Tiptoe Through the Crazies
This psycho-drama/dark comedy/musical is written by Peter
Weiss and directed by Dorinda Toner (Twilight’s Artistic Director). It is playing at their space, 7515 N. Brandon
Ave. (corner of Lombard, small parking lot across the street), through October
28th. For more information,
go to their site at www.twilighttheatercompany.org
There should be a disclaimer (of sorts) in the program to
the fact that “any resemblance to real life situations or people is
purely…intentional!” To say this is
topical is truly an understatement. Of
course, this story is set in the late 1700’s to the early 1800’s in Paris, the
time of the guillotine, French Revolution (Jean-Paul Marat, dissenter), the Inquisition,
the Marquis de Sade (and his unique take on pleasure and pain) and
Napoleon.
As you can see, it was not the romantic era of the 1920’s,
when Paris was the hub of such artists/writers as Hemingway, Dali, Fitzgerald,
Toklas, et. al. These were
revolutionaries of a different ilk…or were they?! The most lasting kind of change comes with
evolution over time, such as the young folks now opposing gun violence and
pollution, and the MeToo Movement demanding respect and equality for
women. “Times, they are a-changin’.”
This story, though, takes place in an asylum, where the new
regime, Coulmier (Stan Yeend) and company, believe that play therapy will make
inroads to understanding the mentally disturbed. De Sade (Randy Patterson) being an inmate and
writer, takes on the task of directing this band of misfits into an important
saga of Marat (Greg Prosser) and the French Revolution, before he is stabbed to
death in his bathtub by Charlotte Corday (Eva Andrews). Among Marat’s followers are an ex-priest,
Roux (Samuel Alexander Hawkins), his nurse Simonne (Jennifer Madison Logan), as
well as, at one time, Corday and her horny boyfriend, Duperret (Skye McLaren
Walton).
To enable things to blaze along, there is a type of Greek
Chorus (Kaitlynn Baugh, Maddy Gourlay, Jeremy Abe and Blaine Vincent III),
singing ditties to enlighten us to the guts of the tale. And to keep us all on track, (in verse, no
less), is the Herald (Jeff Gibberson), a type of Host/Narrator/Jester. Put this all together with ribald songs,
stylized dance/movement, grizzly humor, lusty situations, murder, a touch of
depravity, a dose of despair…shake it all about and you have
this…Marat/Sade. If this sounds like a
show for discriminating adults only, you’d be dead right!
This is not an easy production to produce, even for the most
seasoned of troupes, but Toner and cast have done a pretty amazing job with
it. The set is simple but effective, as
is the mood lighting, and the 20 plus roles, all are quite well handled. The major roles mentioned, give a chilling
account of incidents in history that echo even today in our current
situations. This is a timeless piece and
is given a very good showing by a talented group, especially Toner. Standing a notch higher in acting, is
Gibberson, as our guide. His use of
timing, pauses, and subtle nuances are quite remarkable. I’ve touted him in the past and he is
certainly a talent to be reckoned with.
I recommend this show but heed the subject matter. If you do choose to see it, please tell them
Dennis sent you.
--DJS
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