ISU's Poignant LOST FORMICANS Keeps You Thinking

I was just reading about a video purporting to show that there are shapeshifting alien reptile guards looking out for the President. That "evidence" is being used to bolster the theory that President Obama is part of an intergalactic conspiracy between an earthly elite and alien overlords eager to use earthlings like puppets. Or maybe to eat them. (Is the shapeshifting alien reptile guardian force carrying copies of "To Serve Man"?)

The video showing this alleged alien sounds like something just right for the conspiracy theorist character in Constance Congdon's Tales of the Lost Formicans, a 1989 play about life on earth, here, now (or at least in the 80s), with all its earth-bound complications and limitations, framed by a pack of alien archeologists from the future trying to make sense of us.

In Deb Alley's production of Tales of the Lost Formicans for Illinois State University, performed in the small theater space called Centennial West 207, the limitations of life on earth are front and center. We see again and again how ephemeral and impermanent our world is, how each of the things we cling to to give life meaning -- lovers, parents, children, possessions, careers, passion, memory, the place we call home -- will crumble, tumble or go up in smoke. 

Congdon's script is a little funny, a little strange, quite thought-provoking, and in this ISU version, sad, too. There's bittersweet humor in the travails of Cathy, the woman who comes back home to Colorado, her foul-mouthed son in tow, when her marriage breaks up, only to find her old suburban neighborhood is falling apart, Dad is losing his mind, and Mom can't quite deal with any of it.

The story of Cathy's father, Jim, once a man who could fix anything but now just a shell, wandering around wondering where he is and where his mixed-up memories are leading him, is especially poignant, aided by a lovely performance from Joe Faifer, who can nail a comic backwards scene one moment and break your heart talking about sheet rock the next.

Hananiah Wiggins is also touching as the conspiracy nut who has all the wrong moves when it comes to human interaction, while Michele Stine keeps the center of the play steady and strong as Cathy, our Everywoman guide. Jaqueline Dellamano and Carlos Kmet are on target as Cathy's mom and son, and Jenna Liddle adds abundant energy and edge as Cathy's old friend, a divorced mom who is well over the line into a nervous breakdown. Keith Jackewicz rounds out the cast in multiple roles, most notably as the main alien observer who runs the show.

Andrew Sierszyn's off-balance set and its bits and pieces of late 20th century Americana give the production the right sense of unease, especially that upside-down door, while Deanna Durbin's orange and brown and argyle costumes show a period of our fashion past that should probably stay buried.

Tales of the Lost Formicans is not an easy show to wrap your head around -- you'll want to discuss and maybe argue about it with your friends after the show -- but it's certainly worth your while to do so. There are a lot of ways to interpret Congdon's cosmic little script. Mulling it over, I decided it was about mortality, about insignificance, about how we try to make sense of things that just can't be explained. Or, you know, life.

TALES OF THE LOST FORMICANS
by Contance Congdon

The School of Theatre and Dance at Illinois State University
Centennial West 207

Director: Deb Alley
Scenic Designer: Andrew Sierszyn
Costume/Hair and Makeup Designer: Deanna Durbin
Lighting Designer: Meredith Francis
Sound Designer: Eduardo Curly-Carillo
Stage Manager: Kayleigh Walter

Cast: Hananiah Wiggins, Michele Stine, Joe Faifer, Jenna Liddle, Carlos Kmet, Jacqueline Dellamano, Keith Jackewicz and Timothy Jefferson.

Remaining Performances: March 30 and April 2-6 at 7:30 pm, April 6 at 2 pm.

Running Time: 2:20, including one 15-minute intermission

For ticket information, click here.

Casting News: Michelle Stine Heads Up TALES OF THE LOST FORMICANS at ISU

Tony Kushner called Constance Congdon's Tales of the Lost Formicans a look at the "postmodern, collective nervous breakdown American society has been having." I suppose that's as good a description as any.

In Congdon's play, we begin with alien anthropologists studying Earth in the 20th Century as they try to piece together who these "Lost Formicans" were based on the detritus they left behind. That includes kitchen tables and chairs and "numerous wheeled sarcaphogae used to carry spirits to the next world." Or, you know, cars.

Within the alien framing device, Congdon gives us Cathy, mother to a 15-year-old, coming home to live with her parents after a messy divorce. But home isn't exactly a walk in the park. Her dad has Alzheimer's, Mom isn't coping well, son Eric is unhappy beyond belief to be transported to this weird world, and there's a conspiracy nut named Jerry who keeps popping up. Cathy's childhood friend Judy is still in the neighborhood, but she's full of stories about suicide and dead dogs.

It's to Congdon's credit that this portrait of America in the late 80s, seen from an alien point of view, is funny, surreal, incredibly irreverent and sad, all at the same time. The story isn't linear. It isn't rooted in reality. Its characters are crazy. But they sure feel real when it comes right down to it.

ISU Associate Professor Deb Alley will direct the production scheduled to play in the intimate space at Centennial West 207 from March 28 to April 6, 2013. Her cast has also been announced, with Michelle Stine, last seen in an exquisite performance as mute daughter Kattrin in Mother Courage, in the role of Cathy, Jacki Dellamano (The Marriage of Bette and Boo) and Joseph Faifer (Noises Off) as her parents, Carlos Kmet as her son Eric, and Hannaniah Wiggins as Jerry, the sweet conspiracy theorist next door.

That adds up a great cast and a great director working on a great script. All kinds of possibilities for alien anthropologists!

One Last Chance to Catch "The Rivals"

The Illinois Shakespeare Festival's lively and good-humored production of Richard Brinsley Sheridan's "The Rivals" will take its final bow tomorrow night, sending young lovers Jack Absolute and Lydia Languish and her insufferable guardian Mrs. Malaprop off into the sunset one last time.

"The Rivals" boasts a smart, saucy script, full of high-flying wordplay and amusing romantic complications. It may've been Sheridan's first play, but it's a classic for a reason. And that reason is that people can be silly when it comes to love and sending up silly people never goes out of style.

In the beginning, we see that the very eligible Captain Absolute has been pretending to be poor, honest Ensign Beverly in order to woo lovely Lydia, who has hopelessly romantic tendencies from reading too many novels. Like the heroines of her books, Lydia wants to run off with a dashing ne'er-do-well, someone her guardian, Mrs. Malaprop, does not approve of.

Mrs. Malaprop, she of the mangled language who thinks there are allegories lying on the banks of the Nile, is determined to marry off Lydia to Jack Absolute, who is, of course, the same Beverly the girl already thinks herself in love with. But no one except Jack and his servant are aware that Jack and Beverly are the same man. 

Jack's dad, Sir Anthony Absolute, is equally resolute to marry his son off, and Dad wants to be the one doing the choosing. Even though they've both picked Lydia, Jack chafes under the idea that he has to bow to his father's wishes.

Lydia's friend Julia has a romantic entanglement of her own -- she loves young Faulkland, who eats himself up with doubt over Julia's true character. Faulkland is such a drama queen, he's sort of the male version of Miss Languish.

Meanwhile, there are other suitors for Lydia's hand, including Bob Acres, a hearty, somewhat oafish country dude, and Sir Lucious O'Trigger, a hot-headed Irishman who likes to duel. And everybody's correspondence is mishandled and misdirected by Lucy, Lydia's maid, who is collecting trinkets and payoffs from all sides.

The action involves cranky elders, impudent youth, conniving servants, a little eavesdropping, a bit of deception and a lot of misunderstandings. Classic romantic comedy.

For the Illinois Shakespeare Festival, Deb Alley directs a sparkling cast that sells the material nicely. Dylan Paul and Gracyn Mix, who also play Orlando and Rosalind in this summer's "As You Like It," show good chemistry, poise and energy throughout, while Corliss Preston gives Mrs. Malaprop a feisty center that makes her really fun to watch. (Her hat, which makes her resemble a Crown Roast of Pork, is also adorable.)

David Sitler's wizened Sir Anthony and Alexander Pawlowski IV's cherubic Fighting Bob Acres are comic highlights, as is Anthony Talen, who makes a quivering mess of poor old Faulkland.

The costumes, designed by Dottie Engels, look very good -- I was especially fond of Captain Absolute's handsome uniform -- and John Stark's set is a wonder, flanked by gorgeous paintings of Bath, the fashionable English town where the play is set.

"The Rivals" started later than the other two shows in this year's Illinois Shakespeare Festival line-up, and it finishes up on Friday night at 8 pm. That means you have one last chance to see this charming show before these "Rivals" have departed. Don't miss your chance! Hie thee to "The Rivals."

THE RIVALS
By Richard Brinsley Sheridan

Illinois Shakespeare Festival
at Ewing Manor

Director: Deb Alley
Costume Designer: Dottie Engels
Scenic Designer: John Stark
Lighting Designer: Julie Mack
Sound Designer: Max Krembs
Stage Manager: Daniel D. Drake
Fight Director/Choreographer: Zach Powell
Voice/Text Coach: Kevin Rich

Cast: Matt Black, Amanda Catania, Megan Chaney, Nick Demeris, Michael Gamache, Trevon Jackson, Gracyn Mix, Dylan Paul, Alexander Pawlowski IV, Matt Penn, Corliss Preston, Brandon Rosen, Josh Samaniego, David Sitler, Andy Talen, and Lisa Wartenberg. 

Remaining performance: August 10, 2012

For ticket information, click here.