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Mabou Mines Dollhouse
Directed and adapted by Lee Breuer
From Henrik Ibsen’s play The Doll House
Co-produced by the Museum of Contemporary Art
and Court Theatre
at the Museum of Contemporary Art
220 East Chicago Avenue
Chicago, IL
Call 312-397-4010, tickets $35 - $50
Wednesdays & Thursdays at 7:30 PM
Fridays at 8 PM
Saturdays at 3 & 8 PM
Sundays at 2:30 & 7:30 PM
Running time is 3 hours, 5 minutes with intermission
Through December 18, 2005
You’ll either love or hate Mabou Mines Dollhouse
Director and adapter Lee Breuer’s wild deconstructed take on Ibsen’s classic, The Doll House, left me aggravated, upset with a confusing contradictory reaction. On one hand, I hated this too long, slowly paced, often silly, attack on Ibsen’s classic. On the other hand, I admired the stage craft and innovation presented. This production is an avant-garde ultra-feminist anthem where exaggeration and excess rules supreme.
Since I couldn’t understand Maude Mitchell’s Nora because she combines squeaky high-pith baby talk with a slurred Norwegian accent, I was unable to follow the action and I quickly lost interest. I’m not alone on this point, at least 6 to 8 people all told me they couldn’t understand her. Better diction from Mitchell would help. This weird take on Ibsen simply seem to mock the work needlessly. The show became boring, tedious and vulgar. That was my feeling just after the show.
However, sometimes a show is so shockingly different, so exotic, so complicated with so much sensory stimulation that it takes time to digest. That is the case here. The more I replay the show in my mind (and it wouldn’t get out of my thoughts for hours), the more I appreciate the genius and creativity presented.
In order to review Mabou Mines Dollhouse fairly, the old Ben Franklin techniques comes into play. When Franklin couldn’t decide on a course of action, he would write down all the reasons for and all the reasons against and then see how they stack up. That process is in order here.
Reasons for seeing Mabou Mines Dollhouse:
It is an imaginatively provocative, intense extravaganza exclaiming the scale and proportions of size in high-concept reversals. Six-foot woman verses under five foot men, older women verses younger men, small scale furniture and set (a dollhouse) verses normal size sets.
The show is an unpredictable blending genres, styles, text, speech patterns, movement and dance with musical underscoring, commedia del arts, physical slap-stick comedy, witty word play in a show that is rich in humorous satire, farce and absurdist parody. This is an energetic, at times, out of control piece that contains raunchy sexual scenes, passionate monologues that builds into a melodramatic parody topped off with a strange ending befitting an opera. The final scene uses puppets in an operatic setting where Maude Mitchell sings an aria to and with Mark Povinelli. The staging, innovation and stellar acting from Povinelli and Mitchell breath life into the exotic. Ning Yu’s piano work was impressive.
The reasons not to see Mabou Mines Dollhouse:
The 90 minute first act drags on much too long. The poor diction by Mitchell’s baby talk makes it impossible to understand her. And the deconstructing of a classic play is offensive to many.
Personally, I didn’t like the show---yet---I’m glad I saw the show because it is an important, unique stylized piece that is brilliant stagecraft. Sometimes you have to experience a show because of its controversial style, content and staging even if you ultimately dislike it. It would be ignorant and narrow minded to skip this worthy show.
Conservative traditionalist theatre patrons may hate this show and the 30 something artsy group will rave about Mobou Mines Dollhouse. No one will be neutral about this intense work. Judge this show for yourself—just be warned it isn’t for everyone.
Somewhat Recommended
Tom Williams
Tom99@chicagocritic.com for comments
Chicago Stage Talk Radio Show
December 3, 2005
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