“Gary:A Sequel to Titus Andronicus” reviewed by Julia W. Rath

*** Gruesomely gory and scintillatingly scatological, “Gary” is a mixed bag. Loosely based on “Titus Andronicus”, one of Shakespeare’s most violent plays, the title begs the question: What happens in the aftermath of battle? Who cleans up the death, the dismemberment, and the destruction? In this “sequel” to this classic tale, the cleanup is focused not on the battlefield but inside a huge hall: the planned site for tomorrow’s inauguration of a new emperor. Currently, dead soldiers are strewn everywhere: men who have killed, raped, tortured, and pillaged. Their bloodied bodies have been intentionally lain across the room’s huge banquet table. Beneath the table are the bodies of women and children—the victims of the war—who have been neatly tucked away out of view of the audience.

Written by Taylor Mac and cleverly directed by Steve Scott, the play consists of three characters, ostensibly responsible for the overnight cleanup: physically, mentally, and morally. They include the clown, who is now called upon to be a maid, that is, a domestic servant and a mortician in one. His clown’s name is Gary. In that leading role, William Delforge does an incredible job striking the right balance between self-aggrandizement and waxing poetic about the human condition. Gary’s assignment is to assist Janice, the maid, in her work. Hannah Rohde plays an incredible Janice, and it is worth seeing the show just to watch her unabashedly ballsy performance. She teaches Gary the routine: not just tidying up the locale but draining each person’s body fluids and disposing of the blood and guts, so as to properly prepare each person for burial. The third character is the midwife named Carol (Cameron Austin Brown) who introduces the show and later agonizes about whether it’s necessary or appropriate to bring a child into this world, given the violent nature of mankind. (Note that I’m intentionally not using the word humanity; rather, I’m emphasizing the role of the male gender in tandem with the script.)

On one level, “Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus” is absolutely brilliant. The script takes the bawdy humor of a Shakespearean play and literally appends a tale that incorporates the raucousness of a Three Stooges comedy while simultaneously being a commentary on the human condition. It explains people’s fascination with baubles (like crowns and shiny objects, like necklaces and fancy clothes) as compared to focusing on what really matters: the worth of each individual person as a valued treasure, whether they are from the rich or poor class or come from the middling middle. The downside of this show might be considered the upside for some, that is, its toilet humor. This is largely to be expected in a story where dead bodies are treated without the respect that they are supposedly due in accordance with Roman law and custom. While this can be funny, it also can go way overboard, as evinced by watching the visceral reactions of some members of the audience being grossed out when seeing all sorts of bodily functions and bodily fluids on display. The overemphasis on disassembled body parts (especially male genitalia) and necromancy gives the play its yuck factor (with yuck meaning that it’s both funny and repulsive at the same time). Then there is a distinctive sadness, having to do with the cruelty with which the maiden Livonia has been treated, according to the story that Janice tells the audience.

Speaking of the audience, we were directly addressed on a number of occasions and some very briefly interacted with some of us, that is, to throw a person a necklace or to accept a mint or do some high-fiving. What was funny, however, was when at one point during the performance, a character disparaged the play itself and turned towards an audience member and basically said (I’m sanitizing the language) that you’ll be the one to knock it. Did the character know that she happened to have addressed her comments to the chair of the Jeff Committee?

As we walk into this small storefront theatre, the first thing we see is a huge number of blood-soaked human-sized rag dolls to represent the dead. These corpses are littered everywhere: throughout the stage, walls, and ceiling, in a room with 34 seats all together on three sides. The next thing we realize is that we had better wear the transparent poncho that we received when we got our programs, because the audience is going to be almost too close to the action. Do we really want to be splattered… and with what? The vast majority of the audience put on their ponchos in anticipation. Although fluids were flying throughout much of the performance, I’m not sure that anyone was splattered during the press opening.

Props design by Robin Manganaro could hardly have been better. Not only can we imagine all those corpses lying there, but there were all sorts of tubes and knives and, of course, the banquet table in the middle of the room. Costume design by kClare McKellaston is marvelous, especially Gary’s court jester outfit and the diamond-shaped makeup on his cheek. I liked all the mismatched argyle among the characters. And Rhode’s hairstyle was great! Piper Kirchhofer’s lighting design works well for such a small stage as does Dusty Brown’s sound design. Most importantly, Seth Eggenschwiller’s violence direction was right on target.

As Steve Scott writes in his “Director’s Note”: “Taylor Mac takes a satirical view of the ‘necessity’ of revenge in our world, focusing on the survivors of the Titus wars: a loyal maid who constantly has to erase the evidence of history’s holocausts; a nurse whose failure to protect her charge has thrown her into a nether world of confusion and recrimination; and a street clown whose rescue from the gallows awakens improbable dreams of grandeur.”

This 95-minute show is sure to irritate you in both good and bad ways. You’ll find emotions within yourself that you didn’t realize you had. The story will make you think more about the value of life and how others demean it, while at the same time, it will have you laugh and groan with disgust. I liked the show as a whole but hated its extremes. So there!

“Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus” is playing through June 1, 2025, at Redtwist Theatre, 1044 W. Bryn Mawr Avenue, Chicago.

Tickets are $35 for general admission, with pay-what-you-can pricing every Friday.

Performance Schedule:

Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m.
Sundays at 3:30 p.m.

Two understudy performances will occur: on Thursday, May 15 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, May 25 at 3:30 p.m.

For more information and to purchase tickets, visit https://www.redtwisttheatre.org/gary.

For general information and to find out about Redtwist Theatre’s other offerings, see https://www.redtwisttheatre.org/.

To see what others are saying, visit www.theatreinchicago.com, go to Review Round-Up and click at “Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus”.