Word: lang
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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From designs for Renaissance forts to a replica of the sexy robot from Fritz Lang's Metropolis, 1926. From baroque engravings of New World cannibals in grass huts to pictures of yuppies enjoying a stroll through Celebration, Disney's "ideal town" in Florida. From Nazi racial propaganda to unalluring photos of early kibbutzim in Israel. From Stalinist kitsch in the '30s to Haight-Ashbury peace-and-love kitsch in the '60s. This intriguing range of objects and images is contained in "Utopia: The Search for the Ideal Society in the Western World," the sprawling show that kicks...
...good supporting cast. But with such a thematically saturated script, there's so much to absorb that it's easy to lose a bit in the shuffle. Here the production would have benefited from the tighter and more intimate blocking Benson uses in scenes between Rita and Lang. This, in addition to more focused lighting, might have directed the audience's attention and brought out the darker elements pervading the play...
David Mamet's The Water Engine, set against the backdrop of the 1933-1934 Chicago World's Fair, depicts one man's struggle to patent his invention and reveal it to the world. The struggle belongs to Charles Lang, who, along with his secret invention (an engine that runs on water), is exploited by corporate mongers whose smooth promises conceal the destructive forces of a society hungry for cash and willing to do anything to get it. The voice of the chain letter throughout the play keeps the audience guessing as to the implications of people, fate and science...
...Charles Lang is sensitively portrayed by the Blue Man Group's Gideon Banner, whose awkward innocence and subtle expression create sympathy for the man whose trust has been crushed by the farcical reality of the American dream. As Lang's sister Rita, Angela Meade tackles an ambitious interpretation, capturing the audience with her expressive visualization and her innocent longing for a life away from the streets of Chicago. Her scenes with Banner are particularly touching and bring out the sensitive qualities of the actors. Unfortunately, the interaction between Lang and lawyers Gross (Will MacDonald) and Oberman (Ken Flott), while growing...
Such elements are observed, however, by costume designer Amanda Mujica and scenic designer David J. Miller. Mujica uses just the right tones and styles to contrast the gentleness of characters such as Lang with the sharpness of the lawyers. Miller's set - an arrangement in red, white, and blue - appears to aim at the national overtones of the piece. As the play hurtles towards disaster, the lights dim and only the red remains. It is an ominous and chilling suggestion of the trappings, false ideals, and broken dreams that can hide behind a cheerful, patriotic facade...