on earth.

8.  Britney Spears: Who I’m fascinated by. First of all, her music makes me want to dance and run, which is awesome. She’s not the greatest singer in the world, but who cares. Girl can entertain. And I adore her, openly. Crazy or not.

9.  Travel: Sigh. Thinking about travel, dreaming of places to travel, reading about traveling, playing around on travelocity pretending I have unlimited funds to go places, watching the Travel Channel… it’s wonderful. (Though flying stresses me out, getting there is always worth it.)

10.  Bookstores: Well, books are one of my favorite things, and a whole store full of them equates to so much possibility. I don’t want a kindle. I want paper and ink and printings. I want editions and the smell of books. I like browsing shelves, picking up books, putting them down, sitting on the floor. It’s an experience I cherish.

11.  Nutrition and Fitness: Almost two years ago, when I started on my weight loss journey, I knew nothing. Since then, I’ve become a mini-textbook of information about nutrition and fitness, and I get a kick out of finding new recipes, new workouts, and new ways to get in/stay in shape. I honestly enjoy tracking my calories and hanging out on the sparkpeople.com message boards (and not just for grammar highlights like “I need to loose weight..” “I have so much quilt on my shoulders…” etc)

12.  5ks: “I like 5ks more than I like running,” said Laura Blegan before the Hot Chocolate 5k last week, and she was so right. 5ks are the reward for running. The goody bag, the people, the excitement.. it makes it all worth the slogging hard work of training.

13. Super Mario Bros 3: I can only say I’m good at one video game, and that is Super Mario 3, which I still contend is the greatest game of all time. Still, playing it thrills me. I also enjoy the rest of the Mario Universe (particuarly Princess Peach), but nothing is like SM3. If you play me, I will beat you.

14. Writing: I don’t know if I’m good at it, but I most certainly enjoy it. My favorite part of theatre was always “stories,” and I like to create them on paper. I also really like pen on paper over typing, though admittedly typing is faster and spellcheck a blessing from The Computer Gods.

15. Blogging: Maybe I’m fooling myself, but I like the idea of a public diary. I like the idea of a sounding board and a place to keep record of things I’ve done and how I’ve evolved as a person. I like going back to old blogs and remembering things. I like reading blogs, and I like having one. It’s fun. (And sometimes, it surprises you.)

16.  My Wedding Dress: It hangs in my closet like my great rebellion, not costing a million dollars and yet being everything I could dream of. I can’t wait to wear it. It’s gorgeous.

17.  Talking about theatre with Bob: It’s like having a soulmate. When you’re both so seeped in theatre lore that you can complete each other jokes and other people can’t even understand your conversations, you know you’ve got a friend. I can’t even begin to explain the geeky games we play on gchat. (Can you connect Emily Skinner to Marilyn Manson?)

18.  Legally Blonde, the musical: Haters, shut up. In the past 10 years, I can’t recall a score to a musical being as touching and moving as LB, and the cast recording brings me endless, incredible joy. From the amazing performances (Laura Bell Bundy owns) to the great uplifting melodies (How many times have I run to the remix of the title song?) it’s motivating, and inspirational, and gorgeous, and perfect to me. And that’s enough.

19.  Holidays: Right? Who doesn’t love holidays, whether it’s Christmas or whatever. They generally equate to days off work, which everyone loves, and are usually spent in pursuit of fun things. Huzzah.

20.  Painting: I’m not terribly good at it, but I enjoy zoning out with paints.

21.  Alpena: “Home sweet Home.” Or something. No, it’s not a perfect town – far from it – but it’ll always ring true in my mind as a safe haven. Going “home” for the holidays is a nice thing, and I can’t imagine missing it. (The house above is not mine, but if you’re from A-Town, you know it.)

22.  Doing things for people: I am currently so excited about Eric’s birthday surprise plans. Things like that, making people happy, rock my socks.

23.  Costumes: Halloween. Theatre. Whatever. I like dressing up. I always have.

24.  Farmers Markets/Art Fairs/Etc: Though I dislike crowds, I like places of community there good people come together to share their art or peddle their wares.

25. Honest, well-produced theatre: There’s a lot of crap in the world of theatre, just like there’s a lot of crap in movies, music, and television. When a see a show like “The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity,” it gives me hope that there are still people in the arts who have vital, interesting things to say and care about saying it in interesting ways, free of pretense.

26.  Time Out Chicago/Chicago Reader/local ‘zines: You can get general news from a big paper like the Tribune or the Sun-times, but if you want to know about things going on in a city like Chicago (or even Lansing, Michigan) you gotta turn to smaller papers and magazines. I pick up Time Out and the Reader with anticipation, and Lansing’s CityPulse is a mini-adventure in itself.

27. Quotes: Much of the world’s great wisdom has been passed down through quotes.

28. Pumpkin Pie: I love it so much I (usually) only allow myself to eat it in November. This year, I had it in October, and it was simply grand.

29. Las Vegas, Nevada: I love the over-the-top splendor of the Vegas strip. I can’t wait to go back in February. It’s a city of silliness and excess, and it’s just awesome.  My heart about exploded in the Paris hotel.

30. BBC America: God bless you. For Doctor Who, Little Britian, Kitchen Nightmares, and You are what you eat. Addicting.

31.  Orchids: Such an interesting flower. So much life.

32. Animals: I’ll watch puppy videos on youtube for hours, don’t tempt me.  I also

33. Museums: I love museums - be it the Art Institute of Chicago or something like the Shedd Aquarium (which I think counts.) So much information and history. That reminds me, I need to visit the Field Museum.

34. Amusement Parks: Roller coasters are decidedly NOT my thing, but I like rides like the Tilt-a-whirl a lot.  I have nothing but great memories of childhood summers at Cedar Point, and had a great time a few monts back at Six Flags.

35. Shopping/Malls: Much like bookstores, I like the possibility of malls and shopping.  So many choices, who knows, maybe the thing that’ll change your life is right around the corner?  Stores I particulary love include Macys, Sephora, Nine West, NY and Company, and – don’t judge me – Payless Shoes.

36. Skittles/Tootsie Rolls: Re #11, I can’t gorge on candy as much as I’d like, but that just makes a bag of Skittles or a Tootsie Roll SO much more enjoyable.  Also, M&Ms and Snickers for the win.

37. Purple: The color. Every shade. I also like grapes, and that fake grape taste/smell.

38. Office supplies: Sharpies, colored paper, stickers, manila things… Oh man. Good times.

39. Bejeweled: I could play that damn game all day every day.

40. Board games: I don’t play enough Monopoly, or Clue, or Life, or Battleship.

41.  Literature: This is a pretty HUGE collection of individual things, and I thought about doing individual books and writers, but.. that would have been the whole list. Special mention: Stephen King, Christopher Moore, Jane Austen, The Brontes, Bram Stoker, The Hobbit, J.K. Rowling, and Judy Blume.

42. True Blood: Best show ever on television? Perhaps. With the best cast ever? Perhaps. (Though if you put it and Arrested Development in a room to duke it out, I don’t know who’d win, honestly.)

43. Batgirl: I just think she’s grand. In the Yvonne Craig version that is. None of this Alicia Silverstone crap.

44. Autumn Leaves: I really don’t like that they’re a sign of cold weather to come, but I think they’re the most gorgeous thing nature’s got.

45. Bodies of water: I grew up in Michigan, a land of a batrillion lakes and rivers, so I’m attached to water and don’t like to be land-locked.  The Great Lakes, even in their polluted parts, are astonishing, and I’m a big fan of the Atlantic Ocean as well. I haven’t made it to any other oceans yet, but it’ll happen.  Long Lake, an inland lake in the Alpena area, is my favorite. It’s so clean and calm.

46. Microbreweries: I’m more in love with the idea of microbreweries than I actually am with beer as a beverage, but when it’s right (like the Buffalo Bill’s Pumpkin Ale) it’s so right.

47.  Sledding: So much fun.  One of the few good things about winter.

48.  Clever Bakeries: Like Bleeding Heart in Chicago, I like Bakeries who don’t sacrifice their sense of humor for taste. Want a sprinkle covered cake ball? Done.

49.  Baths: I miss having a bathtub with a stopper, let me tell you. My last 3 apartments have been without the ability to take baths, and I miss it dearly. Bubble baths. So relaxing.

50.  The Ipod: I can’t express my love for Bleeker, my 80G ipod Classic. He carries all my music around so I can listen to whatever I want, whenever I want – on the bus, on the train, the treadmill, while cleaning… 8000 songs, endless possibilities.  I’d be lost without him. Also without my pink Shuffle, Farrah, who accompanies me on 5ks.

51-100 will come Monday! Stay tuned!

Rhino Dreams

Did you ever have one of those dreams that is so vivid, it feels like real life?

I did, last night. 

After a delicious dinner and some Doctor Who/Little Britain, I crashed into a deep sleep.

My dream was like The Odyssey, really. It ranged all over Chicagoland, and involved most everyone I know.  I’m a little hazy on the order of events, but here are some highlights…

*A group of people – including Miss Leslie Frame – trying to stop a rhino from getting killed by traffic on Lakeshore Drive.  There may have also been a dog on the road.  I also think Scott Cupper drove by in a red car. These vague recollections..

*At one point, I apparently snuck into a rehearsal for something – I think it was at DePaul university.  I remember the rehearsal space was a massive, all-black theatre, much like the big center on the lake at Interlochen. I snuck into a seat and sat down, and I’m not sure why – though I seem to recall thinking Annie Passanisi was in the show somehow.

*I was supposed to be someplace at 8pm. It was 7:20, and I knew I needed to leave to get there, but couldn’t actually leave.

I mean, it’s not like I ate anything weird before going to bed – though I did have an Oktoberfest beer with dinner, but really?

I guess sometimes the subconscious just wants to have a chat.

 

Hurry Down Sunshine, by Michael Greenberg

Sometimes, I stumble upon a book I pick up and go “Huh. I should read this.”

Which is what happened yesterday during a lunchtime jaunt to Target, where I came upon Hurry Down Sunshine, by Michael Greenberg.

For a whole bunch of reasons, mental illness is a fascinating topic for me, and Greenberg’s memoir is, frankly, startling.

In telling the tale of the mental meltdown of his fifteen year old daughter, Sally (who winds up with a diagnosis of “bi-polar 1″) Greenberg doesn’t mince words. He gets confused, scared, angry, and feels guilt just like any concerned parent would when their child is taken over by the thoughts in their head. Sally’s story is alternately riveting and terrifying, as she goes back and forth between moments of lucidity and moments of being a stranger to those closest to her.

It’s a fast read – Greenberg isn’t a writer who feels the need to use filler – and an eye-opening one. Much has been made of novels like Girl, Interrupted and The Bell Jar, told from the protagonist’s point of view, but less often is the parental point of view shared, and the results can be just as shattering.

ALSO -

Greenberg’ll be in Chicago tomorrow night (incidentally) to talk about his book. (Details.)

Hot Chocolate 5k recap…

I have run a fair amount of 5ks since I started running in summer of 2008, and I need to say right now that the Hot Chocolate 5k I ran this morning (and hauled my butt out of bed the morning after Halloween for, mind you) was the most disorganized race I’ve participated in.

It started a few weeks ago.

Bob had already signed up long before I did. When he convinced me to sign up, I went to the site and saw that the packet pick-up Bob had told me about was no longer listed on the website. They changed this key piece of info and hadn’t emailed the registered runners to let them know.

Whatever. Could have been a fluke, right?

Nope. 

First of all, we’re pretty sure they oversold the race, as the place was packed to the gills.  It took us 8 minutes from when the race began to actually cross the start line, which is not an altogether uncommon thing in a big race, but the race path was packed the entire 3.1 miles, and the course had some precarious turns, a stretch right along Montrose Harbor that could have easily ended with someone falling in the water, and I saw a guy in the last mile trying to pull his sneaker out of a hole it had gotten lodged in.

Regardless, I had a nice run – The weather was perfect and my admittedly nice race hoodie kept me the perfect temperature.

Then we finished the race, and immediately made our way to gear check.

Easily, we spent 20 minutes in the looping line for gear check before someone told us that runners with numbers of 15,000 and higher(Eric and I) could go to a new line.  So we did, and soon realized what all the hold-up was. The gear check people had essentially taken everyones bags and thrown them into a great big pile with no arrangement, so when it was time to collect the volunteers (god bless ‘em) were basically looking for a needle in a haystack. Once Eric and I got our stuff, we returned to where Bob, Gina, and Laura were still waiting to get theirs, and took it upon ourselves to inform all the new runners in line with numbers 15,000 or higher not even to bother with the line they were in.

Race times haven’t officially come in yet, but we’re nearly positive we spent more time in line at gear check than we did actually running.

(To put things in perspective, the 2009 Shamrock Shuffle has significantly more runners and we maybe spent a grand total of 3 minutes in line both checking and collecting our items pre and post race. And, you know, that was in a blizzard, so..)

While we waited in line, we heard people complaining that the free shuttles took forever to get to and from the race site, that the 5k finishers were walking in the path of the 15k runners, and that this race was WAY better organized in 2008. A girl told us that the company who put the race up this year was a brand new company, and you could tell.

So, finally, gear collected, we headed to the food tents. As this was the HOT CHOCOLATE 5K, sponsored in part by Hershey, all the press had promised TONS of chocolate. Not really. Though the chocolate fondue we recieved was great (if in small quantites) the Hot Chocolate itself was really bitter and gross. We threw it away.

UPDATE: According to this blog, they also ran out of chocolate.

(Thats another thing. 15,000 runners and there were maybe 4 trash cans on the entire site?)

Though we all ran well, and the day was lovely and it’s always nice to run with friends (Congrats Gina, on your first 5k – and doing awesome!), event organization kept it from being a really awesome experience.

I won’t be running this race again in 2010.  I’ll get on a treadmill and have a Snickers when I’m done, instead.

(Once again, I remain an ardent fan of Capri Events races..organized, accessible, easy-going, and safe courses. I’ll stick with them.)

Check out Bobs blog – chitheatreaddict.com – where he’s blogged an open letter to RAM Racing, and is recieving some interesting accounts from fellow runners.

Halloween (Cinderella’s Pumpkin Ball)

So, largely from laziness, I decided at the last minute NOT to kill Cinderella.

She attended the Halloween ball un-rotted, un-bloodied, and very much alive.

One last-minute Halloween costume coming up!

+

 

=

Like you don’t already know where this is going.

Happy Halloween, kiddies!

Frankenstein, presented by The Hypocrites @ Museum of Contemporary Art

FRANKENSTEIN

Directed by Sean Graney

Featuring John Byrnes, Matt Kahler, Jessie Fischer, and Stacy Stoltz

Set design by Tom Burch

I’m the type of audience member who admittedly would rather sit in a chair out in the dark and watch actors do their work, sans interruption or interaction with me. Actors are artists, and I shouldn’t be in their way.  Along those lines, audience participation fills me with dread.  I got my tickets for Frankenstein weeks before I’d heard the news it was being done as a promenade and went in expecting to spend the whole time panicked about being in the way of actors, tripping over things, and generally being in the way. (It wasn’t as bad as all that. The actors do a great job of letting you know where they’re heading. And, for the shy among you, if you hang out in the back corners, you won’t have to move all that much.)

I got my tickets to this show on the strength of the name of The Hypocrites and because Frankenstein is among my favorite books of all time.

For all it’s pomp, potential, and possibility, Director/Adapter Sean Graney’s production… is kinda boring.  What’s going on isn’t always clear, there are way too many strange things happening (why does Victor have a cell phone? why is the pen huge? Did he just plug her in? Is it a musical?) and one gets the sense that the novel of Frankenstein was thrown in a blender with some episodes of Doctor Who, a Tim Burton sketch, and a bag of pixie sticks, and turned on high.  The milkshake that results is jumbled, at best.  Then - said milkshake was topped off with the black and white classic film being shown on a screen in the background, a set that looked like a hotel room, 1970s furniture, scattered TVs, some confusing songs, and – the cherry on top – probably 200 bloody baby dolls hanging from the ceiling.

I’m all for trying new things and expressing things in new ways, but.. I think you should know what you’re expressing.  I just feel like that was the great unknown of this show. 

Regarding the cast, I applaud Byrnes (Victor Frankenstein), Kahler (Daemon), Jessie Fischer (the Strange Girl) and Stacy Stolz (Elizabeth) for keeping their focus and characters solid while climbing around set pieces like it’s a giant playground. I understand that, as it’s a promenade, elevating the actors helps them be seen, but do they really need to circle the room on platforms like they’re playing that childhood game where you can’t touch the ground because the floor is lava?  Kahler comes out the best, in the role of the monster in search of his creator and a companion.  He’s a big guy with a James Barbour-esque resonating voice, and he’s quite a find.  Fischer is making bold choices and is also very good, though I’m still not sure exactly what her character was all about.  Stacy Stoltz is fortunate to have the most complete character of the bunch in Elizabeth, who loves Victor and kills herself when she thinks she’s lost him.  She’s a sincere actress, and grounds her moments in the midst of all the multi-media madness  around the show.  Byrnes is fine, though he jumps from one emotion to the next a lot (which might also be a flaw of the script.)

Technically, there are some lovely elements. Megham Raham’s costumes (particularly Elizabeth’s) are great, and Jared Moore’s lighting is spot on. Though the sound design IS murky and large chunks of dialouge are eaten up if you’re not on the side the actors are facing, there’s a super effective train passing by that is a credit to Mikhail Fiksel’s sound design, as are the musical pieces played in the show.

Also on the bright side, it’s 75 minutes long.

I’m not the only one with qualms about this production.

Below is a brief sampling of some reviews this production has recieved:

“Because of their commitment to risky, provocative work, both Graney’s Hypocrites and the MCA’s performance series are essential to Chicago theater. In this case, however, their luck seems to have abandoned them: Frankenstein is almost unwatchable…James Whale’s 1931 film version plays on projection throughout; until the monster starts futzing with it toward the end, the film provides a welcome escape from the dismal onstage proceedings.” – TimeOut Chicago

“And for the first 25 minutes or so, it’s brilliant. But the play never follows through on its best parts. It goes in too many directions without follow-through, and there are a few too many sections of speechifying that don’t satisfyingly tie in to the play.” – Centerstage Chicago

“First, the concept virtually guarantees you will miss a good chunk of the show because you won’t be able to see it. As soon as you find yourself a decent perch, the show moves away and you’re staring at the back of someone’s head. This can be aesthetically interesting if used two or three times a night, but it gets tiresome when constantly applied. Second, it pulls theatergoers from their mates, making this a strangely lonely and isolating experience and killing much of the inherent community of live theater. Third, the issue of space pulls focus from everything else. Audience members spend their time worrying about where to go. Actors are preoccupied with making sure they’re not going to run someone over when they should be making connections with their fellow performer. Emotional truths tend to get lost…These limitations are especially acute here because the MCA stage is so unsuited to this approach, the acting is flat and one-level, and Graney’s “Frankenstein” is such a conceptual blur.” – Chicago Tribune