Mike Nussbaum, Guy Massey photo: Liz Lauren
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Catherine Combs, Mike Nussbaum, Guy Massey p:Liz Lauren
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Mike Nussbaum Photo: Liz Lauren
October 13, 2014
Theater Review
Smokefall
by Betty Mohr
When I first heard that the Goodman Theatre planned to reprise Noah Haidle’s Smokfall, I was surprised. The play, which Goodman mounted last fall in its small theater space, had a stunning, imaginative set design, skewed comic twists, and many interesting moments, but I didn’t think it was so extraordinary as to warrant another run.
After seeing the revival of Noah Haidle’s play, transferred from the Goodman’s Owen Theatre to its mainstage, though, I changed my mind. Maybe I didn’t catch the work’s nuances the first time around; or maybe director Anne Kauffman and Haidle, in the interim, tweaked, tightened and refined the play. Whatever the reason, the encore production of Smokefall is amazing. It is the kind of moving, poignant masterpiece that recalls some of Chekhov’s best work and Thornton Wilder’s Our Town.
The remount has the same original creative aspects as did last year’s production. It features Kevin Depinet’s off-kilter and startling set design, director Ann Kaufman’s meticulous direction, and the same outstanding ensemble of players. Keeping intact the same performers is especially important since it once again features Mike Nussbaum. At 90 years-old, Nussbaum’s portrayal is nothing short of showstopping; he’s so awesome that I can’t help wondering whether Smokefall could have had the same impact without him.
The story begins in Grand Rapids, Michigan where Violet (Katherine Keberlein) has a 16 year-old daughter, Beauty (Catherine Combs) who, after watching her parents continuous fighting, has stopped speaking and has stopped eating real food in favor of dirt and paint.
Violet is pregnant with twins, and that’s when her husband Daniel (Eric Slater) decides to leave her. Also living in the house is Violet’s widowed father, the Colonel (Nussbaum) who can’t stop grieving over his wife’s death and who is suffering memory loss. In a comic and profound portrait, Nussbaum alone is worth the price of a ticket—he delivers the performance of a lifetime.
The scene in which the twins (Slater and Guy Massey, also the play’s narrator) are in the womb, ready to be born, is so imaginative, philosophical and hilarious that it provokes existential issues in combination with a riot of laughter.
At first, one may look at Smokefall as merely another dysfunctional family drama. But, it’s so much more. It’s an extraordinary work that centers on our connection with the universe, our connection to each other, and our connection with ourselves.
It deals with the difficulty of being human, of birth, life, death; the problem of living, which is filled with error, loneliness, and loss; and the hope with which man continues to live, to love, and to survive. As the Colonel says: “The universe is a circle with no end—what’s important is the attempt.”
This is a fascinating original work that leaves one amazed at the wisdom of its young playwright and entranced by the way in which he combines dark comedy with insight into the human condition. Rush to see it now because Smokefall, a modern-day classic, will no doubt go on to Broadway.
Smokefall
When: Through October 26, 2014
Where: Goodman Theatre, 170 N. Dearborn, Chicago
Tickets: $25-$81
Info: call 312. 443.3800 or visit www.GoodmanTheatre.org
Theater Review
Smokefall
by Betty Mohr
When I first heard that the Goodman Theatre planned to reprise Noah Haidle’s Smokfall, I was surprised. The play, which Goodman mounted last fall in its small theater space, had a stunning, imaginative set design, skewed comic twists, and many interesting moments, but I didn’t think it was so extraordinary as to warrant another run.
After seeing the revival of Noah Haidle’s play, transferred from the Goodman’s Owen Theatre to its mainstage, though, I changed my mind. Maybe I didn’t catch the work’s nuances the first time around; or maybe director Anne Kauffman and Haidle, in the interim, tweaked, tightened and refined the play. Whatever the reason, the encore production of Smokefall is amazing. It is the kind of moving, poignant masterpiece that recalls some of Chekhov’s best work and Thornton Wilder’s Our Town.
The remount has the same original creative aspects as did last year’s production. It features Kevin Depinet’s off-kilter and startling set design, director Ann Kaufman’s meticulous direction, and the same outstanding ensemble of players. Keeping intact the same performers is especially important since it once again features Mike Nussbaum. At 90 years-old, Nussbaum’s portrayal is nothing short of showstopping; he’s so awesome that I can’t help wondering whether Smokefall could have had the same impact without him.
The story begins in Grand Rapids, Michigan where Violet (Katherine Keberlein) has a 16 year-old daughter, Beauty (Catherine Combs) who, after watching her parents continuous fighting, has stopped speaking and has stopped eating real food in favor of dirt and paint.
Violet is pregnant with twins, and that’s when her husband Daniel (Eric Slater) decides to leave her. Also living in the house is Violet’s widowed father, the Colonel (Nussbaum) who can’t stop grieving over his wife’s death and who is suffering memory loss. In a comic and profound portrait, Nussbaum alone is worth the price of a ticket—he delivers the performance of a lifetime.
The scene in which the twins (Slater and Guy Massey, also the play’s narrator) are in the womb, ready to be born, is so imaginative, philosophical and hilarious that it provokes existential issues in combination with a riot of laughter.
At first, one may look at Smokefall as merely another dysfunctional family drama. But, it’s so much more. It’s an extraordinary work that centers on our connection with the universe, our connection to each other, and our connection with ourselves.
It deals with the difficulty of being human, of birth, life, death; the problem of living, which is filled with error, loneliness, and loss; and the hope with which man continues to live, to love, and to survive. As the Colonel says: “The universe is a circle with no end—what’s important is the attempt.”
This is a fascinating original work that leaves one amazed at the wisdom of its young playwright and entranced by the way in which he combines dark comedy with insight into the human condition. Rush to see it now because Smokefall, a modern-day classic, will no doubt go on to Broadway.
Smokefall
When: Through October 26, 2014
Where: Goodman Theatre, 170 N. Dearborn, Chicago
Tickets: $25-$81
Info: call 312. 443.3800 or visit www.GoodmanTheatre.org
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