Theatre: ‘An Adult Evening of Shel Silverstein’ a Deftly Lewd Tribute to Legendary Poet
CHICAGO – “Twisted vignettes” they absolutely are.
While I’ll leave the concepts they explore a surprise, suffice it to say they are for ripened souls, they are benevolently warped and they pay poetic homage to the legendary Shel Silverstein. The Born Naked Theatre Company’s “An Adult Evening of Shel Silverstein” at the Gorilla Tango Theatre in Chicago is worth every one of its 1,500 pennies.
Photo courtesy of the Born Naked Theatre Company
While some of the hysteric moments don’t fit the overall theme, others exist entirely in Shel-like rhyme. Instead of feeling like they merely list words that end in “e” after scouring the dictionary – yes, kind of like that – such segments gel cogently.
In other words, they didn’t purposefully, plainly, persistently, perseveringly, unwaveringly, tenaciously, decisively, intentionally, adamantly, restlessly, laboriously, painstakingly and vigilantly string them in cheesy unison like I just did. In their version, it worked.
The shorts impart wide diversity. One of the one-acts features a total of two words. One’s “meat” and the other’s “potatoes” – sorry, I couldn’t resist sharing this one – and they get sexually transmuted into male and female genitalia through pointing, grabbing, vocal inflection and explicit intention.
With so much repetition and so little to say verbally, this is a fiddly and ingenious competition about who’s boss. Kudos go to Amy Gorelow and Justin Warren who have just the right dose of chemistry and talent to pull it off.
One last clue: If you’re the packrat type – no shame if you are (I used to be but recovered) – hopefully you’ll appreciate the art in the “bag lady” bit. Cramming someone else’s leftover oatmeal, one lost tennis shoe and a hubcap into your purse and Bloomingdale’s medium brown bag is unadulterated hilarity.
“An Adult Evening of Shel Silverstein” plays at the Gorilla Tango. 7 p.m. July 8; 8 p.m. July 13; 8 p.m. July 14; 7 p.m. July 15. Tickets cost $15.
This review was originally published at Centerstage Chicago
and is being republished here with permission.
© 2007 Adam Fendelman
While I’ll leave the concepts they explore a surprise, suffice it to say they are for ripened souls, they are benevolently warped and they pay poetic homage to the legendary Shel Silverstein. The Born Naked Theatre Company’s “An Adult Evening of Shel Silverstein” at the Gorilla Tango Theatre in Chicago is worth every one of its 1,500 pennies.
Photo courtesy of the Born Naked Theatre Company
While some of the hysteric moments don’t fit the overall theme, others exist entirely in Shel-like rhyme. Instead of feeling like they merely list words that end in “e” after scouring the dictionary – yes, kind of like that – such segments gel cogently.
In other words, they didn’t purposefully, plainly, persistently, perseveringly, unwaveringly, tenaciously, decisively, intentionally, adamantly, restlessly, laboriously, painstakingly and vigilantly string them in cheesy unison like I just did. In their version, it worked.
The shorts impart wide diversity. One of the one-acts features a total of two words. One’s “meat” and the other’s “potatoes” – sorry, I couldn’t resist sharing this one – and they get sexually transmuted into male and female genitalia through pointing, grabbing, vocal inflection and explicit intention.
With so much repetition and so little to say verbally, this is a fiddly and ingenious competition about who’s boss. Kudos go to Amy Gorelow and Justin Warren who have just the right dose of chemistry and talent to pull it off.
One last clue: If you’re the packrat type – no shame if you are (I used to be but recovered) – hopefully you’ll appreciate the art in the “bag lady” bit. Cramming someone else’s leftover oatmeal, one lost tennis shoe and a hubcap into your purse and Bloomingdale’s medium brown bag is unadulterated hilarity.
“An Adult Evening of Shel Silverstein” plays at the Gorilla Tango. 7 p.m. July 8; 8 p.m. July 13; 8 p.m. July 14; 7 p.m. July 15. Tickets cost $15.
and is being republished here with permission.
© 2007 Adam Fendelman
Labels: an_adult_evening_of_shel_silverstein, born_naked_theatre, centerstage_chicago, theatre
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