what: the golden dragon by roland schimmelpfennig
where: the lovely victory gardens theatre in the depaul neighborhood
accompaniment: dustin <3
drinkability: perfection! cute little bar with decent prices. i had wine, he had a stella.
show length: one hour, no intermission
out of four: three point five/four
i've been anxious to see another sideshow piece since we had the opportunity to catch HEDDATRON at the steppenwolf garage way back in 2011. looking for a piece to round out my four in four for february i found $10 tickets on trusty hottix for the golden dragon and picked them up, excited to see them as well as to see my first production at victory gardens.
THE GOLDEN DRAGON centers around the kitchen of a "chinese vietnamese thai food restaurant called the golden dragon" where five employees work in an incredibly cramped kitchen- one of them a "boy" (of 30) (played by deanna myers) , complaining of a horrible toothache. the dialogue is quick and so are the character changes. the five actors have a big challenge ahead of them- 65 minutes of non-stop action wherein none of them leave the stage, and all of them play multiple characters: old, young, female, male, human, ant, cricket. its a hell of a ride that sideshow takes us on.
dragon is one of those shows that gives you about 10-15 minutes to make a decision as to whether you love or hate what they've put in front of you. the dialogue constantly breaks the fourth wall by inserting acting notes into the speech (i.e. "short pause", "long pause", etc.), challenges the audience to keep up with no costume, makeup, prop, or scenery changes (save from lighting up/down sections of the stage), and unapologetically races through many story lines at a time- and mostly flawlessly!
dragon was co-directed by johnathan l. green & marti lyons- and must have been an extensive and exhaustive rehearsal process. the five actors zoom around stage, being wonderfully 'active' even when silent and in the shadows. as the script seems like an intricate puzzle to master - green & lyons excelled.
a huge highlight was the lighting- designed by john kelly. the lighting helped move the story from time and place, room to room, atmosphere to atmosphere. the key lighting touches being the heavy use of lamps and the wonderful in-and-out of an overhead swinging light fixture in the kitchen of the restaurant.
THE GOLDEN DRAGON hits with a quick punch and manages to interweave story lines and themes in one of the most unique fashions. hurry and see it- it closes this weekend. tickets are $20- $10 on Hottix if you hurry.
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upcoming february shows:
friday feb 21st, 7:30pm: broken nose theatre's from white plains
join me, will you?