Steadstyle Chicago
	October 2009 Theatre Review by Alan Bresloff
	Two by Pinter The Piven Theatre is a well known theater and acting school located in Evanston, where many actors began their careers and our theater community is fortunate that this lovely little venue continues to bring us quality productions.  To begin their 2009/2010 season, they are presenting two works by Harold Pinter, which they call "Two By Pinter: The Lover & The Collection," directed by Joyce Piven.  These are two one act plays that Pinter cleverly has written so that we the audience are drawn into mysteries dealing with involvement, love and relationships.  His works are challenging as you must pay close attention to the words he has written and under the careful direction of Piven, concentration by the viewer becomes very important.  The Piven Theatre is a very intimate place to watch a play and these two stories are very intimate stories, so the location is perfect. The set by Aaron Menninga is a multi-level, multi-task set that serves both plays with very little adjustment and the original music by Collin Warren makes the mystery just a little more mysterious.  The first play, "The Lover" introduces us to a married couple, Sarah (the very sexy Dana Black) and her husband Richard (Lawrence Grimm).  At the start of the play, he is off to work and she will stay at home to await her lover.  Richard is hopeful that her lover will be gone before he arrives home for dinner.  Is this normal?  Is this for real?  Pinter continues to explore the sexual fantasies of these people.  Are they playing a game?  Are they both guilty of betraying the other?  As the play unfolds, the answers are made very clear.  Or are they?  One of the beautiful aspects of Pinter is that while he explores the characters, he allows us to come up with our own interpretation, right or wrong! The second play, "The Collection" also deals with sexual infidelity, or does it?  In this story, a little more complex than the first, we meet  Harry (once again Lawrence Grimm) an older gentleman living with a young lad, Bill (John Francisco), a women's fashion designer who Harry picked up in the slums of England and helped to bring to this status of today.  Are they a couple?  When a call comes from a man who needs to speak with Bill, Harry questions why this mysterious call.  The caller is James (deftly handled by Jay Reed) who is of the opinion that Bill has had an affair with his wife Stella (played by Dana Black), who is also in the fashion business.  When there is a confrontation between James and Bill, all hell breaks loose and we hear different sides of the same story.  Then Harry visits Stella and the events of the incident change again. What really took place?  Would Bill have even wanted an affair with Stella?  Would James want to have an affair with Bill?  All interesting characters and stories that Pinter never seems to wrap up in the end.  By not creating a sure-fire ending, he allows each audience member to interpret how the ending will work out for all the characters, but he does make us think about our own relationships.  He makes us think about the importance of trust and intimacy in our own lives.  Part of theater is allowing an audience to participate, not onstage, but with their minds and hearts and to that result, Pinter is the master.  The use of the small stage area and the skilled technicians and actors who made this a theatrical experience were guided by another  master, Joyce Piven.  Having the perfect playwright and director with the right cast and crew makes for a special night of theater for you, the audience.  The mystery is delicious.  Try it, you'll like it, or should I say Love? "Two By Pinter" will continue through November 15, 2009 at The Piven Theatre Workshop located at 927 Noyes Street in Evanston (there is an "L" stop right there) located just North of downtown Evanston, East of Ridge Ave and West of Sherman Ave.  Performances are Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m., Sunday at 2:30 p.m.  Tickets are a mere $25, a true bargain for this much entertainment and are available at the box office, by calling 847-866-8049 or online at www.piventheatre.org.   Halloween 2009 As the weather turns cooler and the leaves start to fall, we begin to think of all the holidays that help us to finish our year.  The true holiday season begins with Halloween.  They have changed the changing of the clocks so that the kids get an extra hour of daylight for their trick or treating, which is great.  There are all types of Halloween activities from schools, local park districts, many bars and theaters and of course Navy Pier hosts a wonderful Haunted House.  The FEAR is located at the South Gateway ($20 admission) and they are hosting a Carnival of Curiosities on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays at no charge.  Life size puppets, contortionists and an unusual fortune teller every Friday and Saturday night during October, and fireworks to some of Halloween's greatest musical sounds.  To learn more about the Winter excitement at Navy Pier, and some money savings coupons visit www.navypier.com. While many consider this to be a Pagan festival, it is indeed a special time for children of all ages, it seems.  One of the special parts of this holiday, getting into a costume is fun for parents and kids alike.  You can get costumes almost anywhere, drug stores, big box stores and of course many vacant storefronts become Halloween shops for the month before Halloween.  But do we always want what they have to offer us?  Do we want our kids or ourselves to look just like everyone else?  I for one am into more original ideas and these can be found for purchase or rental at a true costume shop. We do have many in the Chicago Area: Lost Eras on Howard Street (www.losteras.com) where it is mostly rentals of vintage type costumes, Chicago Costumer (www.windycitycostumes.com) on Fullerton Avenue right by DePaul, A Magical Mystery Tour in Morton Grove and some other suburban shops.  I have found that the best and by far the largest selection is at Fantasy Headquarters located at Milwaukee/Irving and Cicero on the Northwest side.  This place is a city block long with almost everything you can imagine available for any age and size.  If you want it, owner George Garcia makes sure that it is in stock.  For over 40 years, Garcia has made sure that the customers are serviced properly and that what they wear is perfect in every way.  Not just costumes, but all accessories, in fact over 1,000,000 items are in stock at the store or warehouse, are always on hand.  Visit www.fantasycostumes.com.  In these rush-rush times where we cannot always get to the store, Fantasy is opening up their doors 24/7 for the last ten days, so take the trip and have the experience of a lifetime.  Bring this article with you and he will give you 20% off.  Fantasy is located at 4065 N. Milwaukee Avenue.  Right now there is some street repair going on so parking will be just a bit harder, but the trip is so worthwhile, it won't make a difference.   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.