Five Easy Theatre Pieces Harridan Productions

"Five Easy Theatre Pieces showcases the many sides of playwright Ester Lebo. ... Emma and Eustacia shows Lebo at her clever best, placing Flaubert's Madame Bovary and Hardy's Eustacia side by side in data-entry temp jobs, bemoaning their unfulfilled passions to each other and the computer-repair guy


3/4/02 - 4/13/02


"Five Easy Theatre Pieces, Harridan Theatre Productions, at the Chopin Theatre..showcases the many sides of playwright Ester Lebo. ... Emma and Eustacia shows Lebo at her clever best, placing Flaubert's Madame Bovary and Hardy's Eustacia side by side in data-entry temp jobs, bemoaning their unfulfilled passions to each other and the computer-repair guy. Chicago Reader

?This evening showcases the many sides of playwright Ester Lebo. Not every piece goes down easy, however. The brief opener, Three Strangers, is billed as "the classic writing exercise" and feels like it, building some intrigue between a mysterious woman and two yokels in a diner, then fizzling out. Emma and Eustacia shows Lebo at her clever best, placing Flaubert's Madame Bovary and Hardy's Eustacia side by side in data-entry temp jobs, bemoaning their unfulfilled passions to each other and the computer-repair guy. Cordelia and Goneril also puts new words into the mouths of famous characters but takes a dramatic turn: this scene immediately precedes Cordelia's hanging, showing her solitary introspection and a bitter sibling exchange. Roni Geva quietly reveals the depths of Cordelia's wounds--which makes Janell Cox's loud, bitter Goneril seem a bit cartoony by comparison.
After intermission, things get rough. Culture Wars lives up to its subtitle ("A Very Bad Scene") from the first word of its stilted narration, following the dated, tired, implausible saga of a librarian trying to keep her bookshelves and students safe from all manner of threats, from street gangs to the Internet. Electra, the finale, could use more of the flavor of its 1940s Bronzeville setting, but at least the title character's immortal dysfunctional family puts the evening back on track.? Kim Wilson, Chicago Reader March 22, 2002

Author
Ester Lebo

Director
Dre Robinson, Maureen Towey, Erica Watson

Performers
Kayce Alltop, Kathrine Ayers, Janell Cox, Brittany Davis,Danny Dolan, Roni Geva, Kaya Griffea, Mav Neil Gutierrez, Andre Ing, Luis Alberto Laurenzana, Jonatan Pereira, Letha Williams, Tehna Williams

Production
Cleodis Ingram, Dan Harbour, Ajana Boone, David Beaupre, Jacob Snodgrass, Matt Ulm, Emily Dugan, Joyce Greening, Tom Hickey

Tags: Theater, American, 2002