Steadstyle Chicago
	April 2009 Theatre Review by Alan Bresloff
	Katrina: The Girl Who Wanted Her Name Back Chicago has lots of smaller theaters, many unknown and today I found myself at Adventure Stage Chicago for a World Premiere of Jason Tremblay's "Katrina: The Girl Who Wanted Her Name Back".  This is a ninety minute play that takes place during the Hurricane Katrina period of time, following a young girl's journey during the storm that shares her name.  It is filled with obstacles that face her as she gets separated from her father and his search for her, despite all the obstacles placed before him.  The show is filled with music and the flavor of New Orleans, the jazz, the people and the magic of a city that is celebrated by its traditions and its people. Adventure Stage Chicago was founded to work with the neighborhood and to allow its members to express themselves through the arts and culture.  While it has succeeded in bringing the community together, over its 10 years, it has become recognized for its imaginative and thought provoking works and this one would have to rank right up there as a true "think piece". At the start of the show, the audience is asked to state what Katrina meant to them; what problems the people may have had because of the disaster.  After the show, another discussion takes place with all the actors and musicians seated on the stage.  Yes, musicians.  After all, how could there be a story about New Orleans without music, its other language?  In fact, the musicians are an integral part of the production.  The sounds of the music replace the words we might expect and they do so with great force. Colby Beserra serves as co Musical director with Mikhail Fiskel (who also did the sound) and also composed the original music, blending in with the true sounds of New Orleans and handles the keyboard.  The five other musicians are tremendous talents: Scott Anderson (Trumpet), Nick Broste (Trombone), Nate Lapine (Sax/clarinet), E.G. McDaniel (Bass) and Rick Vitek (Drums).  Bravo! Director Tom Aretis has put together a strong cast of mostly local actors to take us on this journey.  Young Shakira Lavonne Carter is a delight to watch as Katrina.  Her father, Big Daddy is deftly played by Eugene Parker.  At the start of the storm, as her father is nailing up the windows, she is asked to get some of the neighbors to the church for safety.  Although she doesn't want to do this as they declined to help her when she had asked for help from them, she does take on the chore of escorting the two older handicapped neighbors, Beulah (Carolyn Nelson) and Thibeaux (Peter Verdico) to the church.  But they do not make it that far.  They end up in a deserted dance hall where she meets the Angel of Death's Messenger, Stalebread (Dan Cox), who only she can see.  He is seeking the next person to have their soul taken so that he can rest his soul. The story gets a little complicated at this point, but because Katrina has given up her name, he only has numbers to work from and the balance of the play is her efforts to rescue these people and find her father, who is doing likewise.  The National Guard has set up headquarters at the church.  Gustavo (a strong performance by Ivan Vega) tells Big Daddy he cannot leave the church, but Big Daddy convinces him that he must find his daughter and Gustavo joins him. As they pursue their search and as Katrina does likewise, we see how the storm and the struggle for survival brings people of opposite views and backgrounds together.  The city of New Orleans, despite its destruction has soul and heart as do its people.  Their magic and fire comes alive in this story of its people.  The one other role is that of the Apparition, who takes on many faces and personalities.  As played by Amber Starr Friendly, she is the Angel of Death, Thibeaux's late wife and Katrina's late mother who makes Katrina see that her name is not tarnished by the storm. This is an educational experience and is strongly recommended for ages 8 and up (4th through 8th graders), but enjoyable for older audiences as well.  It is nice to see productions that families can attend together and that will bring on discussion after.  This does that perfectly. "Katrina" will run through May 9, 2009 at the Vittum Theater located at 1012 N. Noble Street (just North of Augusta at Milwaukee Avenue).  Performances are weekdays (mostly for school groups, but some individual tickets are available) April 9, 14, 16, 21, 23, 28, 30, May 1, 5, 7, 12, 14, 15, 19, 20 and 21 at 10:30 a.m., weekends April 18, 19, 25, 26, May 2, 3, and 9 at 2:00 p.m. Tickets are $17 for adults, $12 for children 14 and under and are available by calling 312-342-4141 or online at www.adventurestage.org.   About Alan Bresloff Alan Bresloff, once an actor himself, has been covering the Chicago Theater Scene since 1993, first as the Theater and Arts critic for LaRaza newspaper, then with Salsachicago.com and then onto Extra Newspaper and The Epoch Times.  He also writes for ElImparcial and TeleGuia.  His reviews can also be seen on www.theatreinchicago.com.  Alan does not call himself a "critic" but a "reviewer" as he tries to educate the reader about theater itself, what is a good value, what to look for in a play or musical and more.  "Exposure to theater is a very important part of a young person's life" he says. "Learning about the arts and culture is in fact learning about life" and he tries to explain more in his reviews than just if it is good or bad.  Even some of the poor productions have some value, he often says and he would love your feedback on shows that you have seen.  You can write him here or at albresloff@sbcglobal.net.