“Shaw vs Tunney”

[rating=5]I would imagine that everyone has heard of “The Odd Couple”, a very funny play written by Neil Simon, but very few people are aware of an authentic “Odd Couple” composed of a boxer and an author also known as Gene Tunney ( the boxer) and George Bernard Shaw ( the author). Grippo Stage Company is now presenting the World Premiere of this powerful story, “Shaw vs Tunney” based on the book “The Prizefighter and the Playwright” by Jay R. Tunney . The play is written by Douglas Post and is a beautiful biographical look at two men from different backgrounds, who for some reason became attracted to each other and became the best of friends.

Sharply directed by Nick Sandys, on a stage that is far from anything we have seen at Theater Wit ((Abbie Reed), this three-character story takes us back to 1928, 1929, and then 1948. The set will represent Whitehall Court in London ( Shaw’s home), the island of Brioni in the Adriatic, and Ayot St. Lawrence in Hertfordshire. The back wall of the set is panoramic, reminding me of the screens on which we watched “Cinemascope”. The wall is lined with window seats where the props needed are stored and the beauty of the white screen is that with lights ( Diane Fairchild) and projections, we can be whisked from place to place. The costumes (Rachel Lambert) and props (Isabella Noe) are all perfect and the sound and original music by Christopher Kriz completes the picture.

What makes this play as powerful as it is, is the performances of the three actors portraying the title characters and of course, Tunney’s wife, Polly ( an incredible performance by Maddie Sachs). Sam Pearson is dynamic as the World Heavyweight Boxing Champion, Gene Tunney. I was very impressed with the magical performance of Richard Henzel as George Bernard Shaw. His playfulness made this playwright real and the two men working together were perfect in showing the relationship that grew between these men from two different worlds.

The transformation from novel to play is not always easy, but it seems that Post has made this easy to follow allowing the performers to be narrators as needed to move the play along. Sandys, as always, is methodical in every step and each prop and lighting cue helps to move the story along.

The original book, written by Tunney’s son, Jay, chronicled their relationship. One must remember that these men were 40 years apart in age and that their backgrounds were as different as they could be. What we see in this story is that while both men were regarded highly for what they had accomplished, they were in fact lonely and in need of a true kindred spirit. Someone they could talk openly to and who would not judge them based on said conversations. I think my next step is to read the book as I am certain there will be additional anecdotes that will be as enjoyable as the ones in this beyond-excellent production.

“Shaw vs Tunney” will continue at Theater Wit located at 1229 West Belmont thru July 8th with performances as follows:

Thursdays  7 p.m.

Fridays  7 p.m.

Saturdays  2 p.m. and 7 p.m.

Sundays  2 p.m.

Tickets range from $38-$42 and are available by calling 773-975-8150 or by visiting www.theaterwit.org

Running time is 2 hours 10 minutes with one intermission.

To see what others are saying, visit www.theatreinchicago.com, go to Review Round-Up and click at “Shaw vs Tunney”.