Displaying items by tag: Edge OffBroadway Theatre

AstonRep Productions, the theatre and film production company that has produced over 30 stage productions in Chicago, has announced it will be the first company in the US to bring Liisa Repo-Martell's adaptation of Chekhov's UNCLE VANYA to audiences. Repo-Martell's script, which was first produced by Toronto's Crow's Theatre in 2022, has been praised for its contemporary and colloquial language. The Toronto online arts magazine INTERMISSION said, "it is delicate and wholly faithful to Chekhov's story... relatable and even startlingly contemporary, affirming the timelessness of the themes Chekhov explored in his writing." The Crow's Theatre production was remounted in 2024 at Toronto's CAA Theatre and was named one of the top ten productions of the year by both THE GLOBE AND MAIL and THE TORONTO STAR. AstonRep's production will be directed by Derek Bertelsen, who recently helmed the revival of the hit comedy FULLY COMMITTED at The Den Theatre and has directed many of AstonRep's productions.  Bertelsen was co-founder/artistic director of The Comrades theater company from 2016-2020.

Bertelsen's cast will feature Rian Jairell in the title role of Vanya – a bitter and broken man who wonders what he might have done with his life if he had not committed to managing the family estate. Jairell's previous roles with AstonRep include Ariel in THE PILLOWMAN and Jerry in BETRAYAL. The beautiful Helena, who captivates all the characters, will be played by Andi Muriel, seen recently in THE TOTALITY OF ALL THINGS for Redtwist Theatre and THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST for Strawdog Theatre. Robert Tobin, who was Founder and Artistic Director of AstonRep Theatre Company, will be Astrov, a neighbor and overworked country doctor who feels ruined by provincial life. Tobin's recent credits include ARMS AND THE MAN for Forest Theatre Company and THE PILLOWMAN with AstonRep. Another PILLOWMAN castmate, Natalie Hurdle, will play Sonya, who has loyally steadfastly worked to maintain the estate, and is deeply attracted to Dr. Astrov.

Cast as Vanya's mother Maria is Mary Mikva (of TIME IS A COLOR AND THE COLOR IS BLUE  for Avalanche Theatre). Geoff Issac, seen recently in MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS for Deerfield Theatre, will be the pompous and egotistical failed scholar Serebryakov. Liz Cloud (of AstonRep's BURIED CHILD) will be the nurse Marina, and Mike Rogalski (ELEKTRA – Forest Theatre Company) will play Telegin, an impoverished landowner who works on the estate.

The UNCLE VANYA production team will include Jeremiah Barr (set, lighting and properties design), Natalie Shoch (costume design), Samantha Barr (lighting design), Melanie Thompson (sound design), Bethany Hart (assistant director and vocal coach), and Nevaeh Mansur (Stage Manager). 

Tickets to UNCLE VANYA are $25.00 and will be on sale beginning April 25 at www.astonrep.com or by phone at or (312) 620-4583.

Shakespeare the dramatist is a genius at the craft of theater, and brings a timeless artistry that is unexcelled. So it was with some trepidation that I took my seat at the Edge Off-Broadway Theatre for Idle Muse’s 'Upon This Shore: Pericles and the Daughters of Tyre.'

I can report Shakespeare remains intact, the language there, and the production and performances exploiting the full force of his original. Admittedly I was filled with bias against what might unfold in this adaptation of Shakespeare’s original ‘Pericles, Prince of Tyre.’ In a nod to topicality, perhaps - March is Women’s History Month - Idle Muse’s production offers some characters Shakespeare may not have imagined. Avoiding a spoiler here, suffice it to say the arc of the action and the emotive power of Shakespeare are unaffected by these additions and ticket buyers will probably enjoy them.

Director Evan Jackson, who adapted the script, gives us a very strong rendering of ‘Pericles,’ eliciting strong performances and engaging staging, with low-tech storefront creativity in storms and sword fights that assures “the play’s the thing,' and is not overshadowed by the stage mechnics. 

Particularly strong is the performance of Brendan Hutt as Pericles, who moves convincingly through the stages of the prince’s life from venturer to suitor to grieving widower. Hutt brought me near tears with his loss of wife and daughter, and just as readily my heart tracked his transformation to joy when the happy resolution arrives at the end. 

Laura Jones Macknin as Heilicanus owns the stage each time she appears. Watson Swift in three roles (Antiochus, Simonides, and Philomen) is strong in his physical performances, though I could not always understand him as he moved about the stage in his role as the villainous Antiochus. Caty Gordon is exceptionally good as Marina, Pericles' lost and regained daughter. She communicates the essence of a powerful woman through the trials she weathers in the shifting stations of her life.

'Upon This Shore: Pericles and the Daughters of Tyre' runs through April 3 at Edge Off-Broadway Theatre, 1133 W. Catalpa Ave. in Chicago on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Visit idlemuse.org or the Idle Muse Theatre Company Box Office, 773.340.9438.