Sometimes tiny theatrical jewels appear in and around Chicago but unfortunately go unnoticed for one reason or another. It may be a reluctance to take a chance on any of our fine Off-Loop productions; if that's the case, you're depriving yourself of many wonderful plays and musicals.
But every once in a while, a show's title or subject matter just doesn't excite you. Well, up in Rogers Park, there's a gem I strongly urge you not to miss. Mime and pantomime has gotten a bum rap in pop culture, but The Mime Company of Chicago just might change your opinion of this art form, making it fun, exciting and extremely accessible.
Featuring over a dozen short blackout scenes, this company's four ensemble members present an array of beautifully performed, often hilarious, sometimes heartbreaking and always impressive pieces that stay with you long after the houselights are restored. The company members, Eliot Monaco, Amanda Brown, Brian Pastor and Lucy Carapetyan, are all accomplished, disciplined artists capable of astounding with their controlled movement and expressive faces and bodies.
Without spoiling the entire evening, a few routines should be mentioned just to whet the appetite. In a piece entitled "At Night," a couple trying to share a bed without killing each other evoked knowing laughter. To make it even more clever, we view all this from above like voyeurs. A beautifully realized piece entitled "Memory" features a young woman entering and exploring a forgotten attic room, only to make some very haunting discoveries.
While most of the pieces are wrapped within a cocoon of silence, enabling us to better focus on the movement and facial expressions, a few are performed against carefully selected musical accompaniment. Ms. Brown's exquisite laundry pantomime seems almost choreographed to Harold Arlen's jazzy "Come Rain or Come Shine." Eliot's hilarious "Paper Shredder" gives human qualities to office machinery. A very funny set of blinking "X-mas Lights," an absolutely unbelievable physical piece in which two people try to connect via stairs, escalator, elevator and moving sidewalk, and a touching "Family Photo Album," which begins in mirth and ends on a poignant note, only support the old adage: Actions speak louder than words. Here the sounds of silence simply cry out and later echo in your heart.
Reviewed by Centerstage!
