Theatre
& Stage
reviews by SalsaChicago.com critic Al Bresloff
SELF
DEFENSE (or death of some salesmen) Through
12/19
Rivendell
Theatre Ensemble opened its 10th season with
the Chicago premiere of SELF DEFENSE or, death
of some salesmen written by Carson Kreitzer.
SELF DEFENSE is based on the story of Aileen
Wuornos (you might recall the movie- "Monster"),
a hitchhiking, highway hooker who is arrested
for murdering seven of her johns.Is she the
first female serial killer? Or is she a victim
of her circumstances who acts in self defense?
Rivendell Theatre takes us on a journey into
a world that most of us have read about, but
have never seen up close; seedy strip clubs,
biker bars, backwood swamps, and even into
death row as we follow the story of Jolene
Palmer's case and her trip through the legal
system and beyond. Directed by Edward Sobel,
who has taken advantage of the Steppenwolf
Merle Reskin Garage Theatre space to make
the audience feel a part of the action. The
theater has been set up with seating on two
sides appearing to be jury boxes and the other
two sides stools and tables with a few chairs
so as to give the feeling of being in a strip
club (poles and all).
The
story takes around two hours to tell (with
no intermission) in what the author calls
seven acts and the women in this show carry
the load. Tara Mallen is very strong as Jolene,
although there were times that she was not
easy to hear. Brandy McClendon, Jane Baxter
Miller, Lily Mojekwu and Lisa Rothschiller
all handle their roles well and for the most
part can switch personas with the ability
not to confuse the audience. The men however
, have a difficult time changing roles. There
is not enough variance in their walk, dress,
or demeanor and so often there is confusion
as to who they are. Out of the three male
actors, Eric Slater does create one or two
characters that are different, but the ladies
really carry this show. This is a dynamic,
eerie story that is also very thought provoking
and forces one to think about what really
happened and if in fact, Jo was saving her
own skin or out to get men. While no one can
know for sure, this play will make you wonder.
If
you have visited the Garage before you know
that this is a flexible space and Stephanie
Nelson has designed a set that allows the
action to flow from space to space (there
were a few times where the audience lost sight
lines, but only a portion and for a short
period) and Jaymi Lee Smith's lighting adds
just the right mood to each of the scenes
(or as they call them, acts). The sound by
Michael Kraskin could use just a little help
as the garage is not an acoustical Garden
of Eden (Halsted's sounds, the Brown line
behind and cars pulling in and out of the
garage sure don't help) so maybe a few mikes
here and there might do the trick.SELF DEFENSE
or, death of some salesmen will run at The
Steppenwolf Merle Reskin Garage Theatre located
at 1642 N. Halsted through December 19th with
performances as follows:
