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Love Song
By John Kolvenbach
Directed by Austin Pendleton
At Steppenwolf Theatre
1650 N. Halsted
Chicago, IL
Call 312-335-1650, tickets $20-$60
Tuesdays thru Sundays at 7:30 PM
Saturday & Sunday matinees at 3 PM
Wednesday matinees at 2 PM starting May 10
Running time 2 hours, 20 min with intermission
Through June 4, 2006
Love Song is a sweet and quirky romantic comedy
The world premiere of playwright John Kolvenbach’s Love Song is a major achievement. Kolvenbach is a writer of the first order blending hints of Edward Albee, David Mamet and a sprinkle of John Guare to produce a fresh voice. This guy is a playwright! Love Song combines rich, raw, rancorous humor with a new take on those realistic dysfunctional relationship plays that seem to find their way onto Steppenwolf’s stage. Love Song is a sweet, gentle play that is a comedy chuck full of fantasy, romance featuring a memorable character or two.
Love Song takes place in an impressive, spacious yuppie loft (set design by Scott Gerwitz and Julie Ruscetti) where married couple Molly (Mariann Mayberry) and Harry (Francis Guinan) are debating Molly’s firing of her latest intern. These exchanges are witty, biting and humorous. Another nasty spirited relationship play? No so fast.
We also meet Beane (Ian Barford in a marvelous performance full of vulnerability) a strange sort, a disheveled savant-type character who finds it hard to function in society. He lives in a tiny one room studio with a beat-up chair and a small bag of cloths and a cup with a spoon (no fork). His life is shrinking into oblivion as the bleak world overwhelms him. His sister, Molly tries to aid him but his dysfunctional manner only tries her husband Harry’s patience. The exchanges between the three are funny as Francis Guinan’s Harry and Mariann Mayberry’s Molly and Ian Barford’s Beane are deliciously manic, physical and hilarious. Kolvenbach’s witty humor rings through nicely.
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When Beans meets his soul-mate, Joan (an intense Molly Regan), who brakes into his studio, the sexual sparks fly resulting into grouping and animal sensual romps. Beane has discovered the bliss of sex, of love, of pure romance. He now has the assurance and twinkle in his eye like a satisfied human. Through out this off-beat romance, we wonder if Beane has fond a loving person or is he only fanaticizing?
When Molly and Harry decide to indulge in some daytime sex, they “play hooky” from work. This scene was precious as the two cleverly call in “sick.” The fantasy was marvelously played out with smart mime work by the two seasoned actors as they imaginary light cigarettes, etc.. Love Song unfolds as a playful, cute romantic comedy full of fantasy that deftly deals with rekindled sexuality, loneliness and desperation as we experience Beane’s mysterious world. Is he crazy or a profound observer?
Director Austin Pendelton has his terrific cast moving, sometimes frantically, in an apt use of physicality to enrich the emotion and humor of a scene.
Love Song demonstrates that our lives need fantasies in order to deal with the stress of our chaotic times. Love Song offers us a glimpse of the power of fantasy and imagination where love can transform us from the mundane to the sublime. Love gets us to change, to be better humans. Experiencing love, no matter real or imagined, can reap rich rewards that will ignite our passions. The lesson of Love Song demands that we throw caution to the wind at times to embrace life, love and lust. That’s simply being human. Beane shows the way.
Highly Recommended
Tom Williams
Tom99@chicagocritic.com for comments
Talk Theatre in Chicago podcast
Date Reviewed April 13, 2006
Jeff Recommended
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