Brain Fighters
Transformers, dinosaurs, creation, brain magic and something called Jerk Island are thrown out on stage. Somewhere in the imagination of Joseph Scrimshaw is a slight play. He trips through his silliness with actors Randy Reyes and Mo Perry as eager helpers. It's a high-energy romp that relies on physical gadgetry and word play. "Brain Fighters" just doesn't have the bite of Scrimshaw's entry in last year's Fringe, "The Damned Audition." Not much here other than some giggles. More show information.
- GRAYDON ROYCE
Mimi's Last Rehearsal
Mimi, the matriarch of a showbiz family, is dying. Her relatives gather to rehearse her birthday celebration, as they have for years. Ben Kreilkamp's meditation on mortality is surreal and silly, but overly self-referential. Still, he touches something profound in the ridiculousness. A listing of theatres that have passed, from At the Foot of the Mountain to The Palace to Eye of the Storm, was particularly moving. Rhonda Lund's Mimi grounds the show. Her performance is operatic in the best sense of the word, emotionally extravagant and ultimately heartbreaking. More show information.
- WILLIAM RANDALL BEARD
The Attic Room
This dance-theater work choreographed by Michael Estanich of Chicago's RE/Dance Group follows the adventures of a small group -- wearing owlish masks -- living together in a room with only paper cranes, books, a map, and a large rug for diversion. Their childlike sense of wonderment is disrupted over time by hints of a darker world that lies beyond. While the piece does possess a fanciful charm, the use of multiple scenes keeps the emotionally charged dancing, as well as the overall sense of story, from settling into a consistent poetic flow. More show information.
- CAROLINE PALMER
Mother Tongues
Core Project Chicago explores in modern dance that bittersweet twenty-something moment when you realize your mother is human just like you. Though the voiceover confessions can be a trace naïve, and the moves a mite familiar, CPC finds a genuine connection without simplifying the struggle, love, and need of the mother-adult child relationship. Mom would cry, but she'd be proud, and the rest of us will be mostly won over, too. Plus, it's hard not to smile back at these charismatic dancers -- look especially for the company's lithe men. More show information.
