Nina Metz

Each time the Steppenwolf tackles a work by Richard Greenberg, the results are extraordinary. In fact, the company should produce as many of the playwright's works as they can get their hands on--there's something about Greenberg's wily, intricately witty and vastly intelligent writing style that meshes so well with the sensibility and talents of the Steppenwolf ensemble. (As with last year's production of "The Dazzle," and a few years earlier in a production of "Three Days of Rain.") A prolific writer to say the least--Greenberg's "Take Me Out," about a gay baseball player, was nominated for a Pulitzer this year and is currently on Broadway--"The Violet Hour," his 2002 play now in its Midwest premiere at the Steppenwolf, artfully blends sidewalk philosophy and emotionally sophisticated thought puzzles. It is 1919 in New York City, and a young would-be publisher (the elegantly bumbling Josh Hamilton, from the miniseries "The 60's") has to decide which manuscript to publish--that of his best pal from college (Kevin Stark, a snappy sad sack, if there ever was one), or that of a sexy, African-American chanteuse (Ora Jones, in a confident, resonant performance). Director Terry Kinney has pulled it all together with considerable panache, setting the action on Robert Brill's fabulously shabby prewar office suite, lit expertly by James F. Ingalls.

The Violet Hour plays at the Steppenwolf Theater Company, 1650 North Halsted, (312)335-1650, through June 15.

(2003-05-07)

Also by Nina Metz

Tip of the Week
There is a character in August Wilson's newest work--the ninth in his ten-play cycle tracking the African American experience through each decade of the twentieth century--named Solly Two Kings, who walks around in an old mud-splattered coat.
(2003-04-30)

Tip of the Week
It's probably unfair to describe Gavin Lawrence's play as a variation on the hit comedy "Barbershop," but the similarities are indisputable--and that's not necessarily a bad thing.
(2003-04-22)

Tip of the Week
For its double bill of lesser-known Shakespeare plays, "Cymbeline" and "Pericles," Court Theatre has revamped its space. It's all part of director Charles Newell's blank-canvas aesthetic (the actors, too, are dressed in white).
(2003-04-15)

Tip of the Week
The annual Chicago Shakespeare Theater program is designed with school-age audiences in mind (hence, the unusually early start time), but interestingly enough, there was a substantial over-50 contingent at the opening performance.
(2003-04-09)

Tip of the Week
(2003-04-02)

Tip of the Week
(2003-03-26)

Tip of the Week
(2003-03-19)

Tip of the Week
(2003-03-12)

Tip of the Week
(2003-02-26)

Tip of the Week
(2003-02-19)

Acting out
(2003-02-19)

Tip of the Week
(2003-02-05)

about Newcitychicago | about Newcity magazine | advertising | privacy policy | FAQ | employment