|
Dave DaVinci Saves the Universe
By Chris Matthews, Jake Minton and Nathan Allen
Directed by Nathan Allen
House Theatre of Chicago
At Chopin Theatre
1543 Division St.
Chicago, IL
(773) 251-2195 www.thehousetheatre.com
Tickets $10-$29
Thursdays and Fridays 8 p.m.
Saturdays 5 p.m. and 8 p.m.
Sundays 7 p.m
Run time is 2 hours 25 minutes with intermission
Through November 8, 2008
Time machine hurtles into orbit in House Theatre 's new, Wicker Park space
Oh, the arrogance of youth. Young Dave DaVinci (Stephen Taylor) believes he can build a time machine. The 18-year-old confidently picks up a microphone and tapes a set speech into his recorder. He grandly announces his name, asserts that he will achieve his goal, and states that today his future self will arrive to meet him -- providing proof of his success.
He tapes.
No one comes.
He files the tape on a shelf jammed with previous futile announcements.
Tonight, however, is different – a voice hails him.
The future Dave DaVinci (Dennis Watkins) arrives!
What happens next – and throughout the play – is the unexpected. Fascinatingly, we never actually see DaVinci construct the traveling apparatus. Rather we shift ahead to the scientist's middle years when he is married to Nora (Stacy Stoltz/Carolyn Defrin) and the father of 16-year old Perdi (Paige Hoffman). No—we haven't time traveled via Science Fiction; DaVinci has aged and matured normally and is still working on his machine.
While mere desire sparked the teenager, middle age provides new and imperative motivation. The desire to go back in time is now urgent, because if he can achieve his goal, he may be able to prevent the suicide of his daughter and its aftermath: the death of his marriage.
Wonderful sound effects and visuals interrupt the plot as DaVinci finds himself aboard a space ship – manned by a crew culled from his daughter's six Science Fiction novels -- hurtling through the void. It may all be his imagination, but it also provides a wonderful metaphor for death as the ship continually plunges towards a black hole.
In this amazing, cutting-edge play, denying the old Science Fiction rubric that one can never meet oneself without exploding the universe, playwrights Chris Matthews, Jake Minton and Nathan Allen offer a more philosophical theme: the role of destiny transcending any possible human interference. Ultimately, what is done is done and cannot be undone, no matter how great the need or yearning.
While House Theater originally mounted "Dave DaVinci Saves the Universe" in 2005, this new version is completely re-imagined, with Kevin O'Donnell's original music and new scenic design by Collette Pollard. Deftly directed by Allan, what inventiveness is displayed by Michael Griggs' vivid sound effects, Ben Wilhelm's wonderful lighting, Debbie Baer's costumes, and the clever creature constructions of Melissa Bochat, and Allison Daniel. For some sense of mood, see Stacy Stoltz, as Nora serenading Dave on the theremin, at www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6ka5H7dAl0\
Those who saw the earlier version of the play will enjoy the changes, and it will be a real treat for first time audiences sitting in the oh-so-comfortable seats at the company's splendid new Wicker Park home at the Chopin Theatre.
Recommended
Beverly Friend
friend@oakton.edu for comments
Date Reviewed: September 21, 2008
|
