The Bard's Town

REVIEW | Gallows Humor Satisfies in 'Things We Want'

Erin Keane — Sat, 11 May 2013 22:44:31 +0000

The Bard’s Town Theatre continues its season of notable newer work with Jonathan Marc Sherman’s 2007 “Things We Want,” a satisfying dark comedy about three emotionally-stunted adult brothers still living in their childhood home while attempting to figure out how to overcome their various fragilities before they kill themselves or each other. That sounds heavier than the play actually is—tonally, it’s a gallows humor-charged fight between the id and the super-ego with flashes of brilliance that resists taking its characters seriously enough to let them fall apart in any kind of realistic disintegration.

REVIEW | 'Chasing Ophelia' Is More than a Romantic Comedy

Erin Keane — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 19:22:47 +0000

Neurotic writers manipulating their self-aware fictional characters isn’t a new device, but unlike similar stories, The Bard’s Town’s funny and engaging “Chasing Ophelia” isn’t concerned with picking the navel of the writer’s creative processes or artistic tensions. For a romantic comedy, this play’s concerns are remarkably, well, theological: is an unseen, omniscient being really in charge of us, and how do we deal with feeling abandoned by him?

The Bard's Town Expands Programming with Third Season

Erin Keane — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 22:05:12 +0000

In just two seasons, The Bard’s Town Theatre has assembled a strong ensemble of regular performers—so regular, in fact, that some have taken to working in the restaurant downstairs, so on any given opening night you might order your pre-show Much Ado About Empanadas from the same actor who will have you laughing or crying on stage upstairs.

“By and large, our audience still comes into our theater without any preconceived notions, as in, they’re not sure what they’re getting,” says executive artistic director (and restaurant co-owner) Doug Schutte with a laugh. “I think that’s a good thing.”

REVIEW | 'The Kings of Christmas' Tells Familiar Story Slant

Erin Keane — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 17:59:27 +0000

Christmas stories take the larger Nativity narrative—the arrival of an ambassador of peace, goodwill and redemption—and put the metaphor to work on individual transformations, those personal moments when generosity of spirit triumphs over our meaner, selfish natures. The best results are both heartwarming and as unique as the transformed individuals themselves.

The Bard's Town Closes Season with Holiday Comedy

Erin Keane — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 12:30:00 +0000

The Bard’s Town Theatre closes its second season this month with “The Kings of Christmas,” an original holiday comedy written by executive director Doug Schutte. Directed by Schutte and artistic director Scot Atkinson, “The Kings of Christmas” uses a narrative framework loosely based on Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” to help a frustrated young man come to terms with his eccentric family and regain his Christmas spirit.

REVIEW | '44 Plays for 44 Presidents' a Provocative Historical Revue

Erin Keane — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 16:15:03 +0000

The Bard's Town Theatre opened its production of "44 Plays for 44 Presidents" last night.

'44 Plays for 44 Presidents' Takes 'Long View' of the Oval Office

Erin Keane — Tue, 30 Oct 2012 18:34:14 +0000

“George Washington in the Garden of Eden” opens the show with a creation story. James Garfield’s “Dance of a Thousand Ironies” is a tragic ballet. Thomas Jefferson isn't memorialized, he's roasted, stand-up comedy-style, by Benjamin Franklin.

The Neo-Futurists of Chicago premiered "43 Plays for 43 Presidents" ten years ago (Actors Theatre of Louisville staged a production in 2008) with a brief play for each occupant of the Oval Office—Grover Cleveland gets two, since his terms weren't consecutive.

Le Petomane Opens New Season

Erin Keane — Mon, 03 Sep 2012 13:30:00 +0000

In “Time Flies,” four time travelers wander from their births back to the beginning of the universe and forward to the end of time. Along the way, they stage a hip hop tribute to a famous clock maker and engage in a bout of bare-knuckle boxing.

In other words, it’s a typical absurdist Le Petomane show. Co-producing artistic director Kyle Ware says this play is a study in anachronism, with philosophical undercurrents.

Review: Faith and the Big Box Store - 'A Bright New Boise' Is Relevant, Riveting

Erin Keane — Fri, 27 Jul 2012 17:02:11 +0000

The Bard’s Town Theatre broadens its focus this season with an outstanding production of Samuel D. Hunter’s “A Bright New Boise.” This tightly-wound family drama about a disgraced evangelical who takes a job at an Idaho Hobby Lobby won an Obie Award in 2011 and has enjoyed a number of exciting regional premieres over the last season by companies like Washington, D.C.’s Wooly Mammoth Theatre and Chicago’s LiveWire.

Funny Women Face Off in Comedy Contest

Erin Keane — Wed, 04 Jul 2012 18:00:00 +0000

Are women funny? Every few years, another male writer or comic says no – Jerry Lewis, Christopher Hitchens, most recently, Adam Carolla.

Janelle Fitzpatrick disagrees. She’s a high school teacher who works with incarcerated youth in Indiana. Her day job can be intense, so a few years ago she tried her hand at stand-up comedy and found a second calling.