Steadstyle Chicago
October 2009 Theatre Review by Joe Stead
1512 West Studebaker Place
You have probably never known claustrophobia until you have visited "1512 West Studebaker Place". This short but harrowing and ultimately moving World Premiere by the gutsy Brain Surgeon Theater places us in a Depression era tenement occupied by three families, all staged amazingly within an inch of their lives by Liz Ladach-Bark in the intimate Prop Thtr storefront space. Olivia and Stanley Kelly occupy the lower level with their daughters Suzy and Kate. The second floor is divided between Walter Lummet and his young son known as Mouse, and sisters Mim and Louise. Joseph Riley's split level dwelling is one of those marvels of storefront theatre ingenuity, silently encompassing a heartbreaking world of pain and disillusion within its tiny frame.
As Mim tells us, "This house seems to attract sadness". Its inhabitants are trapped in denial and afraid to break out of the only solace they know. The unemployed patriarch Stanley is just waiting for "the next big thing to get us out of here," he just doesn't have a clue what that big thing will be. Jobs are scare as hens' teeth and only the first six guys on the work lines have any chance of being hired, so "you need to be one of those six," Olivia implores him. He believes the one thing people will always need are toys since there will always be children around to play with them. His wife, pregnant with their third child, is practical but realistic about their desperate situation. "You're so brilliant and there is so much in you, you're wasting away here," she says.
In spite of the adverse situation they find themselves in, the Kelly family has a great deal of love for one another. As Stanley says, "I only know if we're good and we take care of each other we'll be okay". Walter Lummet on the other hand is a solitary writer and the only member of the household to earn any income, although it is hard to tell from what. In stark contrast to the Kellys, Walter is moody and depressive. His small son Mouse is an irritation to him, a reminder we find of his late wife who died in childbirth.
Mouse sleeps on a mat on the floor of the tiny upstairs room and slips quietly out the window when his father grows irritable with him. Walter has a lot of one-sided conversations with an invisible presence, his dead wife perhaps who at least has the decency to come and go, unlike his son. "He's like a weight, he's in my space and I don't want him there". At least his son sees him working, though, even if he doesn't know at what. In fact, were it not for the kindness and generosity of neighborhood butcher Clarence, the families who live in this grim agoraphobia might not eat at all. The good-hearted Clarence has a bit of a crush on Mim, who is all but silent except for a couple of telling interior monologues where she reveals, "sometimes it's better not to speak".
Mim's sister Louise has also recently taken up residency at 1512, although just until her letters can reach the man she loves in Santa Fe. Louise grew up rich and has no intention whatsoever to dirty her lily white hands with anything so common as work. The rent is three months behind, and although the owner Maggie Delaney has tried to keep it "livable," her charity invariably comes with a price tag. There is a wall safe that likely contains a stash of cash, and since Maggie owns the building she also reckons she owns what is in the safe. The only thing she doesn't own is the combination. As the families are unable to meet her demands for the rent, she confiscates several of their meager belongings. Mim for example parts with a family heirloom ring that was the only memory of those she has lost, although she is unable to sacrifice her cherished upright bass.
"1512 West Studebaker Place" is a highly affecting piece that shows how people deal in different ways with loss and despair. In its present production by Brain Surgeon Theater it is a highly promising work in progress that still could use some fleshing out. Even with an intermission, the play has barely worked up any dramatic steam before it is over. Those dramatic moments, many in the second half, are well earned though. And the original musical numbers by Christopher Cole and Gwen Tulin make one yearn to hear what this talented duo could do with a full length original musical.
The landlord Maggie Delaney is clearly a transatlantic cousin to old Ebenezer Scrooge, so gleefully does she take possession of those meager belongings while at the same time reminding her debtors that they still owe her a great deal. She is a perfect villainess, even rendered in black and white as she is here. The contrast between the loving but penniless father with nothing but dreams and the hard working, cold-hearted and deranged opposite is mighty revealing. And the ditties the family sing and dance are delightfully rowdy and equally poignant. "If you don't have a dollar, sing a song," goes one of the lyrics. Little Mouse plaintively sings "I don't need much, just a house I can keep". If that doesn't give you a lump in the throat, you deserve a great big lump of coal in your Christmas stocking.
Brain Surgeon Theater presents "1512 West Studebaker Place" through November 22, 2009 at Prop Thtr, located at 3502 N. Elston in Chicago. The play runs just under 90 minutes with intermission. Performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 7:00 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays at 2:00 p.m. Tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for kids 10 and under. Call 866-811-4111 or visit www.brainsurgeontheater.org.
About Joe Stead
Joe
Stead has enjoyed a lifelong passion for the theatre, which has
involved acting, directing, producing, designing and reviewing for
the past twenty-five years. He served as founder, producer and
Artistic Director of Curtain Up Productions in Baltimore, Maryland
and Four Star Players in Tampa, Florida. Favorite productions
have included "Life With Father," "Deathtrap,"
"The Odd Couple," "The Miracle Worker,"
"Brighton Beach Memoirs," "You're A Good Man, Charlie
Brown" and "Godspell". He has also performed
leading roles in "Fiddler on the Roof," "Pippin,"
"The Phantom of the Opera," "The Front Page," and
most recently as Hucklebee in "The Fantasticks" for
Waukegan Community Players. Joe holds a degree in Commercial
Art from Tampa Technical Institute. As a critic, he has
reviewed everything from Broadway to community theatre and major
regional theatres throughout the United States including the Kennedy
Center in Washington, D.C., Paper Mill Playhouse in New Jersey,
Goodspeed Opera House in Connecticut, and the Asolo Theatre in
Sarasota, Florida.
Since 1998, he has been a proud resident of Chicago, the greatest theatre city in America. He served for two years as Theatre Editor for College News and Central Newspapers. He created the website Steadstyle Chicago in 2000 to showcase the city's outstanding and diverse theatre scene. Joe was proud to serve alongside a distinguished panel of theatre professionals as a judge for two seasons of Speaking Ring Theatre's "Vitality" Festival of original short plays. His most fulfilling role, in addition to reviewer and all-around theatre fanatic, was as director of the 2007 production of Peter Shaffer's "Equus" at Actors Workshop (now Redtwist) Theatre, which was nominated for five Joseph Jefferson Award Citations and won for Best Actor (Peter Oyloe).