what: exit strategy by ike holter
where: jackalope's new home at the broadway armory
accompaniment: dustin!
drinkability: because its in an academic building, no booze- but they do sell snacks and soda.
show length: 1 hour 40 minutes, no intermission
out of four: four/four
for the past three years my husband and i lived in an awesome apartment in humboldt park. we were two blocks away from lafayette elementary school, a giant, beautiful school in a relatively safe area of humboldt that we would walk past on a weekly basis on our way to knockbox cafe or any of the other businesses popping up in a blooming neighborhood on california ave. when the decision to close 49 schools came in 2012, lafayette was one that got the axe. the year leading up to the school closing we saw rallies, marches, signs in all local businesses urging the neighborhood to save the schools. but alas, in may of 2013 lafayette closed its doors, and the beautiful building became a desolate shell with a chain in the front. we watched movers take out stacks of books and supplies. we watched "safety zone" walking signs be put up across the neighborhood as children now had to walk to their newly assigned schools, which meant that some of them were walking through different gang territory. there were shootings the first few weeks of school in areas other than ours for this reason. the building, empty, is still standing.
ike holter's EXIT STRATEGY tells of the fictional school tumbledn who receives the same news that lafayette and 48 other schools received- news that they had one school year remaining within those walls before the school would be shut down, teachers and administration would be out of jobs, and the kids would be raffled among schools in the surrounding area to complete their high school education. we begin the play by hearing this news being delivered from vice principal ricky, played by jackalope company member pat whalen to long-time teacher and tumbledn advocate pam, played by barbara figgins. we're dropped right into holter's fast-paced sass and wit, pouring our of figgins' mouth with ease. she's a chicago teacher who knows somethings up. she challenges him, she accepts the school's fate, then she does something to set the school year off onto an even rockier start.
holter's hour and fourty minute play takes place almost entirely in the break room of tumbledon. our wide array of cast members, while wildly different and spread throughout departments and responsibilities, the teachers have an air of family about them- dialogue ranging from competitive to supportive to empathetic. they know the school is ending, and they are doing their best to either keep it afloat or accept the fate.
jackalope's casting director elana boulos has once again put together a powerhouse of actors. while the two newest cast members saenz and turner debuted the night i sat in to see the show- their performances were executed with ease. whalen and nozicka were reunited after last summer's remount of the successful LONG WAY GO DOWN brought them together on jackalope's stage. nozicka navigated holter's dialogue with ease and spat out lines, demands, and frustrations so quickly one would think they were flowing in a stream of consciousness instead of heavily studied and crafted lines. mackinnon, who played the only student we got to see from tumbledn, donnie, was recently named one of the 10 "hot new faces" to watch out for in chicago theatre by the tribune, and its obvious why the honor was given. mackinnon was so natural, heart-wrenching, and convincing in his role of donnie that i found myself wondering if he often went off-script. he's a force to be reckoned with and a player to watch in his upcoming years.
pat whalen in his role of ricky was the stand-out in my eyes. the challenge of a young administrator in a position of trying to mend an unfixable problem in combination with trying to simply settle into a leadership role with a cast of firecracker teachers is one that whalen presented without question. having previously seen whalen in other roles as well as knowing him as a person off-stage, his precise physical choices and manifestations were consistent throughout the show and his was a character that i simply couldn't stop watching.
i'm just one more "review" in the slew of many that have applauded jackalope's and ike holter's achievements. but truly believe this show is not to be missed. for the teachers that lost their jobs, for the students who were rearranged, for the city that struggles to survive beneath choices beyond their control. the extension runs through the end of august and tickets are almost gone.
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upcoming august shows:
sunday august 10th, 5pm: silent theatre's dueling gentlemen
saturday august 23rd, 8pm: upright citizen brigade la's asssssscat
friday august 29th, 8pm: oracle theatre's the jungle
TBD
join me, will you?