Steadstyle Chicago
	March 2008 Theatre Review by Randy Hardwick
	Looking for a Ticket Broker? Check out the hottest broadway tickets from Gotickets.com Carter's Way Critical Evaluation: **** out of **** (Foreground) James Vincent Meredith and Anne Adams; (Background) Michael Pogue, Curtis M. Jackson and Ora Jones in Steppenwolf Theatre's production of "Carter's Way".  Photos by Michael Brosilow. Judging by the reaction of the audience at the opening of Steppenwolf's production of Eric Simonson's re-written "Carter's Way," I'll need to take a number and get in line to heap praise on this show.  It is not a perfect play and it might yet be a candidate for further script revision, but brother, is it ever one good, good time at the theatre!  The show is set in the Kansas City Jazz scene of 1935 and revolves around an illegal interracial romance: Oriole Carter (James Vincent Meredith), a black musician, and Eunice Fey (Anne Adams), a mobster's white girlfriend singer.  "Carter's Way" has a compelling plot with multiple love triangles, gangland suspense, and historical accuracy, plus an original score that is second to none.  The jazz alone is worth the ticket price. Meredith is stellar as the saxophone playing composer bent on retaining control over his music and its money-making potential in an age when musicians - especially Black musicians - made nothing at all while white moguls got wealthy selling their songs.  Adams is quite believable as the moll and her tender voice is a delight to listen to.  K. Todd Freeman, as club owner Pewee Abernathy, heads a veteran supporting cast that includes other familiar and popular faces from the local stage.  Chicago theatergoers will instantly recognize Robert Breuler, a 20-year Steppenwolf veteran who has enriched the best stages in town in some of the juiciest roles ever written.  For "Carter's Way," Breuler is K.C.'s mister big, mobster Boss Jack Thorpe.  Other familiar faces include Ora Jones, who joined the company at Steppenwolf this season as Tituba in The Crucible, and Goodman regular Keith Kupferer. Neil Patel's clever set feels like the clubs and dives of 30's K.C. and the technical aspects of the show are - as they always are at Steppenwolf - stupendous.  The show's musicians - Bobby Watson, Darrell Leonard, Joe Cartwright, Gerald Spaits, and Tommy Ruskin - are one of the tightest little jazz ensembles I have heard in a long time and thanks to the near magic sound design of Barry G. Funderburg the audience experience is like being in the front row at a vintage jazz venue.  It is a unique experience.  Darrell Leonard's original music is immaculately reminiscent of the great Charlie Parker and Jones, as Carter's faithful longtime friend and companion Marilyn Stokes, knows how to sing the charts. My one beef with "Carter's Way" is in the character of the new girlfriend Eunice Fey.  Whether from the script or from Ms. Adams' choices as an actress, the character is too sweet to have arrived where she is.  This is 1935 Kansas City and interracial romance is not just something that your mother wouldn't like; it's razor's edge life threatening.  The sense of inherent violence is lacking as the character professes her undying love and willingness to wed seconds into their first real encounter.  Eunice is also the girlfriend of mobster Johnny Russo (Kupferer) and it is equally difficult to accept that such a sweet type landed this role in life.  It's incredibly easy to look past this single flaw in such a spectacular work, but the flaw is nonetheless there and it leaves open the unfulfilled possibility of endings other than the inevitable one - the only one that the times would have allowed for a man like Oriole Carter.  As a wonderful show, "Carter's Way" is just the perfect way to spend an evening out.  As part of Steppenwolf's commitment to the development of new American plays, Eunice is a spot that yet needs some work.  The only way for you to know for sure is to see the show for yourself and that is exactly what I recommend that you do. "Carter's Way" continues through April 27, 2008 at Steppenwolf Downstairs Theatre, located at 1650 N. Halsted.  Performances are Tuesdays-Sundays at 7:30 (no Sunday evening performances after April 6th) with weekend matinees at 3:00 through April 27th.  There are additional Wednesday matinees April 6-23 at 2:00.  Tickets are $20-$68 and may be purchased at the box office or online at www.steppenwolf.org.  Half-price rush tickets are also available one hour before each show.   About Randy Hardwick Randy Hardwick is an educator and sometime theatre critic.  He is a former member of the Drama Critics' Circle in Denver, Colorado where he published several entertainment related magazines and hosted The Heavyweights of Gambling, a weekly radio call-in show about casino gaming.  During the 1980's Randy was president of Tracks International, a nightclub chain renowned for its high-energy clubs in Denver and on the East Coast.  Hardwick first came to Chicago in 1999 and recently returned to his beloved Rogers Park neighborhood following three years of teaching at a university in Mexico.     Love, Lust, Betrayal and Jazz Review by Alan Bresloff "Carter's Way" is written by Steppenwolf Theatre ensemble member and playwright Eric Simonson, who also directs this stirring production.  The time was 1935.  The place, Kansas City, Missouri and the latest music was Jazz!  In this season of "What it means to be an American", Steppenwolf has selected a play that deals with race/segregation, the great depression, art and business (good and evil).  This is a love story as well, where our hero, Oriole Carter (a masterful performance by James Vincent Meredith) is an African American saxophonist and the leader of the band, who falls in love with Eunice Fey (Anne Adams).  Eunice is the white girlfriend of mobster Johnny Russo (Keith Kupferer) who works for Boss Jack Thorpe (as always, a brilliant character study by Robert Breuler).  The club where he works is "owned" (I use this term in quotes, because it appears that club is owned by Boss Jack as well, or in whole) by PeeWee Abernathy (K. Todd Freeman, one of our most reliable actors).  The piano player/arranger for the band is Marilyn Stokes (Ora Jones, who shows us yet another side of her unlimited talents), who was at one time Oriole's "lady" and as an aside, still loves him with all her heart and soul. During this period, radio was sweeping the nation and Johnny is convinced that doing a live radio broadcast with Oriole and his band and then recording it will make some heavy money while showing Boss Jack that he is ready to rise among the ranks of "his soldiers".  Eunice wants to be a singer and Oriole doesn't want to be recorded so he brings Eunice up to sing during the recording which puts him in bad favor with the project.  He flees and hides and Johnny, suspecting something is up takes it out on her.  Meanwhile, Boss Jack loses a lot of money on the record deal, making Johnny fear for his position (and possibly his life). I will not divulge the ending, as I would not want to spoil it.  This is a well written story that will open your eyes to situations that were real during this period.  They showing that the choices we make are ours to live by, and while they may not always work out as planned, each of us has our own dreams and desires and paths that we feel we must follow, no matter the outcome.  Yes, a story of love, lust, betrayal, music and the times is a pure delight for all your senses and emotions. Darrell Leonard's music is pure jazz and the set by Neil Patel is pure genius, keeping the flow from the mobster office, to the club, to the backstage area and the hideaway flowing with ease and allowing the action to continue with no gaps.  Karin Kopischke's costumes are so 1935 and the lighting by Keith Parham works perfectly.  The sound by Barry G. Funderburg was great and while it appears that the band is playing all this jazz, I have a feeling that the coordination of the sound man with the actors makes it seem real (pure poetry to watch).