what: the jungle by upton sinclair, adapted for the stage by matt foss
where: oracle's space in east lakeview
accompaniment: becky, emily, alicia, and joe!
drinkability: BYOB!
show length: 100 minutes, no intermission
out of four: three/four
oracle productions really can't do it wrong. they recently took home the coveted best ensemble jeff award for THE MOTHER (which is one of the only plays i have ever and probably will ever see twice!), so when i took my seat on friday night after being warned of a splash zone (man i love a warning about a splash zone) i was already prepared to see an inventive, exciting show in front of me.
oracle of course, delivers again. THE JUNGLE is a strong ensemble piece- in fact, strongest during ensemble-heavy moments. the play opens with an introduction to jurgis, his wife ona (stephanie polt), her cousin marija (havalah grace) and jurgis' father antanas (drew mccubbin) as they journey to chicago for a better life. we're swept into our introductory song where stamps, spray paint, train and ship puppets emerge with smoke, song, the ripping of butcher paper hung from the walls and accompaniment by live musicians sam allyn, dylan stuckey, and colin morgan (morgan and stuckey also actors in the show). it was an overwhelming visual feast that i didn't want to end.
THE JUNGLE is the tale of jurgis and his family taking whatever job they can to establish themselves in america, in chicago. the job thats available is at the stockyards- butchering and packing meat. jurgis' father is given work in the processing room- a place that is described in detail that makes one sick to their stomach in the novel- but is shown as an eerily-lit smoke-filled room from which sometimes workers never returned. the work is hard, the work is brutal. they make little to no money as they scrape together funds to purchase a home and support a family. they are roped into a bad housing deal as they simply don't know any better, and fall into a spiral of working to the bone and taking desperate jobs in order to keep their home.
director and adapter matt foss had the monstrous task of paring the classic novel down to 100 minutes for the oracle stage. as for all other oracle productions, their stamp (literally and figuratively) was put directly on foss' adaptation and one felt like they were at home, coming off of productions such as THE MOTHER and WAITING FOR LEFTY. at times, the similarities in characters, actors, and costumes for all three shows drew me out of it. i caught myself several times thinking: didn't i just see this show? the class/work struggle with the same people, possibly same costumes?
i won't tire from seeing actors like stephanie polt, havalah grace and rick foresee on oracle's stage, though. colin morgan blew it out of the water- juggling worker, musician, seedy salesman and barman seamlessly. his jump from character to character was incredibly fun to watch, and i am pleased to see he is cast in oracle's next prodcution: ROMULUS. travis delgado in the lead role of jurgis never got there for me- the formula for good acting is all there- but i never felt like he left the speech pattern of a lithuanian not understanding his english-speaking counterparts, even when speaking with his own family. the peak moment between polt and delgado got the emotions stirring- but i didn't weep as i felt i should.
THE JUNGLE is not to be missed- as always oracle presents a story in a way that forces the audience to see time and movement outside of normal means. the stamps, the puppets, the singing, the movement- they're all enough to make your jaw drop in the dim of the audience.
as always THE JUNGLE is free along with all other oracle productions. they close this saturday evening.
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upcoming august shows:
-sunday august 31st, 4pm: about face theatre's methtacular
join me, will you?