Finding Proof of Naked Boys Singing as Rex sings Kiss Me Kate

Never let anyone suggest to you that Chicago is a cultural wasteland.  Oh sure, the locals are given to replacing ‘the’ with ‘da’ but don’t let that fool you.  Theater is alive and well in Chicago, ranging from small venues like the Bailiwick, which is well north of the theater district, to the opulent Oriental which is smack in the middle of it.  Comedy aficionados probably recall Second City as the origin of several Saturday Night Live performers.

No visit to Chicago is complete without a visit to one of the many performances that are presented, and Easter 2002 proved to be more fruitful than usual.  I am a former resident of the ‘city of big shoulders’ and visit at least annually.  Imagine my surprise when my friend Cathy came up with three performances, all of them enjoyable.

First up is Proof, a Tony Award winning play that has been touring since October 2001.  It stars Robert Foxworth (recall Falcon Crest anyone?), Chelsea Altman, Stephen Kunken, and Tasha Lawrence.  The story is set in Chicago and is about a young woman whose father has just died.  He was a mathematician working at a local university, but suffered from mental illness for the last 4 years of his life.  She had given up college to take care of him, and now must come to grips with the loss and what she should do next.  She is also dealing with her father’s student, an earnest young man who is looking among the papers for evidence of any mathematical work done by her father.  Into the mix strolls the older sister, certain she knows what is best, which means moving her younger sister to New York and selling the house.

Robert Foxworth, playing the father, does not spend much time on stage.  His character is defined through the dialogue of the others and it is clear the youngest daughter felt a connection to him that was not shared by her sister.  At the end of the first act we learn that this daughter may share her father’s genius, but does she also share his mental instability?  The second act works through this and ends on a hopeful note.

Of all the characters, Claire the eldest daughter, played by Tasha Lawrence, is totally annoying.  She is beyond self-assured in her certainty that she knows what is best.  Despite her sister’s long close relationship with their father, Clair is unwilling to accept what her sister has to say.  The student Hal is in awe of the father and potentially in awe of Catherine who appears to have her father’s genius.  Catherine comes across as a typical 20 something, caught between love, duty, and a desire to find her own way.  This was an interesting play and I left wishing it had been just a little longer.

Proof was performed at the Schubert Theater, one of Chicago’s Grand Dames in the Loop theater district.

For our second performance, Cathy and I went to see Naked Boys Singing, a small musical that has made the rounds elsewhere.  I learned later that it has already been to San Francisco.  Now Cathy picked this one because of its title, and we did not know that the title is the truth.  This is a musical with an all male, naked cast.  The opening song features a comment about giving the audience what they really want; “gratuitous nudity.”  The performance focuses on life from a gay man’s point of view. 

We meet the pizza boy who acquires awesome powers and is able to cause the Friday night poker club to strip.  We agonize with the teenagers in the locker room as they try to keep nature from revealing their attraction to males, including the ever so studly quarterback (who we discover is similarly afflicted).  Who could imagine the “Bliss of a Bris” as the male infant marvels at the attention given his anatomy?  Then there is the “Perky Little Porn Star” from Skokie Illinois, a good Jewish boy who has gone bad it seems.  But it is not all laughs, the song “Window to Window” tells the story of two men seeing each other across the way, each wanting the other, and each waiting for the other to make the first move.  In a turnabout, a performer dresses for a party and reminisces about his dead partner and how life has changed in “Chris what you missed.”

This is an ensemble so no one performer dominates.  It was fun evening all around, and each selection stood well on its own.

Naked Boys Singing was performed at the Bailiwick Theater, which is well north of downtown on Belmont, and has two small stages.  Ours (the Studio) held about 30-35 people, so it was quite an intimate setting.  No one had any difficulty seeing the performers.  The second stage was the venue for the Latino Monologues, which was ending its run that night.  The playbill indicated that Jimmy Smits had endorsed it.

The last performance was Kiss Me Kate, starring Rex Smith.  Professional reviewers, while enjoying the musical, were not all that impressed with Smith.  This is an adaptation of Taming of the Shrew by Shakespeare.  There are two stories told, one is within the company of players and the other is the actual play, Taming of the Shrew.  Characters to watch for are Lois Lane and Lilli Vanessi, both being wooed by Fred Graham (Smith).  Lilli is the former wife, while Lois is his latest love.  Lois looks and sounds like a ditzy blond (the play is set in the late 40s) but she is probably the brightest person on stage.  Her heart belongs to Bill Calhoun, a ne’er do well dancer, but she is not above taking favors wherever she can get them.

The musical revolves around the backstage shenanigans that spill over into the performance.  One of the best songs in the show is “I Hate Men” sung by Lilli as Katherine the shrew.  She has just figured out that Fred has lied to her, and so the song has additional fury to it.  The second act opens with a dance sequence “Too Darn Hot” which is indeed steamy and probably just the ticket to reenergize the audience.  When Lilli’s boyfriend, and potential husband, Harrison Howell arrives we are treated to a MacArthur clone, complete with shades and pipe.  And, no surprise here, he is a former ‘friend’ of Lois Lane.  He is only too willing to resume an affair with her, should the opportunity arise.

The show includes two gangsters, sent to collect a debt from Bill Calhoun.  Through mistaken identity, courtesy of Calhoun, they settle on Fred as their quarry.  Fred is equally quick and convinces the two that unless Lilli stays with the show (she is threatening to leave) they will never get paid.  Thus they become members of the company and are hilarious as they stumble through their lines.  “Brush Up on Your Shakespeare” is too funny as they parody the Bard’s most famous phrases.  At the end of the performance the cast makes the standard fund raising pitch for Broadway Cares, which provides healthcare assistance to performers.  The two gangsters showed up on stage, complete with striped suits, spats, and the appropriate menace, much to the audience’s delight.

This musical was fun; the actresses portraying Lilli (Rachel York) and Lois (Jenny Hill) far outshone the famous Mr. Rex Smith.  He can sing and dance and did a decent job as Fred/Petruchio, but the ladies have far more energy and it showed throughout the performance.  If you attend because you are a Rex Smith fan you may be disappointed.  If you attend to have a good time, that is what you will get.

The Ford Center for the Performing Arts – Oriental Theater is located in the Loop and is another Grand Dame, far more fabulous to look at than the Schubert.  The interior of the theater is a mad kaleidoscope of color due to the intricate painted carvings and arabesques that adorn its walls and ceiling.  This theater captures the eye and the imagination just by sitting in it.  Ford’s name is on it for the usual commercial reasons, but that does not detract from its beauty.

If you live in Chicago, you know what a wealth of culture is in reach.  If you visit Chicago, take time to attend one of the many live performances that you will find there.  During my visit Eugene O’Neills Long Day’s Journey into Night was being performed with Brian Dennehy in the lead role.  It was just a bit too long, at 4 hours, for me, but I am sure it would be well worth the time spent.

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