Steadstyle Chicago
	March 2010 Theatre Review by Alan Bresloff
	Adore Steppenwolf Theatre's Garage is a multi-tasking theater venue.  While they use the theater for some of their own works, they are now making it available to other troupes so that these young, new and vibrant groups can bring their works to Chicago audiences.  Their Garage Rep, part of Steppenwolf's Visiting Company Initiative includes "Adore" by XIII Pocket, "Punkplay" by Pavement Group and "The Twins Would Like to Say" by Dog & Pony Theatre Company playing in rep through April 25. As we are now in a hectic theater schedule, I was only able to view one of the three, "Adore" written and directed by Stephen Louis Grush.  "Adore" is based on an actual series of shocking events that made headlines.  This is a tense story, a combination double narrative with use of film depicting a love story between two men.  A love story so deep that the ultimate proof of love is that one kill the other and then butcher him as a pig might be prepared for market, and as the final show of adoration, eat his lover's parts.  Not exactly your typical theater fare. The presentation of this new work, roughly 70 minutes in length is very intense and even though the subject matter is not what we might call palatable, the performances by the two actors were very strong and their characters seemed very real.  Armin (Eric Leonard) who we first meet tells us the story as he waits for his trial.  He was raised by his mother after his father and brothers had left them when he was a child.  He always knew he was "different" in many ways.  He is a cannibal and ever since his childhood he longed to find the perfect man, one that he could love and then devour entirely. Bernd (Paige Smith) appears to be a normal man who over his years had women in his life, but desired to be closer to men.  While he has a live-in lover, he also has a secret desire.  To be punished for all that he is by being torn apart and devoured.  In this story we have two men, both with secrets that meet by Internet and after communicating find that they are the perfect match.  Each wants to give what the other wants to get and so they plan their affair, that will be the beginning and the end for Bernd and also the end for Armin.  "Adore" follows these men through their stories, their fears, their passions, first as each lets us into their own secret life and then when they bring us to the fateful day and in detail we are told all that took place to complete the love story to end all love stories. As I stated, the subject matter is not for the queasy, but the production itself is stellar, both actors quite convincing that they are indeed the characters they portray.  And while the actual event that this is based on is not quite this, Grush has taken an atrocity and made it into a love story that will certainly hold your attention.  While what these men do with their lives is not what the world around them can accept, for each of them and together as a "couple" they have found exactly what they have dreamed about all their lives.  How many can say that they have found love that is all consuming?  These men did. The entire production is near flawless in detail.  The exception is that some of the video used was grainy and rough.  Tony Lewis and Patrick Andrews are the actors used in one for the film sequences and both appear to be real people, involved with the character.  For a low budget production one can really not expect much more than what we are given in film and the point they are trying to make certainly comes through, so a tip of the hat to Mike Kwieford for his film production.    About Alan Bresloff Alan Bresloff, once an actor himself, has been covering the Chicago Theater Scene since 1993, first as the Theater and Arts critic for LaRaza newspaper, then with Salsachicago.com and then onto Extra Newspaper and The Epoch Times.  He also writes for ElImparcial and TeleGuia.  His reviews can also be seen on www.theatreinchicago.com.  Alan does not call himself a "critic" but a "reviewer" as he tries to educate the reader about theater itself, what is a good value, what to look for in a play or musical and more.  "Exposure to theater is a very important part of a young person's life" he says. "Learning about the arts and culture is in fact learning about life" and he tries to explain more in his reviews than just if it is good or bad.  Even some of the poor productions have some value, he often says and he would love your feedback on shows that you have seen.  You can write him here or at albresloff@sbcglobal.net.