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Review Wed May 15 2013
Ivywild: Part Carnival, Part History
Ivywild, the new play by the ever-audacious The Hypocrites, is part carnival, part Chicago history lesson. And it is a delightful 90 minutes of fact mixed with fantasy. The full title of the show is Ivywild, The True Tall Tales of Bathhouse John, written by Jay Torrence and directed by The Hypocrites' artistic director Halena Kays.
When you walk into the lower-level performance space at Chopin Theatre, you know you are in for some fun. The set is a carousel with swings, made of faux antique materials; light bulbs are festooned everywhere. Platform pieces move around and provide performance space. Before the performance begins, two audience members are asked to don white pinafore dresses so they can participate in simulated rides in the amusement park. The audience, seated close to the action as usual in this space, feels like part of the show.
Torrence plays "Bathhouse John" Coughlin, the First Ward Alderman during the 1890s and early 20th century when the 20-square block area around Cermak Rd. and Michigan Ave. was the levee district, populated by saloons, brothels, gambling houses and plenty of corruption to fund it. Michael "Hinky Dink" Kenna, the precinct captain and later the second First Ward alderman, is played by Ryan Walters. (Until redistricting in 1923, each Chicago ward had two aldermen.) The two amass great wealth through the levee district businesses, political corruption and general debauchery.
Ivywild is the amusement park and zoo that Bathhouse John builds on a tract of land near Colorado Springs, where he has bought a second home. Coughlin meets young Walt Colburn (Kurt Chiang) there and makes him his personal assistant. Colorado, at that time, was home to hundreds of tuberculosis sanitoriums, where patients from all over the country would go to seek relief. Those are the facts on which the play is constructed.
The other characters are Anthony Courser as Princess, an alcoholic elephant in a pink tutu, with a deformed trunk, and a fantastical symbolic character named "The Amusement," sort of a tubercular mime on a respirator, played by Tien Doman. (All the cast members also perform with the Neo-Futurists, where Kays formerly directed. This suggests some interesting future possibilities for these two innovative companies.)
The playbill includes a timeline of the Ivywild/First Ward Chicago story; even if you know that period of Chicago history or read the timeline before the play starts, you may find it hard to follow the non-linear thread of the story. But no matter. Just enjoy the flow. Accept the fact that Princess may address the audience and tell the story of how she lost her trunk. ("The elevator door chopped off my nose.")
Torrence plays Bathhouse John as a song and dance man--a pol who sees himself as a poet and songwriter, as well as the creator of a grand amusement park. His sartorial flamboyance was legendary. Hinky Dink Kenna was more conservative, in dress and demeanor, and tries to push his partner to return to Chicago and pay attention to First Ward business. The pair provide a view of how Chicago won its reputation as a center for crime and corruption, even before the arrival of Al Capone.
Ivywild: The True Tall Tales of Bathhouse John runs through June 16 at the Chopin Theatre, 1543 W. Division. Performances are Monday, Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m. Tickets are $28 and can be purchased online. For more information, call The Hypocrites at 773-525-5981.