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The Revenge of the Space Pandas or Binky Rudich and the Two Speed Clock
by David Mamet
Goodman Theatre
Saturday Mornings
March 25 - April 22, 2006 at
10am and 11:30am.
Tickets for Binky Rudich are $8 for children and $15 for adults
312.443.3800 or www.GoodmanTheatre.org
Imaginative script holds 8+ attention.
The Goodman Theatre has produced a rarely seen David Mamet Children's play (that's right, he wrote one) for their Mamet Festival currently running downtown. The show is a good way to round out the Mamet festival by giving subscribers something to bring their kids to experience Mamet, but don't expect the wee-ones to pick up on the story's overall theme (I'm not really sure Mamet ever meant for there to be one). This very fun production is primarily aimed at younger audiences, but should really come with an "age" label of 8 and over. Younger than that and they may not sit still for too long or enjoy all the quirky, offbeat nuances in this dialogue heavy show.
The Revenge of the Space Pandas or Binky Rudich and the Two Speed Clock (why don't we just call this Binky Rudich from here on out) is an imaginative tale about 2 kids from Waukeegan, IL Binky Rudich (played a little too elderly by Blaine Hogan), Vivian Mooster (Maribeth Monroe...a real gem) and their best friend Bob the Sheep(Eric Slater... made the show his). Binky is very smart 12 year old inventor who creates a special 2 speed clock that stops the earth and catapults them off lightyears away to another planet right before Binky's mom(McKinley Carter) comes to drag them off to eat lunch. They land in a place called Crestview in the crazy Goolagong galaxy. There they meet 2 Pandas (nicely played by Jose Antonio Garcia and Jamie Vann) who takes them to the evil ruler George Topax (Gary Alexander ... a wonderful characterization that didn't play well in that space) amuses himself by dropping huge pumpkins on his underlings' heads. Topax wants to shear Bob the Sheep to make a nice wool sweater out of his fur coat since there hasn't been a sheep in Crestview for thousands of years. The children, of course, can not allow this to happen to their best friend, and so the chase is on. However, when they make their escape they lose their two-speed clock and must somehow get close enough to get it back from the evil Topax. Binky gets captured when he gets distracted trying to retrieve his Whitesox hat and ends up on a evening Crestview news report complete with uptight anchorman (Edward Stevens). The other 2 meet a down-on-his-luck actor, Edward Farpis (a histrionic Kevin Theis), that turns them in to the authorities (the pandas) for a lot kapongs ($$$). Will they escape from the evil George Topax? Can they get the Two-Speed Clock back so they can get home in time for lunch? Go see Binky Rudich and find out.
All in all it's a good production that's worth the trip if you're planning on seeing the entire Mamet festival. Binky Rudich is a good example of Mamet's early style without any of the %$#@'s or &%@$#'s and is imaginative enough to keep your adult interest. Although, for a very small child it can tend to be a little wordy. Mamet deftly mixes his halted, realistic conversational style with the common conventions of a formulaic kid's show. The plot is clearly spelled out enough for the kids and main points are emphasized many times to let the kids know the dangers that Binky and his friends face. But the long periods of casual speech partnered with very little physicality is certainly tough for the small kids under 8.
My main issue with the show was their limitations with the set. The show is performed on the mainstage, where Romance is currently showing, which is a configured in a standard proscenium style setting (You know, like watching a picture frame). You could tell that the Goodman worked hard to fit this children's show in where they could and on whatever space they could. Director Steve Scott did a good job with the staging, but probably would have preferred a blackbox setting with the audience positioned 3/4 around the action. The across the stage, simultaneous action and the bouncing back and forth of interrupted dialogue (very common with Mamet) seemed a little too erratic to maintain a very young child's interest. You could tell it was intended to keep them active and engaged, but ultimately pushed their limits causing them to loose focus due to its heavily prevalent use. Older children, however, will enjoy the lively, complex interaction and appreciate the professional level performances unfolding before their eyes. It's an excellent introduction to theatre if they have yet to be introduced.
Also, I felt that Binky Rudich would have greatly benefitted from periodic use of a video screen and projector since there is a pretty lengthy scene of a TV news reporter "reporting" the capture of Binky. However, since this only a Say & Sun morning show I'm sure there was no room alloted in the budget for such an expense, but it would have been a nice device to capture the little audience's attention during the mumbled TV News scene. I, also, think it really would have helped answer a lot of the other limitations Steve Scott faced with staging it on that particular set. He used his offstage voices effectively, but a video presence would have given them more power. Oh well.
The Goodman's Binky Rudich is a fun, imaginative ride that's enjoyable for both adults and kids. You'll laugh at the well delivered punchlines that shows how Crestview is not that much different from earth and how quirky aliens can be two faced, yet lovable at the same time. The cute costumes help set the scene, are very inventive, and do a great job of establishing the offbeat Crestview (kudos to designer Tatjana Radisic).
So If you have kids that are the right age and have a hankerin' to experience an imaginative world created by an expert Chicago playwright, then check out "The Revenge of the Space Pandas or Binky Rudich and the Two Speed Clock". It may just catapult you off this earth.
Recommended for kids
Somewhat Recommended for adults
Dustin Mote
Date Reviewed April 1, 2006
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