Beast on the Moon — “Tribune: Well Worth the Trip” April 16, 2007
Posted by Steve in : Weblog , add a commentThe Chicago Tribune’s Kerry Reid has weighed in and as expected the reviews for Provision Theater’s “Beast on the Moon” are excellent:
‘Beast on the Moon’
A bittersweet, affecting and beautifully acted tale of immigrant life, Provision Theater’s production of Richard Kalinoski’s “Beast on the Moon” is well worth the trip to the Irish American Heritage Center. Set in Milwaukee during a span from the early 1920s to the mid-1930s, the story traces the troubled relationship between Aram Tomasian, a photographer, and his “picture bride,” Seta. Armenians who survived the Turkish genocide a few years earlier and now striving to have their own child, Seta and Aram have chosen very different ways of dealing with their lingering grief.
Tim Gregory gracefully directs their fumbling attempts to create a real marriage out of those differences. Tiffany Scott delivers one of the most effortlessly engaging and moving performances I’ve seen so far this year as Seta, and her shifts from a terrified bride to self-possessed young housewife unfold with subtle grace and poignant truthfulness. Levi Holloway captures the hollow-eyed grief and rage of Aram, a good man paralyzed by his past. Kalinoski’s decision to include a grownup narrator feels unnecessary to the insular world of the play, but this small distraction doesn’t detract from this charming and sometimes heartbreaking production.
Through April 29 at Irish American Heritage Center, 4626 N. Knox Ave (MAP) Tickets are $25 at 773-506- 4429.
Check out “Beast on the Moon” April 3, 2007
Posted by Steve in : Weblog , add a commentIf it is April, it must be time for another Provision Theater production. This time, this award-nominated troupe is putting on ” Beast on the Moon”. Written by Richard Kalinoski, a man personally familiar with the difficulties associated with growing up in a post-genocide Armenian community, this play examines the trials of a young couple, having survived the genocide themselves, in their effort to start a family of their own. THIS PLAY HAS BEEN RECOMMENDED by the Jeff Awards Committee.
Here is a brief description of the play:
“When his teenage mail-order bride arrives in Milwaukee in 1921, young Aram believes his future can finally begin. His sole desire is for a large family - a family to replace the one ripped from him in the recent Armenian genocide. But when the affects of the atrocities begin to surface for and Seta, their hopes for children are dashed. Can the present heal the past? The desperate couple finds out with the help of an unlikely young stranger.” (more…)
