“The Attic: Things I’ve Seen While Lying On My Back”

***** I love a circus! I also love Cirque du Soleil performances, and don’t mind them even when the story surrounding the performance art makes no sense! I was unaware of exactly what I was getting into when I RSVP’s to The Goodman Theatre’s “The Attic: Things I’ve Seen While Lying On My Back”, now on their Albert Stage. This afternoon, Jane and I went on an adventure. We used public transportation to avoid one more day of commuting from the North Shore to the city, and found it restful and quite easy. We drove to Dempster and parked in their lot ($3 for the day), got on the Yellow Line, switched trains to the Red Line at Howard Street, and were at State and Lake with over 30 minutes to spare, quite relaxed. We were ready for something special!

After a quick snack at Petterino’s, we took our seats in the Albert Theatre, ready to view Shana Carroll’s “The Attic: Things I’ve Seen While lying On My Back”. Ms Carroll not only wrote the play, but she also directed and choreographed this two-act play that is, in fact, a sort of biographical look at her life. It all started when undergoing a medical procedure, of course, lying on her back. Could she tell her story from a unique angle, “lying on her back,” to the world?

Her childhood bedroom was in the attic of their home. I had a friend who had his bedroom in a similar attic-like section of the house he grew up in. I had a townhouse with a small attic that I used as my darkroom when I did photography, and in many cases, due to the size and atmosphere of this space, I had visions of strange happenings as well. In Carroll’s mind, her ceiling was made up of trapezes that would allow her to go from point A to point B without ever touching the floor. Imagination is simply a great tool that added to the performance art and her story, making for a work of art that will leave you in awe and something that you will both think about and talk about for some time to come.

Part of what the story is about is Shana’s life. In this production, Tyeler Meredith portrays Shana, and we meet her as she dons her hospital gown and takes to her bed. The phrase “Things I’ve Seen While Lying On My Back” is stated on a regular basis. She tells us about her fall, her medical diagnosis, and how she deals with that, as well as her memories and their effect on her future.

There ar etwo acts, each containing 14 scenes. Some of the scenes are quite short and to the point; others are longer and with greater feats of her artistry.The nine additional performers are amazing, and each has some type of specialty, but all are as one unit when they work together. While many of the “acts” are ones we have been witness to before, there are some very special and unique “acts” that will dumbfound you and truly make you wonder just how they pulled that off.

The two that truly stood out in the second act were “The Most Daring Act”, where a hospital bed and the hands of the artists will truly captivate you. In the same act, you will see a hula hoop number ( I am pretty sure Anna Kichtchenko) that is unlike any other hula hoop act you have ever seen in any Cirque du Soleil performance art, ever and I must say, the final number, The Old Lady and The Sea is as noteworthy as any circus or cirque act I have ever been witness to, EVER!

A tip of the hat to the entire cast of amazing performance artists: Nancy Luna, Santiago Rivera Laugerud, Lucy Tan, Alexandra Royer, Kalani June, Eduardo De Azevedo Grillo, Melvin Diggs, Fran Alvarez ( Mr. Muscles) , and of course, Ms. Kichtchenko and Ms. Meredith. They are all amazing talents, doing their thing, and doing it exceedingly well!

“The Attic” will continue thru October 4th ( so I suggest you review your calendar and try to fit this in- a MUST SEE!), with performances as follows:

Tuesdays        7:30 p.m.

Wednesdays  7:30 p.m.

Thursdays      2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

Fridays            7:30 p.m.

Saturdays      2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

Sundays        2:00 p.m.

SPECIAL PERFORMANCES:

ASL   9/25

Touch/tour  9/26 at 2 p.m.

Spanish       9/26 at 7:30 p.m.

OPEN CAPTION   9/27

Tickets can be ordered by calling the box office at  312-443-3800 or online at www.GoodmanTheatre.org

The Goodman Theatre is located at 170 N. Dearborn in Chicago

To see what others are saying, visit www.theatreinchicago.com, go to Review Round-Up, and click on ” The Attic”.