“Southern Rapture” reviewed by Mark Reinecke

**** Imagine a progressive regional theater in any conservative town. The company is completely reliant on limited public funding to survive. It decides to stage a play called Rapture in America that will disrupt civic complacency and bring community awareness and understanding to the plight of a hidden, marginalized community. In doing so, it raises a ruckus with local political and religious tyrants. This is absolutely perfect subject matter for the Tin Drum Theatre Company to tackle in its Chicago premiere of Southern Rapture, written by Eric Coble.  It’s at once a searing political commentary, a screwball comedy, a suspense thriller, and a poignant nod to the gay community as we start Pride month.

Based on a true story, Southern Rapture details the explosive cultural battle that takes place in Charlotte, NC after it announces the proposed staging of Tony Kushner’s Angels in America. This tea bag-of-a-play, under the direction of Jason Palmer, submerges its audience head first into the piping-hot water of a raging culture war.  The results are bruising. And rarely will one side clearly win. We might see some progress. Then some setbacks. But much is lost in these necessary, yet dark and corrosive battles.  Disunity is real, and in the thirty years since the original staging of the iconic Angels in America, something remains broken.

A seven-second flash of male nudity and a few select passages of gay content send this crazy town into a frenzy, which ultimately becomes a national spectacle. There are many warriors in this battle. And all of the usual suspects show up for this fight.  There is the politically savvy, right-winged Mayor Paxton (Teddy Boone); the bold, visionary theater director, Marjorie Winthrop, in her blousy Annie Hall garb (Shannon Leigh Webber); the theater company’s board member, Allissa Marquand, (Mary Anne Bowman who plays multiple roles including the tough district attorney); the ridiculous brimstone and hellfire, Rev. Dupree, (Andrew Bosworth who also plays multiple roles); the trouble-making, gossip-mongering critic and “Nightline” host (Jordan Gleaves in four roles); the loud and excitable company producer, Donald Sherman, (Michael Stejskal); and  four supporting female roles by Jenny Hoppes.

Religious zealots can be scary in their punitive judgements of others.  Often, they have too much influence politically in a country that believes – at least on paper – in the separation of church and state. The beauty in the retelling of this story is the easy laughs it can evoke. Emotions run so high, it has to go screwball. But at the core of this exceedingly humorous work are serious questions about restricting artistic freedom, reducing arts funding, and the weaponization of civic institutions that should be apolitical. Perhaps, the most important point made in this production is when common sense goes out the door, you may win the legal battle. But you have lost the public relations war. Case in point: the permanent closing of the Charlotte Rep after the fallout of donor support, mounting financial woes, and an abandonment of leadership after the staging of Kushner’s Angels in America.

The production’s seven actors are often very good in their roles and are beautifully cast. Though, there are moments when lines get indecipherable. The deliveries are a bit loud and frenzied. In the haste of the excitement, several actors are speaking or yelling simultaneously. I missed lines, because of the loud, non-stop laughter in the audience. The costume team understood the fashion of the period: men in pleated, roomy business slacks, Lycra with gold, and women beginning to dress for corporate power, etc. (Kasey Wolfgang, costume designer).  The smart set, divided between the mayor’s office on one side and the theater administration office on the other, did an excellent job of transporting the audience to a specific time and place (Kaitlyn Hettinger, scenic director; Ellie Fey, lighting designer; Zach Stinnett, sound designer; and their assistants).

As someone, like so many others, who has been harmed by the vitriolic, homophobic, and thoughtless rhetoric of the culture wars in this country – beginning in college with that faded orange juice queen, Anita Bryant, in her “Save Our Children” campaign – this struggle will continue. This Charlotte bang up from 3 decades ago is unfortunately NOT old news.  The serious points being made are urgent.  And perhaps we are losing ground once again as First Amendment freedoms come under fire.  But in all fairness to this production, no one is the clear hero, and no one is a true villain. This is yet another strength of this show.

Southern Rapture makes an important point that sounds a warning about where we are as a country, and what we as a country have become. But it also offers consolation with real comedic skill and issues a summons to rethink some of these right-wing and moldy shibboleths. And maybe pushing certain buttons (both sides) are better left untouched.

Wishing you a happy Pride month!

Southern Rapture

Presented by: Tin Drum Theatre Company

Written by: Eric Coble & Directed by: Jason Palmer

Theater Wit

1229 W. Belmont Avenue, Chicago

Playing through June 28

Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 pm

Sundays at 3:00 pm

Closed caption performance on Thursday, June 25 at 7:30 pm

Tickets:

$30 with $15 student tickets and may be purchased at www.TinDrumTheatre.com

Total running time is two hours and ten minutes including a brief intermission

To see what others are saying, visit www.theatreinchicago.com, go to Review Round-Up and click at “Southern Rapture”.   photos by Lance Sorenson